Description
E. & H. T. Anthony backmark. At the start of the Civil War, Oglesby was appointed colonel of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment on April 25, 1861, and was soon given command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, District of Cairo, Department of the Missouri, serving under the command of Ulysses S. Grant. He was a well liked commander known to his troops as "Uncle Dick". He commanded his brigade at the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and soon after was promoted to brigadier general (March 21, 1862). He commanded the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of the Tennessee, during the Siege of Corinth. He was severely wounded in his chest and back at the Battle of Corinth in October 1862.
Oglesby was promoted to major general on November 29, and after a period of recovery, commanded the Left Wing of the XVI Corps, Army of the Tennessee, in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi from April to July 1863. He resigned his commission on May 26, 1864, to run for governor on the Republican ticket.
He was present in the room at the Petersen House when President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.
