Civil War Union soldier and farmer.
Edgar McLean was born in Illinois and joined the war effort as a young man. Before leaving for the war with the local regiment (the 122nd Illinois Infantry) he fell in love with a young woman and was engaged. She promised to wait for him until after the war. In this state of affairs McLean was recruited for the 122nd, which was organized in August 1862. In the 122nd he started as a teamster and ended as a private. The 122nd participated in a number of Civil War duties: guarding supplies and railroads, battles with rebel forces near Huntington Tenn., at Tupelo Miss., and at Nashville, Tenn. However, McLean was promoted on December 16 1863 to become a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Alabama Colored Infantry, which later became the 110th US Colored Infantry. The 110th took part in actions such as guarding railroads in northern Alabama and performing general guard duty in Tennessee until it was mustered out on February 6 1866. After his Civil War Service McLean returned to his hometown of Kane, Ill. to find that the woman he had been engaged to was now married. McLean was depressed but eventually found a new girl, married her, and ran a successful farm. He was respected in the community, although some begrudged the fact that he had abandoned his local regiment to serve in a colored regiment. The record is unclear if the McLeans had any children, but it is clear that at one point the couple took in a young orphan girl. Edgar McLean also had a hobby of tinkering and applied for several patents, although it is unclear if any of them were actually approved. Edgar McLean died of cancer in 1920.
From the description of Edgar McLean papers, 1859-1868. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 52906781
