He has been an active man at military reunions, and was one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was the first national commander of that organization, and as such issued the order in 1868 for the decoration of the graves of Union soldiers.
His financial views have been the subject of criticism, but they have generally represented the sentiments of his constituency. In 1866 he took strong grounds in favor of the payment of the national debt in gold coin. In 1874 he followed the popular Western movement, and voted for the Inflation bill, which President Grant vetoed. But in the following year he favored the Sherman Resumption act.
General Logan was always a leader in securing pension legislation. He has been radical in favoring internal improvements, has always voted for liberal appropriations for rivers and harbors, and has given his support to railroad land-grant measures. His property consists of a residence on Calumet Avenue in Chicago, which is worth from twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand dollars, and a farm at his old home in southern Illinois.
He resides in Washington at a boarding-house on Twelfth Street, occupying two modest rooms, the same in which he has lived for twelve years.
In 1855 he married Miss Mary Cunningham, of Shawneetown, Ill., and she has proved a most valuable helpmeet, being as good, if not a better politician than himself, and a lady of great refinement as well as intellectual force. There is no woman in public life who possesses more admirable traits than Mrs. Logan, and her popularity with her own sex is quite as great as with the other. She can write a speech on finance, or dictate the action of a political caucus, with as much ease and grace as she can preside at a dinner-party, or receive her guests. At the same time she is a devoted mother. She has two children,—a daughter, who is the wife of Paymaster Tucker, of the army, and a son, Manning, a cadet at West Point. Both of them have been educated by her, or under her personal supervision.
As a society woman she is graceful and accomplished; in charities she is always active and generous; in religion she is a devout Methodist.
During the campaign of 1866 General Logan was running for congressman-at-large. The multitudes came to hear him; a grand stand was erected in the court-house yard at Bloomington; thousands were gathered, filling the grounds and covering the roofs of buildings. He was in his glory; for three hours he spoke; the people laughed, and cried, and shouted cheer on cheer. We had heard Douglas, Lovejoy, Colfax, but never such a speech as that.
The rebel army was whipped and gone, and now the Democratic party loomed up as an enemy in the land.
In telling why he had left the party and become a staunch Republican, his sarcasm burned like caustic. He told a story in an inimitable way, to illustrate the point. It was the story of the flock of sheep the farmer gave his boys:—
“Tommy was to divide the flock, and Johnny take his choice, so Tommy put all the fine, large ones by themselves, and all the scabby, scaly, shaggy ones in another yard, and with them he put Johnny’s little pet lamb, which he had raised and cared for all summer, feeding it with fresh, warm milk, and had put a little blue ribbon, with a bell on it, about its neck; and Tommy knew how he loved it, and so he put it in with the poor, old, scaly lot of sheep. When Johnny came to look at the sheep he looked for Nannie, his lamb; he heard its bell, and saw it was in bad company, with a miserable lot of bad sheep, and so he said, ‘Nannie, good-bye; I’ve loved you. I tied that blue ribbon about your neck, and put that bell on it. I’ve fed you and taken care of you all this time’ (and this description was given with the most dramatic effect); ‘but, Nannie, we must part. Johnny, I will take this lot,’ pointing to all the best sheep.”