Memorial Day - 2020
9th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company A "Alton Jaeger Guards"
During the Civil War, Alton was a hotbed of activity. Alton was a growing river town near St. Louis, and directly across from the divided state of Missouri. Alton was considered a city of strategic importance, and maintained a garrison of Federal troops, later serving as guards of the prison that would be put into service in the town..
Due to the heavy military presence in the town, as well as the large numbers of Volunteers who came from Alton, by the 1865, Alton had it's own military cemetery. Today, it is a U.S. National Cemetery.
In 1868, after being told by several women from Alton who had recently traveled south that the war graves of the Confederate dead were beautifully decorated with flowers yet the war graves in the Alton Cemetery remained neglected, local Union veterans decided to do something about it, and it became the country's first, and now oldest Memorial Day Parade. The men dressed in their uniforms, and mustered in front of what is now the National Cemetery and after saying a few words, rendering a salute and firing a volley, they began laying flowers on all the graves. Once finished they marched through Upper Alton, ending at the Upper Alton Cemetery, where they again laid flowers on the graves of their fallen comrades.
Following this initial parade in 1868, the Alton Memorial Day Parade has continued every year since, in Upper Alton, Illinois. Starting in 2019, the Re-created Alton Jaeger Guards, as the original cast did, began taking part in ceremonial activities for Memorial Day.
Due to the heavy military presence in the town, as well as the large numbers of Volunteers who came from Alton, by the 1865, Alton had it's own military cemetery. Today, it is a U.S. National Cemetery.
In 1868, after being told by several women from Alton who had recently traveled south that the war graves of the Confederate dead were beautifully decorated with flowers yet the war graves in the Alton Cemetery remained neglected, local Union veterans decided to do something about it, and it became the country's first, and now oldest Memorial Day Parade. The men dressed in their uniforms, and mustered in front of what is now the National Cemetery and after saying a few words, rendering a salute and firing a volley, they began laying flowers on all the graves. Once finished they marched through Upper Alton, ending at the Upper Alton Cemetery, where they again laid flowers on the graves of their fallen comrades.
Following this initial parade in 1868, the Alton Memorial Day Parade has continued every year since, in Upper Alton, Illinois. Starting in 2019, the Re-created Alton Jaeger Guards, as the original cast did, began taking part in ceremonial activities for Memorial Day.
|
Due to the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Alton's Memorial Day Parade, the longest lasting Memorial Day parade in the country, and all public ceremonies on Memorial Day, were scheduled to be cancelled.
However, the men of the Alton Jaeger Guard, would not let this tradition die. The Alton Jaeger Fife and Drum Corps and the Alton Jaeger Guard would arrive at the National Cemetary in Alton, Illinois, with limited numbers of men, to maintain the orders of the Governor during the Pandemic. Music was played and military honors were rendered, before the Jaegers formed up, and marched the original route taken in 1868. |
For Memorial Day, 2020 members of the Re-Created Alton Jaeger Guard portrayed members of Company A. 9th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment as they would have appeared during the Shiloh Campaign in 1862.
While on the march from the Alton National Cemetery to the Upper Alton Cemetery, the Jaegers stopped at Rock Springs Park, and the commander of the Jaegers, Zach Hardin was interviewed by a news crew from Fox 2 News from St. Louis, Missouri.
Co. A of the 9th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was raised in Alton by John Kuhn, and were members of the Militia group, the Alton Jaeger Guards, of which, John Kuhn was Captain. The company was made up entirely of German and Swiss Alton and Upper Alton men.
The regiment fought at Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Corinth, Operations against Vicksburg, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Jonesborough, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Bentonville.
Regiment lost during service 5 Officers and 211 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 200 Enlisted men by disease. Total 417.
While on the march from the Alton National Cemetery to the Upper Alton Cemetery, the Jaegers stopped at Rock Springs Park, and the commander of the Jaegers, Zach Hardin was interviewed by a news crew from Fox 2 News from St. Louis, Missouri.
Co. A of the 9th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was raised in Alton by John Kuhn, and were members of the Militia group, the Alton Jaeger Guards, of which, John Kuhn was Captain. The company was made up entirely of German and Swiss Alton and Upper Alton men.
The regiment fought at Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, Corinth, Operations against Vicksburg, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Jonesborough, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Bentonville.
Regiment lost during service 5 Officers and 211 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 200 Enlisted men by disease. Total 417.
All images and video by: Inferno Imagery
