Old Abe: The Real ‘Screaming Eagle’ Behind the 101st Airborne

Old Abe: From Civil War Mascot to 101st Airborne Emblem

The 101st Airborne Division — immortalized in Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers — is famous for its black-shield patch featuring a screaming eagle. Fewer people know that the emblem traces to a real Civil War bird named Old Abe, whose wartime legend became the inspiration for the division’s insignia.

Captured, Sold and Renamed

In 1861 an eaglet was captured by Ahgamahwegezhig (Chief Big Sky) of the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe. The young bird was sold to Daniel McCann of Chippewa County, Wisconsin, in exchange for a bushel of corn. McCann kept the eagle as a family pet but soon found it too large and costly to maintain. He attempted to sell the bird to passing Wisconsin units headed to Camp Randall in Madison and ultimately sold it for $2.50 to Capt. John E. Perkins, leader of a militia company known as the "Eau Claire Badgers."

A Symbol in Battle

Perkins named the bird "Old Abe" after President Abraham Lincoln. When his militia entered federal service and was redesignated Company C, 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Old Abe quickly became the regiment’s mascot and a powerful morale symbol. Carried into combat by a sergeant while perched on a black shield mounted to a wooden pole, Old Abe accompanied the regiment’s national and regimental colors and witnessed 37 battles and skirmishes, including significant engagements at Vicksburg and Corinth in Mississippi.

Personality and Peril

Between battles, the eagle entertained the troops: he would spread his wings on command, perform a kind of "dance," and — much to the soldiers' amusement — pilfered food whenever he could. Old Abe’s presence became so iconic that Confederate soldiers reportedly prized capturing him as highly as taking enemy colors. Col. Rufus Dawes later recalled hearing prisoners say they would have given more to capture Old Abe than to take a whole brigade.

"I heard [Confederate] prisoners say they would have given more to capture the eagle of the Eighth Wisconsin, than to take a whole brigade of men."

Confederate Gen. Sterling Price is said to have exclaimed during the Battle of Corinth that the eagle "must be captured or killed at all hazards; I would rather get that eagle than capture a whole brigade or a dozen battle flags." Despite such threats, Old Abe remained in Union hands and mustered out with the regiment in 1864.

After the War

After the war, the men of the 8th Wisconsin donated Old Abe to the state of Wisconsin. He lived on public display in the state capitol and traveled to civic events, parades and political gatherings. Over time, however, his care declined; historical records note that he suffered exhaustion, exposure and malnutrition on several occasions while in government custody. Following a small fire in the capitol basement in 1881, Old Abe survived the flames but later succumbed to smoke inhalation and died within a month.

Enduring Legacy

Old Abe’s profile endured as a powerful symbol of American airborne and air assault capability. In 1921, the 101st Airborne Division adopted the screaming eagle on a black shield as its unit patch. That image — rooted in a real Civil War bird — remains one of the most recognizable insignia in the U.S. Army.

Sources: U.S. Army historical records; Wisconsin Historical Society.