Edward S. Salomon came to America in 1855 at the age of 17. Though his politics were more in line with Douglas, Salomon was one of the first Chicagoans to enlist for service in the civil war. In the Union Army he rose from lieutenant to brigadier general.
Edward S. Salomon was born in Schlesswig-Holstein on December 25, 1836. After arriving in America, he studied law. He was elected a Chicago alderman of Chicago's sixth ward in 1861. Salomon answered Lincoln's call for volunteers by enlisting as a second lieutenant in Colonel Frederick Hecker's 24th Illinois. Disagreements arose between Hecker and some of his officers, after which Hecker and his supporters resigned, including Salomon. In August 1862, Hecker formed a new regiment, the 82nd Illinois. Salomon, then a major, became lieutenant colonel.
It is at Gettysburg that Salomon first distinguished himself as a war hero. During the battle he fought with great courage, having had two horses shot out from under him. Carl Schurz had this description of him:
He was the only soldier at Gettysburg who did not dodge when Lee's guns thundered; he stood up, smoked his cigar and faced the cannon balls with the sang froid of a Saladin...
By the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign, Hecker had resigned and Colonel Salomon was in charge. Salomon led the regiment during the regiment during the campaign and thorough the capture of Atlanta. Assigned to deliver messages to Nashville, he missed the famous march to the sea. In December 1864, he rejoined the regiment and finished out the war with them.
In 1869 President Grant appointed Salomon governor of Washington Territory. Although a good governor, he vetoed legislation unfair to Washington taxpayers, Salomon got caught up in the scandals of the Grant era. He resigned in 1872. The Pacific Tribune on his resignation, lauded his honesty and integrity. He moved to San Francisco where he died in 1913 at the age of 76.
When the recruitung office was opened in Chicago on April 18, 1861, the second man to offer his name was Joseph B. Greenhut. Greenhut was Jewish, an immigrant from Austria. He was assigned to the 12th Infantry. Greenhut participated in all the campaigns under Grant in Kentucky and Tennessee until he was severly wounded in the right arm at Fort Donelson in February of 1862.
He returned to action again, and joined the 82nd Illinois as Captain of Company K in October of 1862. At Gettysburg he distinguished himself in battle. In several buildings, at the south edge of town, the confederates had placed sharpshooters. These sharpshooters were picking off gunners and officers. On July 2nd, Greenhut led a detail that stormed the houses. Under heavy fire, he drove out the sharpshooters and held the houses for the remainder of the day.
After the war, Captain Greenhut was appointed by the Governer of Illinois to head the commission named to erect a monument in honor of the soldiers of Illinois. This monument was dedicated on September 3, 1891. Captain Greenhut gave a dedicatory speech.
Author: Benjamin M. Eisenstein