Confirmed documentation of this grave site is in bold type, within the text below:
Captain Alexander Bielaski, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, was born in the province of Minsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on August 1, 1811.
Of the incident at Belmont, Missouri, Colonel John A. Logan of the Thirty-First Illinois Infantry reports:
"I saw Captain Bielaski take the American flag and start with it, supported by Company A, Captain Bree's Company, and two companies of the Seventh Iowa, who had gone through in advance of my regiment all the way in a skirmish fight. Captain Bielaski was then killed while planting the flag of our Union in their encampment. A braver man never fell on a field of battle."4
The following dispatch was sent to a Polish newspaper agency.
"He led a detachment against an enemy's battery and fell mutilated by cannon bullets so that it was difficult to find and identify his body."5
General McClernand made efforts to regain Bielaski's body, which had been buried in a common grave with other dead. It was disinterred about 1864 and taken to the National Cemetery at Mound City, a few miles south of Cairo, Illinois, where it now lies in a grave marked "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont."
Source: Excerpt from Lincoln's Friend: Captain A. Bielaski, by Joseph A. Wytrwal, published in Polish American Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3/4 (Jul.-Dec., 1957), pp 65-67, published by University of Illinois Press, available on JSTOR, at www.jstor.org, transcribed by HJ, December 12, 2013
~~~~~
The superior quality of the Polish immigrants previous to 1870 was such as to give them a prominence out of proportion to their numbers and the record of the Poles in the Civil war was really a brilliant one, although there were not more than a few hundred of them in the various divisions of the Union army.
One who signally [sic] distinguished himself was Captain Alexander Bielaski. The widow of this gallant officer received the following dispatch from General McClernand on Friday evening.
"Cairo, November the 8th, 1861.
Mrs. Bielaski: Your husband fell in the action at Belmont yesterday, bearing the flag of his adopted and beloved country in his hand, and crying to his comrades, 'Follow me.' While I deeply sympathize with you in your irreparable bereavement, it is consolation to know that he died a hero, covered with glory. I have sent for his body.
J. A. McClernand,
Brig. General."
Captain Bielaski was a member of General McClernands's staff, a Pole by birth, originally a soldier by profession, and one of the gallant army of Polish patriots, who, until overpowered, resisted the Russian despotism in its encroachments upon the liberties of his country. He was a gallant soldier, in many a hard fought field, abd bore upon his body numerous scars obtained in conflict with the enemies of Poland. When all was lost he sought refuge in our then happy county. He came to this state [Illinois], in 1837 and was engaged as a civil engineer by the state, in the prosecution of her internal improvement system. He resided here several years and in 1844, he was appointed principal draughtsman in the patent office which position he held until the spring of 1861, when he was assigned to General McClernand as an aid-de-camp.
Alas, he fell, in the first conflict with the enemy in which he was called to participate. He fell like a true soldier, in the front of the fight, gallantly cheering on his patriotic comrades. Captain Bielaski was a most estimable and genial gentleman, an accomplished scholar and as brave a man as ever breasted foe. His loss will be severely felt in the command with which he was associated. He leaves a wife and seven children who are temporarily residing here. His body will be taken to Washington for burial.
Source: Polish Exiles In Illinois, by Mrs. Isaac D. Rawlings, Publication Number Thirty-four of the Illinois State Historical Library, Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1927, Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society, Springfield, Illinois, May 12 and 13, 1927, Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois Printing Co., Danville, Ill., pp 97-98, transcribed by HJ.
Captain Alexander Bielaski, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, was born in the province of Minsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on August 1, 1811.
Of the incident at Belmont, Missouri, Colonel John A. Logan of the Thirty-First Illinois Infantry reports:
"I saw Captain Bielaski take the American flag and start with it, supported by Company A, Captain Bree's Company, and two companies of the Seventh Iowa, who had gone through in advance of my regiment all the way in a skirmish fight. Captain Bielaski was then killed while planting the flag of our Union in their encampment. A braver man never fell on a field of battle."4
The following dispatch was sent to a Polish newspaper agency.
"He led a detachment against an enemy's battery and fell mutilated by cannon bullets so that it was difficult to find and identify his body."5
General McClernand made efforts to regain Bielaski's body, which had been buried in a common grave with other dead. It was disinterred about 1864 and taken to the National Cemetery at Mound City, a few miles south of Cairo, Illinois, where it now lies in a grave marked "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont."
Source: Excerpt from Lincoln's Friend: Captain A. Bielaski, by Joseph A. Wytrwal, published in Polish American Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3/4 (Jul.-Dec., 1957), pp 65-67, published by University of Illinois Press, available on JSTOR, at www.jstor.org, transcribed by HJ, December 12, 2013
~~~~~
The superior quality of the Polish immigrants previous to 1870 was such as to give them a prominence out of proportion to their numbers and the record of the Poles in the Civil war was really a brilliant one, although there were not more than a few hundred of them in the various divisions of the Union army.
One who signally [sic] distinguished himself was Captain Alexander Bielaski. The widow of this gallant officer received the following dispatch from General McClernand on Friday evening.
"Cairo, November the 8th, 1861.
Mrs. Bielaski: Your husband fell in the action at Belmont yesterday, bearing the flag of his adopted and beloved country in his hand, and crying to his comrades, 'Follow me.' While I deeply sympathize with you in your irreparable bereavement, it is consolation to know that he died a hero, covered with glory. I have sent for his body.
J. A. McClernand,
Brig. General."
Captain Bielaski was a member of General McClernands's staff, a Pole by birth, originally a soldier by profession, and one of the gallant army of Polish patriots, who, until overpowered, resisted the Russian despotism in its encroachments upon the liberties of his country. He was a gallant soldier, in many a hard fought field, abd bore upon his body numerous scars obtained in conflict with the enemies of Poland. When all was lost he sought refuge in our then happy county. He came to this state [Illinois], in 1837 and was engaged as a civil engineer by the state, in the prosecution of her internal improvement system. He resided here several years and in 1844, he was appointed principal draughtsman in the patent office which position he held until the spring of 1861, when he was assigned to General McClernand as an aid-de-camp.
Alas, he fell, in the first conflict with the enemy in which he was called to participate. He fell like a true soldier, in the front of the fight, gallantly cheering on his patriotic comrades. Captain Bielaski was a most estimable and genial gentleman, an accomplished scholar and as brave a man as ever breasted foe. His loss will be severely felt in the command with which he was associated. He leaves a wife and seven children who are temporarily residing here. His body will be taken to Washington for burial.
Source: Polish Exiles In Illinois, by Mrs. Isaac D. Rawlings, Publication Number Thirty-four of the Illinois State Historical Library, Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1927, Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society, Springfield, Illinois, May 12 and 13, 1927, Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois Printing Co., Danville, Ill., pp 97-98, transcribed by HJ.
Confirmed documentation of this grave site is in bold type, within the text below:
Captain Alexander Bielaski, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, was born in the province of Minsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on August 1, 1811.
Of the incident at Belmont, Missouri, Colonel John A. Logan of the Thirty-First Illinois Infantry reports:
"I saw Captain Bielaski take the American flag and start with it, supported by Company A, Captain Bree's Company, and two companies of the Seventh Iowa, who had gone through in advance of my regiment all the way in a skirmish fight. Captain Bielaski was then killed while planting the flag of our Union in their encampment. A braver man never fell on a field of battle."4
The following dispatch was sent to a Polish newspaper agency.
"He led a detachment against an enemy's battery and fell mutilated by cannon bullets so that it was difficult to find and identify his body."5
General McClernand made efforts to regain Bielaski's body, which had been buried in a common grave with other dead. It was disinterred about 1864 and taken to the National Cemetery at Mound City, a few miles south of Cairo, Illinois, where it now lies in a grave marked "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont."
Source: Excerpt from Lincoln's Friend: Captain A. Bielaski, by Joseph A. Wytrwal, published in Polish American Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3/4 (Jul.-Dec., 1957), pp 65-67, published by University of Illinois Press, available on JSTOR, at www.jstor.org, transcribed by HJ, December 12, 2013
~~~~~
The superior quality of the Polish immigrants previous to 1870 was such as to give them a prominence out of proportion to their numbers and the record of the Poles in the Civil war was really a brilliant one, although there were not more than a few hundred of them in the various divisions of the Union army.
One who signally [sic] distinguished himself was Captain Alexander Bielaski. The widow of this gallant officer received the following dispatch from General McClernand on Friday evening.
"Cairo, November the 8th, 1861.
Mrs. Bielaski: Your husband fell in the action at Belmont yesterday, bearing the flag of his adopted and beloved country in his hand, and crying to his comrades, 'Follow me.' While I deeply sympathize with you in your irreparable bereavement, it is consolation to know that he died a hero, covered with glory. I have sent for his body.
J. A. McClernand,
Brig. General."
Captain Bielaski was a member of General McClernands's staff, a Pole by birth, originally a soldier by profession, and one of the gallant army of Polish patriots, who, until overpowered, resisted the Russian despotism in its encroachments upon the liberties of his country. He was a gallant soldier, in many a hard fought field, abd bore upon his body numerous scars obtained in conflict with the enemies of Poland. When all was lost he sought refuge in our then happy county. He came to this state [Illinois], in 1837 and was engaged as a civil engineer by the state, in the prosecution of her internal improvement system. He resided here several years and in 1844, he was appointed principal draughtsman in the patent office which position he held until the spring of 1861, when he was assigned to General McClernand as an aid-de-camp.
Alas, he fell, in the first conflict with the enemy in which he was called to participate. He fell like a true soldier, in the front of the fight, gallantly cheering on his patriotic comrades. Captain Bielaski was a most estimable and genial gentleman, an accomplished scholar and as brave a man as ever breasted foe. His loss will be severely felt in the command with which he was associated. He leaves a wife and seven children who are temporarily residing here. His body will be taken to Washington for burial.
Source: Polish Exiles In Illinois, by Mrs. Isaac D. Rawlings, Publication Number Thirty-four of the Illinois State Historical Library, Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1927, Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society, Springfield, Illinois, May 12 and 13, 1927, Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois Printing Co., Danville, Ill., pp 97-98, transcribed by HJ.
Captain Alexander Bielaski, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, was born in the province of Minsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on August 1, 1811.
Of the incident at Belmont, Missouri, Colonel John A. Logan of the Thirty-First Illinois Infantry reports:
"I saw Captain Bielaski take the American flag and start with it, supported by Company A, Captain Bree's Company, and two companies of the Seventh Iowa, who had gone through in advance of my regiment all the way in a skirmish fight. Captain Bielaski was then killed while planting the flag of our Union in their encampment. A braver man never fell on a field of battle."4
The following dispatch was sent to a Polish newspaper agency.
"He led a detachment against an enemy's battery and fell mutilated by cannon bullets so that it was difficult to find and identify his body."5
General McClernand made efforts to regain Bielaski's body, which had been buried in a common grave with other dead. It was disinterred about 1864 and taken to the National Cemetery at Mound City, a few miles south of Cairo, Illinois, where it now lies in a grave marked "Unknown Soldier, killed at the Battle of Belmont."
Source: Excerpt from Lincoln's Friend: Captain A. Bielaski, by Joseph A. Wytrwal, published in Polish American Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3/4 (Jul.-Dec., 1957), pp 65-67, published by University of Illinois Press, available on JSTOR, at www.jstor.org, transcribed by HJ, December 12, 2013
~~~~~
The superior quality of the Polish immigrants previous to 1870 was such as to give them a prominence out of proportion to their numbers and the record of the Poles in the Civil war was really a brilliant one, although there were not more than a few hundred of them in the various divisions of the Union army.
One who signally [sic] distinguished himself was Captain Alexander Bielaski. The widow of this gallant officer received the following dispatch from General McClernand on Friday evening.
"Cairo, November the 8th, 1861.
Mrs. Bielaski: Your husband fell in the action at Belmont yesterday, bearing the flag of his adopted and beloved country in his hand, and crying to his comrades, 'Follow me.' While I deeply sympathize with you in your irreparable bereavement, it is consolation to know that he died a hero, covered with glory. I have sent for his body.
J. A. McClernand,
Brig. General."
Captain Bielaski was a member of General McClernands's staff, a Pole by birth, originally a soldier by profession, and one of the gallant army of Polish patriots, who, until overpowered, resisted the Russian despotism in its encroachments upon the liberties of his country. He was a gallant soldier, in many a hard fought field, abd bore upon his body numerous scars obtained in conflict with the enemies of Poland. When all was lost he sought refuge in our then happy county. He came to this state [Illinois], in 1837 and was engaged as a civil engineer by the state, in the prosecution of her internal improvement system. He resided here several years and in 1844, he was appointed principal draughtsman in the patent office which position he held until the spring of 1861, when he was assigned to General McClernand as an aid-de-camp.
Alas, he fell, in the first conflict with the enemy in which he was called to participate. He fell like a true soldier, in the front of the fight, gallantly cheering on his patriotic comrades. Captain Bielaski was a most estimable and genial gentleman, an accomplished scholar and as brave a man as ever breasted foe. His loss will be severely felt in the command with which he was associated. He leaves a wife and seven children who are temporarily residing here. His body will be taken to Washington for burial.
Source: Polish Exiles In Illinois, by Mrs. Isaac D. Rawlings, Publication Number Thirty-four of the Illinois State Historical Library, Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1927, Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society, Springfield, Illinois, May 12 and 13, 1927, Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois Printing Co., Danville, Ill., pp 97-98, transcribed by HJ.
Inscription
CO. F. 30th ILL. INF.
Gravesite Details
Unmarked Grave; Gravesite location unknown. Cemetery has no record of burial--one of the 2,737 unknown burials at Mound City National Cemetery.
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