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History Of the Chicago Mercantile Battery
The Chicago Mercantile Battery was
mustered into the Civil War on August 29, 1862 at Camp Douglas under the leadership of
Captain Charles G. Cooley. It followed in the tradition of the strong contributions
that had already been made by other Chicago artillery batteries during the early part of
the war in the West such as Batteries A and B (Taylor’s Battery) from the First
Illinois Light Artillery. This new battery was supported financially and politically
by the Mercantile Association, an organization of prominent businessmen in Chicago. The
Chicago Mercantile Battery was entirely separate from the Board of Trade Battery which was
sponsored by the grain association.
Sources: "Report of the Illinois Adjutant General, Volume
VIII," revised by Brig. Gen. J. N. Reece, 1901; and "Patriotism of
Illinois," by T. M. Eddy, D. D.
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