Oglesby, Richard James

Oglesby, Richard James (ō`gəlzbē), 1824–99, Union general in the American Civil War and Illinois political leader, b. Oldham co., Ky. He moved to Decatur, Ill., where he became a lawyer. Oglesby fought in the Mexican War and went to California in the gold rush, but in 1851 he resumed his practice in Decatur. In the Civil War he rose to be a major general of volunteers. He fought under Ulysses S. Grant at Belmont and Fort Donelson and was severely wounded at Corinth (1862). Resigning his commission in 1864, he served as governor of Illinois (1865–69, 1873), U.S. Senator (1873–79), and again governor (1885–89). Oglesby, Ill., was named for him.