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Note: ild, Victor Emanuel Phillips. Victor was also born in Ohio, on Dec. 9, 1841 and came with the family to Richland County. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted with Co. A, 63rd Illinois Infantry and served until the close of the war, being promoted to First Lieutenant. Lieut. Phillips kept a journal during a two month period at the end of the war. He titled it: A Memoranda By V.E. Phillips Lieut. Co. A 63rd Illinois Vet. Vol Infty , 1st Brig 3rd Div 15th Army Corps Commencing April 1st1865 at Goldsboro N.C. and ending at Washington DC May 24, 1865
It is interesting to read his reactions and those of his fellow soldiers to events both very mundane and those very historical. While marching from Goldsboro N.C. to Raleigh for several days in rainy and muddy conditions, he writes on April 12, 1865:
Moved at 7 a.m. according to orders. Stopped soon after starting - to repair roads. At one very bad place we found Gen. Logan and staff on a Corduroy Contract. “All hands and cooks” went in and the job was soon completed. After the work was finished, Gen. Logan and Gen. Smith with their staff went forward. We had no sooner taken arms, than Gen. Smith came back, hat in hand and announced “ It is officially Reported that Gen. Lee has surrendered his forces to Gen. Grant”. And here I beheld a sight worth looking at. There are in the lives of men, times, when it would seem that the physical being is inadequate to the task of portraying, even in miniature, the emotions of the soul. Such a time was this. Cheer after cheer rent the air in quick succession. Wild were the exclamations of joy from hundreds of full hearts while others more silent wept for joy. Hardship and privation have indeed covered the outward man as it were with a veil, hiding from view the finer sentiments of mind. But though the exterior be cool, that fire that lit their hearts with patriotic love for our mother country has not gone out. Though less obvious than during the earlier stages of the war, tis still the ruling passion of the mind.
On April 13: Deserters are coming in constantly. They say that the soldiers are tired and can see no use of fighting any longer. On April 16: News comes of the surrender of Gens. Roddey and Wheeler to the Union Armies. All sorts of rumors of Union successes are rife and once again, all minds are turned to thoughts of home and peace and for the first time, men begin openly to speculate on their future actions.
And then, on April 17: In camp. In the forenoon, we were told that the mail would go out at 2 p.m., hence all hands commenced the tasks ( now unusually pleasant ) of writing home, even daring to expect answers before moving from here. Since leaving Atlanta, we have rarely had the good fortune to receive a letter in the same month it was written. But when the mind of man has reached its highest elevation, when Heaven showers on us its choicest blessings, we may in a moment’s time, in the trembling of an eye, be brought low in the dust of humility. When a parent falls, the children lament. When a patriot falls, the people mourn. But these are ordinary bereavements. Abraham Lincoln is no more? Nay, ‘tis false. At that name, Tyrants will tremble on their thrones. The sons of liberty rejoice. His name be honored in every clime by every tongue until the angel shall declare that time shall be no longer. But all that is mortal of our Chief Magistrate has passed away, and as the spirit wings its way in its aerial flight, a nation stands in tears. ‘Tis well to mourn the loss of such a man. He exercised authority with mildness, blended firmness with moderation. The Patriot found him a steadfast friend. Nor did a traitor cry in vain for mercy. In one bitter moment, he is ruthlessly torn from the bosom of his countrymen by the hand of the assassin. Proclaim it not to the world that America has nursed the viper in her bosom. Let not his memory be hid from the all searching waves of time, but may the good and noble to all time both hate and loathe his memory. The excitement which such an event was well calculated to produce, was only prevented from exhausting itself in revengeful acts by the immediate actions of the authorities. The Local Papers here tremble for the safety of the City, but thanks to good discipline, no demonstrations have as of yet been, or likely to be made. We had Dress Parade in the evening, when promotions in Co. A were announced.
After returning from the war, Victor became a druggist and went into business with his father. On Aug. 14, 1870 he married Cordelia J. Wood in Richland County. Cordelia was the daughter of Edward and Ellen (Onyett)Wood. Victor and Cordelia first lived on Cherry Street in Olney, then later on South Camp Ave. While working as a druggist, Victor pursued his passions of geology and meteorology. During the 1870s and 1880s, he made trips all over the country studying the sciences and adding to a rock collection that numbered about 250,000 pieces. According to an article in an Olney newspaper at the time of his death, his drug store on South Whittle Ave. in Olney (which had been closed for many years) had become the repository of his collection. On Aug.13, 1912 (the day he died), the evening edition of the paper reported that old dust covered drug bottles and rocks which were both on display in the window of the old store. Three years before, he had refused an offer of $8,000 for a portion of his collection. Many years of weather observations were given to the government in 1890. The newspaper story goes on to say that Victor served for a great many years as one of the three directors of the Olney public schools and also worked a consultant to the mining and oil industries. After his death, he was buried at Haven Hill in Olney next to his parents and his sister, Mary.
Note: More detailed information is available on Jeremiah and Adelia’s second ch
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