Historians uncover Civil War past of Peoria cemetery

PEORIA -- Here is part of Pvt. Frederick Palmer's letter about the events of Aug. 31, 1861:

-- "About noon, we ran into a large force of the enemy's cavalry, who were scouring the woods for the purpose of cutting off the retreat. As the scouts were running back, the enemy hallowed, "Halt! Halt!" and rushed forward upon us. We turned to run, but they were too quick for the head of the company ..."

Palmer was lucky that day. The Oberlin College student had joined the 7th Ohio Volunteers. He became a battlefield correspondent when his letters were printed in his hometown newspaper, The Peoria Daily Transcript.

Six months later, the body of the 24-year-old Palmer was returned to Peoria. He was wounded in Virginia on March 23, 1862, and died April 7. Palmer's body was kept in a vault, "awaiting that time when the Springdale Cemetery Trustees should make good their promise to set aside a burial plot as a last resting place for the soldier dead."

Later that spring, he became one of the first -- if not the first -- buried on Soldier Hill.

For the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the Grand Army of the Republic Hall, The Peoria Historical Society is assembling a new trolley tour focused on our connections to the Civil War.

"It just seemed the time to do it," says Linda Aylward, who has been researching the project and writing the script. "It's hard to sum up. I keep uncovering more and more and more and more."

Lincoln visited Peoria at least 17 times, all before the Civil War, according to information gathered by Ernest E. East, who founded the historical group. Springdale itself was established in 1854, before the war began, but the connections between the two are intense -- hundreds of Civil War veterans are buried there.

"There's so much history there, it's unbelievable," says Tim Varvil of the Central Illinois Living Historians.

His group concentrates on the 77th Volunteer Infantry, which may have had up to 1,000 soldiers. With a goal of "teaching history by living it," they have had graveside services to commemorate some of the 77th members they've found.

"There's probably close to 900 Civil War veterans on the Springdale grounds," Aylward says. "A lot of them, we haven't uncovered their stories yet."

Here are some they have found:

-- Col. John Bryner and Byron Cloyd Bryner

On Sept. 22, 1861, the 47th Illinois Infantry boarded a train bound for war, under the command of Col. John Bryner, although his health forced him to resign his commission. Decimated after three years in the battlefields, the survivors begged him to raise another regiment. He fell ill and died while in training at Camp Butler on March 16, 1865. Afterward, son Byron persuaded his mother to let him join. He helped name the GAR post in Peoria after his father, and served as its commander.

-- Capt. Henry Detweiller

The name is familiar, thanks to Detweiller Drive, Detweiller Park and Detweiller Marina. But his story many not be. The steamboat captain of the Jenny Lind transported troops and supplies, surviving to live another three decades. His diaries, including his experiences during the Battle of Shiloh, are kept at the Peoria Public Library.

-- Col. William Augustus Thrush

The namesake of Thrush Street became colonel of the 47th after Bryner resigned. He died on the second day of the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. His funeral on Oct. 19, 1862, was the largest military funeral ever held in Peoria. The procession to Springdale stretched for a mile and was lined with thousands of spectators.