Lincoln's Inauguration Journey - February 14, 1861 to Pittsburgh

Abraham Lincoln and his family left the city of Columbus, Ohio early on the morning of February 14, 1861. The destination for the end of that day was the industrial city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The image I've included with this post is a stained glass window which depicts Mr. Lincoln speaking from the rear of his Inaugural train. It is located in the Smithfield United Church Of Christ in downtown Pittsburgh.

The weather in Columbus was cold with a chilling rain that day as the train left at 7:00 a.m. The crowd of people that morning, while not quite as large as the ones the previous day, still led to general confusion that morning and Mary Lincoln and her two younger sons nearly missed the train. But they caught it at last and the train went on to its destination. To help ease the boredom, some members of the party broke into song, singing popular tunes of the day.

The first stop at which Lincoln's words were recorded that day are from Newark, Ohio. The train actually went too far past the depot for him to easily address the crowd there. He limited his remarks to that fact, saying that there wasn't enough time to make a speech, and the "many fair ladies" had been "deprived...of observing" his "very interesting countenance." His simply bade the town farewell.

Lincoln's next stop of which we have records that day was in the small hamlet of Cadiz Junction, Ohio. This small place was the location of two railroads of the time, thus the name of the village, located a few miles from the Harrison County seat of Cadiz. This was a dinner stop for the party, and they were fed at the Park's House, a hotel long since vanished. After dinner, Lincoln pronounced to the assembled crowd that he was "too full for utterance" but if they had time, they would organize the train and pass a vote of thanks to the people of the county.

Lincoln had time for a longer speech of more substance at the next town, Steubenville, Ohio. This city was the birthplace and early home of Lincoln's eventual Secretary Of War, Edwin M. Stanton, but of course that was not foreseen at the time. Steubenville is on the banks of the Ohio River. At that time, the state of Virginia (now West Virginia) was across the river. Much like in Cincinnati two days earlier, Lincoln addressed Ohioans with points about the U.S. Constitution and the then-current troubles in the country. He stated that the people "on the other side of this majestic stream" wanted their rights under the Constitution. He pointedly asked just what their rights were under that document. He said that to decide that, the only was for a vote of the people across the country. If the majority did not want the expansion of slavery, then how could the minority still determine the outcome of the issue? He reiterated that if they (the Virginians) didn't like the outcome of the vote (i.e. the presidential vote), then they had another chance in four years to elect a better man.

At Wellsville, Ohio the train halted for under two minutes, and Lincoln simply greeted the crowd and said farewell. But then a drunken man pushed his way through the crowd to shake Lincoln's hand, admitting that he had voted for Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln shook the man's hand anyway, saying that the man and his friends should work to keep the ship of state afloat, and perhaps Mr. Douglas would have a chance next time of winning.

The Inauguration train finally left the Buckeye state and crossed into Pennsylvania, where he next spoke at the village of Rochester, just west of Pittsburgh. He intended on greeting the people, but as he was leaving a person asked what Lincoln would do with the secessionists. Lincoln replied "My friend, that is a matter which I have under very grave consideration."

Then the Lincoln train was delayed for almost four hours after learning that a freight train had broken down ahead of them on the tracks. The party tried to make the best of it, but by then it was nearly dark and everyone was very tired and cold. Finally, a few hours later, the Lincoln train reached the city of Pittsburgh.

Lincoln spoke at the Monongahela House, Pittsburgh's most luxurious hotel. He told the crowd that as he rode through the streets to the hotel, he thought that if "all the people were in favor of the Union, it can certainly be in no great danger - it will be preserved." After a few more remarks of the same type, he told the crowd that he would make a longer, better speech the next morning. It had been a very long day and the weather was supposed to be better then.

Thus ended Lincoln's day, February 14, 1861 - 150 years ago today.

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Lincoln's Inauguration Journey - Columbus February 13, 1861

Abraham Lincoln arrived in the state capital of Ohio, Columbus, on February 13, 1861 during his Inaugural Journey to Washington. More accurately, it could be said that he barely arrived in the capital city.

According to the New York Times report of the date, a bomb was found on Lincoln's train car earlier that day as it left Cincinnati, where he had spoken the day before to tens of thousands. Fortunately, the bomb was either defused or disposed of and Lincoln, his family, and the rest of the passengers made it safely to Columbus. Lincoln was already under death threats and now an attempt on his life had already been made.

The Buckeye State (my home state) went wild for Abraham Lincoln. In Xenia, Ohio earlier in the day, a mob estimated at 5,000 people was waiting for Lincoln's arrival at the depot. The crowd jumped on the roof of his train car, stormed the depot, and even ate the President-Elect's lunch which had been waiting for him. Though they demanded a speech, Lincoln gave them none, generally fearing for his and his family's safety in such a tumult.

Lincoln spoke very briefly at another whistle stop along the way to Columbus, in the small village of London, Ohio while the train took on fresh water. Lincoln declined to give a speech and instead asked an assembled band to play a musical interlude. He was already tired and hoarse from speaking and he was only three days into his journey.

A huge sea of people awaited Lincoln in Columbus, then a town of not even 20,000. Yet the Times estimated that at least 50,000 people were in the town in order to glimpse the future president.

Lincoln was taken by carriage to the Ohio Statehouse where the combined houses of the state's legislature (called "General Assembly") waited to hear him speak. From the print showed above (courtesy Library of Congress), the building was jammed with people. Abraham Lincoln spoke to the Assembly, but the speech was unmemorable and included a strange statement when he claimed that "nothing was going wrong" in the country and that "there is nothing that really hurts anybody." Even close friends were disappointed by his speech in Columbus and for that matter, in Cincinnati and Indianapolis as well.

(Abraham Lincoln was not a good extemporaneous or "off-the-cuff" speaker and these speeches thus far had revealed that weakness of his. The speeches which have come through the ages to us as brilliant and moving were those which he worked on carefully for weeks, constantly editing and marking them until he felt they were just right. This more than anything puts to bed the myth that Lincoln wrote his Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope while traveling to Gettysburg.)

Once the speech was over that day in Columbus, Lincoln had to escape to another room to avoid the crush of people who rushed toward him, determined to touch the man who would soon be President.

Lincoln then went to the outside steps of the Ohio Statehouse in order to speak to the thousands who were not politicians or VIP's and who had missed hearing him in the building. Lincoln acknowledged that not everyone in the crowd had voted for him, but that he appreciated their attendance, saying that had any of his opponents had won, he would think that such a crowd would have come to see the other men, too. He also admitted that the State General Assembly had just heard a few "broken" remarks from him, so it's quite possible that Lincoln realized that his speech had not been a good one.

While in Columbus, Lincoln was notified by telegram that with the presidential vote officially counted in Washington that day, he was now certified to be the next President Of The United States. There is an interesting account from yesterday's (February 12, 2011) New York Times about this vote. Someone asked General Winfield Scott on February 13, 1861 what would happen should someone try to disrupt the official vote counting in Washington that day, especially if it was a U.S. Senator from a southern state. The person was unbelieving that Scott would have him arrested. Scott replied: "I would blow him to hell!"

Lincoln spent the night in Columbus, Ohio 150 years ago today, February 13, 1861. He resumed the Inauguration Journey, the next day as he traveled through small villages and towns in eastern Ohio, on his way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That leg will be described in my next post. Stay tuned.

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Lincoln's Inauguration Journey - February 12, 1861

The second day of Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration Journey was his 52nd birthday, February 12, 1861. The next leg of this journey continued from Indianapolis through the eastern half of Indiana then traveled southward to the Ohio River city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lincoln had spoken fairly frequently the first day of the trip and was already experiencing some minor hoarseness as the train pulled out of Indianapolis. Nonetheless, he still would meet the crowds and even offer brief remarks at the stops along the route to Cincinnati that day.

The train passed through small Indiana towns that day, and made a brief two-minute stop in Shelbyville, where Lincoln shook as many hands as he could before the train departed. It was his second visit to that town, the first being in 1859 during his return trip from a speech he gave in Cincinnati. On that occasion, Lincoln had spoken in Shelbyville for a short time, pointing his differences with Stephen A. Douglas and the Democrats over the issues of slavery.

At the longer stop in Lawrenceburg, Indiana this day, though, Lincoln had a longer time period in which to offer a few remarks to the crowd. He stated that "If the politicians and leaders of parties were as true as the PEOPLE (original source capitalization, not mine), there would be little fear that the peace of the country would be disturbed."

Upon arrival in Cincinnati that afternoon, Lincoln spoke a few lines upon a rousing welcome from the crowd at the depot. He told the people gathered that he would give his main speech later that day from the Burnet House (a hotel), a print of which is shown in the image I've included with this post.

At the Burnet House, Lincoln thanked the multitudes of people who had come to see him, a crowd estimated at approximately 10,000. He admitted that the people had not come to see him, but the President-Elect of The United States, a statement which caused much cheering and applause. He said it was as it should be, no matter if his other opponents had been elected instead of him. He was quick to point out that well that in his opinion no other country on Earth would've seen so many gather to welcome its new leader, and that the country owed this to the free institutions which had guaranteed freedom of assembly. He said that he hoped that the country would continue on such a path for centuries to come.

He then turned his attention to any Kentuckians who might be in the crowd. Yet again, Lincoln assured those who might be present that he had no intention to interfere with their "institution" (i.e., slavery) where it already existed. He said that other than their differing opinions on the issue of expansion of slavery, there was no difference between them. He reminded them again, that he was a fellow Kentuckian and had no personal intentions of bad against them. He closed his directed speech to the Kentuckians by saying he would treat them as the Founding Fathers had treated them.

Then speaking to the Ohioans again, Lincoln asked them to harbor no ill will towards their "friends" and "brethren" across the Ohio River in Kentucky. He expressed his hope that the country would yet again come together as one nation.

In those days (and even today), there was a large population of Germans in Cincinnati. Later after his main speech that day, Lincoln went to another location in the city to address a crowd of people of German heritage which included numerous recent immigrants from that country. Lincoln again declined to announce what course of action he would take once he assumed the presidency in the following month. But he did state to them that he would treat the Germans (who were facing much discrimination then) no better and no worse than Americans. He stated his support for a Homestead Law (passed in 1862) which would provide free Federal land (in return for working it for at least five years) to anyone who would want it. This was wildly popular among the German and other European immigrants at the time, who were fleeing famine, cramped conditions, and oppression in their native countries.

With these remarks, Lincoln was done appearing in public for that day. He and his family overnighted in Cincinnati. He would leave the next day for the state capital of Ohio, Columbus. That brief leg of the trip will be discussed tomorrow, the 150th anniversary.

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Lincoln's Inauguration Journey - February 11, 1861

The first day of Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Journey to Washington City (as it was called in those days) began with his famous Farewell Address he gave that morning to his friends and neighbors in Springfield. That was the subject of my previous post. This post will cover the rest of that first day's journey.

Lincoln appeared to the crowd that day as the photo above depicts. The pose was taken in photographer C.S. German's Springfield gallery only two days prior to departure, February 9, 1861. It shows the President-Elect with a full beard and somewhat shaggy hair. His wife Mary thought it made him look almost "saintly."

After Lincoln and his family departed Springfield, he briefly wrote some of the lines of his Farewell Address down on paper for posterity, then his personal secretary John Nicolay wrote out some more of the Address. Lincoln finished it, so the original manuscript of the Address is in both of their handwriting.

Train travel being what it was in the 1860's, meant frequent stops along the way for more water or wood or coal for the locomotives. This journey would be no different. At most of the stops, Lincoln would at least appear very briefly at the rear of the train and say a few appropriate remarks to the gathered villagers or townspeople. He saved his more important speeches along the journey for the large cities or state capitals of each state he traveled through.

The first stop that day was in the small town of Tolono, Illinois. He spoke only a couple of lines to the crowd, telling it that he hoped that "Behind the cloud the sun is still shining."

In Danville, Illinois, Lincoln no doubt was greeted at least briefly by some old friends. Lincoln often participated in court cases in that small town, and he had become quite close with two men there. Oliver Davis was Lincoln's floor manager at the Republican Convention in 1860 which nominated Lincoln. They had served on several cases together. Another friend in that town was Oscar Harmon, also a fellow lawyer and former Illinois state representative. Harmon was killed in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Civil War. When Lincoln himself was later killed, a lock of his hair was given to Harmon's widow. You can read more about Lincoln's friends in Danville here.

Soon after, Lincoln's train reached the Indiana state line, where he spoke about having lived in that state from 1816 to 1830. He promised a bigger and better speech in Indianapolis at the state capitol. The next stop was in Lafayette, Indiana where he marveled at the speed he had traveled that day, remarking that in his youth, it was good if a person had been able to travel 30 miles. He went on to talk about the Union and how he felt that it would yet remain whole.

In Thorntown and Lebanon, Indiana, Lincoln tried to tell a humorous story about a slow horse to the crowds, but the train departed before he could finish the story. The point was basically that he wanted to make it to Washington prior to the Inauguration on March 4. This was a theme he repeated frequently on the journey.

He finally arrived in Indianapolis, the state capital later in the day. In response to a hearty welcome from the governor, Lincoln addressed a large assembly of people as he stood on the rear platform of the train. He told the crowd that the preservation of the Union was as much as their responsibility, if not more, than it was his own responsibility. That everyone who loved the Union must struggle to preserve it.

Later that day from the Bates House (a hotel) also in Indianapolis, Lincoln addressed another large crowd. In this speech, Lincoln spoke strongly against the southern states' claims that the northern states were trying to "invade" their territory. Lincoln replied or asked that if the Federal Government was simply trying to hold onto its property (i.e., forts being seized by the southern states), how could that, then, be invading? He also asked how could the "sacredness" of a given state be more important than that of the Union?

Thus ended a long first day of Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration Journey to Washington, February 11, 1861. He had said farewell to his beloved Springfield, and spoken at small towns and large ones as well, in both Illinois and Indiana. The next day was his 52nd birthday.

Won't you join the Abraham Lincoln Blog as I commemorate each day of his journey, on the 150th anniversary of each particular day? It will be a memorable trip.

I should mention that my source for this series of posts is primarily The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, published in 1953, Roy Blaser, editor. It is an indispensable resource for researching the life of Abraham Lincoln.

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Lincoln Record Changed At National Archives

According to a January 24, 2011 press release from The National Archives in Washington, D.C., a pardon signed by President Abraham Lincoln has been discovered to have been altered by a Lincoln researcher. Thomas Lowry has now admitted to this unbelievable deed during an investigation by the Archives and has forever been banned from using any research facility operated by that institution.

The pardon in question was for a Union soldier put to court-martial for desertion. Patrick Murphy, the soldier in question, was pardoned by President Lincoln on April 14, 1864 and spared punishment execution, due to Murphy's "insanity." But that date wasn't good enough for Lowry, who wrote a "5" over the "4" in "1864" to make it look like this act by Lincoln might have been the very last official act of his life on April 14, 1865. He did this in order to achieve notoriety and fame as having been the "discoverer" of perhaps the last thing Lincoln ever wrote. According to the press release and accompanying video, Lowry was also immediately "raised" to the "upper echelons" of Lincoln researchers and historians with this supposed discovery.

Lowry then parlayed this "discovery" into a book titled "Don't Shoot That Boy: Abraham Lincoln and Military Justice" which was published in 1999. He also went on to write other books, all resulting from this "fame."

Words fail me in trying to describe the damage Lowry has perpetrated here. Obviously he has physically altered, perhaps forever, a document written in Lincoln's hand. Specialists at the Archives are trying now to determine if this "5" can be removed without further damaging the pardon.

More importantly, Lowry actually rewrote history for at least the past 12 years. By claiming Lincoln wrote something on April 14, 1865 when that was not true, Lowry misled the public, other researchers, and news organizations.

Lowry, through this act of greed and selfishness, has obliterated his reputation. If he was willing to do such a terrible thing to one document, then who knows what else he did in producing "research" for his own gain? Please don't think that I feel sorry for him, because I don't. What he did was utterly reprehensible.

The National Archives itself has to accept some of the responsibility for not catching this alteration far earlier. The video provided in the press release specifically mentions the The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln as the reference which was used to prove that this pardon was written in 1864, and not 1865. That set of 9 volumes has been in existence since 1953 and is the best reference for everything which Lincoln ever wrote. Why did no National Archives historian consult this resource immediately to confirm what Lowry claimed back in the 1990's? This pardon had not been "lost" to history. It was documented in the Collected Works when the reference set was published. I just found it in my own copy of the reference set in a manner of seconds. Had some care been taken, this alteration of an historic document could have been found immediately.

Unfortunately, Lowry cannot be prosecuted for his crime(s). According to the press release, the statute of limitations has expired, and all the National Archives can do is take the action I mentioned earlier in this post.

Historians, professional and amateur alike, must always strive for accuracy. This lone "researcher," Thomas Lowry, was permitted to alter history for more than a decade. What he did was unconscionable. But it is also unthinkable that he got away with this act of deception for so long. Hopefully, the National Archives will learn to have better controls in the future on researchers so nothing like this ever happens again.

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Join Abraham Lincoln On Facebook

Greetings and Happy New Year from The Abraham Lincoln Blog. As this blog enters its fourth year, I am grateful to all of my readers for their continued support of this endeavor. Without your readership, questions, and comments, there would be no purpose for this blog to continue.

This new year of 2011 of course marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the American Civil War. Already events are being scheduled throughout the United States, North and South, to remember the bloodiest war in our nation's history. Re-enactments, parades, symposia, and a flood of books will be just some of the ways we Americans will remember this critical part of our history.

Becoming somewhat overlooked by the hoopla surrounding the war's commemorations is the fact that 2011 is also the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration as the 16th President Of The United States. The National Park Service is going to stage a re-creation of Lincoln's Inaugural Journey from Springfield to Washington next month, but most of the focus seems to be on the war anniversary. For example, my own hometown of Canton, OH has established a committee to stage events commemorating the war itself, but thus far, no one in town seems to have an interest in Lincoln's role in the events leading up to and including the Civil War.

Therefore, I have decided to create a project which will hopefully give insight into Lincoln's actions, thoughts, and activities as he entered the remaining months prior to becoming President during a time of national crisis.

Using the social network Facebook, I have created a page where people can receive status updates from "Abraham Lincoln" as he deals with the stress of seceding states, office seekers, preparing for the move to Washington, and relates his concerns. These updates will be written as if they are coming from Lincoln himself in 1861. I will be the sole writer of the updates and I will remain in character as "Lincoln." The updates will be "real time" in that "Lincoln" will not realize that there will be a Civil War in just a few months. "He" can comment about his past, but not about his future or about the events of our time.

This Facebook page is titled "HonestAbraham Lincoln". The name is a bit hokey, but Facebook wouldn't permit me to simply use his name. The link or URL for this page is quite simple:

http://facebook.com/HonestAbrahamLincoln

The Facebook page is NOT replacing this blog, nor am I ending the blog. It's simply meant to be another way I can help others to have a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Abraham Lincoln and his legacy. The Facebook page actually will complement the blog.

Please consider giving this new Facebook page of "HonestAbraham Lincoln" a try. Already 111 people are "liking" it and receiving updates from Mr. Lincoln. Why not join us in this new endeavor?

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Merry Christmas From The Abraham Lincoln Blog

I want to take a few moments today, Christmas Eve 2010, to wish all of my readers a very blessed Christmas and best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous New Year. The holiday season can be stressful with so much to do; presents to wrap, trips to take, and parties to attend. Sometimes it's easy to get so buried with the work of the season that we don't often experience the love and wonder of it. My hope for each of you is that you feel the joy far more than the stress.

The most significant Christmas fact I've ever been able to find associated with Abraham Lincoln comes from his final Christmas in 1864. On December 22, General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote to President Lincoln the following message:

"I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns, plenty of ammunition, and about 25,000 bales of cotton."

The photo above is the original transcription of the telegraph which Sherman sent to the president. The capture of Savannah by Union forces marked the end of Sherman's "March To The Sea" when his forces cut a swath of destruction across Georgia, effectively demoralizing the heart of the Confederacy.

Lincoln's reply was heartfelt, expressing "many, many thanks" for the gift. He also admitted that he had been fearful of Sherman's success, especially when Sherman proposed to divide his army during the campaign. He sent the letter to Sherman on December 26, 1864.

That Christmas of 1864 saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Union and Confederate, away from their loved ones and families as they continued the struggle for the direction of the United States. As we celebrate Christmas 2010, let us not forget the brave soldiers of today who are far away from their families as they are stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other foreign lands.

We are forever in their debt.

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