Old Abe

Old Abe (May 27, 1861 – March 26, 1881) was a bald eagle who was the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War. Later, his image was adopted as the eagle appearing on a globe in Case Corporation's logo and as the screaming eagle on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.

Capture and sale Old Abe was captured by Ahgamahwegezhig or "Chief Sky". He was the son of Ah-mous (translated either as "The Little Bee" or "Thunder of Bees"), who was an influential leader of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe. In spring of 1861, Chief Sky set up a hunting and fishing camp near the South Fork of the Flambeau River, within the present day Chequamegon National Forest, east of Park Falls, Wisconsin. Here, he noticed a treetop nest, with two fledgling eagles, and to capture them, cut down the tree. One eaglet died from the fall, and the other became the young Indian's pet. That summer, Chief Sky and his father canoed down the Chippewa River on a trading expedition. At Jim Falls, Wisconsin, they encountered Daniel McCann, who lived nearby in Eagle Point. The Indians sold the eagle to McCann in exchange for a bushel of corn. In August 1861, John C. Perkins, assisted by Seth Pierce, Frank McGuire, Thomas G. Butler and Victor Wolf, recruited a company of volunteers from Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties. This company was called the "Eau Claire Badgers". Soon after its formation, McCann offered to sell the eagle to the Badgers, for $2.50. In his "History of Old Abe", published in 1865, Joseph O. Barrett, who helped McCann bring the eagle to Eau Claire, gave a description of the transaction, which can be paraphrased as:

"Will you buy my eagle," said McCann, "only two dollars and a half?" "Here, boys, let's put in twenty five cents apiece," answered Frank McGuire, who began to collect quarters.

He also solicited a contribution from a civilian, S. M. Jeffers, but was rebuffed. When the soldiers heard of this, they accosted Jeffers, and gave him three lusty groans. When he understood that they were protesting against his reluctance to help buy the eagle, Jeffers laughed, paid for the bird with a Quarter Eagle and presented him to the Company. After that, he had cheers instead of groans. The quarters were returned to the donors. Captain Perkins named the eagle after President Abraham Lincoln, his quartermaster, Francis L. Billings, made a special perch on which to carry the bird into battle, and a young soldier, James McGinnis, volunteered to take care of him.

Civil War On September 3, 1861, the Badgers embarked, aboard the steamer "Stella Whipple", on a trip down the Chippewa to the Mississippi and up the Wisconsin River to Madison, Wisconsin. They arrived on the 6th and were immediately mustered into service as Company C of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. They became the regimental color company and were given the name "Eagle Company". The regiment also became the "Eagle Regiment". After a few weeks of training at Camp Randall, it began to play an important role in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Island Number Ten On October, 12, the regiment left for St. Louis, Missouri, where the eagle got loose and flew out of sight. Fortunately, a policeman soon returned him. On the following day, the regiment left by rail to Fredericktown, Missouri, and on October 20, 1861, took part in the battle of Fredericktown. Subsequently, they were assigned guard duty until March 4, 1862, when they relocated to Point Pleasant, near New Madrid, Missouri, where they became part of General John Pope's Army of the Mississippi. From this base, during March and April, they participated in the Battle of Island Number Ten, which ended with a major victory that opened the Mississippi to Union forces down to Fort Pillow, just above Memphis. Thousands of Confederate prisoners were taken, along with valuable supplies.

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