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The General Lyon Tragedy
Cara E. Friedline The 56th Illinois Volunteer Infantry suffered one of the worst tragedies of the Civil War. In March 1865, as the Civil War was ending and members of the 56th were ready to go home to Illinois, more than two hundred members of the 56th were killed as they were preparing to return home. The 56th Illinois was mustered into service on November 7, 1861. The unit, like many volunteer units, went to training camps. After training in late winter 1862, the 56th was stationed in Kentucky. In spring 1863 the division went on an expedition through the Yazoo Pass in Mississippi. The expedition aimed at reaching Vicksburg by the Yazoo River. The regiment was engaged in the assault on Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. After Vicksburg, the 56th was on its way to reinforce General Steel in his movement to capture Little Rock, Arkansas. The 56th Illinois also helped protect General Sherman's lines of communication during his great Atlanta campaign. The Atlanta campaign proved victorious and the 56th went on with Sherman in his famous March to the Sea, where the 56th Illinois constituted the rear guard of the right wing of Sherman's troops. General Sherman went to work on a winter campaign through the Carolinas. This campaign, which included the 56th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was to end up in Pocotaigo, South Carolina. The 56th arrived safely with the rest of the brigade in South Carolina. From there the unit took part in one of the most momentous movements of the war, the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina. The time of service of the nonveterans of the regiment expired in February. These soldiers were ordered home to be mustered out of the service. Twelve officers and 193 enlisted men of the 56th Illinois Volunteer Infantry boarded the steamship General Lyon. It was this fateful trip that ended many of their lives. The army chartered the General Lyon to take soldiers from North Carolina to Norfolk, Virginia. The General Lyon was built in the spring of 1863 and was estimated to be worth $140,000. The ship was approximately sixty miles off the shore of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on March 31, 1865, when a severe thunderstorm hit. The General Lyon was carrying unauthorized coal oil and explosives in the boiler room of the ship. The rough seas caused a barrel of coal oil to overturn near the boilers of the General Lyon. Flames burst out of the boiler room and, pushed by the harsh wind, spread across the ship. The men of the 56th Infantry tried to subdue the flames and restore order. Two lifeboats containing a total of thirty-seven people were lowered. Of the thirty-seven, only seven survived. Three of the survivors were of the 56th Illinois. More than two hundred of the 56th Illinois Volunteer Infantry perished. After the horrible incident of the General Lyon, Sherman's army marched to Washington to take part in a great military review. The remaining members of the 56th took part in this event. The 56th Illinois remained in the service for a few months and participated in battles in Kentucky and Arkansas. They were finally mustered out of service on August 12, 1865.
The Adjutant General's report of 1861-1866 noted: "It was the good fortune of this Regiment to participate in nearly all the great campaigns of the Western Army. It never turned its back upon the enemy; it never was driven from a position, and was never engaged in an unsuccessful battle." It is ironic and tragic that the only unsuccessful encounter the 56th encountered was on the way home, after the fighting was over.—[From Samuel M. Blackwell, Jr., "The General Lyon Tragedy," Illinois Magazine, 1984; Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois Vol. 4,1861-1866; George W. Smith, The History of Illinois and Her People.]
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