The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865

Leander Stillwell (1843-1934) was an American lawyer, judge and a pioneer attorney who co-created the first bar of Erie. From 1861 to 1865 he was with the Union army joining as a private of Company D, Sixty-first Regiment, Illinois Infantry Volunteers. He was appointed Corporal, then Sergeant and later First Sergeant in 1863, and re-enlisted in 1864, at Little Rock, Arkansas. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, and several minor engagements. His experiences were published as The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 (1917/20). In 1876 he was elected a member of the lower house of the Kansas Legislature. He was a republican and held various township offices, both in Illinois and Kansas, and was quite active in civic affairs. In 1883 he was elected judge of the Seventh Judicial District. He was re-elected judge of the same district in 1887, 1891, 1895 and 1899, and resigned in 1907.