Wrigleyville in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel

December 8, 1829 ✡️ May 4, 1864

Col. Marcus M. Spiegel Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Wunders Memorials

1. Col. Marcus M. Spiegel Marker

Inscription.
Jewish Abolitionist and Colonel of the 120th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mortally wounded in Louisiana.

Erected 2024 by Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation; Shrouded Veterans.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. series list.

Location. 41° 57.185′ N, 87° 39.62′ W. Memorial is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Wrigleyville. It is on North Clark Street near West Byron Street, on the right when traveling north. Jewish Graceland Cemetery, in front of the Spiegel Family cenotaph. Location of Spiegel cenotaph and marker site: Gate 3, Section 1, Row 14, Lot 40. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 3921 N Clark St, Chicago IL 60613, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Calaboose (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Graves Family Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Joseph R. Scott (approx. 0.2 miles away); Alta Vista Terrace (approx.

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0.2 miles away); Prairie Plant Root Depths (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pollinators of the Prairie (approx. 0.2 miles away); Birds of the Prairie (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Alta Vista Terrace (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this memorial. Colonel Spiegel was one of the highest ranking Jewish Union Civil War officers during the Civil War. He was being considered for a promotion to General. Marcus was killed in action during the Red River Campaign when his transport, the City Belle, was ambushed near Snaggy Point with the heavy loss of life.

Spiegel was buried near the side of the Red River but his remains were washed away over the years due to heavy flooding.

The foot stone memorial at the Spiegel Family cenotaph, with a picture embedded of the Colonel, is the only stone memorial to him.

Colonel Spiegel, like most Union volunteers in the early days of the Civil War, had enlisted to restore the Union. As Spiegel proceeded South and encountered the horrific reality of slavery, he became an ardent Abolitionist.

The stone of honor and memory was placed

Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Wunders Memorials

2. Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel Marker

nearly 160 years after his death by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation and Shrouded Veterans.

Also see . . .
1. Marcus M. Spiegel. (Submitted on April 19, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
2. Marcus M. Spiegel, from conservative democrat to strong abolitionist.

What makes Spiegel even more unique is that he was also amongst the highest-ranking Jewish officers. Beyond this happy coincidence of statistics, the truly remarkable thing about Marcus Spiegel was his multifaceted transformation. He went from being an immigrant to an American. From a financially struggling civilian to a solvent soldier. From captain to colonel (and well on the road to being a general). Perhaps Spiegel’s most important transformation was from a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat to how he referred to himself in one of his final letters: “a strong abolitionist.”

(Submitted on April 19, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)

3. Colonel Spiegel letter to his wife. (Submitted on April 19, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)
4. Colonel Marcus Spiegel, Louis Farrakhan and Pro-Palestinian Hamas Supporters.

Marcus’ life ended at age 35. He was killed during a Confederate River ambush on the Red River near Snaggy Point. The Colonel and many Ohioans died in the fight. Colonel Marcus was amongst the highest-ranking Jews in the Union Army. He was being considered for General when
Photographed by Wunders Memorials

3. Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel Marker
he was killed.

(Submitted on April 26, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida.)

Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel image. Click for full size.

4. Colonel Marcus M. Spiegel

Credits. This page was last revised on May 4, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 539 times since then and 40 times this year. Last updated on May 2, 2026, by Kea Herron of Tallahassee, Florida. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 19, 2024, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Verification of the exact geocoordinates of the marker. • Can you help?