Obscure Historical Personages As Art

From the Chicago Sun Times: Replacing general's statue with Reagan riles Irish

State Rep. Robert Pritchard may have thought it would be a no-brainer recently when he introduced a resolution to replace one of Illinois' two allotted statues in the U.S. Capitol with a new one honoring the late former President Ronald Reagan. After all, Pritchard's proposal was that the Illinois-born Reagan, whose popularity is at an all-time high, would take the place of a statue of Gen. James Shields, a 19th century political figure who is hardly a household name in today's Illinois.

"I think it's important every so often that you're honoring people who are a little bit more relevant to the current generation," Pritchard explained. "I've had numerous comments from people who've gone to Washington and seen the statue and know nothing about the gentleman."

He wants Illinois to follow Kansas, which just swapped out a statue of some forgotten former governor for one of another ex-president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Pritchard overlooked just one little thing.

The wrath of the Irish.

"I've got my mick up about this," an angry Pat Hickey told me last week when he called to alert me to Pritchard's proposal.

Did he really say that, or is that just what we wished he had said?

Shields' particular distinction is that he is the only United States senator to be elected from three different states -- that, and the fact he once challenged Abraham Lincoln to a duel and both very nearly followed through with it, in which case neither of them would have any monuments in Washington.

"To completely assign this guy to historical oblivion is a real injustice to the man's life," said Hickey, who is busily drumming up opposition among Chicago's formidable Irish network, starting with the politicians and working outward.

So what exactly is the man known for?

As a Democrat, Shields was a Stephen Douglas compatriot and often at odds with Lincoln, particularly so in 1842 when anonymously penned articles in a Springfield newspaper accused Shields of financial improprieties as state auditor. Shields came to believe Lincoln was behind the articles and challenged him to a duel. Lincoln not only accepted, but chose the weapons, broadswords, which he brought to the agreed site, an island in the Mississippi River, Callan said. Happily, no duel took place, the varying accounts reading very much like a ridiculous bar fight.

Hmm...Shields does sound like the archetypal Irishman.

Actually I have quite a bit of sympathy for those who have come to Gen. Shields defense. One of my personal heroes, Civil War general Nathaniel Lyons, is hardly a household name either. If someone wanted to remove a statue of him I'd be up in arms as well. I don't know much about obscure historical personages, but I know what I like.

Besides, how much President Reagan stuff do we really need?