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RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
[Illustration: _ABRAHAM LINCOLN._]
RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1847-1865
by
WARD HILL LAMON
Edited by Dorothy Lamon Teillard
Washington, D. C.
Published by the Editor
1911
Copyright
By Dorothy Lamon
A.D. 1895
Copyright, 1911
By Dorothy Lamon Teillard
All rights reserved
The University Press, Cambridge, U. S. A.
PREFACE.
The reason for thinking that the public may be interested in my father's
recollections of MR. LINCOLN, will be found in the following letter from
HON. J. P. USHER, Secretary of the Interior during the war:--
LAWRENCE, KANSAS, May 20, 1885.
_Ward H. Lamon, Esq., Denver, Col._
DEAR SIR,--There are now but few left who were intimately
acquainted with Mr. Lincoln. I do not call to mind any one who was
so much with him as yourself. You were his partner for years in the
practice of law, his confidential friend during the time he was
President. I venture to say there is now none living other than
yourself in whom he so much confided, and to whom he gave free
expression of his feeling towards others, his trials and troubles
in conducting his great office. You were with him, I know, more
than any other one. I think, in view of all the circumstances and
of the growing interest which the rising generation takes in all
that he did and said, you ought to take the time, if you can, to
commit to writing your recollections of him, his sayings and
doings, which were not necessarily committed to writing and made
public. Won't you do it? Can you not, through a series of articles
to be published in some of the magazines, lay before the public a
history of his inner life, so that the multitude may read and know
much more of that wonderful man? Although I knew him quite well for
many years, yet I am deeply interested in all that he said and did,
and I am persuaded that the multitude of the people feel a like
interest.
Truly and sincerely yours,
(Signed) J. P. USHER.
In compiling this little volume, I have taken as a foundation some
anecdotal reminiscences already published in newspapers by my father,
and have added to them from letters and manuscript left by him.
If the production seems fragmentary and lacking in purpose, the fault is
due to the variety of sources from which I have selected the material.
Some of it has been taken from serious manuscript which my father
intended for a work of history, some from articles written in a lighter
vein; much has been gleaned from copies of letters which he wrote to
friends, but most has been gathered from notes jotted down on a
multitude of scraps scattered through a mass of miscellaneous material.
D. L.
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
March, 1895.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
In deciding to bring out this book I have had in mind the many letters
to my father from men of war times urging him to put in writing his
recollections of Lincoln. Among them is one from Mr. Lincoln's friend,
confidant, and adviser, A. K. McClure, one of the most eminent of
American journalists, founder and late editor of "The Philadelphia
Times," of whom Mr. Lincoln said in 1864 that he had more brain power
than any man he had ever known. Quoted by Leonard Swett, in the "North
American Review," the letter is as follows:--
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 1, 1891.
_Hon. Ward H. Lamon, Carlsbad, Bohemia_:
MY DEAR OLD FRIEND,--....I think it a great misfortune that you
did not write the history of Lincoln's administration. It is much
more needed from your pen than the volume you published some years
ago, giving the history of his life. That straw has been thrashed
over and over again and you were not needed in that work; but
there are so few who had any knowledge of the inner workings of Mr.
Lincoln's administration that I think you owe it to the proof of
history to finish the work you began. ---- and ---- never knew
anything about Mr. Lincoln. They knew the President in his routine
duties and in his official ways, but the man Lincoln and his plans
and methods were all Greek to them. They have made a history that
is quite correct so far as data is concerned, but beyond that it is
full of gross imperfections, especially when they attempt to speak
of Mr. Lincoln's individual qualities and movements. Won't you
consider the matter of writing another volume on Lincoln? I
sincerely hope that you will do so. Herndon covered about
everything that is needed outside of confidential official circles
in Washington. That he could not write as he knew nothing about it,
and there is no one living who can perform that task but
yourself....
Yours truly,
(Signed) A. K. MCCLURE.
I have been influenced also by a friend who is a great Lincoln scholar
and who, impressed with the injustice done my father, has urged me for
several years to reissue the book of "Recollections," add a sketch of
his life and publish letters that show his standing during Lincoln's
administration. I hesitated to do this, remembering the following words
of Mr. Lincoln at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on his way to Washington: "It
is well known that the more a man speaks the less he is understood--the
more he says one thing, the more his adversaries contend he meant
something else." I am now yielding to these influences with the hope
that however much the book may suggest a "patchwork quilt" and be
permeated with Lamon as well as Lincoln, it will yet appeal to those
readers who care for documentary evidence in matters historical.
DOROTHY LAMON TEILLARD.
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
April, 1911.
CONTENTS.
LETTER FROM EX-SECRETARY USHER.
LETTER FROM A. K. MCCLURE.
MEMOIR OF WARD H. LAMON.
CHAPTER I.
Page
EARLY ACQUAINTANCE.
Prominent Features of Mr. Lincoln's Life written by himself 9
Purpose of Present Volume 13
Riding the Circuit 14
Introduction to Mr. Lincoln 14
Difference in Work in Illinois and in Virginia 15
Mr. Lincoln's Victory over Rev. Peter Cartwright 15
Lincoln Subject Enough for the People 16
Mr. Lincoln's Love of a Joke--Could "Contribute Nothing
to the End in View" 16
A Branch of Law Practice which Mr. Lincoln could not learn 17
Refusal to take Amount of Fee given in Scott Case 18
Mr. Lincoln tried before a Mock Tribunal 19
Low Charges for Professional Service 20
Amount of Property owned by Mr. Lincoln when he took the
Oath as President of the United States 20
Introduction to Mrs. Lincoln 21
Mrs. Lincoln's Prediction in 1847 that her Husband would be
President 21
The Lincoln and Douglas Senatorial Campaign in 1858 22
"Smelt no Royalty in our Carriage" 22
Mr. Lincoln denies that he voted against the Appropriation
for Supplies to Soldiers during Mexican War 23
Jostles the Muscular Democracy of a Friend 24
Political Letter of 1858 26
Prediction of Hon. J. G. Blaine regarding Lincoln and
Douglas 27
Time between Election and Departure for Washington 28
CHAPTER II.
JOURNEY FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON.
Mr. Lincoln's Farewell to his Friends in Springfield 30
At Indianapolis 32
Speeches made with the Object of saying Nothing 33
At Albany--Letter of Mr. Thurlow Weed 34
Loss of Inaugural Address 35
At Philadelphia--Detective and alleged Conspiracy to murder
Mr. Lincoln 38
Plans for Safety 40
At Harrisburg 40
Col. Sumner's Opinion of the Plan to thwart Conspiracy 41
Selection of One Person to accompany Mr. Lincoln 42
At West Philadelphia--Careful Arrangements to avoid Discovery 43
At Baltimore--"It's Four O'clock" 45
At Washington 45
Arrival at Hotel 46
CHAPTER III.
INAUGURATION.
Formation of Cabinet and Administration Policy 48
Opposition to Mr. Chase 49
Alternative List of Cabinet Members 50
Politicians realize for the First Time the Indomitable Will of
Mr. Lincoln 51
Mr. Seward and Mr. Chase, Men of Opposite Principles 51
Mr. Seward not to be the real Head of the Administration 52
Preparations for Inauguration 53
Introduction by Senator Baker 53
Impression made by Inaugural Address 54
Oath of Office Administered 54
The Call of the New York Delegation on the President 55
CHAPTER IV.
GLOOMY FOREBODINGS OF COMING CONFLICT.
Geographical Lines distinctly drawn 56
Behavior of the 36th Congress 57
Letter of Hon. Joseph Holt on the "Impending Tragedy" 58
South Carolina formally adopts the Ordinance of Secession 62
Southern Men's Opinion of Slavery 62
Mr. Lincoln imagines Himself in the Place of the Slave-Holder 65
Judge J. S. Black on Slavery as regarded by the Southern Man 66
Emancipation a Question of Figures as well as Feeling 66
Mission to Charleston 68
"Bring back a Palmetto, if you can't bring Good News" 70
Why General Stephen A. Hurlbut went to Charleston 70
Visit to Mr. James L. Pettigrew--Peaceable Secession or
War Inevitable 71
"A great Goliath from the North"--"A Yankee Lincoln-Hireling" 72
Initiated into the great "Unpleasantness" 73
Interview with Governor Pickens--No Way out of Existing
Difficulties but to fight out 74
Passes written by Governor Pickens 75, 78
Interview with Major Anderson 75
Rope strong enough to hang a Lincoln-Hireling 76
Timely Presence of Hon. Lawrence Keith 77
Extremes of Southern Character exemplified 77
Interview with the Postmaster of Charleston 78
Experience of General Hurlbut in Charleston 79
CHAPTER V.
HIS SIMPLICITY.
The Ease with which Mr. Lincoln could be reached 80
Visit of a Committee from Missouri 81
A Missouri "Orphan" in Trouble 82
Protection Paper for Betsy Ann Dougherty 83
Case of Young Man convicted of Sleeping at his Post 86
Reprieve given to a Man whom a "little Hanging would not
hurt" 87
An Appeal for Mercy that failed 88
An Appeal for the Release of a Church in Alexandria 89
"Reason" why Sentence of Death should not be passed upon
a Parricide 90
The Tennessee Rebel Prisoner who was Religious 90
The Lord on our Side or We on the Side of the Lord 91
Clergymen at the White House 91
Number of Rebels in the Field 92
Mr. Lincoln dismisses Committee of Fault-Finding Clergymen 93
Mistaken Identity and the Sequel 94
Desire to be _like_ as well as _of_ and _for_ the People 96
Hat Reform 97
Mr. Lincoln and his Gloves 97
Bearing a Title should not injure the Austrian Count 99
CHAPTER VI.
HIS TENDERNESS.
Mr. Lincoln's Tenderness toward Animals 101
Mr. Lincoln refuses to sign Death Warrants for Deserters--Kind
Words better than Cold Lead 102
How Mr. Lincoln shared the Sufferings of the Wounded
Soldiers 103
Letters of Condolence 106-108
CHAPTER VII.
DREAMS AND PRESENTIMENTS.
Superstition--A Rent in the Veil which hides from Mortal
View what the Future holds 111
The Day of Mr. Lincoln's Renomination at Baltimore 112
Double Image in Looking-Glass--Premonition of Impending
Doom 112
Mr. Lincoln relates a Dream which he had a Few Days before
his Assassination 114
A Dream that always portended an Event of National Importance 118
Mr. Lincoln's Last Drive 119
Mr. Lincoln's Philosophy concerning Presentiments and
Dreams 121
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF HIS CHARACTER.
Mr. Lincoln calls himself "Only a Retail Story-Dealer" 123
The Purpose of Mr. Lincoln's Stories 124
Mr. Lincoln shocks the Public Printer 124
A General who had formed an Intimate Acquaintance with
himself 125
Charles I. held up as a Model for Mr. Lincoln's Guidance in
Dealing with Insurgents--Had no Head to Spare 127
Question of whether Slaves would starve if Emancipated 127
Mr. Lincoln expresses his Opinion of Rebel Leaders to Confederate
Commissioners at the Peace Conference 128
Impression made upon Mr. Lincoln by Alex. H. Stephens 129
Heading a Barrel 129
A Fight, its Serious Outcome, and Mr. Lincoln's Kindly
View of the Affair 130
Not always easy for Presidents to have Special Trains furnished
them 132
Mr. Lincoln's Reason for not being in a Hurry to Catch the
Train 133
"Something must be done in the Interest of the Dutch" 134
San Domingo Affair 134
Cabinet had _shrunk up_ North 135
Ill Health of Candidates for the Position of Commissioner
of the Sandwich Islands 135
Encouragement to Young Lawyer who lost his Case 136
Settle the Difficulty without Reference to Who commenced
the Fuss 137
"Doubts about the Abutment on the Other Side" 138
Mr. Anthony J. Bleeker tells his Experience in Applying for
a Position--Believed in Punishment after Death 138
Mr. Lincoln points out a Marked Trait in one of the Northern
Governors 140
"Ploughed around him" 142
Revenge on Enemy 143
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANTIETAM EPISODE.--LINCOLN'S LOVE OF SONG.
If a Cause of Action is Good it needs no Vindication 144
Letter from A. J. Perkins 145
Mr. Lincoln's Own Statement of the Antietam Affair 147
One "Little Sad Song" 150
Well Timed Rudeness of Kind Intent 151
Favorite Songs 152
Adam and Eve's Wedding Day 152
Favorite Poem: "O Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be
Proud?" 153
CHAPTER X.
HIS LOVE OF CHILDREN.
The Incident which led Mr. Lincoln to wear a Beard 158
The Knife that fairly belonged to Mr. Lincoln 159
Mr. Lincoln is introduced to the Painter of his "Beautiful
Portrait" 160
Death of Mr. Lincoln's Favorite Child 161
Measures taken to break the Force of Mr. Lincoln's Grief 162
The Invasion of Tad's Theatre 164
Tad introduces some Kentucky Gentlemen 166
CHAPTER XI.
THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE GETTYSBURG SPEECH.
The Gettysburg Speech 169
A Modesty which scorned Eulogy for Achievements not
his Own 170
Mr. Lincoln's Regret that he had not prepared the Gettysburg
Speech with Greater Care 173
Mr. Everett's and Secretary Seward's Opinion of the Speech 174
The Reported Opinion of Mr. Everett 174
Had unconsciously risen to a Height above the Cultured
Thought of the Period 176
Intrinsic Excellence of the Speech first discovered by European
Journals 176
How the News of Mr. Lincoln's Death was received by
Other Nations 176
Origin of Phrase "Government of the People, by the People,
and for the People" 177
CHAPTER XII.
HIS UNSWERVING FIDELITY TO PURPOSE.
An Intrigue to appoint a Dictator 180
"Power, Plunder, and Extended Rule" 181
Feared Nothing except to commit an Involuntary Wrong 182
President of One Part of a Divided Country--Not a Bed of
Roses 182
Mr. Lincoln asserts himself 184
Demands for General Grant's Removal 184
Distance from the White House to the Capitol 185
Stoical Firmness of Mr. Lincoln in standing by General Grant 185
Letter from Mr. Lincoln to General Grant 186
The Only Occasion of a Misunderstanding between the President
and General Grant 187
Special Order Relative to Trade-Permits 188
Extract from Wendell Phillips's Speech 189
Willing to abide the Decision of Time 190
Unworthy Ambition of Politicians and the Jealousies in the
Army 191
Resignation of General Burnside--Appointment of Successor 192
War conducted at the Dictation of Political Bureaucracy 193
Letter to General Hooker 194
Mr. Lincoln's Treatment of the Subject of Dictatorship 195
Symphony of Bull-Frogs 196
"A Little More Light and a Little Less Noise" 198
CHAPTER XIII.
HIS TRUE RELATIONS WITH McCLELLAN.
Mr. Lincoln not a Creature of Circumstances 199
Subordination of High Officials to Mr. Lincoln 200
The Condition of the Army at Beginning and Close of General
McClellan's Command 201
Mr. Lincoln wanted to "borrow" the Army if General
McClellan did not want to use it 202
Mr. Lincoln's Opinion of General McClellan. A Protest
denouncing the Conduct of McClellan 203
Mr. Lincoln alone Responsible to the Country for General
McClellan's Appointment as Commander of the Forces
at Washington 204
Confidential Relationship between Francis P. Blair and Mr.
Lincoln 205
Mr. Blair's Message to General McClellan 206
General McClellan repudiates the Obvious Meaning of the
Democratic Platform 207
Mr. Lincoln hopes to be "Dumped on the Right Side of the
Stream" 208
Last Appeal to General McClellan's Patriotism 208
Proposition Declined 210
CHAPTER XIV.
HIS MAGNANIMITY.
Public Offices in no Sense a Fund upon which to draw for
the Payment of Private Accounts 212
Busy letting Rooms while the House was on Fire 214
Peremptory Order to General Meade 214
Conditions of Proposition to renounce all Claims to Presidency
and throw Entire Influence in Behalf of Horatio
Seymour 215
Mr. Thurlow Weed to effect Negotiation 216
Mr. Lincoln deterred from making the Magnanimous Self-Sacrifice 217
How Mr. Lincoln thought the Currency was made 217
Mr. Chase explains the System of Checks--The President
impressed with Danger from this Source 218
First Proposition to Mr. Lincoln to issue Interest-Bearing
Notes as Currency--The Interview between David
Taylor and Secretary Chase 220
Mr. Lincoln's Honesty--Some Legal Rights and Moral
Wrongs 222
Mr. Lincoln annuls the Proceedings of Court-Martial in Case
of Franklin W. Smith and Brother 222
Senator Sherman omits Criticism of Lincoln 223
Release of Roger A. Pryor 224
CHAPTER XV.
CABINET COUNSELS.
The "Trent" Affair 227
Spirit of Forgiveness (?) toward England 229
The Interview which led to the Appointment of Mr. Stanton
as Secretary of War 230
Correspondence with Hon. William A. Wheeler 231
The Appointment of Mr. Stanton a Surprise to the Country 232
Mr. Stanton's Rudeness to Mr. Lincoln in 1858 236
Mr. Lincoln abandons a Message to Congress in Deference
to the Opinion of his Cabinet--Proposed Appropriation
of $3,000,000 as Compensation to Owners of Liberated
Slaves 237
Mr. Stanton's Refusal of Permits to go through the Lines
into Insurgent Districts 239
Not Much Influence with this Administration 239
Mr. Stanton's Resignation not accepted 239
The Seven Words added by Mr. Chase to the Proclamation
of Emancipation 240
Difference between "Qualified Voters" and "Citizens of the
State" 240
Letter of Governor Hahn 241
Universal Suffrage One of Doubtful Propriety 242
Not in Favor of Unlimited Social Equality 242
The Conditions under which Mr. Lincoln wanted the War
to Terminate 243
The Rights and Duties of the Gentleman and of the Vagrant
are the Same in Time of War 245
What was to be the Disposition of the Leaders of the Rebellion 246
Mr. Lincoln and Jefferson Davis on an Imaginary Island 247
Disposition of Jefferson Davis discussed at a Cabinet
Meeting 248
Principal Events of Life of Mr. Davis after the War 249
Discussing the Military Situation--Terms of Peace must
emanate from Mr. Lincoln 250
Telegram to General Grant 251
Dignified Reply of General Grant 252
CHAPTER XVI.
CONFLICT BETWEEN CIVIL AND MILITARY AUTHORITY.
Difficulties attending the Execution of the Fugitive Slave
Law 254
Civil Authority outranked the Military 255
District Jail an Objective Point 257
Resignation of Marshal 258
Marshal's Office made a Subject of Legislation in Congress 259
A Result of Blundering Legislation 259
Mr. Lincoln's Existence embittered by Personal and Political
Attacks 260
Rev. Robert Collyer and the Rustic Employee 261
CHAPTER XVII.
PLOTS AND ASSASSINATION.
Conspiracy to kidnap Mr. Buchanan 264
Second Scheme of Abduction 265
Mr. Lincoln relates the Details of a Dangerous Ride 265
A Search for Mr. Lincoln 271
Mr. Lincoln's Peril during Ceremonies of his Second
Inauguration--Booth's Phenomenal Audacity 271
The Polish Exile from whom Mr. Lincoln feared Assault 273
An Impatient Letter appealing to Mr. Lincoln's Prudence 274
Mr. Lincoln's high Administrative Qualities 276
But Few Persons apprehended Danger to Mr. Lincoln 276
General Grant receives the News of the Assassination of
Mr. Lincoln--A Narrow Escape 278
Last Passport written by Mr. Lincoln 280
Mr. Lincoln requested to make a Promise 280
Mr. Lincoln's Farewell to his Marshal 281
Lincoln's Last Laugh 282
Willing to concede Much to Democrats 286
Eastern Shore Maryland 287
Honesty in Massachusetts and Georgia 287
McClellan seems to be Lost 288
Battle of Antietam, Turning-point in Lincoln's Career 289
Motto for the Greenback 289
"Niggers will never be higher" 290
Lincoln in a Law Case 291
Lincoln's Views of the American or Know-Nothing Party 299
Account of Arrangement for Cooper Institute Speech 300
"Rail Splitter" 303
Temperance 305
Shrewdness 309
Religion 333
INDEX OF LETTERS.
Black, Jeremiah S., 329
Briggs, Jas. A., 300
Catron, J., 330
Davis, David, xxxii, 317, 324
Doubleday, A., 326
Douglas, S. A., 319
Faulkner, Chas. J., 327
Fell, Jesse W., 11
Field, Eugene, xxxv
Field, Kate, 306
Foster, Chas. H., 325
Grant, Gen., to Secy. Stanton, 252
Hanna, W. H., 317, 320, 326, 331
Harmon, O. F., 314
Hatch, O. M., 313, 316
Henderson, D. P., 331
Holt, J., 58
Hurlburt, Stephen A., 79
Kress, Jno. A., 256
Lamon, W. H., xxvi, 231, 274, 307, 333
Lemon, J. E., 319
Lincoln, A., xxiii, xxix, 26, 106, 108, 186, 194, 241, 301, 309
Logan, S. T., xxviii, 328
McClure, A. K., vii
Murray, Bronson, 311, 312
Oglesby, R. J., 330
Perkins, A. J., 145
Pickens, Gov. F. W., 75, 78
Pleasanton, A., 289
Pope, John, 316
Scott, Winfield, 314
Seward, W. H., xxxi
Shaffer, J. W., 329
Smith, Jas. H., 312
Stanton, Ed. M., 252
Swett, Leonard, 313, 318
Taylor, Hawkins, 315, 327
Usher, Secy. J. P., v, xxv, 320, 322
Weed, Thurlow, 34
Weldon, Lawrence, xxxii, 318
Wentworth, Jno., 331
Wheeler, Wm. A., 234
Yates, Richard, xxiv
[Illustration: _WARD HILL LAMON._]
[Illustration: Hand written letter]
MEMOIR OF WARD H. LAMON.
Ward H. Lamon was born in Frederick County, about two miles north of
Winchester, in the state of Virginia, on the 6th day of January, 1828.
Two years after his birth his parents moved to Berkeley County in what
is now West Virginia, near a little town called Bunker Hill, where he
received a common school education. At the age of seventeen he began the
study of medicine which he soon abandoned for law. When nineteen years
of age he went to Illinois and settled in Danville; afterwards attending
lectures at the Louisville (Ky.) Law School. Was admitted to the Bar of
Kentucky in March, 1850, and in January, 1851, he was admitted to the
Illinois Bar, which comprised Abraham Lincoln, Judge Stephen T. Logan,
Judge David Davis, Leonard Swett, and others of that famous coterie, all
of whom were his fast friends.
[Illustration: Conclusion of a Legal Document signed by Lincoln and
Lamon.]
They all rode the circuit together, there being no railroads at that
time in the State. And it has been said that, "It is doubtful if the bar
of any other state of the union equalled that of the frontier state of
Illinois in professional ability when Lincoln won his spurs." A legal
partnership was formed between Mr. Lamon and Mr. Lincoln for the
practice of law in the eighth District. Headquarters of this
partnership was first at Danville and then at Bloomington. Was elected
District Attorney for the eighth District in 1856, which office he
continued to hold until called upon by Mr. Lincoln to accompany him to
Washington. It was upon Mr. Lamon that Mr. Lincoln and his friends
relied to see him safely to the National Capitol, when it became
necessary at Harrisburg to choose one companion for the rest of the
journey.[A]
[A] EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., Feb. 9, 1861.
DEAR GOVERNOR,--You will bear me witness that I seldom trouble my
friends in Washington with letters of introduction. I must now ask
you to indulge me in a suspension of this general rule, especially
as my object has as much to do with your future as my own.
W. H. Lamon, Esq., of our state visits Washington upon the
invitation of Mr. Lincoln as his escort and companion. He is one of
our ablest young lawyers, a man of strong and vigorous intellect and
of influence throughout the entire state equal to any man in the
state.
His social qualities upon intimate acquaintance are of the finest
type. He is chivalrous, courageous, generous.
His integrity is unquestioned. Though inclined to be conservative,
he is a republican firm, and from principle. He is, however,
retiring and not disposed to press himself on any one. May I ask of
you that you will be kind to him as you were to me, and very much
oblige
Your friend,
RICHARD YATES.
HON. WM. H. SEWARD.
He was appointed Marshal of the District of Columbia, which position at
that time was much more of a social function than it was in after years.
The Marshal performed some of the ceremonies which have since been
delegated to the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds. He
introduced people to the President on state occasions and was the
general social factotum of the Executive Mansion. The position of
Marshal was not of his own choosing. Had he consulted his own taste he
would have preferred some appointment in Europe.[B] It was almost
settled that he was to be sent as Consul to Paris, but in deference to
Mr. Lincoln's wish to have him near him in the trying times which he
anticipated, he shouldered the duties of Marshal at this dangerous
period, when it was one of much friction and difficulty, as slavery
ruled for a hundred miles north and a thousand miles south and west of
the Capitol.
[B] Feb. 4, 1861.
HON. A. LINCOLN:
DEAR SIR,--It affords me much satisfaction to hear that you have
invited our excellent friend W. H. Lamon to accompany you to
Washington and hope that there may be no necessity to interfere with
his appointment to the consulate at Paris, that will give us all
unbounded pleasure.
Very truly your friend,
J. P. USHER.
After the law was passed emancipating the slaves in the District of
Columbia, that territory was made, or sought to be made, the asylum for
the unemancipated slaves of the States of Maryland and Virginia. Mr.
Lincoln was not yet ready to issue his general emancipation
proclamation; the Fugitive Slave law was still in force and was sought
to be enforced. This condition of things was seized upon by many
political demagogues to abuse the President over the shoulders of the
Marshal. They exaggerated the truly deplorable condition of the bondmen
and made execrable all officers of the Government, whose duty it became
to execute laws of their own making.
The jail was at that time in the custody of the Marshal, and he was
responsible for the safe keeping of twice as many criminals as his means
of keeping them safely justified; Congress being responsible for the
insufficiency of those means. To have performed the official
requirements of that office in pursuance of the then existing laws and
the official oath required, and at the same time given satisfaction to
the radical element of the Republican party, was impossible; hence the
vindictive persecution that followed which continued in the Republican
party against Marshal Lamon to the end of his life.
Colonel Lamon was a strong Union man but was greatly disliked by the
Abolitionists; was considered proslavery by them for permitting his
subordinates to execute the old Maryland laws in reference to negroes,
which had been in force since the District was ceded to the Federal
Government. After an unjust attack upon him in the Senate, they at last
reached the point where they should have begun, introduced a bill to
repeal the obnoxious laws which the Marshal was bound by his oath of
office to execute. When the fight on the Marshal was the strongest in
the Senate, he sent in the following resignation to Mr. Lincoln:
WASHINGTON, D. C., Jany. 31, 1862.
HON. A. LINCOLN, President, United States:
SIR,--I hereby resign my office as Marshal for the District of
Columbia. Your invariable friendship and kindness for a long course
of years which you have ever extended to me impel me to give the
reasons for this course. There appears to be a studious effort upon
the part of the more radical portion of that party which placed you
in power to pursue me with a relentless persecution, and I am now
under condemnation by the United States Senate for doing what I am
sure meets your approval, but by the course pursued by that
honorable body I fear you will be driven to the necessity of either
sustaining the action of that body, or breaking with them and
sustaining me, which you cannot afford to do under the
circumstances.
I appreciate your embarrassing position in the matter, and feel as
unselfish in the premises as you have ever felt and acted towards
me in the course of fourteen years of uninterrupted friendship; now
when our country is in danger, I deem it but proper, having your
successful administration of this Government more at heart than my
own pecuniary interests, to relieve you of this embarrassment by
resigning that office which you were kind enough to confide to my
charge, and in doing so allow me to assure you that you have my
best wishes for your health and happiness, for your successful
administration of this Government, the speedy restoration to peace,
and a long and useful life in the enjoyment of your present high
and responsible office.
I have the honor to be
Your friend and obedient servant,
WARD H. LAMON.
Mr. Lincoln refused to accept this resignation for reasons which he
partly expressed to Hon. William Kellogg, Member of Congress from
Illinois, at a Presidential reception about this time. When Judge
Kellogg was about to pass on after shaking the President's hand Mr.
Lincoln said, "Kellogg, I want you to stay here. I want to talk to you
when I have a chance. While you are waiting watch Lamon (Lamon was
making the presentations at the time). He is most remarkable. He knows
more people and can call more by name than any man I ever saw."
After the reception Kellogg said, "I don't know but you are mistaken in
your estimate of Lamon; there are many of our associates in Congress who
don't place so high an estimate on his character and have little or no
faith in him whatever." "Kellogg," said Lincoln, "you fellows at the
other end of the Avenue seem determined to deprive me of every friend I
have who is near me and whom I can trust. Now, let me tell you, sir, he
is the most unselfish man I ever saw; is discreet, powerful, and the
most desperate man in emergency I have ever seen or ever expect to see.
He is my friend and I am his and as long as I have these great
responsibilities on me I intend to insist on his being with me, and I
will stick by him at all hazards." Kellogg, seeing he had aroused the
President more than he expected, said, "Hold on, Lincoln; what I said of
our mutual friend Lamon was in jest. I am also his friend and believe
with you about him. I only intended to draw you out so that I might be
able to say something further in his favor with your endorsement. In the
House today I defended him and will continue to do so. I know Lamon
clear through." "Well, Judge," said Lincoln, "I thank you. You can say
to your friends in the House and elsewhere that they will have to bring
stronger proof than any I have seen yet to make me think that Hill Lamon
is not the most important man to me I have around me."
* * * * *
Every charge preferred against the Marshal was proven groundless, but
the Senators and Representatives who had joined in this inexcusable
persecution ever remained his enemies as did also the radical press.[C]
[C] At this time the Grand Jury of Washington County, District of
Columbia, found a bill of indictment against Horace Greeley, of the New
York "Tribune," for malicious libel of a public officer, the U. S.
Marshal. The Marshal was averse to this procedure, but the jury having
the facts before them regarded the offence as so flagrant that the case
was vigorously prosecuted.
The following is a sample of many letters received by Colonel Lamon
about this time:--
March, 23, 1862.
...--I was rather sorry that you should have thought that I
needed to see any evidence in regard to the war Grimes & Company
were making on you to satisfy me as to what were the facts. No one,
however, had any doubt but that they made the attack on you for
doing your duty under the law. Such men as he and his coadjutors
think every man ought to be willing to commit perjury or any other
crime in pursuit of their abolition notions.
We suppose, however, that they mostly designed the attack on you as
a blow at Lincoln and as an attempt to reach him through his
friends. I do not doubt but they would be glad to drive every
personal friend to Lincoln out of Washington.
I ought to let you know, however, that you have risen more than an
hundred per cent in the estimation of my wife on account of your
having so acted as to acquire the enmity of the Abolitionists. I
believe firmly that if we had not got the Republican nomination for
him (Lincoln) the Country would have been gone. I don't know
whether it can be saved yet, but I hope so....
Write whenever you have leisure.
Yours respectfully,
S. T. LOGAN.
Mr. Lincoln had become very unpopular with the politicians--not so with
the masses, however. Members of Congress gave him a wide berth and
eloquently "left him alone with his Martial Cloak around him." It pained
him that he could not please everybody, but he said it was impossible.
In a conversation with Lamon about his personal safety Lincoln said, "I
have more reason today to apprehend danger to myself personally from my
own partisan friends than I have from all other sources put together."
This estrangement between him and his former friends at such a time no
doubt brought him to a more confidential relation with Colonel Lamon
than would have been otherwise.
In May, 1861, Lamon was authorized to organize and command a regiment of
volunteer Infantry, and subsequently his command was increased to a
brigade.[D]
[Illustration: Hand written letter]
[D] WASHINGTON, D. C.,
June 25, 1861.
COL. W. H. LAMON:
MY DEAR SIR,--I spoke to the Secretary of War yesterday, and he
consents, and so do I, that as fast as you get Companies, you may
procure a U. S. officer, and have them mustered in. Have this done
quietly; because we can not do the labor of adopting it as a general
practice.
Yours as ever,
A. LINCOLN.
Raising troops at the commencement of the war cost Colonel Lamon
$22,000, for which he never asked the Government to reimburse a dollar.
Mr. Lincoln urged him to put in his vouchers and receive it back, but
Lamon did not want to place himself in the position that any
evil-disposed person could question his integrity or charge him with
having wrongfully received from the Government one dollar.
His military service in the field, however, was of short duration--from
May, 1861, to December of that year--for his services were in greater
demand at the Nation's Capital. He held the commission of Colonel during
the war.
Colonel Lamon was charged with several important missions for Mr.
Lincoln, one of the most delicate and dangerous being a confidential
mission to Charleston, S. C., less than three weeks before the firing on
Sumter.
At the time of the death of Mr. Lincoln, Lamon was in Richmond. It was
believed by many who were familiar with Washington affairs, including
Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, that had Lamon been in the city on the
14th of April, 1865, that appalling tragedy at Ford's Theatre would have
been averted.
From the time of the arrival of the President-elect at Washington until
just before his assassination, Lamon watched over his friend and Chief
with exceeding intelligence and a fidelity that knew no rest. It has
been said of Lamon that, "The faithful watch and vigil long with which
he guarded Lincoln's person during those four years was seldom, if ever,
equalled by the fidelity of man to man." Lamon is perhaps best known for
the courage and watchful devotion with which he guarded Lincoln during
the stormy days of the Civil War.
After Lincoln's death it was always distasteful to Lamon to go to the
White House. He resigned his position in June following Mr. Lincoln's
death in the face of the remonstrance of the Administration.
[Illustration: Hand written note]
The following is a copy of a letter of Mr. Seward accepting his
resignation:--
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, June 10, 1865.
To WARD H. LAMON, Esq.,
Marshal of the United States
for the District of Columbia,
Washington, D. C.
MY DEAR SIR,--The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt
of your letter of the 8th instant, in which you tender your
resignation as Marshal of the United States for the District of
Columbia.
He accepts your resignation, as you desire, to take effect on
Monday, the 12th instant, but in so doing deems it no more than
right to say that he regrets that you should have asked him to do
so. Since his advent here, he has heard from those well qualified
to speak of your unwavering loyalty and of your constant personal
fidelity to the late President. These are qualities which have
obtained for you the reputation of a faithful and fearless public
officer, and they are just such qualities as the Government can ill
afford to lose in any of its Departments. They will, I doubt not,
gain for you in any new occupation which you may undertake the same
reputation and the same success you have obtained in the position
of United States Marshal of this District.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
Colonel Lamon was never just to himself. He cared little for either fame
or fortune. He regarded social fidelity as one of the highest virtues.
When President Johnson wished to make him a Member of his Cabinet and
offered him the position of Postmaster-General, Lamon pleaded the cause
of the incumbent so effectually that the President was compelled to
abandon the purpose.
Judge David Davis, many years on the U. S. Supreme Bench, and
administrator of Mr. Lincoln's estate, wrote the following under date of
May 23, 1865, to Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State.
There is one matter of a personal nature which I wish to suggest to
you. Mr. Lincoln was greatly attached to our friend Col. Ward H.
Lamon. I doubt whether he had a warmer attachment to anybody, and I
know that it was reciprocated. Col. Lamon has for a long time
wanted to resign his office and had only held it at the earnest
request of Mr. Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln would have given him the position of Governor of Idaho.
Col. Lamon is well qualified for that place. He would be popular
there. He understands Western people and few men have more friends.
I should esteem it as a great favor personally if you could secure
the place for him. If you can't succeed nobody else can. Col. Lamon
will make no effort and will use no solicitation.
He is one of the dearest friends I have in the world. He may have
faults, and few of us are without them, but he is as true as steel,
honorable, high minded, and never did a mean thing in his life.
Excuse the freedom with which I have written.
May I beg to be remembered to your son and to your family.
Yours most truly,
DAVID DAVIS.
The faithfulness till death of this noble man's friendship is shown in
the following letter written for him when he was dying, twenty-one years
later.
BLOOMINGTON, ILL.,
June 22, 1886.
COL. W. H. LAMON:
DEAR SIR,--On my return from Washington about a month since Judge
Davis said to me that he had a long letter from you which he
intended to answer as soon as he was able to do so. Since that time
the Judge has been declining in health until he is now beyond all
capability of writing. I have not seen him for three weeks until
yesterday morning when I found him in lowest condition of life.
Rational when aroused but almost unconscious of his surroundings
except when aroused.
He spoke in the kindest terms of you and was much annoyed because
an answer to your letter was postponed. He requested me this
morning through Mrs. Davis to write you, while Mrs. Davis handed me
the letter. I have not read it as it is a personal letter to the
Judge. I don't know that I can say any more. It was one of the
saddest sights of my life to see the best and truest friend I ever
had emaciated with disease, lingering between life and death.
Before this reaches you the world may know of his death. I
understood Mrs. Davis has written you.
Very truly,
LAWRENCE WELDON.
In striking contrast to this beautiful friendship is another which one
would pronounce equally strong were he to judge the man who professed it
from his letters to Lamon, covering a period of twenty-five years,
letters filled throughout with expressions of the deepest trust, love,
admiration, and even gratitude; but in a book published last November
[1910] there appear letters from this same man to one of Lamon's
_bitterest_ enemies. In one he says, "Lamon was no solid firm friend of
Lincoln." Let us _hope_ he was sincere when he expressed just the
opposite sentiment to Lamon, for may it not have been his poverty and
not his will which consented to be thus "interviewed." He alludes twice
in this same correspondence to his poverty, once when he gives as his
reason for selling something he regretted to have sold that "I was a
poor devil and had to sell to live," and again, "---- are you getting
rich? I am as poor as Job's turkey."
One of Lamon's friends describes him:--
"Of herculean proportions and almost fabulous strength and agility,
Lamon never knew what fear was and in the darkest days of the war
he never permitted discouragement to affect his courage or weaken
his faith in the final success of the Nation. Big-hearted, genial,
generous, and chivalrous, his memory will live long in the land
which he served so well."
Leonard Swett wrote in the "North American Review":--
"Lamon was all over a Virginian, strong, stout and athletic--a
Hercules in stature, tapering from his broad shoulders to his
heels, and the handsomest man physically I ever saw. He was six
feet high and although prudent and cautious, was thoroughly
courageous and bold. He wore that night [when he accompanied
Lincoln from Harrisburg to Washington] two ordinary pistols, two
derringers and two large knives. You could put no more elements of
attack or defence in a human skin than were in Lamon and his armory
on that occasion.... Mr. Lincoln knew the shedding the last drop of
blood in his defence would be the most delightful act of Lamon's
life, and that in him he had a regiment armed and drilled for the
most efficient service."
The four or five thousand letters left by Colonel Lamon show that his
influence was asked on almost every question, and show that Mr. Lincoln
was more easily reached through Colonel Lamon than by any other one man;
even Mrs. Lincoln herself asked Lamon's influence with her husband.
Extracts from some of these letters may be found at the end of this
volume. They breathe the real atmosphere of other days.
After his resignation as Marshal, he resumed the practice of law in
company with Hon. Jeremiah S. Black and his son, Chauncey F. Black.
Broken in health and in fortune, he went to Colorado in 1879, where he
remained seven years. It was here that the beautiful friendship began
between Colonel Lamon and Eugene Field. This friendship meant much to
both of them. To Eugene Field, then one of the editors of the Denver
"Tribune," who had only a boyhood recollection of Lincoln, it meant much
to study the history of the War and the martyred President with one who
had seen much of both. To Colonel Lamon it was a solace and a tonic,
this association with one in whom sentiment and humor were so delicately
blended.
One little incident of this friendship is worth the telling because of
the pathetic beauty of the verses which it occasioned.
One day when Field dropped in to see Lamon he found him asleep on the
floor. (To take a nap on the floor was a habit of both Lamon and
Lincoln, perhaps because they both experienced difficulty in finding
lounges suited to their length--Lamon was six feet two inches, Lincoln
two inches taller.) Field waited some time thinking Lamon would wake up,
but he did not; so finally Field penciled the following verses on a
piece of paper, pinned it to the lapel of Lamon's coat, and quietly
left:--
As you, dear Lamon, soundly slept
And dreamed sweet dreams upon the floor,
Into your hiding place I crept
And heard the music of your snore.
A man who sleeps as now you sleep,
Who pipes as music'ly as thou--
Who loses self in slumbers deep
As you, O happy man, do now,
Must have a conscience clear and free
From troublous pangs and vain ado;
So ever may thy slumbers be--
So ever be thy conscience too!
And when the last sweet sleep of all
Shall smooth the wrinkles from thy brow,
May God on high as gently guard
Thy slumbering soul as I do now.
This incident occurred in the summer of 1882. Eleven years after Colonel
Lamon lay dying. He was conscious to the last moment, but for the last
sixteen hours he had lost the power of speech. His daughter watched him
for those sixteen hours, hoping every moment he would be able to speak.
She was so stunned during this long watch that she could not utter a
prayer to comfort her father's soul, but just before the end came, the
last lines of the little poem came to her like an inspiration which she
repeated aloud to her dying father:
"And when the last sweet sleep of all
Shall smooth the wrinkles from thy brow,
May God on high as gently guard
Thy slumbering soul as I do now."
These were the last words Colonel Lamon ever heard on earth. He died at
eleven o'clock on the night of May 7th, 1893; and many most interesting
chapters of Lincoln's history have perished with him.
[Illustration: Letter page 1]
[Illustration: Letter page 2]
RECOLLECTIONS
OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY ACQUAINTANCE.
When Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency in 1860, a campaign
book-maker asked him to give the prominent features of his life. He
replied in the language of Gray's "Elegy," that his life presented
nothing but
"The short and simple annals of the poor."
He had, however, a few months previously, written for his friend Jesse
W. Fell the following:--
I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Harden County, Kentucky. My parents
were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second
families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth
year, was of a family of the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside
in Adams, some others in Macon counties, Illinois--My paternal
grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham County,
Virginia, to Kentucky, about 1781 or 2, where, a year or two
later, he was killed by indians,--not in battle, but by stealth,
when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest--His ancestors,
who were quakers, went to Virginia from Berks County,
Pennsylvania--An effort to identify them with the New England
family of the same name ended in nothing more definite, than a
similarity of Christian names in both families, such as Enoch,
Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the like--
My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age;
and he grew up, literally without education--He removed from
Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, in my eighth
year--We reached our new home about the time the State came into
the Union--It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild
animals still in the woods--There I grew up--There were some
schools, so called; but no qualification was ever required of a
teacher, beyond "_readin, writin, and cipherin_" to the Rule of
Three--If a straggler supposed to understand latin happened to
sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard--There
was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course
when I came of age I did not know much--Still, somehow, I could
read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all--I
have not been to school since--The little advance I now have upon
this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under
the pressure of necessity--
I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was twenty
two--At twenty one I came to Illinois, and passed the first year in
Macon county--Then I got to New-Salem at that time in Sangamon, now
in Menard county, where I remained a year as a sort of Clerk in a
store--Then came the Black Hawk war; and I was elected a Captain of
Volunteers--a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have
had since--I went the campaign, was elected, ran for the
Legislature the same year (1832) and was beaten--the only time I
ever have been beaten by the people--The next, and three succeeding
biennial elections, I was elected to the Legislature--I was not a
candidate afterwards. During this Legislative period I had studied
law, and removed to Springfield to practice it--In 1846 I was once
elected to the lower House of Congress--Was not a candidate for
re-election--From 1849 to 1854, both inclusive, practiced law more
assiduously than ever before--Always a whig in politics; and
generally on the whig electoral tickets, making active canvasses--I
was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise aroused me again--What I have done since then is pretty
well known--
If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be
said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in
flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark
complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes--No other marks
or brands recollected--
Yours very truly
A. LINCOLN.
J. W. Fell, Esq.
WASHINGTON, D. C., March 20, 1872.
We the undersigned hereby certify that the foregoing statement is
in the hand-writing of Abraham Lincoln.
DAVID DAVIS.
LYMAN TRUMBULL.
CHARLES SUMNER.[E]
[E] The circumstances under which the original preceding sketch was
written are explained in the following letter:--
NATIONAL HOTEL, WASHINGTON, D. C.,
Feb. 19, 1872.
COLONEL WARD H. LAMON:
DEAR SIR,--In compliance with your request, I place in your hands
a copy of a manuscript in my possession written by Abraham Lincoln,
giving a brief account of his early history, and the commencement of
that political career which terminated in his election to the
presidency.
It may not be inappropriate to say, that some time preceding the
writing of the enclosed, finding, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, a
laudable curiosity in the public mind to know more about the early
history of Mr. Lincoln, and looking, too, to the possibilities of
his being an available candidate for the presidency in 1860, I had
on several occasions requested of him this information, and that it
was not without some hesitation he placed in my hands even this very
modest account of himself, which he did in the month of December,
1859.
To this were added, by myself, other facts bearing upon his
legislative and political history, and the whole forwarded to a
friend residing in my native county (Chester, Pa.),--the Hon. Joseph
J. Lewis, former commissioner of internal revenue,--who made them
the basis of an ably-written and somewhat elaborate memoir of the
late president, which appeared in the Pennsylvania and other papers
of the country in January, 1860, and which contributed to prepare
the way for the subsequent nomination at Chicago the following June.
Believing this brief and unpretending narrative, written by himself
in his own peculiar vein,--and in justice to him I should add,
without the remotest expectation of its ever appearing in
public,--with the attending circumstances, may be of interest to the
numerous admirers of that historic and truly great man, I place it
at your disposal.
I am truly yours,
JESSE W. FELL.
Were I to say in this polite age that Abraham Lincoln was born in a
condition of life most humble and obscure, and that he was surrounded by
circumstances most unfavorable to culture and to the development of that
nobility and purity which his wonderful character afterward displayed,
it would shock the fastidious and super-fine sensibilities of the
average reader, would be regarded as _prima facie_ evidence of felonious
intent, and would subject me to the charge of being inspired by an
antagonistic animus. In justice to the truth of history, however, it
must be acknowledged that such are the facts concerning this great man,
regarding whom nothing should be concealed from public scrutiny, either
in the surroundings of his birth, his youth, his manhood, or his private
and public life and character. Let all the facts concerning him be
known, and he will appear brighter and purer by the test.
It may well be said of him that he is probably the only man, dead or
living, whose _true_ and _faithful_ life could be written and leave the
subject more ennobled by the minutiae of the record. His faults are but
"the shadows which his virtues cast." It is my purpose in these
recollections to give the reader a closer view of the great war
President than is afforded by current biographies, which deal mainly
with the outward phases of his life; and in carrying out this purpose I
will endeavor to present that many-sided man in those relations where
his distinguishing traits manifest themselves most strongly.
With the grandeur of his figure in history, with his genius and his
achievements as the model statesman and chief magistrate, all men are
now familiar; but there yet remain to be sketched many phases of his
inner life. Many of the incidents related in these sketches came to my
knowledge through my long-continued association with him both in his
private and public life; therefore, if the _Ego_ shall seem at times
pushed forward to undue prominence, it will be because of its
convenience, or rather necessity, certainly not from any motive of
self-adulation.
My personal acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln dates back to the autumn of
1847. In that year, attracted by glowing accounts of material growth and
progress in that part of the West, I left my home in what was then
Berkeley County, Virginia, and settled at Danville, Vermillion County,
Illinois. That county and Sangamon, including Springfield, the new
capital of the State, were embraced in the Eighth Judicial Circuit,
which at that early day consisted of fourteen counties. It was then the
custom of lawyers, like their brethren of England, "to ride the
circuit." By that circumstance the people came in contact with all the
lawyers in the circuit, and were enabled to note their distinguishing
traits. I soon learned that the man most celebrated, even in those
pioneer days, for oddity, originality, wit, ability, and eloquence in
that region of the State was Abraham Lincoln. My great curiosity to see
him was gratified soon after I took up my residence at Danville.
I was introduced to Mr. Lincoln by the Hon. John T. Stuart, for some
years his partner at Springfield. After a comical survey of my
fashionable toggery,--my swallow-tail coat, white neck-cloth, and
ruffled shirt (an astonishing outfit for a young limb of the law in that
settlement),--Mr. Lincoln said: "And so you are a cousin of our friend
John J. Brown; he told me you were coming. Going to try your hand at the
law, are you? I should know at a glance that you were a Virginian; but
I don't think you would succeed at splitting rails. That was my
occupation at your age, and I don't think I have taken as much pleasure
in anything else from that day to this."
I assured him, perhaps as a sort of defence against the eloquent
condemnation implied in my fashionable clawhammer, that I had done a
deal of hard manual labor in my time. Much amused at this solemn
declaration, Mr. Lincoln said: "Oh, yes; you Virginians shed barrels of
perspiration while standing off at a distance and superintending the
work your slaves do for you. It is different with us. Here it is every
fellow for himself, or he doesn't get there."
Mr. Lincoln soon learned, however, that my detestation of slave labor
was quite as pronounced as his own, and from that hour we were friends.
Until the day of his death it was my pleasure and good fortune to retain
his confidence unshaken, as he retained my affection unbroken.
I was his local partner, first at Danville, and afterward at
Bloomington. We rode the circuit together, traveling by buggy in the dry
seasons and on horse-back in bad weather, there being no railroads then
in that part of the State. Mr. Lincoln had defeated that redoubtable
champion of pioneer Methodism, the Rev. Peter Cartwright, in the last
race for Congress. Cartwright was an oddity in his way, quite as
original as Lincoln himself. He was a foeman worthy of Spartan steel,
and Mr. Lincoln's fame was greatly enhanced by his victory over the
famous preacher. Whenever it was known that Lincoln was to make a
speech or argue a case, there was a general rush and a crowded house. It
mattered little what subject he was discussing,--Lincoln was subject
enough for the people. It was Lincoln they wanted to hear and see; and
his progress round the circuit was marked by a constantly recurring
series of ovations.
Mr. Lincoln was from the beginning of his circuit-riding the light and
life of the court. The most trivial circumstance furnished a back-ground
for his wit. The following incident, which illustrates his love of a
joke, occurred in the early days of our acquaintance. I, being at the
time on the infant side of twenty-one, took particular pleasure in
athletic sports. One day when we were attending the circuit court which
met at Bloomington, Ill., I was wrestling near the court house with some
one who had challenged me to a trial, and in the scuffle made a large
rent in the rear of my trousers. Before I had time to make any change, I
was called into court to take up a case. The evidence was finished. I,
being the Prosecuting Attorney at the time, got up to address the jury.
Having on a somewhat short coat, my misfortune was rather apparent. One
of the lawyers, for a joke, started a subscription paper which was
passed from one member of the bar to another as they sat by a long table
fronting the bench, to buy a pair of pantaloons for Lamon,--"he being,"
the paper said, "a poor but worthy young man." Several put down their
names with some ludicrous subscription, and finally the paper was laid
by some one in front of Mr. Lincoln, he being engaged in writing at the
time. He quietly glanced over the paper, and, immediately taking up his
pen, wrote after his name, "I can contribute nothing to the end in
view."
Although Mr. Lincoln was my senior by eighteen years, in one important
particular I certainly was in a marvelous degree his acknowledged
superior. One of the first things I learned after getting fairly under
way as a lawyer was to charge well for legal services,--a branch of the
practice that Mr. Lincoln never could learn. In fact, the lawyers of the
circuit often complained that his fees were not at all commensurate with
the service rendered. He at length left that branch of the business
wholly to me; and to my tender mercy clients were turned over, to be
slaughtered according to my popular and more advanced ideas of the
dignity of our profession. This soon led to serious and shocking
embarrassment.
Early in our practice a gentleman named Scott placed in my hands a case
of some importance. He had a demented sister who possessed property to
the amount of $10,000, mostly in cash. A "conservator," as he was
called, had been appointed to take charge of the estate, and we were
employed to resist a motion to remove the conservator. A designing
adventurer had become acquainted with the unfortunate girl, and knowing
that she had money, sought to marry her; hence the motion. Scott, the
brother and conservator, before we entered upon the case, insisted that
I should fix the amount of the fee. I told him that it would be $250,
adding, however, that he had better wait; it might not give us much
trouble, and in that event a less amount would do. He agreed at once to
pay $250, as he expected a hard contest over the motion.
The case was tried inside of twenty minutes; our success was complete.
Scott was satisfied, and cheerfully paid over the money to me inside the
bar, Mr. Lincoln looking on. Scott then went out, and Mr. Lincoln asked,
"What did you charge that man?" I told him $250. Said he: "Lamon, that
is all wrong. The service was not worth that sum. Give him back at least
half of it."
I protested that the fee was fixed in advance; that Scott was perfectly
satisfied, and had so expressed himself. "That may be," retorted Mr.
Lincoln, with a look of distress and of undisguised displeasure, "but
_I_ am not satisfied. This is positively wrong. Go, call him back and
return half the money at least, or I will not receive one cent of it for
my share."
I did go, and Scott was astonished when I handed back half the fee.
This conversation had attracted the attention of the lawyers and the
court. Judge David Davis, then on our circuit bench, called Mr. Lincoln
to him. The judge never could whisper, but in this instance he probably
did his best. At all events, in attempting to whisper to Mr. Lincoln he
trumpeted his rebuke in about these words, and in rasping tones that
could be heard all over the court room: "Lincoln, I have been watching
you and Lamon. You are impoverishing this bar by your picayune charges
of fees, and the lawyers have reason to complain of you. You are now
almost as poor as Lazarus, and if you don't make people pay you more for
your services you will die as poor as Job's turkey!"
Judge O. L. Davis, the leading lawyer in that part of the State,
promptly applauded this malediction from the bench; but Mr. Lincoln was
immovable. "That money," said he, "comes out of the pocket of a poor,
demented girl, and I would rather starve than swindle her in this
manner."
That evening the lawyers got together and tried Mr. Lincoln before a
moot tribunal called "The Ogmathorial Court." He was found guilty and
fined for his awful crime against the pockets of his brethren of the
bar. The fine he paid with great good humor, and then kept the crowd of
lawyers in uproarious laughter until after midnight. He persisted in his
revolt, however, declaring that with his consent his firm should never
during its life, or after its dissolution, deserve the reputation
enjoyed by those shining lights of the profession, "Catch 'em and Cheat
'em."
In these early days Mr. Lincoln was once employed in a case against a
railroad company in Illinois. The case was concluded in his favor,
except as to the pronouncement of judgment. Before this was done, he
rose and stated that his opponents had not proved all that was justly
due to them in offset, and proceeded to state briefly that justice
required that an allowance should be made against his client for a
certain amount. The court at once acquiesced in his statement, and
immediately proceeded to pronounce judgment in accordance therewith. He
was ever ready to sink his selfish love of victory as well as his
partiality for his client's favor and interest for the sake of exact
justice.
In many of the courts on the circuit Mr. Lincoln would be engaged on one
side or the other of every case on the docket, and yet, owing to his low
charges and the large amount of professional work which he did for
nothing, at the time he left Springfield for Washington to take the oath
of office as President of the United States he was not worth more than
seven thousand dollars,--his property consisting of the house in which
he had lived, and eighty acres of land on the opposite side of the river
from Omaha, Neb. This land he had entered with his bounty land-warrant
obtained for services in the Black Hawk War.[1]
[1] Page 20, line 21, after the word "war."
Mr. Lincoln did not think money for its own sake a fit object of any
man's ambition.
Mr. Lincoln was always simple in his habits and tastes. He was
economical in everything, and his wants were few. He was a good liver;
and his family, though not extravagant, were much given to
entertainments, and saw and enjoyed many ways of spending money not
observable by him. After all his inexpensive habits, and a long life of
successful law practice, he was reduced to the necessity of borrowing
money to defray expenses for the first months of his residence at the
White House. This money he repaid after receiving his salary as
President for the first quarter.
A few months after meeting Mr. Lincoln, I attended an entertainment
given at his residence in Springfield. After introducing me to Mrs.
Lincoln, he left us in conversation. I remarked to her that her husband
was a great favorite in the eastern part of the State, where I had been
stopping. "Yes," she replied, "he is a great favorite everywhere. He is
to be President of the United States some day; if I had not thought so I
never would have married him, for you can see he is not pretty. But look
at him! Doesn't he look as if he would make a magnificent President?"
"Magnificent" somewhat staggered me; but there was, without appearing
ungallant, but one reply to make to this pointed question. I made it,
but did so under a mental protest, for I am free to admit that he did
not look promising for that office; on the contrary, to me he looked
about as unpromising a candidate as I could well imagine the American
people were ever likely to put forward. At that time I felt convinced
that Mrs. Lincoln was running Abraham beyond his proper distance in that
race. I did not thoroughly know the man then; afterward I never saw the
time when I was not willing to apologize for my misguided secret
protest. Mrs. Lincoln, from that day to the day of his inauguration,
never wavered in her faith that her hopes in this respect would be
realized.
In 1858, when Mr. Lincoln and Judge Douglas were candidates for the
United States Senate, and were making their celebrated campaign in
Illinois, General McClellan was Superintendent of the Illinois Central
Railroad, and favored the election of Judge Douglas. At all points on
the road where meetings between the two great politicians were held,
either a special train or a special car was furnished to Judge Douglas;
but Mr. Lincoln, when he failed to get transportation on the regular
trains in time to meet his appointments, was reduced to the necessity of
going as freight. There being orders from headquarters to permit no
passenger to travel on freight trains, Mr. Lincoln's persuasive powers
were often brought into requisition. The favor was granted or refused
according to the politics of the conductor.
On one occasion, in going to meet an appointment in the southern part of
the State,--that section of Illinois called Egypt,--Mr. Lincoln and I,
with other friends, were traveling in the "caboose" of a freight train,
when we were switched off the main track to allow a special train to
pass in which Mr. Lincoln's more aristocratic rival was being conveyed.
The passing train was decorated with banners and flags, and carried a
band of music which was playing "Hail to the Chief." As the train
whistled past, Mr. Lincoln broke out in a fit of laughter and said,
"Boys, the gentleman in that car evidently smelt no royalty in our
carriage."
On arriving at the point where these two political gladiators were to
test their strength, there was the same contrast between their
respective receptions. The judge was met at the station by the
distinguished Democratic citizens of the place, who constituted almost
the whole population, and was marched to the camping ground to the sound
of music, shouts from the populace, and under floating banners borne by
his enthusiastic admirers. Mr. Lincoln was escorted by a few Republican
politicians; no enthusiasm was displayed, no music greeted his ears,
nor, in fact, any other sound except the warble of the bull-frogs in a
neighboring swamp. The signs and prospects for Mr. Lincoln's election by
the support of the people looked gloomy indeed.
Judge Douglas spoke first, and so great was the enthusiasm excited by
his speech that Mr. Lincoln's friends became apprehensive of trouble.
When spoken to on the subject he said: "I am not going to be terrified
by an excited populace, and hindered from speaking my honest sentiments
upon this infernal subject of human slavery." He rose, took off his hat,
and stood before that audience for a considerable space of time in a
seemingly reflective mood, looking over the vast throng of people as if
making a preliminary survey of their tendencies. He then bowed, and
commenced by saying: "My fellow-citizens, I learn that my friend Judge
Douglas said in a public speech that I, while in Congress, had voted
against the appropriation for supplies to the Mexican soldiers during
the late war. This, fellow-citizens, is a perversion of the facts. It is
true that I was opposed to the policy of the Administration in
declaring war against Mexico[2]; but when war was declared, I never
failed to vote for the support of any proposition looking to the comfort
of our poor fellows who were maintaining the dignity of our flag in a
war that I thought unnecessary and unjust."[F] He gradually became more
and more excited; his voice thrilled and his whole frame shook. I was at
the time sitting on the stand beside Hon. O. B. Ficklin, who had served
in Congress with Mr. Lincoln in 1847. Mr. Lincoln reached back and took
Ficklin by the coat-collar, back of his neck, and in no gentle manner
lifted him from his seat as if he had been a kitten, and said:
"Fellow-citizens, here is Ficklin, who was at that time in Congress with
me, and he knows it is a lie." He shook Ficklin until his teeth
chattered. Fearing that he would shake Ficklin's head off, I grasped Mr.
Lincoln's hand and broke his grip. Mr. Ficklin sat down, and Lincoln
continued his address.
[2] Page 24, line 2, after the word "Mexico."
In a speech delivered in the House July 27, 1848, on General Politics,
Mr. Lincoln said: "The declaration that we (the Whigs) have always
opposed the Mexican War is true or false accordingly as one may
understand the term 'opposing the war.' If to say 'the war was
unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced by the President' be
opposing the war, then the Whigs have very generally opposed it.
Whenever they have spoken at all, they have said this; and they said it
on what appeared good reasons to them: the marching an army into the
midst of a peaceful Mexican settlement, frightening the inhabitants
away, leaving their growing crops and other property to destruction to
you may appear a perfectly amiable, peaceful, unprovoking procedure, but
it does not appear so to us. So to call such an act to us appears no
other than a naked, impudent absurdity, and we speak of it accordingly.
But if, when the war had begun and had become the cause of the country,
the giving of our money and our blood, in common with yours, was support
of the war, then it is not true that we have always opposed the war."
On another occasion Mr. Lincoln said that the claim that the Mexican War
was not aggressive reminded him of the farmer who asserted, "I ain't
greedy 'bout land, I only just wants what jines mine."
[F] For some time before this speech Mr. Lincoln had been receiving
letters from friends inquiring as to the truth or falsity of Mr.
Douglas's charge. Knowing that he had opposed the war with Mexico, while
in Congress, they were in doubt whether or not the charge was true, and
believed that if true it would be dangerous to his prospects. To one of
these anxious friends he writes under date of June 24, 1858: "Give
yourself no concern about my voting against the supplies, unless you are
without faith that a lie can be successfully contradicted. There is not
a word of truth in the charge, and I am just considering a little as to
the best shape to put a contradiction in. Show this to whom you please,
but do not publish it in the papers."
After the speaking was over, Mr. Ficklin, who had been opposed to
Lincoln in politics, but was on terms of warm personal friendship with
him, turned to him and said: "Lincoln, you nearly shook all the
Democracy out of me to-day."
Mr. Lincoln replied: "That reminds me of what Paul said to Agrippa,
which in language and substance I will formulate as follows: I would to
God that such Democracy as you folks here in Egypt have were not only
almost, but altogether shaken out of, not only you, but all that heard
me this day, and that you would all join in assisting in shaking off the
shackles of the bondmen by all legitimate means, so that this country
may be made free as the good Lord intended it."
Ficklin continued: "Lincoln, I remember of reading somewhere in the same
book from which you get your Agrippa story, that Paul, whom you seem to
desire to personate, admonished all servants (slaves) to be obedient to
them that are their masters according to the flesh, in fear and
trembling. It would seem that neither our Saviour nor Paul saw the
iniquity of slavery as you and your party do. But you must not think
that where you fail by argument to convince an old friend like myself
and win him over to your heterodox abolition opinions, you are justified
in resorting to violence such as you practiced on me to-day. Why, I
never had such a shaking up in the whole course of my life. Recollect
that that good old book that you quote from somewhere says in effect
this, 'Woe be unto him who goeth to Egypt for help, for he shall fall.
The holpen shall fall, and they shall all fall together.' The next thing
we know, Lincoln, you and your party will be advocating a war to kill
all of us pro-slavery people off."
"No," said Lincoln, "I will never advocate such an extremity; but it
will be well for you folks if you don't force such a necessity on the
country."
Lincoln then apologized for his rudeness in jostling the muscular
Democracy of his friend, and they separated, each going his own way,
little thinking then that what they had just said in badinage would be
so soon realized in such terrible consequences to the country.
[Illustration: Letter page 1]
[Illustration: Letter page 2]
The following letter shows Lincoln's view of the political situation at
that time:--
SPRINGFIELD, June 11, 1858.
W. H. LAMON, Esq.:
MY DEAR SIR,--Yours of the 9th written at Joliet is just
received. Two or three days ago I learned that McLean had appointed
delegates in favor of Lovejoy, and thenceforward I have considered
his renomination a fixed fact. My _opinion_--if my opinion is of
any consequence in this case, in which it is no business of mine to
interfere--remains unchanged, that running an independent candidate
against Lovejoy will not do; that it will result in nothing but
disaster all round. In the first place, whoever so runs will be
beaten and will be spotted for life; in the second place, while the
race is in progress, he will be under the strongest temptation to
trade with the Democrats, and to favor the election of certain of
their friends to the Legislature; thirdly, I shall be held
responsible for it, and Republican members of the Legislature, who
are partial to Lovejoy, will for that purpose oppose us; and,
lastly, it will in the end lose us the District altogether. There
is no safe way but a convention; and if in that convention, upon a
common platform which all are willing to stand upon, one who has
been known as an Abolitionist, but who is now occupying none but
common ground, can get the majority of the votes to which _all_
look for an election, there is no safe way but to submit.
As to the inclination of some Republicans to favor Douglas, that is
one of the chances I have to run, and which I intend to run with
patience.
I write in the court room. Court has opened, and I must close.
Yours as ever,
(Signed) A. LINCOLN.
During this senatorial campaign in 1858, Hon. James G. Blaine predicted
in a letter, which was extensively published, that Douglas would beat
Lincoln for the United States Senate, but that Lincoln would beat
Douglas for President in 1860. Mr. Lincoln cut out the paragraph of the
letter containing this prediction, and placed it in his pocket-book,
where I have no doubt it was found after his death, for only a very
short time before that event I saw it in his possession.[3]
[3] Page 27, line 19, after the word "possession."
Mr. Lincoln felt deeply the responsibility of his great trust; and he
felt still more keenly the supposed impossibility of administering the
government for the sole benefit of an organization which had no
existence in one-half of the Union. He was therefore willing, not only
to appoint Democrats to office, but to appoint them to the very highest
offices within his gift. At this time he thought very highly of Mr.
Stephens of Georgia, and would gladly have taken him into his cabinet
but for the fear that Georgia might secede, and take Mr. Stephens along
with her. He commissioned Thurlow Weed to place a seat in the Cabinet at
the disposal of Mr. Gilmore of North Carolina; but Mr. Gilmore, finding
that his state was likely to secede, was reluctantly compelled to
decline it. I had thought that Mr. Lincoln had authorized his friend Mr.
Speed to offer the Treasury Department to Mr. Guthrie of Kentucky. Mr.
Speed writes of this incident in a letter to me dated June 24, 1872.
In one instance I find a palpable mistake. It is in regard to a tender
to Mr. Guthrie through me of a position in his Cabinet. The history of
that transaction was about this: I met Mr. Lincoln by appointment in
Chicago after his election but before he had gone to Washington. He
seemed very anxious to avoid bloodshed and said that he would do almost
anything saving the sacrifice of personal honor and the dignity of the
position to which he had been elevated to avoid war.
He asked about Mr. Guthrie and spoke of him as a suitable man for
Secretary of War. He asked very particularly as to his strength with the
people and if I knew him well enough to say what would be his course in
the event of war. I frankly gave my opinion as to what I thought would
be his course--which is not necessary here to repeat. He requested me to
see Mr. Guthrie. But by all means to be guarded and not to give any man
the advantage of the tender of a Cabinet appointment to be declined by
an insulting letter. I did see Mr. Guthrie and never tendered him any
office for I was not authorized to do so. This is a very different thing
from being authorized to _tender_ an appointment.
Yours truly
J. F. SPEED.
When Mr. Lincoln was asked during conferences incident to making up his
cabinet if it was just or wise to concede so many seats to the
Democratic element of the Republican party he replied that as a Whig he
thought he could afford to be liberal to a section of the Republican
party without whose votes he could not have been elected.
After Mr. Lincoln's election he was sorely beset by rival claimants for
the spoils of office in his own State, and distracted by jealousies
among his own party adherents. The State was divided so far as the
Republican party was concerned into three cliques or factions. The
Chicago faction was headed by Norman B. Judd and Ebenezer Peck, the
Bloomington faction by Judge David Davis, Leonard Swett, and others, and
that of Springfield by J. K. Dubois, O. M. Hatch, William Butler, and
others; and however anxious Mr. Lincoln might be to honor his State by a
Cabinet appointment, he was powerless to do so without incurring the
hostility of the factions from which he could not make a selection.
Harmony was, however, in a large measure preserved among the Republican
politicians by sending Judd as Minister to Prussia, and by anticipating
a place on the Supreme Bench for Judge Davis. Swett wanted nothing, and
middle Illinois was satisfied. Springfield controlled the lion's share
of State patronage, and satisfaction was given all round as far as
circumstances would allow.
Between the time of Mr. Lincoln's election and the 11th of February,
1861, he spent his time in a room in the State House which was assigned
to him as an office. Young Mr. Nicolay, a very clever and competent
clerk, was lent to him by the Secretary of State to do his writing.
During this time he was overrun with visitors from all quarters of the
country,--some to assist in forming his Cabinet, some to direct how
patronage should be distributed, others to beg for or demand personal
advancement. So painstaking was he, that every one of the many thousand
letters which poured in upon him was read and promptly answered. The
burden of the new and overwhelming labor came near prostrating him with
serious illness.
Some days before his departure for Washington, he wrote to me at
Bloomington that he desired to see me at once. I went to Springfield,
and Mr. Lincoln said to me: "Hill, on the 11th I go to Washington, and I
want you to go along with me. Our friends have already asked me to send
you as Consul to Paris. You know I would cheerfully give you anything
for which our friends may ask or which you may desire, but it looks as
if we might have war. In that case I want you with me. In fact, I must
have you. So get yourself ready and come along. It will be handy to have
you around. If there is to be a fight, I want you to help me to do my
share of it, as you have done in times past. You must go, and go to
stay."