Theophilus Lyle Dickey (October 12, 1811 – July 22, 1885) was an Illinois jurist and military leader.
Pre-war life
Born in
Paris, Kentucky
Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...
, Colonel Dickey moved to
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in ...
in 1834 to study law under
Cyrus Walker and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1835. The next year, he moved to
Rushville, Illinois
Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,192 at the 2010 census and 2,902 in 2018. It is the county seat of Schuyler County. It was first settled by Euro-Americans in 1823.
History
Geography
Accord ...
where he edited a newspaper and speculated in real estate in addition to his legal practice. In 1839, he again moved, this time to
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Ri ...
where he continued his legal career. Upon the outbreak of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
he raised a company of volunteers and received a commission as captain. At the end of the war, he returned to Ottawa, Illinois and was elected a judge of the Illinois Ninth Judicial Circuit in 1848. He resigned his position as judge in 1851 but continued in the practice of law. He was a prominent political supporter of
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
, making many stump speeches for him in 1858 and 1860.
Civil War career
Dickey was authorized by the State of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
to raise a company of cavalry in August 1861. This company became the nucleus of the
4th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, the recruitment of which resulted in a dispute between Colonel Dickey and Illinois Governor
Richard Yates over the commissions to be granted to the officers of the regiment, a valuable tool of political patronage. In the end, Governor Yates accepted Colonel Dickey's choices and granted them their commissions. The 4th Illinois Cavalry completed its organization and was officially mustered into service on September 26, 1861. The regiment was sent to
Cairo, Illinois soon after it was mustered in.
Colonel Dickey commanded the regiment during the advance of Grant's army on
Fort Henry, serving as the scouts and screening force, served in a supporting role during the attack on that place, and then again led the advance on
Fort Donelson
Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...
.
Colonel Dickey's regiment was shipped to
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee
Pittsburg Landing is a river landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River in Hardin County, Tennessee. It was named for "Pitts" Tucker who operated a tavern at the site in the years preceding the Civil War. It is located at latitude 35.15222 ...
where it participated in the
Battle of Shiloh. Although camped near the front line when the battle begin, it was in no significant actions during the engagement and lost only six enlisted men wounded.
Dickey had a chance to save Grant's southward push through northern Mississippi in December 1862. Leading a cavalry expedition, he ran into the rear of Earl Van Dorn's force, but failed to engage or disrupt the Confederate movement. Van Dorn then led his men into Holly Springs, temporarily capturing Grant's logistical base and destroying much materiel. Grant was forced to retreat.
Postwar career
From 1868 to 1870, he served as an Assistant Attorney General for the United States for all suits in the court of claims, and often argued before the United States Supreme Court in that role. Dickey was elected a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court in December 1875 and held that office until his death in 1885.
Illinois State Supreme Court Website Biography of Colonel Dickey
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, Theophilus Lyle
1811 births
1885 deaths
People from Paris, Kentucky
Illinois state court judges
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court
People of Illinois in the American Civil War
People from Macomb, Illinois
People from Rushville, Illinois
People from Ottawa, Illinois
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
19th-century American judges