| The Illinois State Memorial is located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8,
tour stop #2. It was dedicated on October 26, 1906
and was transferred to the United States by Governor C.S. Deneen and accepted by J. S.
Schofield of the United States War Department. It was erected by the firm of Culver
Construction Company with William B. Mundie contracting the designers and sculptors. The
design was by W. L. B. Jenney and sculptor was Charles J. Mulligan. Stone Mountain
(GA.) granite forms the base and stairway. Above the base is Georgia white marble. There
are forty-seven steps in the long stairway, one for each day of the Siege of Vicksburg.
The Illinois Memorial is modeled after the Roman Pantheon. Sixty unique bronze tablets
line the interior walls and name all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the
Vicksburg Campaign. The monument stands sixty two feet in height. It originally cost
$194,423.92 and was paid by the state of Illinois.
Close-up of the Illinois State Memorial
(5 photos, 158k) |
 
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