On May 2, 1862, Union troops of the 19th and 24th Illinois and the 37th Indiana Regiments commanded by Col. John Basil Turchin went on a rampage through Athens, looting and plundering stores and homes, stealing clothing, jewelry, and anything of value, and destroying what they did not want. For months afterward, the soldiers stabled their horses in some of the town's churches, burned the pews for firewood, and destroyed the interiors. Col. Turchin, born Ivan Vasillevitch Turchinoff in Russia, was court martialed in Huntsville for encouraging these actions, but his wife appealed to Abraham Lincoln for clemency on his behalf. Turchin was promoted to Brig. Gen. one day before the court martial.