Old Abe was an eagle captured by a Native American named Ahgamahwegezhig, or "Chief Sky", in the spring of 1861. He later sold the eagle to Daniel McCann for a bushel of corn, who, in turn, sold it to a company of the Union Army named the "Eau Claire Badgers". The company captain named the eagle after Abraham Lincoln, "Old Abe". That company became Company C of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment and Old Abe became the 8th Wisconsin's mascot. Old Abe followed the company throughout the civil war, eventually becoming a national celebrity.
After the war quarters were set up for Old Abe in the Wisconsin Capitol building, which included a two room “apartment,” a custom bathtub for the eagle, and a caretaker. In February 1881 a small fire broke out in basement of the Capitol building, which was saved when Old Abe raised an alarm. Old Abe, however, inhaled copious quantities of smoke and as a result died on March 26, 1881. His remains were stuffed and placed on display in the rotunda of the Capitol. In 1904, Old Abe’s remains were destroyed in a fire that razed the Capitol building.
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Old Abe at Wiki.
In addition to being the JI Case Trademark and the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, Old Abe is also the screaming eagle on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.
This sculpture is an exact replica of the JI Case trademark of Old Abe standing on a globe of the earth. The sculpture was from the collection of Albert H. Bedord, possibly done in 2002. The globe is around 2½ feet in diameter, while Old Abe himself stands about 4 feet in height, larger than most copies of the original trademark which appeared on the premises of Case Dealers worldwide for over a century. It stands mounted on a cylindrical concrete plinth outside the south end of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.