Old Abe (1861? – March 28, 1881), [2] a bald eagle, was the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War. It later was depicted as the screaming eagle mascot on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and as the trademark eagle on the globe of the Case tractor company.
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Old Abe was captured in 1861 by Ahgamahwegezhig near the Chippewa River, near the town of Jim Falls, in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. Ahgamahwegezhig, or “Chief Sky,” or “Old Jackson,” was the son of Ah-mous (translated either as “The Little Bee” or “Thunder of Bees”), who held first rank in the councils among the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe.
Old Abe was subsequently traded to local farmer, Daniel McCann, for a bushel of corn, who in turn sold her[4] to the 8th Wisconsin's Company C for $2.50.
Company C named the eagle after President Abraham Lincoln, and designed a special perch on which they carried the bird into battle. Old Abe participated in the Second Battle of Corinth (in which the 8th Wisconsin lost half of its men) and the Siege of Vicksburg, among other battles. In battle, Old Abe quickly became legendary, screaming and spreading her wings at the enemy. Confederate troops called her the "Yankee Buzzard" and made several attempts to capture her but never succeeded. Several times she lost feathers to bullets and saw her handlers get shot out from under her. When passing by, Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and William Rosecrans were known to doff their hats to the eagle.
In 1864, Old Abe returned to Wisconsin with several veterans who did not reenlist. Nevertheless, she remained famous and was invited to, among other events, the 1880 Grand Army of the Republic National Convention, and the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When not at public events, her caretaker kept her in the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Old Abe died from smoke inhalation in a fire at the State Capitol in 1881. Her body was mounted and remained a centerpiece of the capitol. The mount, along with most of the capitol building, was destroyed by fire in 1904.
The insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division is a depiction of Old Abe. The design is based on one of the Civil War traditions of the state of Wisconsin, which was the territory of the original 101st Division after World War I. The black shield recalls the Iron Brigade, the famous Civil War unit composed of western regiments (although not the 8th Wisconsin).[5]
Old Abe was adopted by Jerome Case as the trademark of the J. I. Case agricultural equipment manufacturing company of Racine, Wisconsin in 1865. The trademark was retired in 1969.[6]
Old Abe is the mascot of Eau Claire Memorial High School, whose athletic teams are known as the "Old Abes", and of Racine Case High School, whose teams are simply the "Eagles".
Old Abe was present at numerous battles and lesser engagements during the war:[7]