A Soldier of Company I, 2nd Illinois Volunteer Cavalry

Anthony Coyle

a

Soldier

Company I, 2^nd Illinois Volunteer Cavalry

By Glen Petersen, Social Studies Teacher, Fisher Jr./Sr. High School

Anthony Coyle Before the War:

Before Anthony Coyle answered the call to war, he had already experienced several hardships. His wife, twenty-six year old Georgena, died on July 29, 1861. We can assume that this tragedy must have affected his decision to enlist because he did so less than two weeks later. On September of that same year, tragedy struck again when his six-month-old son died. I assume that his wife may have died from complications of childbirth after her child was born. Having no other surviving close family members, may have affected this mans attitude or disregard for personal safety as you will learn about in his military experiences.

Anthony Coyle was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 5, 1840. He moved to Champaign County in 1854 where he worked on a farm. Anthony was five feet-nine inches tall with black hair and blue eyes. His occupation as a farmer must have made him dark complected due to the many hours of hard labor in the field.

As a farmer, one of his most valued possessions would have been his farm animals. These were used to pull heavy plows and wagons. Anthony brought one of these, his soon-to-be warhorse, Crusher, with him to the war.

Anthony Coyle's Military Experiences:

Anthony Coyle, at the age of twenty-one, enlisted as a Private on August, 1861 into Company I of the 2^nd Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. Coyle served in the military for a total of three years until he was discharged due to an injury he sustained during duty.

Anthony Coyle must have been the "Clint Eastwood" of the Civil War because of his incredible determination and toughness. Certainly, Private Coyle was either not a coward or was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time because saw a great deal of action while serving with the 2^nd CAV. During these three years of service, Private Coyle was wounded in battle no less than five times. At the battle of Vicksburg Mississippi, he was shot through the body, a wound that often would prove to be fatal even today, and left for dead on the battlefield for two days. Due to this man’s strong will or the Grace of God, Private Coyle survived but was discharged as a result of his wounds.

How I Think the Civil War Affected Anthony Coyle:

In the age of limited medicine, Anthony probably suffered from his wounds sustained during the war. Perhaps the horrors of the battlefield, his close proximity to death, and the loss of his family all changed this man but did not defeat him.

After he was discharged, Anthony Coyle returned to being a farmer in the Penfield area and served as township supervisor of Kerr Township.

To my knowledge, Anthony Coyle never remarried or had any other children.

My Conclusions on Anthony Coyle's Involvement in the Civil War:

Private Coyle fought in one of the most important battles of the Civil War. The Union victory at Vicksburg enabled the Union to control the Mississippi River, a vital transportation network, that effectively cut off support of the Confederacy from the West. The savage battles which Private Coyle played a part in certainly supported General Grant’s Infantry units to lay siege and ultimately capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg.

Private Coyles’ duties as a member of the Cavalry would likely to have been to destroy Confederate railroad lines, interfere with communication networks and deceive the enemy.

A Soldier's Life in the Cavalry:

The duties of the Cavalry were many and very demanding. Soldiers who enlisted in the Cavalry could only do so if they provided their own horse, which Private Coyle did.

The first priority of a Cavalry soldier was to take care of their mount, (horse). This activity took up most of their free time along with special training or drills on which the entire Company would train.

The Cavalry was, and is even today, the eyes and ears of the army. General Grant depended on these units to inform him of the location, movements, and activities of the enemy. Cavalry units also protected the main body or main part of the army from being surprised by the enemy. This was accomplished by sending their forces far forward to find the enemy and keep them busy. Another job of the Cavalry was to destroy the communication and transportation networks that the enemy used. This could only be accomplished by traveling deep into enemy territory often fighting savage battles with enemy forces superior in number and strength.

Tools of the Trade OR Life in the Saddle:

I ran out of time but this would be a detailed description of items used by Cavalrymen and their experiences.

Bibliography of Sources:

Behrens, Robert. From Salt Fork to Chickamauga, Champaign County Soldiers in the Civil War. Urbana Free Library, Urbana Illinois. 1988.

Special Appreciation and Thanks:

I thank my students, the eighth graders of Fisher Jr. High School for your motivation and hard work on this demanding project. The community of Fisher has benefited from your efforts to describe its citizens involvement in this epic struggle for our nations unity.

I also thank our librarians, Chris McClrean and Vickie Diorio, for their assistance in gathering materials for my students.

Special thanks to the staff of the Urbana Free Public Library Archives who put up with hundreds of questions and opened their facility to our students.

I offer my admiration and thanks to my colleagues, Mrs. Kelly Joldersma (Science) and Ms. Jennifer Patterson (Language Arts), who made this project into a well developed and comprehensively interdisciplinary study of the Civil War.