| Date | Event |
|---|
| 1826, Feb. 9 | Born,
Jackson County, Ill.
|
| 1846-1848 | Lieutenant,
United States Army
|
| 1851 | Began law practice |
| 1852 | Elected to
Illinois legislature |
| 1855 | Married
Mary Simmerson Cunningham (died 1923)
|
| 1858 | Elected to
Congress as representative from the eleventh
Illinois district |
| 1861 | Colonel,
31st Illinois Regiment
|
| 1862-1865 | General,
United States Army
|
| 1866-1870 | Representative-at-large from
Illinois,
United States Congress
|
| 1868 | Conceived idea of Memorial Day |
| 1871-1877,1879-1886 |
United States senator from
Illinois
|
| 1884 | Vice-presidential candidate on Republican ticket with
James Gillespie Blaine
|
| 1886, Dec. 26 | Died,
Washington, D.C.
|
