This wonderful untouched cased Whitney pocket pistol was given to Maj. Gen. John A. Logan by his wife on the occasion of his promotion to Brig. General. It's engraved on it's backstrap " To General J.A. Logan from his Wife April 16, 1862 ". The case is tin and includes all it's original tools. It's exactly the way the General put it away the last time he used it ,even the flask retains powder. He would have had this case and revolver with him throughout the war. John Logan first saw action in the Mexican-American War where he rose to the rack of Lieutenant . After the war he went back to Illinois where he studied Law and then went into politics. He was a Democrat and was elected a State Senator and later a member of the U.S House of Rep.
Logan was in Washington when the news of the fall of Ft. Sumter aroused the people; he was there also when the Capitol was cut off from the North by the Baltimore mob, and when McDowell started for the battlefield of Bull Run Logan followed him, and overtaking Col. Richardson's regiment obtained a musket ,marched with it and fought in the ranks, being one of the last to leave the field. He returned to Washington and resigned his congressional seat. Then he joined the Union Army as a Colonel of the 31st Illinois. He was wounded leading his regiment at Ft. Donaldson. He was then commisioned a Brig. General 3/21/62. In the Grant campaigns, Logans's Division was the first to enter the city of Vicksburg. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions. He rose to the rank of Major General Nov. 29/62 and in Nov.'63 he succeeded Maj. Gen. Wm.T. Sherman to command the XV Army Corp. At the Battle of Dallas he was shot in the left arm ; and on the desparate assaults which Hood made upon McPherson at Atlanta, Logan fought splendidly,and it was to him that McPherson sent the last message that he ever dispatched on earth. "On the death of this great general Logan , by virtue of his rank, assumed command, and he changed the defeat into victory without receiving any orders from Sherman , who was in command of all the forces. For his decisive action Logan received a medal from the Army of Tennessee .
After the war, he returned to Illinois and in 1866 he was sent to the U.S Congress except now he was a member of the Repulican Party. In 1868 , he was one of the managers in the Impeachment of Pres. Andrew Johnson. While serving his first term in Congress he organized the Grand Army of the Republic and would serve as it's President 3 times. Then he went on to found and organize the first Decoration Day ( Memorial Day) . In 1870 he was elected to the U.S Senate where he served until his death in 1886. In 1884 he was the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate with James Blaine the Presidential Candidate. It was a close race in which they lost by only 62,670 votes. There's a statue of him on his horse in Washington, D.C . A true American 'Hero' !
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