According to the Illinois Civil War records, in August 1862 there were fourteen men from the Village of Harlem, Cook County (part of present day Forest Park) who joined the Union forces during the War.
Over the past month, Forest Park Cub Scouts from Pack 109 researched the “Rail Road Regiment” organized by the Galena-Chicago Union Rail line, a chief employer in Harlem. Locally, four young rail road workers of Harlem joined the Illinois 89th Infantry, Company K in 1862.
Then the pack joined up with thousands of other scouts to participate in the U.S. Grant Pilgrimage this past weekend in Galena, Illinois. Forest Park Scouts from first to fifth grade participated in the five-mile History Scavenger Hunt in downtown Galena, participated in the Parade Banner competition highlighting Forest Park’s history, and camped in Apple River Canyon. Scouts learned local and national history and participated in our Pack’s first camping trip.
The scouts got to see living history as re-enactors portrayed General Ulysses S. Grant, his wife, Juia Boggs Dent Grant and Abraham Lincoln .
The Forest Park Scouts made a banner celebrating our history including a recreation of the 89th Infantry flag and the names of the men from Harlem, Charles E. Roe, Michael Connor, Christian Snider and Orson Wadsworth. These men fought at Stone River, Liberty Gap, Mission Ridge, and Chickamauga and were among the heroes of the war.
Jill Wagner
Troop Leader, Pack 109
