Logan, John Alexander (1826-1886), gained fame as a Union general and political leader. After the Civil War, he helped organize the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization. Logan is also credited with naming May 30, 1868, as the first Memorial Day.
In 1862, Logan became brigadier general of volunteers and fought in all the Western campaigns under General Ulysses S. Grant. He later distinguished himself at the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., and served with General William T. Sherman on the march through Georgia. Logan became a major general of volunteers and a corps commander. His soldiers called him Black Jack because of his dark complexion, eyes, and hair.
Logan represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1859 until 1861, when he resigned to recruit an Illinois regiment and become its colonel. He returned to the House in 1867. He was a U.S. senator from Illinois from 1871 to 1877 and from 1879 until his death. He ran unsuccessfully for Vice President on the Republican ticket with James G. Blaine in 1884.
Logan was born in Jackson County, Ill. He studied law at the University of Louisville and was admitted to the bar. He was a volunteer in the Mexican War, then served in the 1853 and 1857 sessions of the Illinois legislature.
