A Black Swamp hero lives across America

One of the things I enjoy most about Northwest Ohio is exploring the rich history of the region. Sometimes obvious, sometimes forgotten, it offers a cast of vivid characters and stories of the past. Take the Civil War for example; while no blood was shed in Northwest Ohio, the area was indeed a key player in the conflict.
From the Confederate prison at Johnson’s Island to the many Underground Railroad depots that helped fugitive slaves find freedom. Our bragging rights also include the very first Medal of Honor recipients awarded to soldiers from the Black Swamp. And this state provided the greatest number of enlistees, per capita, for the Union cause.
More than 300,000 Ohioans wore the Union blue and we were home to the top ranked generals for the Union, including Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Hayes, McKinley, Custer and McClellan. And one particular officer from Sandusky County, whose story and legacy are still honored throughout America.
General James Birdseye McPherson of Clyde was the highest-ranking Union officer to die in battle during the Civil War. Regarded as a brave, skillful and handsome young officer, he grew up in Clyde and Green Springs. In 1853, he graduated at the top of his class at West Point. He was a career officer with great promise and well-liked by those who knew him. But his hopeful future would end on a hot July day in 1864. During the Battle of Atlanta, a rebel bullet tore through his heart while he was escaping rebel skirmishers. His death brought tears and shock to those he had touched. As commander of the Army of the Tennessee, his influence had been powerful and many of his troops cried upon hearing the news. Even some Confederate officers who attended West Point with McPherson were saddened at his fate. General U.S. Grant was especially fond of him and is said to have wept upon hearing the news, as did General William T. Sherman.
McPherson’s body was recovered days later from the battlefield and sent home to his native Clyde. The funeral was the largest in the town’s history. Special trains were run from Toledo and points east to bring hundreds of mourners to his gravesite. One, however, who did not appear at his grave that day was his fiancée, Emily Hoffman, of Baltimore. Upon hearing the news of his death, she went into a bitter isolation and didn’t come out for a year. She never married and died a recluse in 1891.
General McPherson now rests in Clyde at McPherson Cemetery which was dedicated with his name in 1881 in a ceremony that also drew thousands from across the nation. And while the young Major General’s memory is cherished in his hometown, this son of Northwest Ohio is remembered throughout a grateful nation.
On a recent trip to the West, while traveling through Kansas, I made a stop in the small city of McPherson. And yes, this rural city and county, in the center of Kansas, more than 750 miles from Clyde, Ohio was indeed named for Clyde's famous native son. It bears not only his name, but the park adjacent to the Courthouse features a prominent statue of McPherson astride his horse, placed on a pedestal of granite surrounded by flowers. At the front of the pedestal is a bronze plaque honoring dozens of other union soldiers who would eventually call McPherson their home.
As to why the Kansas townspeople selected McPherson to honor as their namesake is a not really certain. It’s believed by local historians, including Gene Smith, the curator of the McPherson Museum in Clyde, that there were many Kansas soldiers under McPherson’s command during the war. Upon returning home, they brought back with them his cherished memory and his name to grace their community. While no one knows for certain, the city holds McPherson in high esteem. Obvious to this writer that his gallant leadership defines the deeply held Kansas traditions of patriotism and American ideals.
Kansas and Ohio, however, hold no monopoly on McPherson’s name. McPherson counties are found in Nebraska and South Dakota. A township in Minnesota, and an elementary school in Chicago. At the popular McPherson Square in Washington D.C., he is enshrined in granite on horseback. Even in the city of Atlanta, on the spot where McPherson fell mortally wounded from his horse, there is a memorial. That once wooded battlefield is now an urban East Atlanta neighborhood, where visitors can find an old and sometimes unkempt fenced memorial site where an inverted Civil War era cannon barrel aims skyward. A nearby sign tells of General McPherson's last ride on this spot. It’s an unlikely tribute for a Yankee General to be found in an area once openly hostile to the Union cause. I like to think his story of courage and character transcends the rivalry of North and South. That his story of sacrifice speaks to the greater American character we all embrace. A character forged in the Great Black Swamp.

If you want to know more, about this dynamic and courageous man from our backyard, take a trip down Route 20 (McPherson Highway) 4 miles past Fremont to the town of Clyde. You can’t miss the towering statue in the cemetery, at McPherson and Maple streets. Right across from the Cemetery is his boyhood home. The Clyde Museum is at 124 W. Buckeye Street. Also check Clydemuseum.org for hours and information.