23 April 1861

[from An Ephemeris Kept by Loren Webb...]

Tuesday, 23d A shower of rain in the afternoon, but pleasant most of the day. Very early in the morning, our company, with the first company of Belleville, and the Mascoutah [company], left Belleville in the cars, and reached Springfield about noon and marched at once to our quarters in Camp Yates. The camp is the fair ground. There were already some soldiers there when we arrived but we were dressed in uniforms and presented a very fine appearance and were cheered as we passed along . I first commenced my duties as Ord. Sergt. I drew Bread and Bacon and that was all that we had that night. We were quartered in an old house and had very pleasant time.

[from Marion Morrison's A History of the Ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer (1864) Infantry, p. 9]
Many of the soldiers, supposing that they would be furnished with clothing by the government, took very little clothing with them, and that of the most ordinary kind, thinking that when that should draw clothing they could not take care of what they took with them. 

They had no regular uniform.  Some of the companies were clothed with such a uniform as they had selected and supplied for themselves.

22 April 1861

[from An Epemeris Kept by Loren Webb...]

Monday, 22nd Fair most of the day. At 7 o'clock A.M., left Mascoutah, and went to Belleville, in order to be with our company. Spent the day in drilling and electing the non coms. At night the boys had a great jubilee.

[from the Belleville Weekly Advocate issue of22 April 1861...]

Second Company of Belleville Volunteers.
The following is a copy of the roll of the company, which organized on Saturday last.  The non-commissioned officers are not yet elected.
Captain – Alex G. Hawes
1st Lieut. – J. A. Cox
2nd Lieut. – C. F. Roman
--
Members
(ed: many names, among them…)
Loren Webb
Wm. C. Hawley
Perry Coffee
Wm. Orr
William Britt
--
J. A. Cox, 1st Lieut of the second company of the Belleville volunteers arrived in the city this morning, bringing with him about thirty men from Mascoutah, who are members of that company.  The whole company were mustered and uniformed in the Park Theater this morning.

21 April 1861

Sunday, 21st Cloudy in the forenoon, but fair most of the day; windy and dusty. I attended church to day at the old Union church. Heard Elder H. W. Mitchel preach at 11 A.M. Several were present that had enlisted and the Elder preached a sermon for our benefit. I enjoyed it much. At 4 P. M. I heard Elder Hidgely preach at the same place, then bid friends farewell. I had a mournful time. I spent the day mostly in company with Elder Mitchel. Had a very profitable visit with him. Took tea with C. Rayhill's . Practiced my salutes and went to Mascoutah. Attended church there. Had service, then made a few remarks. Stopped with H. C. Fike.

[from An Ephemeris Kept by Loren Webb.]

April, Saturday, 20th Cloudy and a little rain in the fore part of the afternoon. Early in the afternoon, the company I have joined, went to Belleville  to cast in our lot with a company forming in that place. Reached there at three o'clock, arranged our plans, and returned about sunset having elected Alex Hawes Capt., A. J. Cox 1st Lieut., R. Roman 2nd Lieut., myself Ord. sergt.

[from microform Roll 47 AGO Records Admin Files, Civil War Regts 1861-65. 9th Il Co A – H.]
At an election of officers of Company B, St. Clair County Volunteers, held at Belleville on Saturday, April 20th 1861, the following were declared duly elected…
Alex G. Hawes, Captain – 103 votes (no opposition)
J. A. Cox, 1st Lieutenant – 103 votes (no opposition)
C. F. Roman, 2nd Lieutenant – rec’d 93 votes majority

Non-comm’d officers…
Loren Webb, 1st Sergt
L. C. Bowman , 2nd Sergt
Wm. Britt, 3d Sergt
Wm. Kueffner, 4th Sergt
Roswell Patterson, 1st Corporal
Phil. Davis, 2d Corporal
H. Challenor, 3rd Corporal
Julius Hofman, 4th Corporal

The ?? is a true return of the election of the above Co.
Judges of election – L. C. Bowman, C. F. Roman, Loren Webb.
Coll. Van Cleve – Clerk

Loren went to a local meeting to raise troops

Loren went to a local meeting to raise troops and was mentioned in the local newspaper.  From the Belleville Weekly Advocate newspaper, 19 April 1861, page 1 column 1 : (Local Matters), To Volunteers

A second Company of Volunteers is being formed in Belleville, and all desiring to join will please report themselves immediately at the Advocate Office.

It is desirable that all wishing to enlist in the glorious cause of the Union do so without delay.

Union Meeting in Mascoutah

Pursuant to a call, the citizens of Mascoutah, regardless of party, met at the Town Hall for the purpose of expressing opinions relative to the condition of our now distressed country.  The meeting was called to order, and John Curtis appointed President, L. W. Emory, Secretary.  The President stated the object of the meeting and

On motion, the chair appointed a committee of five to draft resolutions expressive of the sentiments of the people.  The committee was composed of the following gentlemen : Dr. Ross, H. C. Fike, N. Land, A. N. Hamilton

In the absence of the committee the meeting was addressed by B. M. Cox, J. M. White and Addison Cox.  The speeches were brief and to the point, and were frequently applauded.

The committee returned, reporting the following resolutions :

Whereas, The laws of the United States have been and now are disobeyed in several states, and the property of the Government forcibly taken possession of; therefore be it
Resolved, By this meeting, that we believe it to be the imperative duty of the Executive of these United States to call upon each State for sufficient forces to maintain and enforce the laws, and retake all government property, now unlawfully taken possession of by a combination of traitors.
Resolved, That we will, with all the means in our power, help to maintain the government and flag of the United States.
Resolved, That we heartily approve of the cause now taken by the President for our safety.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the several county papers for publication.

J. M. White, Webb and several other gentlemen spoke in favor of the resolutions.

The resolutions being called for were adopted unanimously.

On motion, the meeting adjourned to meet on Friday evening at 7 o'clock.

An Ephemeris Kept by Loren Webb

By Jonathan Webb Deiss, 2011




This work is an effort to present, chronologically, in contemporary words and images the life and times of a man whose life was cut short by illness, but in that short life exhibited some qualities we should all admire and aspire to. 

This work would not have been possible without the prior work of Matthew Burr, military historian and Vice-President of the Firelands Historical Society who spent many nights and weekends patiently transcribing the handwritten journal of Loren Webb. It was Loren Webb’s great-grandchildren, David Hester and Elizabeth Phillips and her husband Vinton, who had copies of the transcribed diary duplicated, bound and distributed to other family members. After being contacted by Vinton Phillips by email, and some ensuing correspondence, I was sent a copy of the Diary. Immediately, I fell in love with the story and the finding out about the lives of the people mentioned in it became a passion that has endured for a decade - and I am still finding more information. It has been the support and encouragement of family and friends which has made my work seem like such a joy, and an easy labor. 


There has been an effort, in this document, to present the life of Loren Webb, as closely to the way he would have seen it as possible, using contemporary accounts, presented verbatim, unencumbered by unnecessary interpretative narrative.

Frankly, when I started this work in 1999 I didn't have the background to present a coherent or authoritative thesis concerning such a daunting subject as the civil war, militia units, battlefield tactics, evangelical Christianity, or the life of a student and preacher in the nineteenth century. But I spent more than ten years studying this man, his effects, the soldiers he served with, spent countless hours examining documents at the National Archives and other repositories until I felt comfortable that I could do this man's life and the subject due justice. Now I am considered a decent source for information on the Civil War and work to help others uncover the records that enable them to tel their own stories from history.

What I hope to present here on this blog and on the Facebook and Twitter pages of Loren Webb are the sources, illustrating the impetus behind the life of the man, also highlighting the influences, and obligations felt and carried by him. This evidence, free of interpretation, is compelling enough in its onw light to present a view of Loren Webb as a true Christian Soldier, as Matthew Burr pointed out in his prologue to the first transcription.

So, what was Loren Webb doing before the war? We can read it in his own words, from his pension application of 1879 : "From April to August 1858, I resided at Roscoe, Goodhue Co., Minnesota, occupation farming. In August of that year I moved to Illinois, Madison Co. near Edwardsville engaged in farming until Jan 1st 1859. From that date to April 1st I taught school near Troy, same co. From April 1st to Jan 1st, 1860 my residence was at Brighton, Magoupin Co., Ill. Occupation farming and selling pumps. Jan 1st 1860 I entered McKendree College at Lebanon, St. Clair Co. Ill continued two (2) terms. From Sept to April 1861 taught school near Mascoutah, Ill. When I enlisted at said place." 

For Loren Webb the war was only one day away.