Richard James Oglesby

Born on July 25, 1824 in Floydsburg, Oldham Co., he was one of eight children born to Col. Jacob and Isabella Watson Oglesby, who, with two of his siblings, died in the 1833 cholera epidemic. Oglesby was raised by an uncle and moved to Decatur, Ill. in 1836. He fought in the Mexican War & Civil War, was married twice, & had eight children.

<h5>Reverse</h5>A close friend and supporter of Abraham Lincoln, he is credited with introducing the “rail-splitter” image into Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign and was at Lincoln’s bedside when he died. Oglesby was a brigadier general in the Civil War and a three-time governor of Illinois. He died in Elkhart, Ill. on April 24, 1899.

Dedicated September 12, 2015.