February 28, 1861 (Friday)

Going Around in Circles....how about
No Compromises
No Concessions to traitors,
The Constitution as it is.

Several articles of interest today:

"Much Talking, Little Listening" ...a review of the last weeks events with special focus on the the Peace Convention and the Virginia Convention. 


"There Must be Blood-Letting!"  ...a narrative on the place of Wisconsin and Minnesota in the secession battle...especially relevant with the news out of Wisconsin these days.


An updated Secession Map:


The Impact of the Civil War on Jewish life in the North and South


A three-minute video on the Palmetto State Ironclad.


The Southern Press begins a sustained attack on  Lincoln:  

February 27, 1861 (Wednesday)

Buchanan Administration:
Shipwrecked....

The Buchanan administration is getting ready to leave on March 4th.  Some say this was one of the worst presidents the United States has ever had.  What can we learn from this administration?  Jean H. Baker writes a narrative, "Learning from Buchanan" for the Disunion--New York Times series, February 26, 2011.  Below are some excerpts from the article.  Click on the link above to read all the details.  I leave you to draw your own conclusions from the article.

"Buchanan had come to office with the best credentials of any president in American history...On March 4, 1861, his tenure ended.  As Buchanan and Lincoln rode back from the Capitol, Buchanan turned to the new president and said, 'If you are as happy in entering the White House as I am in returning to Wheatland [PA], you are a happy man.' 

The question remains why such an experienced and intelligent president failed so miserably.  Americans lavish attention on their successful presidents; yet there is much to be learned from our presidential failures.  He failed because he used that power with such partiality as an activist, ideologically driven executive.  He had chosen sides in the great crisis and did not listen...He went beyond political custom by castigating Republicans as disloyal.  His vision of the United States was at odds with most Americans, whose definition of freedom did not include a slave republic dominated by a minority of slave owners.  In one of the essential ingredients of successful leadership, Buchanan had failed to interpret his nation.  Tragically, his administration served to encourage the future enemies of the republic as he gave the Confederate States of America precious time and support to organize for war."

An interesting article on "Presents to the President" written in the New York Herald, February 27, 1861.  Hat tip Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War.  Read at the link above about several unique gifts that Lincoln had already received from people as he neared Inauguration Day.  Interesting, to say the least....

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is 54 years old today. 

Then in the Diary of a Yankee in the Patent Office, there is a meeting with President Buchanan who states that the Peace Conference has come to an agreement and the country is saved.  However, "the Peace Convention suffered the same results as did the Crittenden Compromise.  On March 1, the House failed to muster the two-thirds vote necessary to bring the measure before it.  The Senate, which considered the resolutions in the waning moments of its session on March 4, rejected them decisively, 28-7."  (Dilemmas of Compromise, "Peace Convention Offers Compromise", February 27, 1861.)

February 26, 1861 (Tuesday)

Fanning the Flames

Thoughts written this day:

"The people of the Southern Confederacy are by no means as harmonious and well contented as their leaders predicted they would be after they 'seceded' from the Union.  Like unruly boys who run away from comfortable homes on account of fancied indignities, before they are fully able to take care of themselves, they find themselves surrounded with unexpected embarrassments which they are illy prepared to encounter.  The question of taxation, always a delicate one, is now necessarily attracting their earnest attention.  To properly sustain the independent attitude to which they aspire a large amount of money must annually be expended.  They have long complained that 'the North' imposed serious burdens upon them for its aggrandisement, but the sum they have contributed heretofore to the present National Government has been but trifling, when compared with the amount that will be required from them before the machinery of the new Confederacy can be put into complete and successful operation. 

South Carolina, too, appears to be sadly displeased with her loss of the power to make war, attack forts, and create as great a disturbance as possible in various ways, which she assumed before the new Confederacy was formed.  She is becoming almost as rebellious in feeling against the Montgomery government as the Washington government.  If she can't rule her new associates, she will not care how soon the new movement is broken up and runined."    (Troubles of the "New Confederacy", The Philadelphia Press, February 26, 1861.)   Hat tip The American Interest--The Long Recall

"From the New York Tribune:  'We are credibly informed that stocks have been sold in Wall-street for several days past, by parties who had received information, on which they relied, that he [Lincoln] would be killed before reaching Washington....'  New York Times responds to this article at the link. 
("A Golden Opportunity Lost", New York Times rebuttle article to the Tribune, February 26, 1861.)

"...the society in the North is not so much divided upon slavery by geographical lines as is generally supposed...it is the Puritan element of the North now in majority that desires to make war upon the social system of the South.  There has always been a powerful minority who, from their cradles up, have refused to bow the neck to this spiritual despotism...we are not surprised to see these people throwing down the gauntlet to the fanatics who threaten coercion of the South.  And, let us add, once convice these gentry that there will be fighting upon their own soil, and they will become meek, patient and forgiving."  (Northern Patriotism, Richmond Daily Dispatch, February 26, 1861)   Hat tip The American Civil War.

February 25, 1861 (Monday)

Making Friends, Negotiating Space
and Fur Ruffled

From the Civil War Daily Gazette, three stories:  Lincoln visits the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court; the South is filling its cabinet; and William Sherman meets with P. G. T. Beauregard and others--preparing to head North from New Orleans.

The Lincoln Log also has anecdotes on Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln.

Two diaries today of note:

Diary of a Yankee in the Patent office:  hat tip Daily Observations from the Civil War:

"...Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were holding a Levee in their parlors and we went up and were introduced.  Mrs L in one room and Mr L in an adjoining room.  There are both quite ordinary looking people.  I hope He is equal to the crisis.  To my Mind, appearances do not favor the conclusion that he is...."

Dairy from Dixie:  Politics, power and influence in Montgomery:

"...At dinner Judge _____ was loudly abusive of Congress [Southern Congress].  He said:  'They have trampled the Constitution underfoot.  They have provided President Davis with a house.'  He was disgusted with the folly of parading the President at the inauguration in a coach drawn by four white horses.  Then some one said Mrs. Fitzpatrick was the only lady who sat with the Congress.  After the inaugural she poked Jeff Davis in the back with her parasol that he might turn and speak to her.  'I am sure that was democratic enough.;  said someone.'

Everybody who comes here wants an office, and the many who, of course, are disappointed raise a cry of corruption against the few who are successful.  I thought we had left all that in Washington.  Nobody is willing to be out of sight, and all will take office.

...Everybody means to go into the army.  If Sumter is attacked, then Jeff Davis's troubles will begin.  The Judge says a military despotism would be best for us--anything to prevent a triumph of the Yankees.  All right, but every man objects to any despot but himself.

...Dr. De Leon called, fresh from Washington, and says General Scott is using all his power and influence to prevent officers from the South resigning their commissions, among other things promising that they shall never be sent against us in case of war.  Captain Ingraham, in his short, curt way, said:  'That will never do.  If they take their government's pay they must do its fighting.' "

February 24, 1861 (Sunday)

Reflections on Sunday

Being Sunday, we look at several past articles over the last week on the Baptists and the American Civil War Site:   

"Southern white Christian ministers -- Baptists included -- provide ongoing theological cover for the institution of black slavery that the Confederacy is devoted to defending.  Adiel Sherwood, longtime and renowned Georgia Baptist minister and religious educator, tackles the subject of religious liberty as it relates to black slavery: 

'I cannot see sin in the institution itself, if the slaves are properly treated ... Show that the Bible condemns or censures the relation of master and slave, and my tongue is silent; but I am not to be driven from my position, impregnable as the everlasting hills, by fashion, fanaticism or ridicule....the slave enjoys soul liberty, a much higher privilege than mere bodily freedom...If I must have an enslaved body or mental vassalage, and a fettered conscience, give me the former, for it will soon to cease...thousands [of slaves] belong to the various religious persuasions and are traveling to the promised land, better off than the free in many lands...I regard abolitionists as the 2nd or 3rd edition of the Salem Witchcraft.' "

More from Georgia Baptist minister Adiel Sherwood as he defends the practice of African slavery:
"Nor would I own [a slave], yet I cannot see sin in the institution itself, if the slaves are properly treated.  Neither the Saviour nor the Apostles condemn the relation of Master and slave:  Paul teaches both their duty -- the former to treat the subordinate properly, and the latter to obey for conscience sake.  The lawgiver of the universe and the church shuts the gates of heaven against drunkards, adulterers, and other wicked classes, but never censures slaveholders.  Tens of thousands were in bondage in apostolic times, but if the relation were criminal, would the New Testament not condemn it?"

"While Baptists of the South have the luxury of discussing the fine points of faith and doctrine, while African Baptist slaves, viewed by whites as less than human, are denied the right to learn to read and study the Bible.  Lacking the input of enslaved Baptists, the voices within the Baptist newspapers in the South during the war reflect a racially-imbalanced Christianity that enthusiastically defends the Baptist faith against other denominations while offering scarce criticism of the proverbial elephant in the room -- the white supremacist culture of the South."

In rebuttal:   A Northern preacher lays out with scripture the basis for his anti-slavery position, contrary to the Southern church.     A sermon preached on "Does the Bible Sanction Slavery?" by Rev. Dr. Joseph Eldridge, Congregational Church in Norfolk, CT., Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection.         -----Hat tip to The American Interest--The Long Recall, February 24, 1861 

February 23, 1861 (Saturday)

"Nuts"...Lincoln's secret service nickname

"Lincoln never wrote about what it must have been like to be at the center of attention on a scale that no American ever had, the cynosure of millions seen and unseen, his every clod-hop noticed.  But his secretary John Nicolay conveyed some of the ups and downs of an emotional journey:

It is hard for anyone who had not had the chance of personal observation to realize the mingled excitement and apprehension, elation and fatigue which Mr. Lincoln and his suite underwent, almost without intermission for the period of nearly two weeks...

The downs were impressive.  Lincoln was relentlessly criticized, and even on the verge of assuming office -- struck many sophisticated commentators as less than presidential.  The New York World huffed that his journey 'after the manner of princes and conquerors, is in bad taste.'  Another wrote that Lincoln's Columbus speech was read 'amidst irresistible bursts of laughter.'

Others wrote much worse.  His features were often lampooned, and even within his entourage, members of the press ridiculed him.  But perhaps that is precisely what made this trip so memorable.  And ultimately, so successful.  Rarely has a president ever needed to meet his people, up close, as Lincoln did in February 1861.  He was still an unknown quantity, despite his fame, and he needed to persuade them that he was fighting for them, just as they would fight for him.  He literally reached out to them, shaking hands by the tens of thousands.  Even Villard had to admit, 'He never refused to respond to a call for his appearance whenever the train stopped.'  He achieved all of this while moving faster and farther than any president-elect ever had.

Nicolay continued, 'As Lincoln's journey progressed, his wisdom in making it one of public oration became apparent.'  It was not just the words he came to say, day in and day out, to immense throngs and to tiny clusters of rural families, waving mutely as the train sped past.  It was the man himself.  They saw him, and felt reassured.  By an alchemy that we cannot perceive through any photograph, the physical experience of seeing Lincoln inspired people.  Nicolay:  'his whole bearing manner, and utterance carried conviction to all beholders that the man was of them as well as for them."  (The story of the last day of Lincoln's journey to Washington by Ted Widmer entitled, "Nuts", New York Times, February 22, 2011.)

February 22, 1861 (Friday)

Caution:  Trouble Ahead in Baltimore

Lincoln said, in defining the struggle before the American people:

"I have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men who assembled here and adopted that Declaration of Independence -- I have pondered over the toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers of the army, who achieved that Independence. (Applause.)  I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together.  It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the mother land; but something in the Declaration giving Liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time.  (Great Applause.) 

Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis?  If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to save it.  If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful.  But, if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle -- I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than to surrender it."

(Given what we now know of the assassination threats that were swirling around him, and what he had learned the night before about a conspiracy in Baltimore, that was not mere rhetorical flourish.)  (All or Nothing, Ted Widmer, Disunion--New York Times, February 22, 2011)


"The Confederacy also worshipped the founders, as Davis made clear in his inaugural a few days earlier.  But they could not embrace the fundamental premise of the Declaration, that 'all men are created equal.'  The vice-president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, would finally come out and admit this in his famous Cornerstone Speech, delivered in Savannah a month later, on March 21.  After probing the early history of the United States, he said, 'Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong.  They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races.  This was an error.  It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it 'fell when the storm came and the wind blew.'  Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition." 

(This was the nub of the conflict, and slavery was precisely what the war was about, as Stephens himself admitted, in the same speech, when he said that African slavery "was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution."

Lincoln took the exact opposite idea, and pushed the word "all" to its logical conclusion.  by doing so...he was offering "nothing less than the progressive steps of African emancipation."  More than African -- meaningful citizenship to every individual man, "white, red, yellow, or black."  He would leave it to the next century to work out the "man" part.)  (All or Nothing, Ted Widmer, Disunion--New York Times, February 21, 2011.)

February 21, 1861 (Thursday)

On the Way to Philadelphia

Today, Lincoln's journey takes him from New York City to Philadelphia.  Along the way he visits Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth, Raliway, New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton.  There are stories of pickpockets, choirs singing, huge crowds, a disturbing letter, and a couple of outstanding speeches.  Here are some links to get you to the news of the day:

The Library of Congress site:

A narrative by Ted Widmer, The Foot Comes Down, on Lincoln during this eleventh day of his journey to Washington.

The Lincoln Log anecdotes of the day:

"To the General Assembly in Trenton, New Jersey, Lincoln said:  'I shall do all that may be in my power to promote a peaceful settlement of our difficulties.  The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am.  None who would do more to preserve it.  But it may be necessary to put the foot down firmly."

The growing plot to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore:
"Toward the end of the reception [in Philadelphia] N. B. Judd asks Lincoln to meet with him and Frederick W. Seward who has just arrived from Washington with a letter to Lincoln from his father, Sen. Seward (N.Y.).  Letter, based upon information obtained by Gen. Scott and Capt. Charles P. Stone -- describes plot to assassinate Lincoln while passing through Baltimore.  Detectives employed by railroad also report similar plot.  Lincoln thanks Seward for bringing the letter and comments that he will consider the advice to change time and schedule.  Refuses to change plans until commitments in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa. are completed."

We learn more of the plot in another article written by Jamie Malanowski of the New York Times entitled A Tale of Two Presidents:

"The plan, according to Pinkerton's sources and John Kennedy, the superintendent of the New York Metropolitan Police, was for assassins to strike after Lincoln had debarked the Inauguration Special at the city's Calvert Street Station.  Once Lincoln had entered the terminals narrow vestibule, plug uglies outside the station would stage a riot.  This fracas would draw the attention of Lincoln's bodyguards and the local police, leaving the president-elect vulnerable to killers posed as travelers.  Members of the cabal, Lincoln was told, had drawn lots to see which would have the honor of striking the lethal blow."

More on the plot, hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:

February 20, 1861 (Wednesday)

At Verdi's new opera:
Un Ballo in Maschera

Fascinating article by John Andres and Dwight Pitcaithley of the New York Times entitled "Cry Havoc," February 19, 2011:  They relate the effect of Shakespeare in the 1860's and how both the North and the South used words from theater and opera to bolster their thoughts and ideas.  Then they write about the effect of Shakespeare on Lincoln and how very knowledgeable he was of many plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and Henry VIII.  Macbeth was his favorite. 

Lincoln attends an opera in New York City this evening:  Verdi's new opera, "Un Ballo in Maschera." 

The article leads us to John Wilkes Booth and the acting he did in Shakespearian plays.  It is a good article to get some insight into Booth's thinking at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  Booth seems to have set up his own Shakespearian tragedy. 

"...to try and salvage a cause that others considered lost after Confederate guns fell silent on April 9, he truncated a raucous comedy at Ford's Theatre on Good Friday, April 14, with a drama of his own devising that culminiated with the Virginia motto:  ...'Thus ever to Tryants' "

Lincoln spent the day in New York City.  Again, the following sites offer good narratives of the day with lots of anecdotes.

1.  "Lincoln Center" by Ted Widmer of the New York Times.  He shares the happenings of the day and then some insight into the opera that Lincoln saw in the evening.  He ends with a reference to the Lincoln Center in New York which houses opera. 

2.  The Library of Congress site on the tenth day of Lincoln's journey to Washington...good anecdotes. 

3. And the Lincoln Log has many little stories of the day in New York.

February 19, 1861 (Tuesday)

On the way to New York City

The ninth day of Lincoln's journey to Washington is recorded in a number of articles at the Library of Congress:  anecdotes including Mrs. Lincoln and children, the arrival in New York City, the ride to the Astor House, and the reception of shaking hands.

Another article by Ted Widmer, "Start Spreading the News" tells the story of the day with a surprise poet in the New York crowd.  Read the story about Lincoln's reception to New York.

"Today, the city that almost gave Lincoln the cold shoulder boasts no fewer than four statues of him, including one in Union Square.  His next parade there would be his funeral procession, four years later, when a six-year old Theodore Roosevelt was photographed in a window paying his respects to his predecessor."

Hat tip from Civil War Daily Gazette:  Jefferson Davis begins to form his cabinet and finds he has a lot of people to please...it is hard for him to choose who he wants in various positions. 

Again, many good quips from the Lincoln Log that give a taste of the activities of the day for President-elect Lincoln.

And finally, a fascinating and informative article written by Susan Eva O'Donovan, New York Times, February 18, 2011:  William Webb's World.   She explores an important aspect of the disunion crisis:  The Blacks where networking all over the South....

"...we need to pose a new set of questions about the disunion crisis, questions that take into account the William Webbs, the Houston Holloways and all the slaves about whom Lyon [a slave holder] fretted.  In fact, perhaps we should ask what really frightened that Georgia planter and his secessionist generation:  Abraham Lincoln and a handful of arch abolitionists, or the hydra that curled beneath slaveholders' feet?"

February 18, 1861 (Monday)

"The necessity of words, of arguments,
persuasions and explanations:
essential chores in a democratic system."
                                       ----Adam Goodheart

 Lincoln is on his way again after a day of rest.  He travels to Albany, NY today.  To get the narrative of the day, click on the link in this paragraph:  Ted Widmer's narrative Crowds, Cannons, and Cheers for the Disunion--New York Times, February 18, 2011.

Also, the Library of Congress has a good site on the eighth day of Lincoln's journey to Washington.  February 18, 1861...Journey to Albany.

And, today Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the Southern President in Mobile, Alabama and gives his address.  Adam Goodheart writes a good narrative of this day entitled Hastily Composed, Disunion--New York Times; February 17, 2011.

"The thinness of Davis' speech, and of his preparation, cannot be blamed merely on haste or inattention.  Rather, it betrayed an alarming void at the center of the self-proclaimed Confederate republic.  The hard work that Lincoln had put into his message attested to his faith in the power and necessity of words, of arguments, of explanations, in a democratic system.  By contrast, the lackluster, shop-worn rhetoric of Davis and other leaders was not merely a failure of aesthetics, but proof of the intellectual poverty and moral laziness undergirding their enter enterprise.  It also revealed their lack of commitment to the essential democratic chores of persuasion and explanation. 

In fact, the most revealing words in the two contrasting inaugural addresses may have been those that came at the very beginning.  Davis had opened his with 'Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, friends and fellow citizens' -- a catalogue of castes.  Lincoln -- though addressing an equally august assemblage -- would begin his speech much more simply and democratically:  'Fellow citizens of the United States.' "

Finally, an anecdote about John Wilkes Booth.  Evidently, he was in Albany when Lincoln visited.  Read the link below to find out more information. 
Hat tip to The Blue Gray Review, "Albany:  'We will pray for you' ", February 18, 2011. 

February 17, 1861 (Sunday)

A Seventh Day Rest

Ted Widmer's narrative, "He Rested on the Seventh Day" relates Lincoln's activites for this Sunday.  He attended church, played with his boys, had discussions about the American-native Indians and received some wise counsel in a letter from Browning.  A good narrative to read at the link above. 

"Lincoln returned to his hotel around 2 p.m. to find his sons Tad and Willie playing leapfrog with the son of the hotel owner.  Decades later that lucky playmate, Edward Michael, recorded an unusual memory of the 16th President:  'The two boys and I were playing leapfrong in a room of the hotel, when President Lincoln came in and joined in the game.  He was a very friendly man.  He didn't act like a president.'  Has a president ever received higher praise?"

Hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:  "Jefferson Davis arrived in Mobile, Alabama after a long and tiring journey.  It was evening.  He delivered a fiery speech in the street to a crowd of his new fellow countrymen:  'Time for compromise has now passed, and the South is determined to maintain her position, and make all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel if coercion is persisted in.  We ask nothing, we want nothing; we will have no complications....  Our separation from the old Union is now complete.  No compromise, no reconstruction is now to be entertained.' 

Later he spoke:  'If war should come, if we must again baptize in blood the principles for which our fathers bled in the Revolution, we shall show that we are not degenerate sons.' "  He will be inaugurated tomorrow as the Southern Confederacy's President.

From the Library of Congress site, this clipping from the Philadelphia Daily Evening Bulletin to add to what has been said above.

Hat tip Civil War Daily Gazette:  William Sherman gives farewell address to cadets in Louisiana before he heads north.

An anecdote of Robert E. Lee as he prepares to leave Texas for Washington D.C.   Hat tip The American Civil War. 

February 16, 1861 (Saturday)

"I bring a true heart to the work." 
----Abraham Lincoln

From the House Divided:
"At Westfield, Mr. Lincoln greeted a large crowd of ladies, and several thousand of the sterner sex.  Addressing the ladies, he said, 'I am glad to see you;  I suppose you are to see me; but I certainly think I have the best of the bargain. (Applause.)  Some three months ago, I received a letter from a young lady here; it was a very pretty letter, and she advised me to let my whiskers grow, as it would improve my personal appearance; acting partly upon her suggestion, I have done so; and now, if she is here, I would like to see her;  I think her name was Miss Barlly [Grace Bedell].'  A small boy, mounted on a post, with his mouth and eyes both wide open, cried out, 'there she is, Mr. Lincoln,' pointing to a beautiful girl, with black eyes, who was blushing all over her fair face.  The President left the car, and the crowd making way for him, he reached her, and gave her several hearty kisses, and amid the yells of delight from the excited crowd, he bade her good-bye, and on we rushed."

From Ted Widmer and his narrative on the sixth day of Lincoln's journey to Buffalo, NY "Bayonets in Buffalo", he adds: "Grace Bedell lived until November 2, 1936 -- the day the BBC pioneered the use of television.  After leaving New York, she spend most of her life as a pioneer in Delphos, Kansas, where a campaign is underway to save her house."  (Nice article at the Grace Bedell Foundation.)

Also from the Ted Widmer narrative:
"A teeming crowd of 75,000 waited in desperate anticipation at Buffalo.  Hay called it the largest crowd ever seen in that part of the country.  A wild cheering 'that began with the multitude away down the track of the railroad, gathering volume as it rolled up to the depot...becoming a roar that was mightier than the boom of a cannon.' 

But that enthusiasm quickly turned dangerous.  '...the crowd, in its crazed eagerness to get nearer to the distinguised visitor...became an ungoverned mob."  (Continue reading at the link above to see what happens next)


From the Lincoln Log:

"At Ashtabula, Ohio, the crowd call for Mrs. Lincoln, and the President-elect remarks that 'he should hardly hope to induce her to appear, as he had always found it very difficult to make her do what she did not want to.' "

At the Library of Congress there is this article that shares a piece of a speech Lincoln gave on his reception to the City of Buffalo:

"I bring a true heart to the work.  [Tremendous applause.]  For the ability to perform it, I must trust in that Supreme Being who has never forsaken this favored land, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people.  Without that assistance, I shall surely fail; with it, I cannot fail."

February 15, 1861 (Friday)

Greeted by large crowds
with overwhelming enthusiasm

"Lincoln's procession to the train depot passed through crowds that were 'almost impenetrable,' which displayed enthusiasm that 'exceeded anything ever before witnessed.'  Lincoln arrived late in the afternoon in Cleveland in the midst of rain and a snowstorm."  (Library of Congress:  Journey of the President-Elect, February 15, 1861.)

"Lincoln had contracted a bad cold and spoke less than usual.  To make matters worse, it was snowing...if he had quieted, the crowds had not, and the usual tumult was seen and heard as the Special approached Cleveland.  People everywhere -- 30,000 lined the streets -- and when Lincoln appeared, a huge sound was heard, so loud that Villard took note:

'As the President and suite left the cars a universal deafening shout escaped from tens of thousands ... it was an ovation of which Abraham Lincoln could well be proud; nor did he fail to show deep gratitude and emotion.  He stood up in his carriage and until the hotel was reached acknowledged greetings on all sides in his unaffected hearty manner.  The expression of his face showed plainly that he meant much more than he could convey by bowing and waving his hat.'  (Hello, Cleveland! by Ted Widmer, Disunion--New York Times, February 14, 2011)

More anecdotes from Lincoln Log of various stops along the way.

Lincoln also received another letter today from Worthington G. Snethen warning him about dangers developing in Baltimore and deeming it inadvisable to stop there.  Hat tip to House Divided, February 15, 1861. 

But there is another story brewing in Washington while Lincoln journeys eastward.  There has been a minority in the Republican party that has wanted to find some compromises with the South to avoid a Civil War.  There is a lot going on in the back-channels being lead by Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward.  Read this fascinating narrative of events unfolding with some Republican congressmen at Disunion--New York Times, Seward's Folly by Russell McClintock, February 14, 2011.

February 14, 1861 (Thursday) Happy Valentines Day!

"...the weather darkened
 and the raindrops got bigger
as they headed east."  ----Ted Widmer

Several articles of note for today:  First of all, the fourth Day of Lincoln's Journey to Washington by the Library of Congress site.


Secondly, Ted Widmer's narrative entitled, "If it's Valentine's Day, This Must Be Pittsburgh";  Disunion--New York Times, February 13, 2011.    Lots of anecdotes, a lot of confusion and near accidents at the Pittsburgh depot.  There is an interactive map at the link.

"...an inauspicious beginning to what would prove a difficult day.  The weather darkened, and the raindrops got bigger as the delegation headed east.  Lincoln privately expressed his hope that it would keep people from coming out to hear him -- he was beginning to wear down, and his voice was getting hoarse."


And finally, an  excellent article on the two journeys taking place...the one of Abraham Lincoln and the other of Jefferson Davis, the Southern President-Elect.  Lots of good information at the link, also some trivia around the legendary Texas Ranger, Ben McCulloch and then some interesting information on the Electoral College issues of this election.  The article is by Jamie Malanowski, entitled "Twin Journeys, Destination Unknown" by Disunion--New York Times, February 13, 2011.


"Two men, born less than eight months and fewer than 100 miles apart but fated to follow distinctly different paths to prominence and authority.  Two presidents, one chosen by fewer than 40 percent of the voters, the other chosen by fewer than 40 delegates from a mere six states, now entrusted with the responsibility of peace and war. 

One of the men, who possesses the appearance and experience of a president, has been heralded as the Washington of his people.  The other, who in some quarters is said to express 'all the rough manners and coarse sayings of the clown,' has already said Washington's challenge was easier than the one he now faces.

The capital of the new Confederacy is barely 200 miles from [Davis' home] Brierfield, but the haphazard development of southern railroads forced Davis into a circuitous sojourn north from Vicksburg to Memphis, then south to Atlanta, and only then west to Montgomery.  The trip took five days to complete, and during the 800-mile tour, Davis made 25 speeches."

Saint Valentine's Day anecdote--hat tip, Civil War Daily Gazette:

February 13, 1861 (Ash Wednesday)



Thriving in a Winter Season -- Early Thaw

 It is reported by the House Divided, John Osborne, that an early thaw causes heavy ice damage and severe flooding along the riverbanks of New England.

"An early thaw after a period of extremely cold weather caused the breaking of ice dams and flooding in many parts of New England.  Albany, New York was cut off for a time as the moving icepack on the Hudson and its tributaries caused damage and severe flooding and the city itself was partially under water with destruction reported nearing the $200,000 mark.  No deaths or serious injuries were reported, however."

As an aside, President Lincoln's journey by train travels to Albany in five days.

The Library of Congress reports the following on the third day of Lincoln's journey to Washington D.C. along with several good articles filled with anecdotes:

"The Lincoln party left Cincinnati at 9:00 a.m. on a five-hour journey to Columbus, Ohio.  The train stopped in many small towns along the way, where Lincoln was greeted with cannons firing and large, enthusiastic crowds of well-wishers.  In Columbus, Lincoln gave a speech that minimized the difficulties of the country, stating that 'there is nothing going wrong.'  At 5:00 p.m. Lincoln received word that the electoral votes had been counted, and he was officially elected president."

Also, Ted Widmer of Disunion--New York Times writes a narrative on the third day of Lincoln's journey from Cincinnati to Columbus entitled 'Lincoln Elected (Again.)'

Lots of anecdotes in the narrative, however, one that stands out to me is just after Lincoln left the Cincinnati train station:

"Just after they left, a bag was found in Lincoln's car; when it was opened, a live bomb was discovered, set to go off within 15 minutes.  Again, Lincoln kept going, northeast this time, toward the capital of the Buckeye State."

Read the narrative for a good story of the days events....  btw, the article addresses some of the comments made by Lincoln in Columbus.

February 12, 1861 (Tuesday)

Lincoln's Whistle-Stop Tour

Today is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday...  he is 52 years old today. 

At the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, the Library of Congress held an Abrahman Lincoln Bicentennial Symposium entitled With Malice Toward None.  Six scholars spoke throughout the day...and video of the event has been made available in a Webcast in two parts.  Lots of interesting information:  The Journey of President-Elect; Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief; Lincoln's struggle to bring a better understanding of freedom; Lincoln on Race, Equality and the Spirit of '76; Lincoln's lifelong interest in language; and Lincoln's point man for Military Justice, Joseph Holt, Chief of the War Department Bureau of Military Justice.  Enjoy....


Also, from the Library of Congress:  The Second Day of President Lincoln's Pre-inaugural trip to Washingon D.C.--February 12, 1861.  Lots of interesting articles are presented here. 

"On the morning of February 12, Lincoln's fifty-second birthday, Mrs. Lincoln and the couple's three sons joined the president-elect on his journey to Washington.  The train departed Indianapolis for Cincinnati, make brief stops along the way.  Newspapers reported that hundreds of thousands of people lined the tracks to greet Lincoln, 'shouting and waving flags and handkerchiefs as the train swept by.'  In a speech given in Cincinnati, Lincoln sought to promote unity with Southern Democrats."

The Lincoln Log shares a number of anecdotes about the train ride from various newspapers of the day. 

And then this narrative by Ted Widmer. Disunion--New York Times on Lincoln's Birthday and the Second day of Travel to Washington. 

"Lincoln's 52nd birthday dawned as a sunny day in Indianapolis and crowds began to assemble around his hotel...A welcome distraction from the crowds arrived in the form of his wife, Mary, and two of their sons, Tad and Willie [who had come from St. Louis--Mary was shopping for items for the White House.]    At 11 a.m. sharp the train started down the tracks...At Greenberg, 47 miles away, he was greeted by a large throng and a distinguished senior citizen, Reverend Blair, 85 who shaking his hand said, 'I shake hands with the president of the United States for the last time.  May the Lord bless and guard you, sir.  May he sustain you through the trials before you and bring you to his heavenly kingdom at last.' 

Lincoln arrived in Cincinnate at 3 p.m. finding the city out of control with an estimated 150,000 people thronged in the streets....That same day, one of Lincoln's party, received an ominous letter from Allen Pinkerton, a detective working to ferret out threats up ahead.  'When the party reached Cincinnati,' N. B. Judd, a close friend to Lincoln, said, 'I received a letter from Pinkerton dated at Baltimore, stating that there was a plot on foot to assassinate Mr. Lincoln on his passage through that city, and that Pinkerton would communicate further as the party progressed Eastward.' "

Here is an interactive map tracing Lincoln's journey on the rails.

February 11, 1861 (Monday)

Leaving Port...Sailing into the Night

Lincoln's Farewell Address in Springfield before the train leaves for Washington D.C.: (click on Transcription)

"Friends,

No one who has never been placed in a like position, can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting.  For more than a quarter of a century I have lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands.  Here I have lived from my youth until now I am an old man.  Here the most sacred ties of earth were assumed; here all my children were born; and here one of them lies buried.  To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am.

All the strange, chequered past seems to crowd now upon my mind.  Today I leave you; I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington.  Unless the great God who assisted him, shall be with and aid me, I must fail.  But if the same omniscient mind, the Almighty arm that directed and protected him, shall guide and support me, I shall not fail, I shall succeed.  Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now.  To him I commend you all -- permit me to ask that with equal security and faith, you all will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me.  With these few words I must leave you -- for how long I know not.  Friends, one and all, I must now bid you as affectionate farewell."

In another article written by Ted Widmer of the New York Times, February 10, 2011 entitled Farewell to Springfield:   There is another version of his Farewell Address....  this article is highly recommended reading.

 "After packing his luggage, Lincoln fixed a simple tag to it:  'A. Lincoln White House Washington D.C..'  He headed for the depot where his two-car train and engine awaited him. 

'My friends -- no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting.  To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe every thing.  Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man.  Here my children have been born, and one is buried.  I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington.  Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed.  With that assistance I cannot fail.  Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.  To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.'

As if the words were not impressive enough, he wept while delivering it, as did his audience.  They cheered loud and long when it was over.  As he turned to enter the car three cheers were given, and a few seconds afterwards the train moved slowly out of the sight of the silent gathering.  He never saw Springfield again."

Excellent site:  Library of Congress: Journey of the President-Elect:  Springfield to Washington, 1861.  An interactive site with numerous articles from each day of the 13-day journey. 

Another article written by Ted Widmer entitled Lincoln Moves for the New York Times  gives an introduction to the journey by train that Lincoln will make in the days ahead.  Again, this article is highly recommended reading.

Also, the Lincoln Log has several recorded anecdotes of the first day's journey...comments written in papers and diaries.  Enjoy... 

February 10, 1861 (Sunday)

Leaving for Washington Tomorrow

From Daily Chronicles of the American Civil War, this news story from the New York Herald about preparations Abraham Lincoln is making for his trip to Washington D.C.: 

"The President-elect, having completed the first draft of his inaugural, is now busily engaged in arranging his domestic affairs.  He attends to the minute details of the preparations for the impending removal of himself and family with his characteristic dutifulness.  The close approach of his departure has rendered him unusually grave and reflecting.  The parting with this scene of his joys and sorrows during the last thirty years, and a large circle of old and faithful friends, apparently saddens him, and directs his thoughts to the cherished past rather than the uncertain future.  His interview with the more intimate of his friends are more frequent and affectionate, and visits of strangers are not encouraged; but, although more than ordinarily moved with tender feelings, he evidently fully realizes the solemnity of the mission on which he is about to enter, and is resolved to fulfill it firmly, fearlessly, and conscientiously.

Mrs. Lincoln will start for St. Louis on Monday evening, to make additional purchases for the White House.

A member of the Georgia Secession Convention called and had a long talk with Mr. Lincoln yesterday noon.  He tried to exact a positive committal on one of the compromise propositions from him, but was unsuccessful.

Some days since a box was expressed to Mr. Lincoln from Tennessee, no letter accompanying it.  Some hesitation was at first felt to open it.  This morning, however, his private secretary overturned the box, when it was found to contain a stuffed figure representing an African."

And finally, from the Civil War Daily Gazette, this article about Lincoln's preparations for his journey:

"Lincoln dropped by his law office, Lincoln and Herndon, to go through the outstanding files with his partner Billy Herndon.  Lincoln was in a good mood as he reminisced about some of the strange cases he and Herndon had taken over the years.  But then Lincoln crossed the room and flopped himself onto a sofa and fell silent for a few minutes.

He then asked Herndon how long they have been partners.  'Sixteen years,' was the reply.

'We've never had a cross word during all that time, have we?'

'No, indeed we have not.'

Content at such a record, Lincoln gathered a few items and walked towards the doorway.  As he passed under the shingle hanging over their office, which read, 'Lincoln and Herndon,' he paused and in a quiet voice said, 'Let it hang there undisturbed.  Give our client to understand that the election of a President makes no change in the firm of Lincoln and Herndon.  If I live, I'm coming back some time, and then we'll go right on practicing law as if nothing had ever happened.' "

February 9, 1861 (Saturday)



"On February 10th, he and Mrs. Davis
were out in the garden,
cutting rose bushes
in the early blue spring weather..." 
----Shelby Foote

Today, Jefferson Davis was elected Provisional President of the Southern Confederacy. 

From C-SPAN:  A Video of Abrahan Lincoln and Jefferson Davis:  similarities and differences...excellent insights of both men.

(Following below are a couple excerpts from the Civil War Narrative:  Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote.)

"In Alabama, now in early February, a convention was founding a Southern Confederacy, electing political leaders and formulating a new government.  He was content, however, to leave such matters to those who were there.  He considered his highest talents to be military, and he had the position he wanted, commander of the Mississippi army, with advancement to come along with glory when the issue swung to war.

Then history beckoned again.  On February 10th, he and Mrs. Davis were out in the garden, cutting a rose bush in the early blue spring weather, when a messenger approached with a telegram in his hand.    Davis read it.  In that moment of painful silence he seemed stricken; his face took on a look of calamity.  Then he read the message to his wife.  It was headed:  'Montgomery, Alabama' and dated the day before:

'Sir:

We are directed to inform you that you are this day unanimously elected  President of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of American, and to request you to come to Montgomery immediately.  We send also a special messenger.  Do not wait for him. 

R. Toombs

R. Barnwell Rhett....

He spoke of it, Mrs. Davis said, 'as a man might speak of a sentence of death.'  Yet he wasted no time.  He packed and left next day.

The train made many stops along the line and the people were out to meet him, in sunlight and by the glare of torches.  They wanted a look at his face, the thin lips and determined jaw, the hollow checks with their jutting bones, the long skull behind the aquiline nose; 'a wizard physiognomy,' one called it.  He brought forth cheers with confident words, but he had something else to say as well -- something no one had told them before.  He advised them to prepare for the long war that lay ahead.  They did not believe him, apparently.  Or if the did, they went on cheering anyhow.

He reached Montgomery Sunday night, February 17th, and was driven from the station in a carriage, down the long torch-lit avenue to the old Exchange Hotel.  The crowd followed through the streets that had been decked as for a fair; they flowed until they were packed in a mass about the gallery of the hotel in time to see Davis dismount from the carriage and climb the steps; they cheered as he turned and looked at the carriage and climb the steps; they cheered as he turned and looked at them. 

Then suddenly they fell silent.  William Lowndes Yancey, short and rather seedy-looking alongside the erect and well-groomed Davis, had raised one hand.  They cheered again when he brought it down, gesturing toward the tall man beside him, and said in a voice that rang above the expectant, torch-paled faces of the crowd:  'The man and hour have met.' "

February 8, 1861 (Friday)

Furious Wind and Snow Storm in the Northeast

Several news items of interest today:

Movies about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War start rolling out this spring and will continue in the years ahead as we move through the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War.  A movie coming out this spring directed by Robert Redford entitled "The Conspirator" on April 15, the anniversary of the assassination of  Abraham Lincoln.  The movie is about Mary Surratt who was executed for plotting the crime.  Other movies on the way in the future can be found at this site.       

The trailer to "The Conspirator."


A rough draft of the Confederate Constitution is finished today in Montgomery, Alabama.  There are several notable differences in the constitution from the United States Constitution. 

I leave you with four links to explore these developments. 

Two are from the Civil War Daily Gazette #1: 

                       and Civil War Daily Gazette #2: 

       another link is from The American Civil War,

             and the last is from an article in the New York Times--Disunion today. 


Furious wind storm hits the Northeast with lots of damage: 

Furious Wind Storm:

·        

·         THE STORM AT BUFFALO.

·         THE STORM AT OSWEGO.

·         THE STORM AT ROCHESTER.

·         THE STORM AT TORONTO

·         THE STORM IN ALBANY.

·         THE STORM IN BALTIMORE

·         THE STORM IN PHILADELPHIA.

February 7, 1861 (Thursday)

An Apple of Discord:
Complaining of everything and
satisfied with nothing

(The New York Times wrote an article of a speech by Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee excoriating the South.  Here are excerpts from the article:)

In response to Louisiana:  "It was not any good will of the French, but the Untied States bought this property and sovereignty for so many million dollars...The United States bought her, paid for her sixty millions francs, and then admitted her to the Union.  Was any oppression and wrong there?  Was there any wrong, when, at the battle of New Orleans...they went to the help [of Louisiana] and saved that city from Packenham?  How much protection has she had for sugar?  Is this another wrong?  Then where are the wrongs which justify Louisiana today in leaving the Government?  Without consulting even Kentucky and Tennessee, who defended her, she has taken the forts, arsenals and mint of the United States."

In response to state coercion:    "The Senator from Virginia was forced to the conclusion, after careful thought, that secession was not a right given by the Constitution.  There is a great difference between the enforcement of the laws and what was called coercion of States...the Hartford Convention (1814) said that no State had a right to withdraw from the Union and that resistance against the law was treason.  Treason ought to be punished, North and South; and if there are traitors, they should be entitled to traitors reward! [Applause.]"

Then, in response to South Carolina:  "South Carolina early had a prejudice against a Government by the people, and that secession was no new thing in that State.  He referred to the early history of South Carolina, who proclaimed at one time that they were ready to go back under the dominion of King George.  He read an address of the people of Charleston to King George, in 1780, saying that they never intended to dissolve that union; lamenting the struggle for Independence, professing affection for the Government, the King...He then referred to the attempt to break up the Government in 1833.  When they were restrained and their pride humiliated...men now say that they have had an intention to dissolve the Union for forty years. The question now is are the other States going to allow themselves to be precipitated into ruin by South Carolina?  What does South Carolina purpose to give to Kentucky and Tennessee?  All South Carolina wants of Kentucky and Tennessee, and other States of the northern portion of the South, is to furnish men and money.  What protection can South Carolina give Tennessee and Kentucky, if her negro property needs protection?  We have got the men, and we will have to pay for it, and not South Carolina, which has been an apple of discord in this Confederacy from my earliest recollection to this time, complaining of everything and satisfied with nothing.  I think sometimes it would almost be a godsend if Massachusetts and South Carolina could be joined together, like the Siamese twins, and separated from the Government, and taken off into some remote part of the ocean and fastened there, to be washed by the waves, and cooled by the winds, and after they had been there a sufficient length of time, the remainder of the people of the United States might entertain a proposition for taking them back. [Laughter.]"

Finally, in response to Alabama:  "An act to enable the people of Alabama to form a Constitution and a State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, was approved on March 2, 1816.  It stated, 'the ordinance is hereby declared unrevocable without the consent of the United States.'  There is the compact.  Yet it is claimed that Alabama has a right to go out of her own will, because she cannot get her equal rights. "

February 6, 1861 (Wednesday)

Farewell Reception

Hat tip to The Lincoln Log: 

"Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln (assisted by four of her sisters) held a farewell reception at home, prior to their departure to Washington D.C.  A newspaper reports, 'The levee lasted from seven to twelve o'clock in the evening, and the house thronged by thousands up to a late hour.  Mr. Lincoln received the guests as they entered and were made known.  They then passed on, and were introduced to Mrs. Lincoln, she stood near the center of the parlors, and who...acquitted herself most gracefully and admirably.'  Another reporter writes, 'Behind [Lincoln] on the sofa were his two little boys, about eight and four years of age respectively, the youngest of whom was as noisy as a cub wolf.  After a considerable time, the noise of the little urchin attracted the father's attention.  Thereupon, turning about, and stooping down. . . he had some of the pleasantest words for the little fellow, that can be imagined.  Thereafter there was no noise while I remained.  Mrs. Lincoln, who is squatty, pleasant little woman, receives her visitors with an easy gracefulness that makes all feel comfortable.' "

From the Civil War Daily Gazette:

"Abraham and Mary Lincoln had cordially invited their 'friends in this city' of Springfield to attend their 'farwell soiree.'  Hundreds of friends and well-wishers gathered in and around the Lincoln house to say good-bye to the soon-to-be first couple.

Mr. Lincoln welcomed the guests as they entered the front door.  Mary, in turn, received them in the parlor.  Soon, every room on both floors of the house was 'densely packed with a fashionable multitude.'  Mary was decked out in white moire antique silk with a French lace collar.  She had recently returned from a shopping spree in New York City. 

The mood was festive and jovial.  At one point, the oldest Lincoln son, 18 year old Robert, crashed the receiving line to jokingly shake the hands with his father.  "Good evening, Mr. Lincoln!" cracked Robert.  To this, Lincoln gave the boy a gentle slap on the face.

The ball lasted well past midnight with the Lincoln's shaking the hands of nearly everybody in town."