FLORIDA AUTHOR TO SIGN BOOK ABOUT `BLACK JACK' LOGAN

The Union army counted many politician soldiers among its ranks during the Civil War. None was any better than Southern Illinois' John A. Logan, says historian James Pickett Jones.

Jones will sign copies of his reissued book, "`Black Jack': John A. Logan and Southern Illinois in the Civil War Era," beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hastings in the Town Plaza Shopping Center.

First published in 1967, the book examines the role of the citizen soldier during the war and covers Logan's involvement in military campaigns as well as the political and social atmosphere in Southern Illinois during the fighting.

Jones is a professor of history at Florida State University.

Logan, who has a community college in Carterville, Ill., named for him, was nicknamed "Black Jack" by the men who fought under him during the Civil War, a tribute to his fiery spirit.

"He had a lot of charisma and was a dynamic public speaker," Jones said. "People clearly followed him for that, and he never had a hidden agenda."

Logan, a Democrat, was serving his second term as a congressman from Southern Illinois when the war broke out. He at first opposed "Mr. Lincoln's War," then changed his stance and raised a regiment to fight against the Confederacy.

Jones credits Logan with a pivotal role in moving the area known as Egypt over to Lincoln and the Republicans' side. "He prevented more people in Southern Illinois from supporting the Confederacy," Jones said, pointing out that many residents had come to Southern Illinois from slave states.

Starting out as regimental colonel, Logan fought in a number of battles in the Western theater, and was an important figure at Vicksburg and served under Sherman in the Atlanta campaign.

He quickly became a brigadier general and was a major general by the end of the war.

Jones' book ends in 1867, when Logan was re-elected to Congress. A second volume details Logan's later service in the U.S. Senate and as the vice presidential candidate on a losing ticket in 1884. Logan died three years later.

Jones' 341-page book was favorably reviewed when initially published. The book sells for $29.95 cloth and $12.95 paper.

Southern Illinois University Press is publishing the reissued book as one of the first volumes in it's new series called Shawnee Classics, which consists of classic regional reprints for the Midwest.