tion of the fort on the 14th of the same month was the real beginning of the war between the states.

On the next day, April 15, 1861, Mr. Lincoln issued a call for troops to subdue "combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, and to cause the laws to be duly executed." Governor Yates immediately called a special session of the State Legislature to enact laws for the more perfect equipment of the militia. At the breaking out of the war between the states, 1861, the standing army of the United States consisted of only about 16,000 men, and during that war Illinois alone furnished more than two hundred and fifty thousand men.

Her people rushed to the defense of the country and regiment after regiment was organized, equipped and drilled and mustered into the service of the United States. The numbering of the regiments began with number seven as a compliment to the six regiments of Illinois troops who had served in the Mexican war. The first two Illinois regiments to enter the service were the Seventh Illinois, commanded by Colonel John Cook, and the Eighth, commanded by Colonel Richard J. Oglesby. The Fourteenth was commanded by John M. Palmer, and the Twenty-first by General U. S. Grant. The State furnished 149 regiments of infantry, seventeen regiments of cavalry, two artillery regiments, and nine independent batteries. The service of the State and of Governor Yates can not be estimated. The names of Illinoisans appear wherever deeds of valor are recorded.

It is now fifty years since these stirring days and the Illinois State Historical Society proposes on April 14, 1911, to observe at Springfield, the fiftieth anniversary of the fall of Fort Sumter, in a manner in keeping with the historical importance and solemnity of the event commemorated. This date will also be the forty-sixth anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A curious circumstance is the fact that this anniversary

will fall upon Good Friday as did the fourteenth of April on the day of Mr. Lincoln's assassination.

WILL BE STATE-WIDE EVENT.

The Society expects to make the observance of this historic date a state-wide event and it hopes to have the aid and encouragement of the patriotic societies of the State, such as the G. A. R., Woman's Relief Corps, Ladies of the G. A. R., Sons of Veterans, and Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution and all others of like nature, as well as the citizens of the State generally.

An afternoon meeting will be held, at which time the addresses will be made by prominent speakers showing the part taken by the State of Illinois in the great four years' struggle, 1861 to 1865.

No one can picture to himself the stupendous effect of the civil war in America upon world history. Leaving out of reckoning what the effect of dissolution of the federal union would have meant to America; the states which might have set up petty governments for themselves, something after the manner of the South American countries of today; leaving also out of account the freeing of the negro race, and looking at the civil war from an economic standpoint, its results and its outgrowth have made of our country a new country, and out of our people a new race of prosperous, united Americans. The range of speculation, though boundless, is a useless one, for we have secured and enjoy the fruits of this sacrifice; nevertheless, it is the duty of historical and patriotic associations to commemorate these great historical anniversaries and to show to the world and teach our children by the light of recorded history what the great war between the states meant to the country and the world, what it cost our country and its participants and what it accomplished for the whole country, and what it makes possible for us and for future generations.

The members of the Historical Society, other patriotic societies and the public generally are urged to attend these meetings and to aid in the celebration. Letters and inquiries should be addressed to the secretary of the Society.

MUCH INTEREST SHOWN.

Great interest is being expressed in the celebration. The secretary of the Society has received letters from old soldiers and other distinguished persons from Maine to California.

Citizens of Springfield are urged to invite their friends to visit them at the time and with them attend the services. The following letters speak for themselves:

LETTER FROM SENATOR CULLOM.

MRS. JESSIE PALMER WEBER,

WASHINGTON, March 28.

Secretary Historical Society, Springfield, Ill.: MY DEAR MRS. WEBER: I have just received a communication from you announcing that there will be a meeting held at which addresses will be made on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the civil war-April 14, 1861.

I should be delighted to be present on those occasions. I know General Smith D. Adkins will make a delightful speech. Eugene Baldwin of Peoria will also make a good speech, and my friend Hon. Bluford Wilson will also make a fine address. I would be very glad to hear each of them, but will not be able to be present at the occasion, as Congress re-convenes on next Tuesday and will probably be in session for months, which I regret very much, but I think it is probably inevitable.

Thanking you for writing me and telling me about the proposed meetings and addresses, I am as ever, very sincerely yours,

S. M. CULLOM.

LETTER FROM MAJOR CONNELLY.

MRS. JESSIE PALMER WEBER,

PASADENA, CAL., March 28.

Secretary Illinois Historical Society, Springfield, Ill.: MY DEAR MADAM: I have received yours of the 23d inst., in which you inform me that on April 14, 1911, the society will hold a special meeting to commemorate the semi-centennial anniversary of the breaking out of the war of the rebellion.

This is a most worthy movement on the part of your organization. Every old soldier in Illinois, as well as elsewhere, when they hear of your efforts to do honor to the living, as well as the dead, who participated in the war, will rise and call you blessed.

I can not be with you in person on the day mentioned, but will be with you in spirit in commemorating this blessed historical event. Very respectfully.

H. C. CONNELLY,

Late Major Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry.

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, EVANSTON AND CHICAGO, MAY 17-18, 1911.

Contrary to the usual custom of the Illinois State Historical Society, its annual meeting will be held in Chicago and Evanston on Wednesday and Thursday, May 17-18, 1911, in conjunction with the meetings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the Evanston Historical Society, and the North Central History Teachers' Association. The Chicago Historical Society will be the host of the State Society on the morning of Thursday, May 18th.

The program for the Illinois State Historical Society's part in the joint meeting will be on Wednesday afternoon, May 17th, at which time the meeting will be held in the chapel of the Northwestern University. A paper on the Growth of Our State Constitutions will be presented by Prof. C. B. Coleman, of Butler College, Indianapolis; a paper on Thomas Sloo, a typical early Illinois politician, by Prof. I. J. Cox, of the University of Cincinnati; and a paper will be presented on the Ford ham and LaSerre Families in the English Settlement in Edwards County, Illinois, by Walter Colyer, of Albion, Ill. The business meeting of the Society will be held in the rooms of the Chicago Historical Society on Thursday morning, May 18th, at which time, in addition to the annual reports of the officers and committees of the Society, the election of officers and other business, a memorial paper will be read on the life and services of the late William H. Collins, of Quincy, Ill. It is hoped that Rev. James Robert