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, and the county seat. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020, it ha ...

, 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, about southwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the c ...

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 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 in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

where he continued his legal career. Upon the outbreak of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

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 (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

, making many stump speeches for him in 1858 and 1860.

Civil War career

Dickey was authorized by the State of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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 Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...

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 where it participated in the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

. 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

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

on July 22, 1885.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, T. Lyle 1811 births 1885 deaths People from Paris, Kentucky Illinois state court judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois 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 Illinois state court judges