View source for James M. Strode

{{short description|19th century American militiaman and state politician}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= James McGowan Strode
|birth_date= 1804
|death_date= 1857/1860
|image= James M. Strode.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_place= West Virginia or Kentucky, US<ref name=bhw>[https://archive.org/stream/blackhawkwar183136whit/blackhawkwar183136whit_djvu.txt The Black Hawk War, 1831-1832 : v. II, letters and papers; part I, April 30, 1831-June 23, 1832], pp. 71-72</ref>
|death_place= Kentucky, US<ref name=bhw/>
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|allegiance= United States
|branch= [[Illinois militia]]
|serviceyears= 1827, 1832
|rank= [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]
|unit=
|commands= 27th Regiment Illinois Militia
|battles= ([[Black Hawk War]])
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork= [[Illinois State Senate|Illinois State Senator]] (1832–1836)
}}

'''James McGowan Strode''' (1804–1857/1860) was a militia officer and politician from the [[U.S. state]] of [[Illinois]]. He served in the Illinois militia during the [[Winnebago War]] and the [[Black Hawk War]]. Strode, originally from Tennessee, lived much of his life in [[Galena, Illinois]]. In Galena, during the Black Hawk War he was given command of the 27th Regiment of the Illinois militia and oversaw the construction of a fort in that city. Strode was involved in combat during the war at the infamous [[Battle of Stillman's Run]]. In 1835 Strode was elected to represent much of the region of Illinois north of [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]] in the [[Illinois State Senate]].

==Early life==
James M. Strode was from the [[U.S. state]] of [[Kentucky]] but lived much of life in [[Illinois]]. During the late 1820s Strode lived in [[Springfield, Illinois]] but from 1831 he lived in the city of [[Galena, Illinois]].<ref name=feature>"[http://www.illinoisfrontier.org/Feature/feature_fall_2005.pdf A Springfield Lawyer Goes to War (Briefly)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930001804/http://www.illinoisfrontier.org/Feature/feature_fall_2005.pdf |date=2007-09-30 }}," ([[PDF]]), ''The Feature'', Fall 2005, Vol. 1, No. 3, ''Illinois Foundation of Frontier Studies''. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref><ref name=chicago>Dankers, Ulrich and Meredith, Jane. "[http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=S Strode, James M.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044807/http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=S |date=2007-09-28 }}," ''Early Chicago Encyclopedia'' (''earlychicago.com''). Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>

==Military service==
James M. Strode began his military service on July 20, 1827 as the [[Winnebago War]] was being waged on the frontier in the mining region of southern [[Wisconsin]]. Strode, living in Springfield, Illinois at the time, was one of hundreds of [[Sangamon County, Illinois|Sangamon County]] volunteers called up by [[Governor of Illinois|Illinois Governor]] [[Ninian Edwards]]. Edwards sent the forces into the lead mining region around Galena, Illinois to protect settlers there from raids by the [[Ho-Chunk]]. Strode enlisted as a [[private (military rank)|private]] and his [[company (military unit)|company]] commander was Captain Bowling Green (or Bowlin Green).<ref name=feature/> Once in Galena, a company of volunteers was formed under the command of Henry Dodge and Strode served as company commander at the rank of captain; Strode's company was mustered into service on August 26, 1827 and discharged on September 16, 1827.<ref name=oldlead>"[http://www.geocities.com/old_lead/winwarstrodeco.htm Muster Role of Captain James Strode's Company]," muster rolls in Record Group 94 at the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D. C., via ''Old Lead Regional Historical Society''. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref><ref name=kett1>Kett, ''The History of Jo Daviess County'', p. 277.</ref>

Strode traveled to [[Chicago]] for the first time in 1831 and returned occasionally throughout his life.<ref name=chicago/> On one trip to the settlement at Chicago in 1832, with Benjamin Mills and Judge [[Richard M. Young]], the group became aware of the early unrest in the [[Black Hawk War]]. Once in Chicago they warned the settlers there of the war and its danger to their settlement.<ref name=chicago/>  Strode was at the disastrous defeat of Major [[Isaiah Stillman|Isaiah Stillman's]] militia force at [[Battle of Stillman's Run|Stillman's Run]]. An engagement he attended just for "the fun."<ref name=daniels>Daniels, Robert C. "[http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/19thCentury/articles/blackhawkwar.aspx The Quality of Combatants in the Black Hawk War]," ''Military History Online'', 18 March 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref> Back in Galena, Strode rose to the rank of colonel and was given command of the frontier fort in Galena and the 27th Regiment of the Illinois Militia.<ref name=meissen>Meissen, James L. "{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220934/http://www.comportone.com/cpo/genealogy/articles/localhistory/BlackHawkWar.htm The Black Hawk War and Stillman's Run Questions and Answers]}}," Genealogy Article Section, comportone.com. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref><ref name=kett3>Kett, ''The History of Jo Daviess County,'' Illinois, p. 285.</ref>

The fort was constructed in Galena beginning on May 19, 1832.<ref name=kett3/> The same day as fort construction began Strode detailed a small unit to carry dispatches from to General [[Henry Atkinson (soldier)|Henry Atkinson]] at [[Dixon's Ferry]] (present-day [[Dixon, Illinois]]). The group was ambushed by Kickapoo warriors later that day and one of the messengers was [[killed in action|killed]].<ref name=kett2>Kett, ''The History of Jo Daviess County,'' Illinois, p. 284.</ref> On May 21, 1832 Strode declared [[martial law]] in Galena; his proclamation demanded that all able bodied men work on completing the fort from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until it was finished.<ref name=kett3/> His proclamation also prohibited the sale of "[[Distilled beverage|spirits]]" at grocers and taverns from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.<ref name=kett3/>

The fort in Galena, known as the Stockade Refuge, was located at the center of town on Perry Street. It featured two [[blockhouse]]s, one centered and the other in the corner of the stockade.<ref name=oldlead/> The stockade's other three corners contained fortified houses.<ref name=oldlead/> Strode's fortified home was about 200 feet to the east of the fort, along Bench Street.<ref name=oldlead/><ref name=kett3/> He also spent his command during the war passing down various orders to respond to incidents of violence across the frontier, such as the [[Plum River raid]].<ref name=trask>[[Trask, Kerry A.]] ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZIXkMBBLw0C&dq=trask+black+hawk&pg=PP1 Black Hawk: The Battle for the Heart of America]'', ([[Google Books]]), [[Henry Holt and Company]], New York: 2006, p. 197-198, ({{ISBN|0805077588}}). Retrieved 13 August 2007.</ref>

==Political career==
In August 1832 Strode was elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[state senator]] and moved to Chicago a year later.<ref name=chicago/><ref name=chicago2>"[http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/browse/bioshell.html?bioS&StrodeJamesM Ss]", Biographical Dictionary, ''Early Chicago Encyclopedia'' (''earlychicago.com''). Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>  As a state senator Strode represented much of the area north of [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]], and in 1835 he introduced legislation authorizing a government loan to commence work on the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]].<ref name=ford/> The [[United States dollar|US$]]500,000 loan was negotiated by Illinois Governor [[Joseph Duncan (politician)|Joseph Duncan]], and in June 1836 construction on the [[canal]] began.<ref name=ford>[[Ford, Thomas]]. ''A History of Illinois: From Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=0mgOAAAAIAAJ&q=James+M.+Strode&pg=RA2-PA181 Google Books]), Moore, Anderson & Co.: 1854, pp. 179-181. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref> In July 1836 he was commissioned as the register for the U.S. Land Office in Chicago, whose offices were located in the [[Saloon Building]] on [[Clark Street (Chicago)|Clark Street]].<ref name=chicago/>

==Later life==
Strode worked as an attorney for much of his life and after 1837 he was a "practicing member" of the [[Chicago Bar Association]]. Strode worked as a [[prosecutor]] until 1848.<ref name=chicago/> On May 16, 1848, in [[McHenry County, Illinois|McHenry County]], he married Cynthia Ann Beardsley, with whom he had a son and a daughter (Luella). He moved to [[Woodstock, Illinois|Woodstock]] around the time of his marriage and served as McHenry County judge, 1854 to 1857. Strode died in Kentucky, where he had gone to settle a family estate.<ref name=bhw/> This was before 1861, when Cynthia remarried as a widow with Ephraim Pease.<ref>[https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/pease/2851/ Ephraim Pease genealogy]</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*Kett, H.F. and Co. ''The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=gWYOAAAAIAAJ&dq=Buffalo+Grove+%22William+Durley%22&pg=PA284 Google Books]), H.F. Kett & Co., Chicago: 1878. Retrieved 18 August 2007

{{Black Hawk War (1832)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strode, James M.}}
[[Category:1804 births]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths]]
[[Category:American people of the Black Hawk War]]
[[Category:People from Galena, Illinois]]
[[Category:Politicians from Springfield, Illinois]]
[[Category:Illinois state senators]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly]]