Cantigny

This weekend, we visited Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois. I had wanted to visit this park ever since I saw Mary’s post in Midwest Mary and the beautiful pictures she posted.

Before I show you some of the pictures I took this weekend, I’d like to give you a short historical background on why this park is called Cantigny. It all starts with the Battle of Cantigny during World War I.

The Battle of Cantigny, fought May 28, 1918 was the first major American battle and offensive of World War I. The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the five American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near the village of Cantigny, was selected for the attack.1

“On the following morning (28 May 1918), the 28th Infantry Regiment assaulted Cantigny in broad day. Within thirty-five minutes the attackers had the village. That was just the beginning. There followed a daylong donnybrook, hammer-and-tongs, a seesaw of confusion as counterattack followed counterattack. Bullard’s (Major General Robert Bullard – 1st Infantry Division Commander) men held on. The next day, May 29, the German infantry was at first withheld, while Cantigny became the bull’s-eye for every German gun within range. Then the gray tide came on again, wave after wave, in the heaviest  counterblow of all. At several points the Germans broke through and burrowed into Cantigny. One battalion of the 18th Infantry was rushed forward. The enemy was beaten back. That was his last try; Cantigny was American.” 2 

Here is some background information about the Cantigny Park. 

The land was acquired by Joseph Medill as a country estate, which he called Red Oaks, in the late 1800s. After his death, the estate passed to his grandson, Colonel Robert R. McCormick. McCormick served in World War I and saw action at the Battle of Cantigny in northern France. After returning home, he renamed the estate Cantigny in honor of this battle. McCormick had no children. When he died in 1955, he left his fortune to establish the McCormick Charitable Trust (now the McCormick Foundation). He also directed that Cantigny should be transformed into a park for the use of the general public. Since then, the McCormick Foundation has used the endowment funds bequeathed by McCormick to operate Cantigny as a public facility.3

Here are some of the pictures that we took of this beautiful place (Mary’s photos are much better than mine). We also visited the 1st Infantry Division Museum located in the park. I served with this division, the Big Red One, from 2009 to 2011, so it brought back some good memories of my time there. 

Beautiful tulips adorn the place

Love is in the air

I can stay here all day. So peaceful.

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cantigny ↩︎
  2. Marshall, S.L.A. World War I, (P. 372-373). New York: American Heritage, Inc, 2001. ↩︎
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantigny_Park ↩︎

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