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44-539: The camp was abandoned in early August 1898, by which time the number of troops there had risen to more than 35,000, following a Typhoid outbreak and the War Department put it up for sale in September. The most notable soldier stationed at Camp Alger was the poet and author, Carl Sandburg and today Sandburg Street, located on the old route from the camp to the railroad depot, is named in his honor. Camp Alger

88-489: A "landmark", saw it "almost as soon as it came out." The composer Elie Siegmeister took it to Paris with him in 1927, and he and his wife Hannah "were always singing these songs. That was home. That was where we belonged." Sandburg said he considered working on D. W. Griffith 's Intolerance (1916) but his first film work was when he signed on to work on the production of The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) in July 1960 for

132-848: A bricklayer and a farm laborer on the wheat plains of Kansas . After an interval spent at Lombard College in Galesburg, he became a hotel servant in Denver , then a coal-heaver in Omaha. He began his writing career as a journalist for the Chicago Daily News . Later, he wrote poetry, history, biographies, novels, children's literature, and film reviews. Sandburg also collected and edited books of ballads and folklore. He spent most of his life in Illinois , Wisconsin , and Michigan before moving to North Carolina . Sandburg volunteered to join

176-759: A dramatic reading of the Gettysburg Address , followed by an address by Sandburg. Sandburg supported the Civil Rights Movement and was the first white man to be honored by the NAACP with their Silver Plaque Award as a "major prophet of civil rights in our time." Sandburg died of natural causes in 1967 and his body was cremated. The ashes were interred under "Remembrance Rock", a granite boulder located behind his birth house in Galesburg. Much of Carl Sandburg's poetry, such as " Chicago ", focused on Chicago, Illinois , where he spent time as

220-507: A mere biography, a view also mirrored by other reviewers. Sandburg's 1927 anthology the American Songbag enjoyed enormous popularity, going through many editions; and Sandburg himself was perhaps the first American urban folk singer, accompanying himself on solo guitar at lectures and poetry recitals, and in recordings, long before the first or the second folk revival movements (of the 1940s and 1960s, respectively). According to

264-670: A newspaper, and also joined the Wisconsin Social Democratic Party, the name by which the Socialist Party of America was known in the state. Sandburg served as a secretary to Emil Seidel , socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. Carl Sandburg later remarked that Milwaukee was where he got his bearings and that the rest of his life had been "the unrolling of a scene that started up in Wisconsin". Sandburg met Lilian Steichen (1883–1977) at

308-639: A one-volume edition in 1954 prepared by Sandburg. Sandburg's Lincoln scholarship had an enormous impact on the popular view of Lincoln. The books were adapted by Robert E. Sherwood for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938) and David Wolper 's six-part dramatization for television, Sandburg's Lincoln (1974). He recorded excerpts from the biography and some of Lincoln's speeches for Caedmon Records in New York City in May 1957. He

352-553: A poet in his day, perhaps because the breadth of his experiences connected him with so many strands of American life". When he died in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson observed that "Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America." Carl Sandburg was born in a three-room cottage at 313 East Third Street in Galesburg, Illinois , to Clara Mathilda (née Anderson) and August Sandberg, both of Swedish ancestry. He adopted

396-697: A prophetic voice. A visiting philanthropist, Joel Spingarn , who was also an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , read Sandburg's columns with interest and asked to publish them, as The Chicago Race Riots, July, 1919 . Sandburg's popular multivolume biography Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years , 2 vols. (1926) and Abraham Lincoln: The War Years , 4 vols. (1939) are collectively "the best-selling, most widely read, and most influential book[s] about Lincoln." The books have been through many editions, including

440-658: A reporter for the Chicago Daily News and The Day Book . His most famous description of the city is as "Hog Butcher for the World/Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat/Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler,/Stormy, Husky, Brawling, City of the Big Shoulders." Sandburg earned Pulitzer Prizes for his collection The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg , Corn Huskers , and for his biography of Abraham Lincoln ( Abraham Lincoln: The War Years ). Sandburg

484-511: A second Poetry Pulitzer in 1951 for Complete Poems . In 1945, he moved to Connemara , a 246-acre (100 ha) rural estate in Flat Rock, North Carolina . Here, he produced a little over a third of his total published work and lived with his wife, daughters, and two grandchildren. On February 12, 1959, in commemorations of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln 's birth, Congress met in joint session to hear actor Fredric March give

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528-469: A two-volume biography, in 1926, The American Songbag (1927), and a book of poems called Good Morning, America (1928) in Elmhurst. The Sandburg house at 331 South York Street in Elmhurst was demolished and the site is now a parking lot. The family moved to Michigan in 1930. Sandburg won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for History for the four-volume The War Years , the sequel to his Abraham Lincoln , and

572-684: A year, receiving an "in creative association with Carl Sandburg" credit on the film. Carl Sandburg's boyhood home in Galesburg is now operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency as the Carl Sandburg State Historic Site . The site contains the cottage Sandburg was born in, a modern visitor center, and small garden with a large stone called Remembrance Rock, under which his and his wife's ashes are buried. Sandburg's home of 22 years in Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina ,

616-520: Is also remembered by generations of children for his Rootabaga Stories and Rootabaga Pigeons , a series of whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories he originally created for his own daughters. The Rootabaga Stories were born of Sandburg's desire for "American fairy tales" to match American childhood. He felt that the European stories involving royalty and knights were inappropriate, and so populated his stories with skyscrapers, trains, corn fairies and

660-423: Is not abnormal, and, judging from it, the locality can not be considered unhealthful. The Seventh Illinois Regiment, which was encamped there during the whole time, lost but one man up to the 14th day of December, a record probably not equaled by any other regiment in the service. The establishment of Camp Alger is justifiable upon the report as to the suitableness of the site, but considering the scarcity of water and

704-785: Is preserved by the National Park Service as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site . Carl Sandburg College is located in Sandburg's birthplace of Galesburg, Illinois . During the Spanish-American War, Sandburg was stationed at Camp Alger in Fairfax County, Virginia and so the county has both a Sandburg Road, near the spot where the camp was located, and a Carl Sandburg Middle School. On January 6, 1978,

748-662: The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee , carries a plaque commemorating Sandburg's roles as an organizer for the Social Democratic Party and as personal secretary to Emil Seidel , Milwaukee's first Socialist mayor. Carl Sandburg Library opened in Livonia, Michigan , in 1961. The name was recommended by the Library Commission as an example of an American author representing the best of literature of

792-549: The "Five Marvelous Pretzels". In 1919, Sandburg was assigned by his editor at the Daily News to do a series of reports on the working classes and tensions among whites and African Americans . The impetus for these reports were race riots that had broken out in other American cities. Ultimately, major riots broke out in Chicago too, but much of Sandburg's writing on the issues before the riots caused him to be seen as having

836-563: The 100th anniversary of his birth, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Sandburg. The spare design consists of a profile originally drawn by his friend William A. Smith in 1952, along with Sandburg's own distinctive autograph. The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) (RBML) houses the Carl Sandburg Papers. The bulk of

880-750: The 1940's and 1950's. Two historical markers, one on Arlington Blvd. (U.S. 50) near Fenwick St. in Falls Church, near the spot where the Corps Headquarters was and the other on Sandburg Street in Dunn Lorring near the rail depot. There's also a "Camp Alger Avenue" in West Falls Church that recognizes the camp and a Sandburg Street named in honor of Carl Sandburg who was briefly stationed there. Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967)

924-492: The 25th of June, when about forty wells had been sunk. There were no adequate bathing facilities nearer than the Potomac River, which was 7 miles distant. The troops were encamped both in the open and wooded portions. Those in the latter did not seem to suffer on account of their position. The sinks were generally properly policed, of the regulation depth, and were very soon enclosed. The woods were quite badly polluted by

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968-853: The Midwest. Carl Sandburg had taught at the University of Michigan for a time. Galesburg opened Sandburg Mall in 1975, named in honor of Sandburg. The Chicago Public Library installed the Carl Sandburg Award, annually awarded for contributions to literature. Amtrak added the Carl Sandburg train in 2006 to supplement the Illinois Zephyr on the Chicago – Quincy route. Carl Sandburg Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia, part of Fairfax County Public Schools ,

1012-804: The Milwaukee Social Democratic Party office in 1907, and they married the next year in Milwaukee. Lilian's brother was the photographer Edward Steichen . Sandburg with his wife, whom he called Paula, raised three daughters. Their first daughter, Margaret, was born in 1911. The Sandburgs moved to Harbert, Michigan , and then to suburban Chicago , Illinois in 1912 after he was offered a job by a Chicago newspaper. They lived in Evanston , Illinois, before settling at 331 South York Street in Elmhurst , Illinois, from 1919 to 1930. During

1056-416: The camp and at Dunn Loring on August 2, from which the corps was supplied with excellent bread. As heretofore stated, on 1 August it was decided to reduce the number of troops, one division being sent to Thoroughfare Gap, and about two weeks later it was decided to move the whole corps. Early in September that was accomplished. During the existence of this camp the weather was exceedingly hot and some portion of

1100-725: The collection was purchased directly from Carl Sandburg and his family. In total, the RBML owns over 600 cubic feet of Sandburg's papers, including photographs, correspondence, and manuscripts. In 2011, Sandburg was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Carl Sandburg Village was a 1960s urban renewal project in the Near North Side, Chicago . Financed by the city, it is located between Clark and LaSalle St. between Division Street and North Ave. Solomon & Cordwell, architects. In 1979, Carl Sandburg Village

1144-415: The corps were ordered to this camp. General Graham arrived May 19 and assumed command, which he exercised during the existence of the camp. This corps was composed wholly of volunteers . The troops commenced arriving the 18th of May, and by the last of that month there were 18,309 officers and men in camp. On the last day of June there were 23,511 officers and men, on the last day of July there were 22,180, on

1188-521: The ever-lengthening shelf of really good books about Lincoln." Historian Milo Milton Quaife criticized Sandburg for not documenting his sources and questioned the accuracy of The Prairie Years , noting they contain a number of factual errors. Others have complained The Prairie Years and The War Years contain too much material that is neither biography nor history, saying the books are instead "sentimental poeticizing" by Sandburg. Sandburg himself may have viewed his works more as an American epic than as

1232-419: The excreta of the men; but the commanding officer issued stringent sanitary regulations and used great efforts to see that they were obeyed. His efforts were fairly successful. The troops were well supplied with tentage. The camps of the different regiments were well policed, and the refuse properly disposed of by burning. The rations were abundant in quantity and good in quality. Field bakeries were established in

1276-415: The four-volume The War Years . But Sandburg's works on Lincoln also received substantial criticism. William E. Barton , who had published a Lincoln biography in 1925, wrote that Sandburg's book "is not history, is not even biography" because of its lack of original research and uncritical use of evidence, but Barton nevertheless thought it was "real literature and a delightful and important contribution to

1320-549: The journey, remained at the camp in hospital tents until October. Nothing remains of the camp. It was sold to William Campbell and became known at times as Camp Alger Farm and the Camp Alger Tract. In 1907 the War Department considered buying it back to create a rifle range, but chose a location in Petersburg, Virginia instead. The land was sold and resold several times in the 1920's before finally being developed in

1364-520: The last day of August the troops present at this camp. Total number of troops that went to Camp Alger 31,195. Duffield's brigade left camp June 15 and Garretson's brigade July 5, both for Santiago, Cuba to reinforce Gen. Shafter's army. The 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, arrived at Camp Alger on May 19, 1898, was nicknamed “McKinley’s Own” or “The President’s Own” because three companies were from President William McKinley's hometown of Canton. Another unit from McKinley's home state

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1408-580: The military during the Spanish–American War and was stationed in Puerto Rico with the 6th Illinois Infantry, disembarking at Guánica , Puerto Rico , on July 25, 1898. Sandburg was never actually called to battle. He attended West Point for just two weeks before failing a mathematics and grammar exam. Sandburg returned to Galesburg and entered Lombard College but left without a degree in 1903. He then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin , to work for

1452-627: The musicologist Judith Tick: As a populist poet, Sandburg bestowed a powerful dignity on what the '20s called the "American scene" in a book he called a "ragbag of stripes and streaks of color from nearly all ends of the earth ... rich with the diversity of the United States." Reviewed widely in journals ranging from the New Masses to Modern Music , the American Songbag influenced a number of musicians. Pete Seeger, who calls it

1496-509: The nickname "Charles" or "Charlie" in elementary school at about the same time he and his two oldest siblings changed the spelling of their last name to "Sandburg". At the age of thirteen, he left school and began driving a milk wagon. From the age of about fourteen until he was seventeen or eighteen, he worked as a porter at the Union Hotel barbershop in Galesburg. After that, he was on the milk route again for 18 months. He then became

1540-491: The selection of this camp preparations were made for the reception of troops by the erection of storehouses at Dunn Loring, where the Southern Railway put in extra sidings to accommodate the increased traffic. It was built on a 1,400-acre farm called Woodburn Manor. The Second Army Corps was constituted May 7, and May 16 Maj. Gen. William M. Graham , was assigned to the command, and the troops which were to compose

1584-450: The time very rainy, both of which conditions, with myriads of flies which infested the camp, were the causes of much discomfort to the men. The health of this locality is reputed to be as good as any in the section of country about Washington. A defining event of the war and Camp Alger was the typhoid fever epidemic of July to November 1898. "The number of deaths from May 18 to October 11 was 71, and at Thoroughfare Gap 34. This death rate

1628-526: The time, Sandburg wrote Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920). In 1919 Sandburg won a Pulitzer Prize "made possible by a special grant from The Poetry Society " for his collection Cornhuskers . Sandburg also wrote three children's books in Elmhurst: Rootabaga Stories , in 1922, followed by Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), and Potato Face (1930). Sandburg also wrote Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years ,

1672-404: The want of facilities for bathing, we are of opinion that it was very undesirable, and was not abandoned too soon." On August 2 the 2nd Division of the corps marched to Thoroughfare Gap , 30 miles distant, and remained in camp there for about one month. Early in September the remainder of the corps was transferred to Camp Meade , near Middletown , Pennsylvania . A few troops, too sick to make

1716-465: Was about 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles from Dunn Loring , a station on the Washington, Ohio and Western railroad a branch of the Southern Railway; 7 miles from Washington, D.C. , and about 5 miles distant from Fort Myer . The surface of this tract is rolling, partly wooded, with cultivated clearings and with good drainage. The soil is of clay and sand and nearly impervious to water. Immediately after

1760-423: Was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes : two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln . During his lifetime, Sandburg was widely regarded as "a major figure in contemporary literature", especially for volumes of his collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920). He enjoyed "unrivaled appeal as

1804-495: Was awarded a Grammy Award in 1959 for Best Performance – Documentary Or Spoken Word (Other Than Comedy) for his recording of Aaron Copland 's Lincoln Portrait with the New York Philharmonic . Some historians suggest more Americans learned about Lincoln from Sandburg than from any other source. The books garnered critical praise and attention for Sandburg, including the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for History for

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1848-485: Was converted to condominium ownership. Numerous schools are named for Sandburg throughout the United States, and he was present at some of these schools' dedications. (Some years after attending the 1954 dedication of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois , Sandburg returned for an unannounced visit; the school's principal at first mistook him for a hobo .) Sandburg Halls , a student residence hall at

1892-566: Was named in honor of Sandburg in 1985. Thoroughfare Gap (Bull Run Mountain) Thoroughfare Gap is a water gap in the Bull Run Mountains created by Broad Run between High Point Mountain to the north and Bisquit Mountain to the south. It is located on the border of Prince William and Fauquier counties in Virginia . True to its name, the small gap is traversed by Interstate 66 , Virginia State Route 55 and

1936-689: Was the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry Battalion, an African American regiment. At Camp Alger, this battalion was initially assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, of the Second Army Corps. When President William McKinley and his Cabinet visited Camp Alger, on May 28, 1898, two short films were made of this event. The water supply was quite limited and never was sufficient for other uses than cooking and drinking, and not for that until about

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