The Abraham Lincoln Blog At 200

As Mr. Lincoln's 200th birthday rapidly approaches (surely everyone knows by now that it is February 12, 2009), I hope the reader of his blog will permit a little self-indulgence today. This post is the 200th entry on The Abraham Lincoln Blog.

I was new to blogging when I began this blog about Mr. Lincoln in October 2007. I began it for fairly selfish reasons. I needed something productive to occupy far too much spare time. A life of watching too much television and net surfing too frequently was not accomplishing anything worthwhile. Since I'm a computer professional, I thought I'd venturing into the world of blogging. And since my true passion in life is everything related to Abraham Lincoln, I decided to blog about him.

Had I known that there were other Lincoln blogs and sites in existence, I would not have had the "courage" to begin another one. It was after my first 20 posts or so that I learned about Dr. Brian Dirck's wonderful "A. Lincoln Blog," and the superb Abraham Lincoln Research Site, by R. J. Norton. At that point, I nearly stopped this blog for fear that it was superfluous and not in the "league" of the others.

But I realized that in my attempt to provide knowledge to others about Lincoln, I was learning a lot more about him, too. I hadn't known much about the Lincoln-Douglas debates or about his life as a circuit-riding lawyer, for example. So I decided to keep this new Lincoln blog going and I'm happy I did.

Along the way, I've "met" some interesting people who have commented about my postings and I was given the opportunity to review an advance copy of a children's book about Abe. Above all, I've become good friends with a couple of other history bloggers. I'm surprised at the "publicity" the blog has received, including a link to it from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission website. I'm even more surprised that it's received over 46,000 "hits" in the 14 months it's existed.

I thank everyone who has commented on posts, asked questions, offered suggestions, and gently corrected errors I've made. And I especially thank you for the continued interest in Abraham Lincoln.

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Mister Lincoln's White House

The cable channel C-SPAN is running a series of programs every night this week about The White House. Titled "White House Week" the shows will feature tours of the private quarters of the White House (hosted by Laura Bush), a never before shown 1968 tour with Lady Bird Johnson, the famous 1962 tour hosted by Jackie Kennedy, and the first ever televised tour with President Harry S Truman from 1952.

Of particular interest to Abraham Lincoln enthusiasts will be "The Lincoln White House," being shown this coming Thursday evening, December 18. This episode will be taking place in The Lincoln Bedroom and will feature an interview with Harold Holzer, the national co-chair of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and one of the leading Lincoln scholars. Also featured in this program will be Lincoln's "Summer White House," the old Soldier's Home in Washington, which has recently been restored.

The program begins at 9:00 p.m. and is scheduled to run for two hours.

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UPDATE: Lincoln Collection To Remain In Indiana

Today's Indianapolis Star newspaper brings the happy news that the famed collection from the now-defunct Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana will apparently remain in Indiana after all. A news conference is scheduled to be held today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis to make what's termed a "major announcement."

The consortium between the State Museum, the Allen County (Indiana) Public Library, and the Indiana Historical Society seems to have beat out major competitors such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

The Indiana consortium proposed that the three-dimensional objects (like the busts pictured above) would be housed in the State Museum, while documents and books go to the library. The Historical Society would preserve and maintain the rarest of the documents, including one of the 25 known copies of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln.

The Fort Wayne collection, previously owned by the Lincoln Financial Foundation, contains a massive amount of artifacts related to Abraham Lincoln. The collection contains at least 230,000 items, including 18,000 books and 340 documents signed by Lincoln. Countless other items include busts, photos, paintings, and other ephemera. The collection is considered to be priceless.

I've posted several times about the closure of the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne. This was the original announcement , while this post dealt with some of the ramifications of the closure. At the time of the closure, it was not known what would end up happening to the collection.

While the main competitors were indeed formidable, I think it's wonderful and just that the collection remains in Indiana, where Abraham Lincoln spent his formative years. Congratulations to the Hoosier State! Well done!

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President Lincoln At The Smithsonian

As the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth rapidly approaches, plans are in full swing across the country for exhibitions, lectures, concerts, plays, musicals, and countless other activities to celebrate his life. It would be nearly impossible to take in all of these events, so how can the average Lincoln fan get the most "bang for the buck" while participating in the national celebration?

The perfect place to begin, in my opinion, are the museums of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (My previous post discusses the rare exhibition of the Bliss Copy of the Gettysburg Address at the National Museum of American History. It's being shown for only 3 more weeks!) Five different exhibits at the various museums are either open now or will be open by January 2009. The "Lincoln At The Smithsonian" website describes all the exhibits, the dates they run, and the museums in which they are featured.

The most anticipated of these exhibits would have to be "Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life" at the National Museum of American History. This exhibit will feature more than 60 items Lincoln owned, acquired or used. Included will be the top hat (pictured above) he wore to Ford's Theater the night he was assassinated. The exhibit opens on January 16, 2009 and will run until 2011.

Also opening on January 16 at the Museum of American History is "America's New Birth of Freedom: Documents from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum" which includes a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. This and nine other documents written by Lincoln are on loan from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. These documents are on display until April 2009.

The National Portrait Museum is currently showing "One Life: The Mask Of Lincoln" which features 33 photographs and portraits of Lincoln. The link I've provided is a video which shows some of the items, along with an interview of the curator. The show runs until July 5, 2009.

At the American Art Museum, visitors can learn about President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball at the exhibit "The Honor of Your Company Is Requested: President Lincoln's Inaugural Ball." The ball was held on March 6, 1865 just six weeks before Lincoln's death. This exhibit displays a menu from the ball, an invitation, and other items. It's open until January 2010.

Not to be left out is the National Postal Museum, which is showing various plate proofs of stamps honoring Lincoln. These certified plate proofs are the final proof of the plate (engravings) prior to printing the stamps themselves. The exhibit is on until October 2010.

Of course while in Washington, you can absorb even more about President Lincoln by visiting the Lincoln Memorial and the recently re-opened Soldiers' Home which was used by the Lincoln family as a summer retreat during his time in office. And don't miss Ford's Theater, which re-opens after an extensive remodeling in February 2009.

Obviously there are other Lincoln Bicentennial Events throughout the country. The Lincoln Bicentennial Commission website found here is a great place to start. It contains a calendar of events for the bicentennial. The calendar is not all-encompassing, so be sure to search for events in your community.

As always, please continue to return to The Abraham Lincoln Blog for the latest news about Mr. Lincoln and his bicentennial. Thank you!

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Gettysburg Address On Display At The Smithsonian

From now until January 4, 2009 people fortunate enough to visit the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. have the opportunity to visit a rarely displayed copy of The Gettysburg Address written in Abraham Lincoln's hand.

This is the so-called "Bliss Copy" of the Address, which is the fifth and final copy known to exist in Lincoln's own writing. This copy was written by Lincoln at the request of Mr. Alexander Bliss, who along with Mr. John Pendleton Kennedy organized and published a book called "Autograph Leaves Of Our Country's Authors." The book was created to raise money for the U.S. Sanitary and U.S. Christian Commissions, which were the two major women's relief organizations in the North during the Civil War. It contained facsimile reproductions of writings and autographs of the most famous authors of the era, and included a facsimile of this copy of the Address. The two commissions were begun in 1861 in order to help promote clean and healthy conditions in Union army camps, set up field hospitals, and provide services and comfort to the soldiers.

The "Bliss Copy" is the source for most modern facsimile reproductions of the Address, primarily because it is the only copy which contains Lincoln's signature. The text is also slightly different from the earlier copies; for example, Lincoln removed the word "here" from the clause "for which they (here) gave their lives......" in this version.

This copy of the Address remained in the hands of the Bliss family until 1949, when it was purchased at auction by Mr. Oscar Cintas (a wealthy former Ambassador from Cuba to the United States) for the then-record sum of $54,000. Mr. Cintas willed the document to the people of the United States, but with the stipulation that it be displayed in the Lincoln Bedroom in The White House. It remains in The White House collection to this day, which is why it is seldom seen in public. Mrs. Laura Bush generously permitted the document to be displayed at the current exhibit at the museum.

The document is on display in the Albert H. Small documents gallery in the museum. Unfortunately, photography of the Bliss Copy is not permitted to the public, nor is photography permitted in the gallery. The image I've included showing the Bliss Copy and the gallery is from the Associated Press, which had the approval to take this photo.

I had the good fortune to visit the National Museum of American History on the opening weekend and made sure I saw the Address. While the exhibit itself is small, it is highly informative and very well done. There are various signs to read which helps place this copy of the Address into context. A copy of the book "Autograph Leaves" is only display along with a brief history of the Sanitary Fair and commissions. There are two beautiful images of Lincoln in the gallery, including a painting of Lincoln which was donated to the museum by Lincoln's grandson (there are no living direct descendants of Lincoln). Finally, there is a recording of the actor Liam Neeson reciting the Address. Neeson is to portray Lincoln in Daniel Spielberg's biopic of Lincoln. I have to say, I've heard the actor Sam Waterston's recital of the Address, and found his recitation to be more moving and warmer than Neeson's.

If you have the opportunity to be in Washington, D.C. before January 4, 2009, don't miss the chance to see this copy of the Gettysburg Address. And by all means, also see the original Star-Spangled Banner once more on exhibit after a 10-year restoration. It's literally just a few feet away from the Address.

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Chillin' With Abe Takes On A New Meaning

My previous post was titled "Chillin' With Abe," informing my readers that I was heading to the beach for some much-needed relaxation and fun with my friends and their family. I certainly didn't mean "chillin'" as in "freezing."

The five of us ventured to Cape Hatteras, N.C., which is one of the best places on the Eastern seaboard for fishing, serenity, and beauty. Average temperature this time of the year is in the middle 60's. Unfortunately, we were met with chilly temps in the low to mid 40's and gale force winds (from 25-35 mph) nearly every day. It ruined fishing for the most part and the frigid conditions meant that we never needed any sunscreen.

But all was not lost. Even on the beach, I was never far from Lincoln history. We visited a small museum about shipwrecks along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. One of the most famous shipwrecks is the U.S.S. Monitor, the Union ironclad ship which sank on December 31, 1862 about 17 miles off the North Carolina coast. It was rediscovered in 1973 and is now preserved as a federal Marine Sanctuary. The U.S. Navy approved construction of the ship in 1861.

The museum also has an exhibit about the hunt for the Alligator, which was the first U.S. Navy submarine. I had never heard of this submarine, which was never commissioned. It also was lost at sea off the coast of North Carolina. The Alligator was observed by Lincoln during a test of its capabilities on March 18, 1863. The hunt continues for the Alligator.

Our journey home took a couple of unexpected stops, one in Washington, D.C. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the original Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History. This flag was the one which flew over Ft. McHenry in Baltimore during the British bombardment of Baltimore during the war of 1812. It has undergone a decade-long restoration and was put on display just last week at the remodeled museum.

We were also very fortunate in being able to see an original copy of The Gettysburg Address, which is on display through January 4, 2009. This is the "Bliss" copy of the Address and is rarely displayed to the public. It's current permanent home is the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House.

Finally, my travelling companions and I stopped in Sharpsburg, Maryland for a tour of the Antietam National Battlefield. It was, of course, the scene of the single bloodiest day of The Civil War, with nearly 20,000 deaths and other casualties on September 17, 1862. I'd never before visited Antietam and I found it just as moving as a visit to Gettysburg. It was at Antietam that Lincoln visited General George McClellan in an effort to prod him into action. Of course McClellan was eventually fired due to his continuous inaction and failure to destroy Lee's army.

I'll be posting more in-depth about the Alligator, the Gettysburg Address, and Antietam in coming days. I didn't expect that my vacation would be so heavily "Abe oriented" but I'm of course happy it was.

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Chillin' With Abe

Mr. Lincoln looks like he's "chillin'" a bit in this drawing, almost as if he's thinking about a week or so at the beach, catching some rays, doing a little fishing, maybe and try to unwind a little from all the pressure he's under as president.

Can't say as though I blame him. It's been an intense campaign season, corporate America is axing jobs faster than we count, the economy is weak, and life is stressful for almost all of us.

That's why I'm heading to the beautiful seashore of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina for a week of some (hopefully) relaxation and fun with some long-time friends who make me part of their family.

I'm a systems analyst in my "real life" and a fairly active blogger in my spare time. I interact with computers way too much. Therefore, the Abraham Lincoln Blog is going on a 10-day or so hiatus. I'm taking along a couple of history magazines, a couple of books, and hopefully will find some peace and quiet far from the stresses of daily life.

Thanks for reading this blog. I'm an unabashed history geek and I hope you enjoy my posts.

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