Richard Oglesby Monument


Richard Oglesby Monument, 1919
Leonard Crunelle
Lincoln Park
West of North Cannon Drive and north of West Fullerton Parkway

            This ten-foot-tall bronze figure honors Richard Oglesby, a Civil War hero and the fourteenth Governor of Illinois. The Kentucky-born Oglesby was raised in Decatur, Illinois by an uncle and was elected to the State Senate in 1860 as a Republican. After his service with the 8th Illinois Infantry Regiment, President Lincoln made him a Major General. He ran for Governor on the Union ticket in 1864 and was re-elected in 1872, but subsequently appointed U.S. Senator in 1873, and again in 1884. A frequent political opponent was another former general, John Logan, who is honored with an equestrian portrait in Grant Park.
            Unveiled on November 21, 1919, this memorial was the gift of five individuals: John Barton Payne, J.S. Runnels, John W. Bunn, L.C. LaForce and Martin B. Bailey. The sculptor, Leonard Crunelle, was mentored by the famous Chicago artist Lorado Taft. Crunelle portrayed Oglesby holding his hat in one hand and coat thrown over his arm in a naturalistic fashion, more as politician than military hero. 

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