Senator Richard James Oglesby

Richard James Oglesby (July 25, 1824 – April 24, 1899) was an American military officer and Republican politician from Illinois who served three non-consecutive terms as Governor of Illinois and one term as a United States Senator from Illinois. He was born in Floydsburg, Oldham County, Kentucky, and was orphaned at a young age. In 1836 he moved to Decatur, Illinois, to live with an uncle, where he worked as a farmhand and carpenter. The town of Oglesby, Illinois, is named in his honor, as is an elementary school in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

With the outbreak of the Mexican–American War in 1846, Oglesby enlisted as a first lieutenant in Company C, 4th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He took part in the battles of Veracruz and Cerro Gordo, where his regiment nearly captured Mexican President General Antonio López de Santa Anna, instead seizing Santa Anna’s cork leg, carriage, and $20,000 in gold. Contemporary accounts suggest that he may have participated in what has been described as the first baseball game ever played outside the United States, organized by members of the 4th Illinois shortly after the Battle of Cerro Gordo, using Santa Anna’s captured wooden leg as a prop. Oglesby was mustered out of the volunteer service in May 1847.

After the war, Oglesby pursued legal studies at the Louisville Law School in 1848, but soon joined the California Gold Rush in 1849, trying his hand at gold mining. He later spent about two years traveling in Europe before returning to Illinois in 1851. He joined the newly formed Republican Party and became active in state politics. Oglesby ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1858 but was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1860. In 1859 he married Anna White, a native of Decatur; the couple had four children—Richard, Elizabeth, Robert, and Olive. Oglesby was an early and energetic advocate for Abraham Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate in 1860 and is often credited with popularizing, and possibly originating, the “Railsplitter” moniker that became central to Lincoln’s political image.

At the start of the American Civil War, Oglesby volunteered for the Union Army and was appointed colonel of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A popular commander known affectionately by his troops as “Uncle Dick,” he led a brigade in the Western Theater and took part in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. His performance earned him promotion to brigadier general, and he later commanded troops during the Siege of Corinth. Oglesby was severely wounded at the Battle of Corinth in 1862 and, while recovering, was promoted to major general that same year. After a period of convalescence, he returned to duty in 1863, but at the request of President Lincoln he resigned his commission in 1864 to run for governor of Illinois on the Republican ticket. He was present in the room at the Petersen House in Washington, D.C., when President Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.

Oglesby first served as Governor of Illinois from 1865 to 1869. His administration coincided with the early years of Reconstruction, and he used his office to advocate for improved care for the mentally ill and other disabled citizens. He signed legislation expanding the state hospital system from a single institution to three campuses, reflecting a broader commitment to public welfare and institutional reform. After leaving office in 1869, Oglesby returned to private law practice. In 1872 he entered into a political arrangement in which he agreed to run again for governor with the understanding that, after his inauguration, he would resign in favor of the lieutenant governor in exchange for election to the United States Senate.

In keeping with this plan, Oglesby was inaugurated for a second term as governor in January 1873 but served only about ten days before relinquishing the office to Lieutenant Governor John L. Beveridge. He was then elected by the Illinois legislature to the United States Senate as a Republican and served one full term from 1873 to 1879. As a Senator from Illinois during a significant period in American history marked by Reconstruction and the nation’s postwar adjustment, Oglesby participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents for six years. His Senate service from 1873 to 1879 constituted his sole term in the upper chamber, during which he contributed to national debates characteristic of the era’s political and economic transformations.

After leaving the Senate, Oglesby remained a prominent figure in Illinois politics. In 1884 he was elected governor for a third time, serving from 1885 to 1889 and becoming the first person in Illinois history to hold the governorship on three separate occasions. His final term continued his longstanding interest in institutional development and state administration. At the end of this third gubernatorial term, he sought but failed to secure reelection to the U.S. Senate. Thereafter he gradually withdrew from active political life and spent his remaining years largely in retirement.

In later life, Oglesby resided at his estate, “Oglehurst,” in Elkhart, Logan County, Illinois. He died there on April 24, 1899, and was buried in Elkhart Cemetery. His legacy in Illinois is marked not only by his multiple terms as governor and his service in the United States Senate but also by the communities and institutions that bear his name, including the city of Oglesby and a Chicago public school. A statue of Richard J. Oglesby stands in Lincoln Park in Chicago, commemorating his service as a Civil War general and political leader. His family also remained active in public affairs; his son John G. Oglesby served twice as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, extending the Oglesby presence in state government into a second generation.