Streator was founded in the years right after the Civil War, and its veterans’ stories became part of the town’s identity. This page covers the people and monuments behind Streator’s military heritage. For the larger story, see our History of Streator.
The Howe Brothers
Two of the youngest soldiers in the Union Army are honored in Streator. Orion P. Howe, born December 29, 1848, in Portage County, Ohio, and his younger brother Lyston D. Howe grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. When the war came, both boys went off with the 55th Illinois Infantry, where their father William, a Mexican War veteran, led the regimental band. The brothers served as musicians.
At Vicksburg on May 19, 1863, 14-year-old drummer boy Orion volunteered to run back through heavy fire to report to General William T. Sherman that the troops needed ammunition. He was badly wounded but finished the mission. General Sherman wrote to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton about him, and he was later appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. He received the Medal of Honor on April 23, 1896. Orion became a dentist and died in Springfield, Missouri, in 1930. Lyston, who enlisted before he turned 11, was later recognized as the youngest soldier to serve in the Civil War. Both brothers had later ties to Streator.
The Streator Civil War Memorial
In May 2009 the Streatorland Historical Society dedicated an obelisk near the southeast corner of City Park, at 301 N. Vermillion Street. One face honors all area men who fought in the Civil War. Another honors Orion P. Howe as the “youngest recipient of Congressional Medal of Honor,” and a third honors Lyston D. Howe as the “youngest to serve in the Civil War.” Orion also appears in Streator’s American Heroes mural.
The Poundstone Flag
Sgt. George Poundstone of Grand Ridge, a 32-year-old farmer, served in the 53rd Illinois Infantry, a regiment organized at Ottawa in the winter of 1861-62. Mortally wounded after a battle, he stuffed his regiment’s U.S. flag into his tunic to keep it out of Confederate hands. The flag has been restored and is now on display at the Streator Public Library.
The GAR Monument at Riverview
At Riverview Cemetery, 1102 W. Main Street, the Grand Army of the Republic erected a marble monument of a uniformed soldier carved from a single block of stone. It was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1914, and is inscribed “To Our Country’s Heroes.” The GAR also set aside a large burial plot for veterans who had no family lots, with 30 veterans’ markers. Memorial Day services were held there until the 1960s.
Leslie G. Woods and World War I
Streator’s American Legion post is named for Leslie G. Woods, a member of the hospital corps who was among the first Americans to land in France. He was killed in a German bombing raid on September 6, 1917, one of the first Americans killed in the war and the first soldier from Streator to die in it. Murals of Woods by local artist Gene Davis, completed in 2020, decorate the Legion building at 218 W. Main Street.
Veterans Corner
Today the southeast corner of City Park serves as Streator’s Veterans Corner, with the Civil War obelisk, a WWI memorial stone, a WWII memorial wall, a Vietnam artillery memorial, a Korean Conflict wall and a marker for patriots of the American Revolution. See also our pages on the WWII Free Canteen and the Cold War DEW Line site.
Related Streator History
- Streator History Overview
- The Streator Free Canteen: Feeding 1.5 Million WWII Troops
- Streator Public Library: The Carnegie Library on Park Street
- Streator's Cold War Secret: The DEW Line Training Site
Sources
- Orion P. Howe – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_P._Howe
- Streator Civil War Memorial – Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185100
- Streator Public Art – Tour of Honor (Poundstone Flag, Riverview GAR monument, Leslie G. Woods, Veterans Corner). https://www.streatorpublicart.com/tourofhonor
