John Carroll Power's: ABRAHAM LINCOLN His Life, Public Services, Death and Great Funeral Cortege

LIFE OF LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln

His Life, Public Services, Death and Great Funeral Cortege, with a History and Description of the National Lincoln Monument by John Carroll Power

H.W. Rokker, Publisher, Chicago and Springfield, Illinois

1889

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

To the Young men and women in the United States of America, of all stations in life, this volume is most respectfully dedicated; with the earnest hope that they will adopt Abraham Lincoln as their model, and strive to conform their lives to his standard of truthfulness, honesty and exalted patriotism.  The Author.

- Dedication Page

Young men and women who have enjoyed the advantages of schools as they are not systematized in all the northern and some of the southern States, cannot realize the almost entire destitution of the means for developing and improving the mind. Such establishment as the large publishing houses, with their classified series of text books, in almost every branch of learning, were then unknown. The schools were usually kept in houses that would be thought unfit for the protection of horses or cattle at the present time.

The Studies were confined to spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic. Grammar and geography were unknown. Such a thing as a dictionary was seldom or never seen by any person connected with the schools. The books in use were Dilworth’s spelling book, and for reading, any book, on any subject, that happened to fall into the hands of the different families. A country school is remembered by the writer about fifteen years later than the time Abraham Lincoln commences his studies and in a better part of Kentucky, when Dilworth’s spelling book had given place to Webster’s. The following is a partial list of the books used, as the best that could be obtained by a large number of boys and girls about equally advanced in their knowledge of reading. Almost any Kentuckian, unless his lot was cast in some of the larger towns or cities of the State, as seen its counter part. There being no possibility of classification, they would be called up to recite in something like the following order: The Bible, Aesop’s Fables, Life of Washington, Robinson Crusoe, New Testament, Revised Statutes of Kentucky, Life of Marion by Horry, a book of Western Adventures, English Reading, Charlotte Temple, Columbian Orator, Thaddeus of Warsaw, Debates on Baptism, between Campbell and McCalla, and others about as well selected.

Pg. 20

Kentucky was exceedingly unfortunate in its early settlement on account of the insecurity of its land titles.

Pg. 22

The memory of his mother was always held sacred by Abraham Lincoln. After he had acquired great fame, while in conversation with a friend he said, with tears in his eyes, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”  It has been said that the foregoing remark was made concerning his step-mother, but that is not very probably, as she was living at the time the remark was made.

Pg. 23

After his return from the war, Lincoln became a candidate for the legislature, but failed to be elected, not for want of personal popularity, but because he espoused the weakest side in politics, being a Whig. The official poll-books of New Salem precinct, where he lived, show that Lincoln received 277 votes, when at the same time the combine vote of the Whig and Democratic candidates for congress was only 276.
Being out of business, Lincoln was about to commence learning the trade of blacksmith, but soon abandoned the idea, and took an interest in a store. That proved to be unprofitable, and he abandoned it in about one year, because he was unable to pay his debts. He was a postmaster at New Salem during the time he kept that store, which gave him access to all the newspapers he could read. The post office at New Salem was abolished while he was postmaster, and the business removed to Petersburg. The village of New Salem in a short time ceased to exist. Soon after his failure in business, John Calhoun, surveyor of Sangamon County, was anxious to have an assistant whom he could trust. Having observed Lincoln’s studious habits and knowing him to be honest, he told him that if he would study surveying, he could have all the work he desired, and be well paid for it. Calhoun offered the use of the necessary books. Lincoln accepted them and in a few weeks was ready for the business, and followed it more or less for two or three years.

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Map of the Great Funeral Cortege

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Major John T. Stuart was one of Lincoln’s colleagues from Sangamon County, and they roomed together at Vandalia. As they were taking a walk one morning after breakfast, Lincoln asked Stuarts advice in reference to the study of law, and Stuart advised him to begin at once. Lincoln said he was poor and unable to buy books. Mr. Stuart was already in a successful practice a Springfield, and offered to loan him all the books he would require. The offer was gratefully accepted, and when the session closed, Lincoln returned home as he went on foot. When he was ready to begin his studies, he walked to Springfield, a distance of about twenty-five miles, borrowed enough books to make a commencement, and returned with them to New Salem. He would study as long as his money lasted, and as the opportunity to do more surveying presented itself, he would earn all the money he could and return to his studies.

Pg. 30

Some of them were a little less and some a little more than six feet, but their combined height was exactly fifty-four feet. None were taller than Abraham Lincoln. The statement written by himself in December, 1859: “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; weigh, on an average, one hundred and sixty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse, black hair, and gray eyes – no other marks or brands recollected.”

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The principles of each party were thoroughly discussed, and the weak points of both fully exposed. The discussion was fair, open and manly, the warmest friendship being sustained between the disputants throughout the campaign.

Pg. 35

Invitations to speak were received by Mr. Lincoln from many places in New England.

Pg. 37

On the day Mr. Lincoln left Springfield, obstructions were placed on the railroad track at a point in the road near the line between the States of Illinois and Indiana, but it was discovered in time to avert the danger. At Cincinnati a deadly missile was found concealed in one of the cars of the train on while he traveled, but was removed before any damage was done. From these circumstances he knew that his life was in danger at every step, but the first allusion to it was in replay to the Mayor of Philadelphia, and that was hinted at so obscurely that it would not have been noticed were it not for subsequent events. He found out beyond a doubt that a plot was formed for a party of conspirators to crowd around him in the guise of friends, and at a given signal Mr. Lincoln was to be shot or stabbed.

Pg. 51

He knew himself to be surrounded by at least five enemies to one friend, but the went forward quietly and calmly, preparing for the duties before him, supported by the firm conviction that he was a chosen agent in the hands of God, and that He would give him all the support necessary to the accomplishment of His purposes.

Pg. 54

In the middle of 1862, the events of the war having gone from bad to worse, Mr. Lincoln began to think that he must “change his tactics, or lose his game.” Under these circumstances, he prepared his original proclamation of emancipation, without consulting his cabinet or giving them any intimation of what he was doing. In the latter part of July, or early in August he called a cabinet meeting, - none knew the object of the meeting. …he announced to his cabinet the object of the meeting. He had written a Proclamation of Emancipation, and he had determined to issue it; therefore, he had not called them together to ask their advice upon the main question, as he had determined that for himself. He wished to inform them of his purpose, and receive such suggestions upon minor points as they might be moved to make.

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There was not the slightest attention given to the proclamation, neither was it expected that there would be. The one hundred days expired on the first day of January 1863, and on that day President Lincoln issued the proclamation of which he had given previous notice.

Pg. 63

The State of Pennsylvania purchase a piece of land adjoining the cemetery of the town, where much of the fighting had been done, among broken monuments and tombs, and over the graves of those had had died and been buried in peaceful times, and set I apart as a buying ground for the loyal soldiers had had there yielded up their lives a willing sacrifice on the altar of freedom. After the oration by Mr. Everett, the President delivered a brief address from which I take an extract: “fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal …”

Pg. 64

On the third of October he issued another proclamation of thanksgiving, setting apart the last Thursday of November as the day to be observed. This latter was more in the nature of an annual thanksgiving. But having heard of the retreat of the rebel forces from East Tennessee, he issued a dispatch on the seventh of December recommending all loyal people, on the receipt of the information, to assemble at their places of worship and render special homage and gratitude to Almighty God for this great advancement of the national cause.

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14 April 1865 – the rising of the flag over Fort Sumter

Rev. Henry Ward Beecher then delivered a most thrilling and eloquent oration of about two hours duration. A synopsis of that oration can not be given here, but I must satisfy myself with one or two quotations: “When God would prepare Moses for emancipation, He overthrew his first steps, and drove him for forty years to brood in the wilderness. When our flag came down, four years it lay in brooding darkness. It cried to the Lord, “Wherefore am I deposed?” Then arose before it a vision of sin. It had strengthened the strong and forgotten the weak. It proclaimed liberty, but trod upon slaves. In that seclusion it dedicated itself to liberty. Behold today it fulfills its vows! When it went down four million people had no flag. Today it rise and the four million people cry out, “Behold our Flag!”

Pg. 87

Mr. Lincoln saw the storm coming long before it burst upon the nation, and from the time he became satisfied that he was about to be the choice of the people for President of the United States, he never doubted that he was chosen by the Almighty to do some special work. This feeling clung to him all through his presidential career. Running parallel with this was another feeling that when his work was done he would pass away. On these two points he often conversed, and to his friends he sometimes expressed himself quite freely. Among the earliest of his utterances on record with reference to these matters, is a series of conversations in the autumn of 1860 with the Hon. Newton Bateman of Springfield, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Illinois, now President elect of Knox College.

Pg. 89

"I am not a Christian - God knows I would be one, but I have carefully read the Bible, and I do not so understand the book," and he drew from his bosom a copy of the New Testament, and continued: "These men well know that I am for freedom in the territories, freedom everywhere, as far as the constitution and the laws will permit, and that my opponents are for slavery. They know this, and yet with this Book in their hands, in the light of which human bondage can live a moment, they are going to vote against me, I do not understand it at all."

Pg. 90

"I know there is a God and that he hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming and I know that His hand is in it. If he has a place and work for me - and I think He has - I believe that I am ready. I know I am right, because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the same; and they will find it so."

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"God cares and humanity cares, and I care; and with God's help I shall not fail. I may not see the end but it will come, and I shall be vindicated; and these men will find that they have not read their Bibles right."

Pg. 90

Does it not appear strange that men can ignore the moral aspects of this contest? A revelation could not make it plainer to me, that slavery or the government must be destroyed.

Pg. 91

It was just after my election in 1860 when the news had been coming in thick and fast all day, and there had been a great 'hurrah, boys!' so that I was well tired out, and went home to rest, throwing myself upon a lounge in my chamber. Opposite where I lay was a bureau with a swinging glass upon it, and looking at that glass I saw myself reflected nearly at full length; but my face, I noticed, had two separate and distinct images, the tip of the nose being about three inches from the tip of the other.  I was a little bothered, perhaps startled, and got up and looked in the glass, but the illusion vanished. On laying down again, I saw it a second time, plainer, if possible then before; and then I noticed that one of the faces was a little paler - say five shades - than the other. I got up and the thing melted away, and I went off, and in the excitement of the hour forgot all about it – nearly, but not quite, for the thing would once in a while come up and give me a little pang, as though something uncomfortable had happened. When I went home I told my wife about it, and a few days after I tried the experiment again, when, sure enough the thing came back again; but I never succeeded in bringing it back after that, though I once tried very industriously to show it to my wife, who was worried about it somewhat. She thought it was ‘a sign’ that I was to elected to a second term of office, and that the paleness of one of the faces was an omen that I should not see life through the last term.”

Pg. 92

As soon as the horrid deed was accomplished, the assassin was recognized, while on the stage, as John Wilkes Book, an actor who was familiar with the Theater. It was soon ascertained that an attempt had been made, and came very near being successful, to assassinate the Hon. W. H. Seward, the Secretary of State, and his son Frederick Seward. The whole detective force of the Government, and the police force of the City of Washington, were at once called into requisition to arrest the assassins and unravel the intricacies of the plot.

The greatest efforts were made to arrest Book, large rewards being offered for himself and accomplices. After many false moves, the detectives, under Col. L. C. Baker, got on the true scent. It was found that Booth had penetrated about thirty miles into Maryland, followed by Harold, who had held the horse for him on the night of the assassination. They learned that Booth’s broken leg had been dressed by Dr. Mudd, who had furnished him with a crutch. Crippled as he was, he for ten days eluded his pursuers, hiding in the swamps by day, and at night working his way further South.

About thirty miles south of Washington he crossed over the Potomac river into Virginia, and in a few hours more would have been under the protection of Moseby’s revel guerrillas. By means of information volunteered by the colored people, and in some instances extorted from the whites, they traced him to the point where he was ferried across the river. They then found the ferryman, and by threats compelled him to reveal the hiding place of Booth, which was in a barn belonging to a man by the name of Garratt. It was near the town of Bowling Green, between that place and Port Royal. Bowling Green is the county seat of Caroline county. The pursuing party, twenty-eight in number, were in a portion of the Sixteenth New York Cavalry, under Colonel Conger.  

Pg. 97

The excitement caused by the intelligence of the death of President Lincoln, not only in our own nation but throughout the civilized world, has never been equaled in human history. Cities, towns, and villages, were draped in mourning; all classes and conditions of people lamented him as a father, and everywhere the insignia of sorrow was visible.

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Stone from the wall of Servius Tullius.

Figure 11 is a fac simile of the stone, with its inscription. It was engraved from a photograph, taken for the purpose after its arrival in Springfield. The following is a translation of the inscription:

“To Abraham Lincoln, President for the second time, of the American Republic, citizens of Rome present this stone, from the wall of Servius Tullius, by which the memory of each of those brave assertors of liberty may be associated. Anno, 1865.”

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THE NATIONAL LINCOLN MONUMENT

The reader will doubtless be interested in knowing how the money was raised to accomplish so much. By the courtesy of the treasurer, the Honr. James H. Veberidge, it has been my privilege to examine his books and a little explanation will be of some advantage. As the money came in, an entry was made in a journal, prepared expressly for that purpose, of each contribution, giving the date of hits reception, number of the journal, name of the person or society contributing, place of residence of location, and amount. For everything, except Sunday schools, this is all the record. The whole number of entries in the journal is 5145, and of these 1697 are Sunday schools. Besides entering the Sunday schools on the journal, there is another book prepared for them alone. The names of more than sixty thousand children are enrolled in this book. The total amount of their contributions is about twenty thousand dollars. Every superintendent was requested to send a roll of the names of the children, with the amount contributed by each. The record begins with the name of the school, where located, and the name of the superintendent, followed by the names of the children and amounts of their contributions. After the design was adopted, those who contributed not less than fifty cents, received in return a fine steel engraving of the monument, as it will appear when the statuary is place on it.

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