William W. Orme

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Brigadier General William W. Orme was born in Washington, D.C. in 1832. He moved to Bloomington, Illinois, in McLean County, prior to 1860 where he practiced law in the lawfirm of Swett & Orme. His partner was Leonard Swett.

He was a delegate to the Illinois State Constitutional Convention in 1860. He was a friend of Supreme Court Justice David Davis. When Abraham Lincoln appointed Davis to the Supreme Court, Davis wrote Orme about the news.

Orme formed and commanded the 94th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, known as the "McLean Regiment." At the time, he was a colonel. By 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General. Under that rank, he led the Army of the Tenneessee's Herron's Division under Major General Francis J. Herron into the Battle of Vicksburg.

He retired from the military in 1864 to become Supervising Agent for the United States Treasury. Orme died in 1866.

A bronze marker in Orme's honor was erected in 1917 at Vicksburg National Military Park