AJR58: Joint Resolution Text

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2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

2011 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 58

September 26, 2011 - Introduced by Representatives Kestell and Berceau, cosponsored by Senators Schultz and Risser. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR58,1,1 Relating to: commemorating the 150th birthday of Old Abe.

AJR58,1,5 Whereas, "Old Abe," America's most famous bird, was born or hatched in 1861. Chief Sky of the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa captured the orphaned eaglet at the headwaters of the Flambeau where the counties of Ashland, Price, and Iron are joined; and

AJR58,1,8 Whereas, the eagle was traded for a bushel of corn to Dan and Margaret McCann who lived in the Chippewa Valley near Jim Falls, and who kept the bird as a family pet; and

AJR58,1,11 Whereas, months later, President Lincoln called upon the governors of northern states to raise troops for the Civil War. Mr. McCann, a disabled man, offered his eagle as a mascot to the recently mobilized Eau Claire Company; and

AJR58,1,14 Whereas, Captain Perkins named the young eagle "Old Abe" and had a perch made on a five-foot pole to be carried into war by the first of a total of six appointed soldiers known as the "eagle-bearers"; and

AJR58,2,3 Whereas, on October 12, 1861, the men became Company C of the 8th Regiment of the Wisconsin Voluntary Infantry and, led by their mascot, Old Abe, travelled south to participate in the Civil War; and

AJR58,2,8 Whereas, riding on his perch alongside the flags at the head of the regiment, the eagle was a veteran of thirty-seven battles and skirmishes including the Battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and participated in the campaign which opened the entire Mississippi River and assured federal domination of the nation's watery highways; and

AJR58,2,15 Whereas, in September 1864, the all-volunteer "Eagle Regiment" was mustered out and voted unanimously to present Old Abe to the state of Wisconsin "as an honored and inspiring memento of the 8th Regiment." Governor Lewis assured that Old Abe would be "well-cared for at the Capitol, where it would remain to invoke inspiring memories of the brave boys who carried it with such honor to themselves and the State," and Old Abe moved into a two-room apartment in the Capitol's basement; and

AJR58,2,22 Whereas, after the war, Old Abe was in great demand by the public. He traveled extensively in the country as Ambassador for the Grand Army of the Republic, participating in parades and political rallies. The eagle was received with great honor at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. His attendance and photos helped raise thousands of dollars for soldier hospitals. He travelled to Boston on more than one occasion to help raise funds for the preservation of historic buildings in New England; and

AJR58,3,2 Whereas, tragically, in 1881, Old Abe succumbed to the fumes of a small fire in the Capitol's basement. Interest in the eagle continued to grow and his remains were on public display until they were lost in 1904 in the fire that destroyed the Capitol; and

AJR58,3,6 Whereas, in 1915, the newly-constructed assembly chambers in the Wisconsin State Capitol were opened, and the members of the state assembly received a replica of Old Abe and had it mounted above the Speaker's Chair, where Old Abe continues to preside today; and

AJR58,3,11 Whereas, replicas of Old Abe were also given to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the Smithsonian Museum, and statues of Old Abe were erected in Camp Randall, Eau Claire, Racine, Jim Falls, and Park Falls. A great granite effigy of Old Abe was placed atop of the Wisconsin State Memorial Monument in the National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi; and

AJR58,3,13 Whereas, Old Abe's likeness still appears on the uniform of America's famous 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles"; now, therefore, be it

AJR58,3,16 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin legislature commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Old Abe and honors his courageous service to the nation.

AJR58,3,17 (End)