The National tribune., 1900-10-04
DEATH OF JOHN M. PALMER,

| DEATH OF JOHN NJ. PALMER.
Illinois has lost another one Of her great
sons, who, like Gen. McClernand, who pre-
ceded him to the grave but few days, was
identified with her history from almost the
very beginning of her Statehood. Maj
Gen. John McCauley Palmer, who died at
his home in Springfield, Ills, Sept. %, was
born in Scott Co., Ky, Sept. 13, 1917, but
his father, who was strong Anti-Slavery
man, soon removed to the free State of Hi
nois. Young Palmer alternated working
in a cooper-shop, peddling and teaching
school, until he was able to acquire suffi-
cient legal education to be admitted to the
bar. He entered politics about the same
time, and was elected to various county
offices, generally after stormy contest,
for he was a pugnacious man, and had
talent for making enemies MS well as
friends. He was an ardent Democrat up
until 1854, when the aggressiveness of the
Pro Slavery wing of the party disgusted
him, and finally drove him out of the par
ty and into the newly formed Republican
party, of which he was Chairman Of the
first State Convention held in Illinois.
While in the Illinois Senate he had earnest
ly favored the Free Homestead and Free
School laws. He was Delegate to the
first National Republican Convention, and
an advocate of the nomination of Justice
n TT hn nal1 1u fa
Fremont. He was Delegate-at-Large to
the Convention which nominated Abraham
Lincoln, and a Delegate to the Peace Con-
gress in Washington in 1861, when he
urged measures of compromise. These be-
ing rejected by the South, he went home
and raised the 18th Ills, of which he be-
came Colonel. He commanded division
under Gen. Pope in the campaign against
New Madrid and Island No. 10, and later
in the movement against Corinth. He was
then transferred to the Army of the Cum
berland and distinguished himself at
Stone River, for which he was promoted
to Major General. When Gen. Thomas
was promoted to the command of the
Army of the Cumberland, after Chicka
mauga, Gen. Palmer succeeded him as
Commander of the Fourteenth Corps. He
commanded this with great ability and
success on the Atlanta Campaign, until
he came into collision with Gen. Schofeld,
whom he claimed to rank by virtue of his
senior commission as Major General, while
Schofeld claimed that his assignment by
the President to command a Department
gave him senior rank. Sherman was called
upon to settle the dispute, which he did by
deciding in favor of the Regular Army Off
Ger against the political General. There
upon Palmer asked to be relieved, and was
assigned to the command of the District
of Kentucky. He resigned in 1866, and
was elected Governor of Illinois on the
Republican ticket in 1868. He was a
strong State Rights man, and this brought
him into collision with Gen. Sheridan dur
ing the Chicago fire, when he claimed that
Sheridan had no right to act, all the au-
thority being in the hands of the Governor
of Illinois. This breach took him out of
the Republican party, which he claimed
was too centralizing in its tendencies. He
did not find himself at home in the Demo
cratic party, which was then committed
to Greenbackism, while he remained an
old-fashioned HARDY Money Democrat, and
came near being the Presidential candi-
date of those Democrats who were op-
posed to imitation. In 1877 he began his
candidacy for United States Senator, for
which he was three times defeated, but
succeeded after hard fight in being elect
ed in 1890. His term expired in 1897. In
1896 he was nominated for the Presidency
by the Gold Democrats, with Gen. s. B.
Buckner, of Kentucky, for Vice President,
and they polled 133,424 votes. He had
been badly broken in health for years, and
was almost blind, hut was able to act as
honorary pall-bearer at the funeral of Gen
McClernand, and ON the day before his
death viewed campaign parade, and
seemed as well as usual.