The New Student's Reference Work/Oglesby, Richard James

Oglesby (ō′g’lz-bĭ), Richard James, American soldier and statesman, was born in Oldham County, Ky., July 25, 1824. Working at the carpenter's trade and studying law until he was twenty, he began practice in 1845 at Sullivan, Ill. He served as a first-lieutenant in the Mexican War, and at its close he returned to his profession at Decatur. On the outbreak of the Civil War he resigned his seat in the state senate, to which he had been elected in 1860, and plunged into the contest, leaving for the front at the head of the Eighth Illinois. He participated in the battles of Ft. Henry and Donelson, commanding a brigade in each. He was severely wounded at Corinth, but in April, 1863, he returned to duty as, a major-general in command of the sixteenth corps. He was elected governor of Illinois, and served in that capacity from 1865 to 1869. He was re-elected in 1872, but was chosen United States senator in January of 1873. He was governor again from 1885 to 1889, and died at Elkhart, Ill., April 24, 1899.