Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/02||04:27:09||Military Justice and Ned Spangler||I wonder if Ned Spangler's sentence was what he deserved (6 years given; served 4). Although there was only a small amount of evidence against him, one key thing was that immediately after the assassination, there was a lot of commotion backstage. Jake Rittersback, who also worked at Ford's, said he tried to chase after Booth, but that Spangler hit him in the face and said, "Don't say which way he went."LBCRLBCRWriting in "American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies" author Michael Kauffman notes that many years later Harry Hawk (the actor on stage when Lincoln was shot) admitted in an interview that he actually said the words Rittersback attributed to Spangler. Hawk said that he was scared, dazed, and confused during the uproar and simply wanted to keep out of any trouble. Joanne Cole||||boulder||||[email protected]||2006/08/02||14:22:53||looking for Brent Greer||Hi, I am trying to reach Brent Greer, who has posted to the mailbag in the past. Thank you, Joanne Cole p. zall||||San Marino||CA||[email protected]||2006/08/05||18:51:36||Mary Lincoln/Dolley Madison||The item captioned 47111 asks about the Mary/Dolley connection. I suspect the connection is rather between Mary Lincoln's family and Dolley Madison's sister who mmarried into it. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/05||20:23:13||Sad News||I'm sure that many of our ALO correspondents are familiar with and/or members of The Lincoln Forum. We just received word that the Forum's great supporter and treasurer, Mr. Charles Platt of Colorado, passed away today following complications from heart surgery. He will be sorely missed in the Lincoln community. David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||[email protected]||2006/08/06|| 05:37:21||Response to "Lincoln Questions" of Today||"We are planning a Lincoln lecture series at New Salem State Park dedicated to continuing on the legacy of Lincoln by discussing current issues of social justice and equality, that Lincoln himself would be interested in if he were alive today."LBCRLBCR"The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working people, of all nations, and tongues, and kindreds. -- Reply to Workingmen of New York, March, 21, 1864LBCRLBCRP.S. In the future, please capitalize at least the first letter in the name "Lincoln;" he deserves it. Kent Tucker||||Rantoul||Illinois||[email protected]||2006/08/07||05:45:15||Big "L"||Yes, get the "l" out of here. It's a capital offense. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/11||12:52:38||Tudor Hall||Tudor Hall,the Booth ancestral home in Bel Air, Maryland, has been purchased by Harford County to be preserved as a museum-type venue highlighting the rich theatrical heritage of the Booth family, one of the first true American dynasties of the theatre world. Its role as birthplace of John Wilkes Booth will be a secondary focus. Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/11||17:37:27||Tudor Hall|| Dang! ...and I was going to buy it and buy up all the horrible books written about the assassination and store them there!LBCRFoiled again! Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/11||18:48:54||Mary Lincoln||Believe it or not, a MUSICAL, "The Strange Case of Mary Todd Lincoln," based on her insanity trial, will have a limited try-out run at the York Theatre in New York City's East Side from September 5-17. The playwright is June Bingham, widow of Congressman Jonathan Bingham. I guess if Sondheim can turn "Assassins" into a musical, Bingham can do insanity. Cheryl||||||||||2006/08/14||16:33:09||||Does anyone know anything about Harry Hawk--whatever became of him? He was the only actor on stage at Ford Theater when President Lincoln was shot. Michael W. Kauffman||||Owings||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/16|| 00:16:10||20736||Harry Hawk continued his career as an actor long after the assassination. He eventually retired to the Isle of Jersey, just off the coast of Normandy. He died there on May 28, 1916 and was buried in the local cemetery at the tiny village of Grouville. Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/16||22:07:07||Harry Hawk||Holy Cow!LBCRWhy am I not surprised that Michael Kauffmann would come up with the answer!LBCRJust goes to show folks, Mr. Kauffmann IS the reigning AUTHORITY on the Lincoln assassination.LBCRHANDS DOWN!LBCRIMHO.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Cheryl||||||||||2006/08/17||08:08:51||||Thanks for the info on Harry Hawk, Mr, Kauffman. Paul||||||||||2006/08/17||21:16:12||Harry hawk||Wow Mr Kauffman-you are amazing! LBCRIf Hawk lived until 1916, how old was he when he died? David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||[email protected]||2006/08/19|| 22:48:47||What primary issues would Abraham Lincoln be interested in now?||On August 6, I responded on the Friends of Lincoln mailbag with a brief suggestion to a posting by Jesse Sullivan on July 21. I choose now to expand upon that suggestion for the reasons that were stated in the original posting.LBCRLBCR LBCR LBCRReply to New York Workingmen�s Democratic Republican AssociationLBCRLBCR LBCR LBCRGentlemen of the Committee March 21, 1864LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRThe honorary membership in your Association, as generously tendered, is gratefully accepted.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRYou comprehend, as your address shows, that the existing rebellion, means more, and tends to more, than the perpetuation of African Slavery � that it is, in fact, a war upon the rights of all working people. Partly to show that this view has not escaped my attention, and partly that I cannot better express myself, I read a passage from the Message to Congress in December 1861.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR�It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular government � the rights of the people. . . . Monarchy itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge from the power of the people.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR�In my present position, I could scarcely be justified were I to omit raising a warning voice against this approach of returning despotism.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR�It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point, with its connexions, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above labor, in the structure of government. . . . Labor is prior to, and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy pf protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital, producing mutual benefits.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR�Let them [those that labor] beware of surrendering a political power which they already posses, and which, if surrendered, will surely be used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them, till all of liberty shall be lost. . . . The struggle of today, is not altogether for today � it is for a vast future also. With a reliance on Providence, all the more firm and earnest, let us proceed in the great task which events have devolved upon us.� Abraham Lincoln December 3, 1861.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRThe views then expressed remain unchanged, nor have I much to add. None are so deeply interested to resist the present rebellion as the working people. Let them beware of prejudice, working division and hostility among themselves. The most notable feature of a disturbance in your city last summer, was the hanging of some working people by other working people. It should never be so. The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working people, of all nations, and tongues, and kindreds.LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR********************************LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCR�If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it.� Thus, began Lincoln�s famous �House Divided� speech (Springfield, Illinois June 16, 1858). One hundred forty-two years following President Lincoln�s reply to the workingmen of New York, one must question where does this democracy now stand and whither are we tending in terms of honoring President Lincoln�s words of guidance that �[t]he strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working people, of all nations, and tongues, and kindreds.� LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRAs to �where we are,� it is an undisputed fact that 45,000,000 Americans cannot afford health insurance. As to �whither we are tending,� in 43 states, workers who receive tips can be paid as little as $2.13 per hour if their tips bring them to the level of earning the federal minimum wage per hour, and, for the last nine years, agenda- controlling Congressional Republicans (the party of Lincoln) have refused to consider legislatively an increase in the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRAnd, when these Republican politicians finally did permit this year legislative consideration of the issue, they cynically tied an enormous reduction in the estate tax for the far less than 1 per cent of wealthiest Americans to their acceptance of any increase in the minimum wage. Passage of the Republican-sponsored �take-it-or-leave-it� measure would have meant that federal tax revenue would have been lowered by $268 billion over 10 years. LBCRLBCR LBCR LBCRIn his response to the workingmen of New York, Lincoln quoted from his annual message to Congress in December, 1861 as follows: �It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point, with its connexions, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above labor, in the structure of government.� LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRThe party of Lincoln, in recent years, has succeeded in accomplishing exactly that which Lincoln forewarned the American people: �placing capital on a footing far above labor in the structure of government.� But the Republican Party has not stood alone in not resisting these undemocratic efforts of capital. Every four years, the same corporate jets that fly into one major United States city for the Republican national convention also fly into another major United States city for the Democratic national convention. Both parties have agreed legislatively upon a policy of �laissez faire� politics at these respective conventions with all rules of accountability to the citizens of the United States blissfully forgotten. Corporate chieftains are granted access and �respectful hearings� to our would-be elected representatives in this democracy in exchange for huge money contributions. LBCRLBCR LBCRLBCRThe effect of this pernicious political influence in favor of capital is not limited to our own borders. Both political parties trumpet in unison the benefits of free trade. But from a practical standpoint what have the actual details of this policy meant to tens of thousands poor Mexican farmers who have raised corn on their land for generations? Free trade for them has meant unequal competition with corporate American farmers granted huge subsidies by Congress.LBCRLBCR Arnold D.Mackey||||Battle Creek||Michigan||[email protected]||2006/08/21|| 21:20:08||Mary and Annie Surratt||I am amazed that only a few known photographs exist of Mary Surratt and her daughter,Annie. The Surratt House Museum would appreciate the addition of any new photographs which may come to light regarding these women. You would certainly think that photographs of Mary Surratt and her children would exist! There are several pictures of John Surratt that are known of. There also seems to be few pictures of Edwin Surratt,the younger brother of the Surratt family as well.Please send copies of any photographs of Mary Surratt and or her daughter,Annie Surratt,or of Edwin Surratt to the Surratt House Museum or to myself at [email protected] Thank you very much! My name is Arnold D.Mackey. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/22||10:38:32|| Surratt Photos||As director of Surratt House Museum, I have corresponded with Mr. Mackey several times regarding the lack of photos of Mrs. Surratt prior to her troubles and have expressed my opinions regarding her lack of access to photographers, etc. We do know of two posed, professional photos in addition to the series of her taken on the gallows. We do also know of several of young Annie Surratt as well as ones done in her later years.LBCR As for the second, and oldest son, his name was Isaac Douglas Surratt, not Edwin, as Mr. Mackey states; and we do have one photo of him.LBCR While we appreciate the call for help, please advised that there have been a number of spurious claims to Surratt photos over the past five years -- some claiming to have locks of hair that come with them. We are well aware of these hoaxes and prefer not to deal with them again. Gregory Norton||||Red Bank||New Jersey||[email protected]||2006/08/22||16:07:37|| Spielberg's Lincoln Biopic||It has come to my attention, that one of the 2 big Lincoln related films is now delayed with no plans for production to start any time soon. The Steven Spielberg Lincoln biopic seems to be "on the shelf" while he works on his new Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford. Interestingly, it is Ford who will play Col.Conger (the union soldier and detective, that tracked down Booth) in the movie "Manhunt". Conger was 31 in 1865 and Ford is 63 now. That should be interesting. Does anyone know anything else about the Lincoln biopic delay ? Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/22||17:50:25||||I have often wondered why Alexander Gardner only took photo's of Powell, Herold, Arnold, O'Laughlin, Atzerodt and Spangler on the Montauk and of not Surratt or Mudd. LBCRWas this by happenstance or did Stanton only allow the previous six to be photographed (knowing the were to be executed) and only changed his mind on Surratt after Weichmann's testimony? Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/22||18:17:06||||I meant, Surratt, Herold, Powell and Atzerodt executed. And I do know that Surratt and Mudd were being held in the Old Capitol Prison, while the others were on the Montauk. LBCRWhy didn't Gardner take photo's of Surratt/Mudd? John Winterbauer||||Springfield||IL||[email protected]||2006/08/22|| 16:47:08||||Maybe they've combined the two films and now Indiana Jones somehow travels back in time to capture Booth...makes as much sense as Ford playing Conger. On a more serious note...does anyone have an update on Burlingame's multi- volume biography of Lincoln? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/23||14:41:49|| Gardner Photos||As far as Mrs. Surratt not being photographed while in custody at the Old Capitol Prison or at the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary, I have always assumed that it was a matter of Victorian etiquette -- don't photograph a lady at the worst moments of her life. That does not explain why Dr. Mudd was not photographed, however.LBCR Also, sketches that were done of Mrs. Surratt during her incarceration invariably show her with a widow's veil concealing her face. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/23||14:48:05|| Speilberg||Just a guess, but I suspect that Speilberg is holding off on making the Lincoln biopic, starring Liam Neeson, in order to release it in 2009 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.LBCR He may also want to distance it from the Manhunt production due to be released in 2007.LBCR By the way, Col. Everton Conger was a badly wounded war veteran by 1865 and probably looked much older than his 31 years. Oddly enough, immediately after his grave injuries, he was nursed by Clara Barton. She used this years later to gain the support of his Senator brother in establishing the American Red Cross. I learned this tidbit from Steve Miller, an expert on the Garrett Farm Patrol. Paul||||E Haven||CT||||2006/08/23||19:55:00||Missing Gardner picture(s)||I wonder if they'll ever find the pictures Gardner took of Booth's body being autopsied? LBCRNow that would be a major find.LBCRBut I've always felt that Stanton had them destroyed, just like he did with the pics of Lincoln (excepting the one found in the 1950's) in his coffin at City hall NYC. John Dzutt||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/24||09:21:40||Missing Gardner Pictures||Whatever happened to Edwin Stanton's alleged descendants who claimed (back in the 1960's or 1970's) to have found the missing pages in John Wilkes Booth's diary? As I recall, these descendants requested anonymity. Did they ever reveal themselves? Maybe they could be queried about the missing autopsy photos. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/24||19:28:37|| Stanton Descendants||About thirty years ago, the leading Lincoln assassination scholar, James O. Hall, teamed with William C. Davis, Civil War historian and then editor of Civil War Times Illustrated, to debunk the so-called missing pages theory re: Booth's diary. Vice President Walter Mondale later cooperated in an FBI investigation of the claim with the same results. LBCR Part of the investigation was contacting the known heirs of Stanton -- who had never heard of Joseph Lynch, the Americana dealer who claimed to have the missing pages, but would not let any historians see them. He insisted on supplying "transcripts," which were filled with historical errors. Mr. Lynch passed away about 10-15 years ago, and his so-called treasures are evidently lost. This is just another one of the spurious theories that true Lincoln assassination researchers have contended with over the years.LBCR As Michael Kauffman points out on the Surratt bus tours over the Booth Escape Route, the chain of evidence and the careful keeping of things related to the crime and the subsequent trial of the conspirators were not so closely guarded as modern law requires. When objects had served their time as evidence, they often sprouted legs and walked away! The Booth autopsy photos may be stashed in someone's attic today -- or they may have been trashed a century ago. Paul H||||E Haven||CT||||2006/08/24||21:14:00||Missing diary pages||Didn't that Nate Orlewek (not sure of the correct spelling) say he had those pages back in the 70's too?LBCRLBCRI never took anything he said seriously anyhow.LBCRAlso-what happened to Nate O?-did he finally get laughed out of assassination circles by the real historians?? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/25||08:54:14|| Missing Pages||I'm not sure Nate Orlowek ever claimed to have the missing pages, but he did lead a vigorous effort to have the body of Booth exhumed to see if it had a broken leg. After that suit failed in circuit court in Baltimore as well as in a court of special appeals in Annapolis in the early 1990s, Nate has remained out of the limelight. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/25||08:57:42|| Burlingame ||In response to the question about the status of Michael Burlingame's multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, a close friend of Mr. Burlingame reports to me that the first two books are at his readers now for proofing. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/08/25||10:35:53|| Stanton Heirs||I should have added to my previous e-mail re: Stanton heirs and the missing pages of Booth's diary: Joseph Lynch, the Americana dealer who claimed to have access to the missing pages, further claimed that they were in the hands of illegitimate descendants of Mr. Stanton -- muddying the waters even further. Of course, the legitimate heirs were not aware of the illegitimate side!LBCRLincoln scholar, Richard Sloan of New York, served as a "mediator" in the negotiations and his stories about secret calls from phone booths, etc. sound like a "Deep Throat" escapade. John Winterbauer||||Springfield||IL||[email protected]||2006/08/25|| 15:47:02||Michael Burlingame||Thanks for the update Laurie, looking forward to that one! sara||||beverly hills||ca||[email protected]||2006/08/28||14:00:25||Lincoln Letter to "Liebman"?||I am researching a letter sent by President Lincoln on December 28, 1861,LBCRto one Henry Liebman - or Lieberman or Liberman - Esq.LBCR LBCRThe letter reads:LBCRLBCRMy dear Sir. Your private letter in regard to Mr. Burtwell is received.LBCR LBCRI have no power to remove a Lieut-Colonel appointed by the Governor of New York.LBCRThe appeal must be made, if all all, to the Governor.LBCRLBCRThe letter is published in the Collected Works (Basler), although it is noted that a) Liebman's identityLBCRis uncertain and b) no Lieutenant Colonel Burtwell has been found to exist. A Henry Liebman of NYCLBCRwas appointed a 1st Lieutenant in the 71st New York Infantry on September 6, 1862, but again, thereLBCRis no certainty that the soldier Liebman and the lawyer Liebman were the same person.LBCRLBCRMy interest is in determining whether a Henry Liebman was practicing law in New York in 1861 andLBCRif he was German, Jewish, or both. It would be nice to know, too, who "Burtwell" was, that I might getLBCRa handle on the issue under discussion. And because Lincoln's spelling of proper names was so often mistaken,I can't even be positive about who it is I'm trying to run to ground.LBCRLBCRAny suggestions as to where I might look will be very, very welcome.LBCRLBCRI might note that I've already checked the NYC and Brooklyn Directories for 1860-61 --- and no HenryLBCRLiebman, or Leibman, or Lieberman, attorney, was found.LBCRLBCRThank you very very much! MELVINA DAVIS||||Lake Providence||Louisiana||[email protected]|| 2006/08/29||18:17:39||Abraham Lincoln||What Does Abraham really mean in the last paragraph of the speech gettysburg addressLBCR Larry Mansch||||Missoula||Montana||[email protected]||2006/08/30||19:27:28|| moonlight||August 29th was the anniversary of the 1857 moonlight incident involving Duff Armstrong. This was the famous case where Lincoln defended Armstrong on the murder charge, successfully arguing that, despite eyewitness testimony, the moon was low in the sky and could not have provided enough illumination for the witness to clearly see what happened. Lincoln proved the position of the moon by introducing an almanac at trial. If I am not mistaken, every 16 years or so atmospheric conditions, star positions, and the moon's position are exactly aligned as they were in 1857 - and I think this is the year. Does anyone know if scientists or astronomers were out in the fields of central Illinois last night, checking the conditions and the moonlight? Paul||||||||||2006/08/31||06:19:22||moonlight||wasn't the almanac used in the trial actually from 1856?? Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/08/31||18:49:40||||I would think it would be the 1857 almanac, being that almanacs are printed and released early in the year, FOR the new year.LBCRLBCRHere's a quote I found on a site.LBCR LBCR"The chief prosecution witness, Charles Allen, claimed that he saw Armstrong strike the fatal blow at about 11 p.m. He argued that although he was 150 feet away, he could see the event clearly as the scene was lighted by the moon overhead. Lincoln produced an almanac for the year which showed that the moon was near the horizon at that time of night."LBCR Mike B.||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/09/01||12:11:39||"Moonlight" and Cycles||Here is a quote from John E. Walsh's "Moonlight" book on the subject that may shed some light on the conditions that night:LBCRLBCR"More recently (1990), two physicists at a Texas university made the number [time of moonset that night] even more precise, shaving off a full minute to 12:04 on the thirtieth. Then they added an interesting new note to the puzzle by pointing out a fact till then overlooked, that in lunar terms 1857 had been quite unusual. Culminating a regular lunar cycle of 18.6 years, the year 1857 saw the moon attain extreme positions in relation to the earth, 'running high' as it moved through the heavens, then days later 'running low.' On August 15 it ran high. Two weeks later, on the very night of the murder, it ran uncommonly low, reaching almost minus-thirty degrees, 'nearly the extreme value [of declination] which the moon can possibly attain.'"LBCRLBCR2006-1857 = 149 years ago.LBCRLBCRThe cycle should have run around 8 times since the murder and have been the same about two years ago. Of course, the 18.6 may be an approximation and it may be this year. Mike B.||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/09/02||13:32:30|| Correction||Oops.LBCRLBCRThe year the cycle would be is this year.LBCRLBCR18.6 * 8 = 148.8 or close to 149. sara||||Beverly Hills||CA||[email protected]||2006/09/02||17:08:46||Lincoln Letter Dec. 28, 1861||Anent my query about Lincoln's letter to "Liebman" - December 28,1861 - I may now report that the very gracious Director and Editor Dr. Daniel Stowell an Assistant Editor Christopher Schnell of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, have kindly provided a crucial correction:LBCRLincoln was not writing, as Tracy and Basler had it, to "Henry Liebman" but rather, "Henry F. Liebenau." It is further speculated that the "Mr. Burtwell" under discussion was one Ward B. Burnett. Both men were involved, during the War, with the 178th New York LBCRVolunteer Infantry.LBCRLBCRIt would seem, then, from Lincoln's letter "... in regard to Mr.LBCRBurnett. I have no power to remove a Lieut-Colonel appointed LBCRby the Governor of New York. The appeal must be made, if atLBCRall, to the Governor" that Liebenau and Burnett were at odds. Col.LBCRLiebenau later appears in Basler as a footnote to an 1865 letter reLBCRCourt Martial Cases: he was apparently "excluded from mustering inLBCRa regiment on charges of having received considerations for appointmentsLBCRgranted to applicants for commissions."LBCR LBCRAny information about Liebenau, Burnett, and of course, the Lincoln LBCRconnection, would be much appreciated.LBCRLBCRAlso: Lincoln addresses the letter to "Henry Liebenau, Esq." suggesting toLBCRme that Liebenau practiced law - but he isn't listed, so far as I know, inLBCRLivingston's register of lawyers. Does anyone know if Henry F. LiebenauLBCRwas an attorney? A Henry F. Liebenau is noted, in I think a 1860 census,LBCRas a clerk.LBCRLBCRThanks so much!LBCR~ Sara David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||[email protected]||2006/09/04|| 21:25:49||Gettysburg Address - meaning of last paragraph||The meaning of the last paragraph is the meaning of the last sentence of that paragrph: "[W]e here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."LBCRLBCRLincoln has always been consistent in his deepest thoughts. Early in the Civil War, he expressed the fundamental issue as follows: "For my own part, I consider the central idea pervading this struggle is the necessity that is upon us of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the Government whenever they choose. If we fail, it will go far to prove the incapability of the people to govern themselves. . . . Taking the Government as we found it, we will see if the majority can preserve it." -- John HayLBCRLBCRIf the South had been permittted to create a separate nation out of the United States, how long would it have been before a new nation(s) would have been created from the remaining United States and/or the Confederacy? How long before the Balkanization of the United States would have destroyed democracy as a viable form of government anywhere in the world and forever? LBCRLBCR"Most governments have been based, pracitcally, on the denial of the equal rights of men; ours began by affirming those rights." Elsewhere, Lincoln referred to the United States as being the "last, best hope of Democracy" on this Earth (but I could not locate immediately the exact quotation). Michael Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/09/05|| 15:44:48||"last best hope"||Hello David,LBCRLBCRThe quote you are referring to comes in the last paragraph of Lincoln's 1862 message to Congress:LBCRLBCR"Fellow- citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We---even we here--- hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free---honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best, hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just---a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless." David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||[email protected]||2006/09/07|| 00:32:46||last, best hope||Hello Michael,LBCRLBCRThanks for providing the source and the exact words of the missing quotation. The paragraph in full, which you quote, provides greater detail in meaning to the Gettysberg Address, and most especially, to the phrase "a new birth of freedom." LBCRLBCR"In giving freedom to the slave, we [the People] assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last, best hope of earth." LBCRLBCRI find that the second annual message was delivered to Congress on December 1, 1862 and with the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect shortly thereafter on January 1, 1863. LBCRLBCRThanks again, Michael. I think that I will send an email to the person that asked the original question in order to make sure that she sees our comments.LBCR Karen||||New York||NY||[email protected]||2006/09/08||13:48:16||Lincoln quote authenticity||Did Lincoln actually say or write the following ? I did a search in the Collected Writings section but could not find it.LBCR LBCR"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." LBCRLBCRIf he did, can you supply the source information ?LBCR Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/09/08||18:26:18|| Quote||For some reason, I think that quote is from Churchill, not Lincoln, but I don't know the documentation. David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||[email protected]||2006/09/08|| 23:19:24||the quote||I thought it was "the size of the dog in the fight," or "the size of the fight in the dog" that was important. LBCRLBCRI cannot recall that Lincoln said anything like that; as to what Churchill might have said, I'll have to ask a guy at work whose "hero worship" of Churchill is somewhat approximate to my own "hero worship" of Lincoln. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/09/09||20:27:53||Life Quote||I typed the quote into Google and came up with about a dozen credits to Lincoln for that "Life" quote. Have not found a citation for it, however. I was mistaken about Churchill. His quote was similar: "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." Both are great sentiments. Joseph Gaspar||||metuchen||nj||[email protected]||2006/09/25||12:35:06||Lincoln sleep habits ||Hello,LBCRMy name is Joseph Gaspar and I am a student at Penn State University. I am currently researching the sleep habits of brilliant statesman, inventors, and philosophers from the 19th and early 20th century. LBCRLBCRThrough Google, I have located numerous, yet small and vague, accounts suggesting that Abraham Lincoln frequently roamed the halls of the White House late at night. From what I have gathered, his figure could often be seen peering out of various windows- LBCRLBCRIf anyone can point me to a source where I might be able to obtain additional information regarding the prior, it would be greatly appreciated. I will surely share any information gathered with this site-LBCR LBCRMuch thanks,LBCRLBCRJoseph [email protected] [email protected] Michael Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/09/26||14:13:05|| 123||Hello Joseph,LBCRLBCRThe anecdote you mention can be found in Francis Carpenter's "The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln." The 1866 is available in reprint edition from the University of Nebraska.LBCRLBCRRegards,LBCRMike Burkhimer Mike Selby||||Cranbrook||BC||[email protected]||2006/09/26||17:33:29||V1C 6J4|| Can anyone direct me to biographical material for John Scripps, who interviewed Lincoln in 1860? Thank-you Roger Martin||||Des Moines||Iowa||[email protected]||2006/09/27||22:12:11|| Secretary of State Seward's Relationship with President Andrew Johnson||How well did Lincoln's Secretary of State Seward get along with Andrew Johnson as President? Mike Selby||||||British Columbia||[email protected]||2006/09/29||13:29:07|| Lincoln's Books||Is there a book or a resource that lists the the books Lincoln either read or owned throughout his life? Thank-you. Fred Priebe||||Belleville||Michigan||[email protected]||2006/10/02||05:36:16|| Lincoln and the Masons||While you all are pondering questions, let me throw another one into the mix. A co-worker of mine has given me information that suggests that Lincoln was planning to join the Masons just before he became president. Can anyone out there confirm or deny this? Thank you very kindly. Kurt Cruppenink||||Westville||IL||[email protected]||2006/10/02||15:35:02|| Seward and Johnson||Roger, Seward had a very good relationship with Andrew Johnson even though they did not always agree on policy. Johnson knew he had a great asset in Seward's ability as Secretary of State. More importantly, Seward acting as a go between between the more radical Republicans in Congress such as Wade and Stevens, and Johnson. Often trying, without much success, to lesson differences and tensions between the two. Mike Selby||||||British Columbia||[email protected]||2006/10/03||00:35:36|| Lincoln's Love Letters||Are there any books or resources regarding the fraud / hoax of Lincoln's Love Letters? Thank-you.LBCR Kent Tucker||||Rantoul||Illinois||[email protected]||2006/10/04||00:46:30|| Lincoln Love letters||See Paul Angle's article (April, 1929 "Atlantic Monthly") and Don Fehrenbacher's McMurtry Lecture "The Minor Affair..." from the Lincoln Museum in Ft. Wayne. John Winterbauer||||Springfield||IL||[email protected]||2006/10/04|| 15:49:02||Edwin Booth||I'm trying to find information regarding at least two performances by Edwin Booth in Springfield, IL following the Lincoln assassination. One was May 4, 1887, I know there was at least one more but I'm unsure of the date.LBCRAnybody got any ideas? I'm looking through the library but haven't found anything yet. Thanks! Rob Wick||||||Illinois||[email protected]||2006/10/07||11:55:15||To Mike Selby on Lincoln Books||Mike,LBCRIf you go the Library of Congress website, under the subject heading, and type in "Lincoln, Abraham 1809-1865 Books and reading" it will give you the titles and authors of various books on that subject. There were 15 entries there.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Wick Jeane Beaird||||Traverse City||MI||[email protected]||2006/10/10||16:31:31|| Movie made at New Salem||I am looking for a video of a movie made at New Salem in 1978 and called,"The Awakening Land." The stars were Hal Holbrook and Elizabeth Montgomery. It was a three part made for t.v. movie and many local people had bit parts. Is there a chance that there is a copy available through the New Salem Park? Jeane Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/11||04:41:55||"The Awakening Land"|| I do not know if it's a fair price, but this hard-to-find video is available by going to this URL:LBCRhttp://awakening-land.ioffer.com/ Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/14||17:47:37||"Manhunt" the movie||I guess this is to Laurie Verge or anyone else "who's in the know".LBCRAny update on the Manhunt movie?LBCRLBCRThanks! Brent C. Greer||||Easley||SC||[email protected]||2006/10/15||15:29:04||Swanson's "Manhunt"||I am currently reading Swanson's "Manhunt" and it is quite well done. However, I was shocked last night when I read the passage describing Lincoln's death. He has Edwin Stanton saying "Now he belongs to the angels." At first I dismissed it as a typo that took place during printing, but then it appeared again a few pages later. Is this something new? Have we all been wrong all this time? I have studied the Lincoln assassination for years and have NEVER seen this. What gives? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/10/15||17:58:03|| Manhunt||First a reply to Randal Berry. On Friday, I e-mailed the director of publicity for Walden Media as to what was happening with the production of Manhunt. His answer came back same as last time. There is no change; it is still in pre-production. These things take time. Sort of a non-answer in my opinion. LBCR As for the question regarding Stanton's remark re Lincoln belonging to the angels vs. the ages. We have been working on an article about this for an upcoming Surratt Society newsletter. The term "angels" has been referred to before, but the most popular version has used "ages." HOWEVER, there are some experts in the field who think that the whole phrase is part of the folklore that has grown up around the assassination story. How's that for my non-answer?! Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/16||11:21:15||||Actually Laurie, that is a good answer!LBCRI have often wondered if that statement was folklore. I also wondered about Swanson using that quote in his book "Manhunt" and I thought it was a typo. However, I have recieved an un-corrected proof of "Manhunt" and it's in there also.LBCRI am looking forward to the Surratt Courier article. Donna McCreary||||Charlestown||IN||[email protected]||2006/10/16||14:55:46|| angels vs ages||At the request of Sec. Stanton, James Tanner was taking notes during Lincoln's death watch. He recalled Stanton saying "He belongs to the angels now." While others who were present remembered Stanton saying "Now, he belongs to the ages."LBCRLBCRIt is simply a situation where those who witness a single event recall details differently.LBCRLBCRThe book "Twenty Days" gives much more information about the quote and the events that transpired that evening. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/10/17||22:07:57|| Angels vs. Ages||I can't recall the source, but Tanner's pencil supposedly broke right near the end, and he was unable to capture the prayer said shortly after President Lincoln died. Stanton's quote supposedly came after that prayer, so was Tanner able to write that down -- or did he remember it years later? Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/18||09:14:38||Petersen House quote by Stanton||There is another version of what Tanner thought he heard at the Petersen House. This would be, "He belongs to the ages now." Dr. Charles Taft remembered the quote as, "He now belongs to the ages."LBCRCharles Sumner, who was also present at the bedside, seems to have remembered it as, "He now belongs to the ages." John Hay heard, "Now he belongs to the ages." Many Lincoln assassination books list Hay as the source of the quote, and I think Hay's remembrance is by far the most accepted version. However, as Donna said, different people heard the quote differently.LBCRLBCROver the years there have been several misconceptions about the Petersen House and the Petersen family itself. Robert T. Bain, great, great, great grandson of William Petersen, has tried to set the record straight in his 2005 publication entitled "Lincoln's Last Battleground: A Tragic Night Recalled." It's an interesting and quick read.LBCR LBCR Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/18||18:29:39||Stanton quote from the Peterson House||Roger, that was an interesting little history lesson, thanks!LBCRNow I HAVE to buy "Lincoln's Last Battleground" My wife is going to shoot me now, (for buying so many Lincoln related assassination books! Thanks! Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/19||08:15:40||Eyewitness Evidence Not Always Reliable||Thanks, Randall. Back in July Laurie Verge wrote, "Just a thought...we're never going to figure out all the answers. And, I hope we don't because then we stop researching and learning, and history becomes stale." What Laurie says is so true. So many things that happened that tragic night are not known for absolute certainty. Even Booth saying, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" was disputed by a few eyewitnesses at Ford's.LBCRLBCRHere are a few other examples. Four different people claimed to be the first to locate Lincoln's bullet wound. LBCRIn the many years following the assassination over 20 men claimedLBCR(or were given credit) to have helped carry the stricken President across the street from Ford's Theatre to the Petersen House. Some thought Lincoln was carried on a shutter used as a stretcher, others said a flat board, and still others said just the arms of the bearers. Also, the original eyewitness accounts do not mention anything about Booth breaking his leg (or limping) while in the theater. Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/10/23||14:05:45||Dr. Leale's Efforts at Ford's Theatre||I thought I would mention one more account concerning the tragedy of April 14, 1865, which may have been embellished or false. This concerns the actions of Dr. Charles A. Leale in the State Box at Ford�s Theatre before President Lincoln was carried to the Petersen House. Some assassination books say that Leale employed both mouth-to mouth artificial respiration and closed chest cardiac massage. I have had recent contact with a semi-retired New Zealand intensivist who feels Leale did not actually use mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration. This gentleman gives three main reasons for his opinion: (1) Leale makes no mention of mouth-to mouth artificial respiration in his 1867 report to Congress. Only in 1909, when Leale gave another account, do we first learn of his claim of artificial respiration and a crude form of closed chest cardiac massage. In 1909 Leale was 67 and trying to recall events from 44 years previous. (2) According to this intensivist's study of the history of critical care and resuscitation, mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration was totally out of favor as a resuscitation maneuver in 1865. (3) None of the other people who rushed to Lincoln's aid, including the other doctors who arrived in the state box, independently corroborated Leale's claims.LBCRLBCRBack in 1995, Dr. Richard A. R. Fraser, writing in "American Heritage," noted that "Leale�s account of the assassination submitted in 1867 made no mention of resuscitation, but in 1909 he delivered an address in New York giving a detailed description of practicing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Lincoln after he probed the wound. It is strange that Leale did not include this in his first account, which omitted no other important details of the President�s treatment. I am more inclined to give credence to this earlier version, recorded in Leale�s own hand the day Lincoln died."LBCRLBCRAll of this is not meant to discredit Dr. Leale and his efforts on President Lincoln's behalf. However, it is at least possible, if not probable, that he did not do everything he claimed to do.LBCR Mike Selby||||||British Columbia||[email protected]||2006/10/25||19:32:02||John Locke Scripps||Does anyone know what year Lincoln told J.L. Scripps "Why Scripps, it is a great piece of folly...annals of the poor"? Thank-you. Mike Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/10/29||10:44:11||The Original Context and Source for the "half-defeat" quote||Hello all,LBCRLBCRI was wondering if anyone had the source and the original context of the quote in which Lincoln referred to the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 as a "half-deafeat."LBCR LBCRThanks. Samuel P. Wheeler||||Carbondale||IL||[email protected]||2006/10/30|| 21:51:06||"Half-defeat" ||Lincoln�s letter to Agenor-Etienne de Gasparin, 4 August 1862, may be what you�re referring to. Collected Works, Volume 5, page 355 � 356. Elizabeth||||Port Washington||Wisconsin||[email protected]|| 2006/11/03||15:23:35||Lincoln Family Photos||Does anybody know of photobooks of Lincoln and his family in happy moments? I have found all the formal posed and serious photos, but I would like to have a more family orientated relaxed photos. I would really like to see them smiling, they must have done that! Even though all the photos make you think they were always serious! Thanks for your help. LBCR Sebastiao Albano||||Lavrinhas, SP||Brasil||[email protected]||2006/11/04|| 11:35:12||Photos at that time||Elizabeth,LBCRPhotography at that time was practically in its beginning. So the speed of a camera was very slow. A person had to be completely immovabble, or still,for a long time so that the camera could make an image. Sometimes, or always, they had to be tied in something so that they did not move. That's the reason they never appear laughing.LBCRIn the book "Abraham Lincoln, The Boy, The Man," by Lloyd Ostendorf - special edition, June 16, 1988 - on pages 92 and 99, you can see an example. Blaine V. Houmes, MD||||Cedar Rapids||IA||[email protected]||2006/11/05|| 19:30:43||More on Dr. Leale||Time may dim our memories, but that does not mean that all accounts given years after an event are intentional misstatements, or even wrong.LBCRLBCRIn a previous comment, Dr. Richard A.R. Fraser was quoted (from his March 1995 article in American Heritage magazine)that Dr. Leale did not mention any resuscitation efforts in 1867 except--with his finger--relieving pressure on Lincoln's brain by probing the wound and removing a blood clot. Fraser noted that a more elaborate account by Leale in 1909 (given in New York before the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States) was far more detailed and implied that it was too dramatic to believe, with a vivid description of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Dr. Fraser concluded that the earlier account was thus more credible.LBCRLBCRPerhaps so, perhaps not. Dr. Fraser also stated in his article that Leale essentially killed the president by probing the head wound with his finger. Fraser's claims have been disputed often since the publication of his article, and later experimental evidence suggests that his pet theory--that the president could have survived a bullet wound which tore across his brain--is based more on wishful thinking than fact. (See: JK Lattimer: Journal of the American College of Surgeons, May 1996).LBCRLBCRThe notion that no other doctors in the president's box corroborated Dr. Leale's 1909 claims is not surprising. Most accounts place Dr. C.S. Taft in the box immediately after Dr. Leale, but Taft reported that he actually did not arrive until after Leale had already placed Lincoln on the floor, with his clothing partially cut off. Who knows what Dr. Taft might have missed observing? Taft's account printed in the Medical and Surgical Reporter (April 22, 1865) also reported that there was no probing of the wound until the president arrived at the Petersen house, approximately 15-20 minutes later. This is highly unlikely. It is doubtful Lincoln could have survived being carried and jostled down the stairs at Ford's Theatre and across the street, if the pressure on his brain had not been initially released. Others have also given suspect accounts. Capt. Oliver Gatch repeatedly claimed that he was the first one to enter the president's box, and that his brother, Dr. Charles Gatch, was the first physician to probe Lincoln's head wound.LBCRLBCRDr. Leale was a shy, retiring individual. He gave few interviews the rest of his life concerning his role on April 14-15, 1865. In an 1867 letter to Gen. Benjamin Butler, which related his actions on that night, Leale admitted that his narrative was "principally copied from a never published one"--so does that mean all the facts were given? In the 1909 speech, Dr. Leale reported crude attempts at mouth- to-mouth resuscitation and cardiac massage. He also gave an oblique reference to other maneuvers attempted, claiming those present also "resorted to several other physiologic methods." One can only speculate what that meant.LBCRLBCRThe scene in the president's box was frantic, and later statements were conflicting--four different men would later claim to have placed the coins on Lincoln's eyes to close them after death. We will never know exactly what procedures were employed in the attempts to resuscitate Abraham Lincoln on that night, but I have no doubt no one did more or attempted more than Dr. Charles A. Leale. Mike B.||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/11/07||15:25:49||Med. on Divine Will - 1862 or 1864||Hello all,LBCRLBCRWhat is the evidence that the "Meditation on the Divine Will" was written in 1864 as opposed to the older view of 1862?LBCRLBCRThanks again for all the help from the learned people on this board. Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/11/13||20:02:38||Dr. Leale, etc.||Blaine,LBCRI don't know if I agree with your statement,LBCR "This is highly unlikely. It is doubtful Lincoln could have survived being carried and jostled down the stairs at Ford's Theatre and across the street, if the pressure on his brain had not been initially released." LBCRLBCRBlood pressure always drops, sometimes dramatically, when the body is cut, punctured, and certainly "shot".LBCR LBCRI understand the "blood barrier" concept, however I believe the moving of the President being carried on a board, shutter, etc., would have almost zero effect on Lincoln's survival time, be it plus or minus.LBCR Skip||||Lakeside Park||Kentucky||[email protected]||2006/11/14||11:48:18|| guarding||Being in Law Enforcement for the past 30 years, I find it hard to believe that the President of the United States (even in the 19th century) wasn't protected. What were they thinking? The President had been threatened before and guards should have been posted all around Fords that night. From some things I have read, security didn't change much until well into the 20th century concerning the President's personal safety. Mike B.||||Philadelphia||PA||[email protected]||2006/11/14||15:25:24||Reviews of Lincoln Assassination Books||Since there has been so much talk about the assassination on this board, I wanted to give this link in case anyone missed it. It is reviews for Axelrod, Kauffman, and Steers. The reviews are generally positive and there is a lot of discussion:LBCR LBCRhttp://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/27.1/stone.html Randal Berry||||||||[email protected]||2006/11/14||22:39:59||Reviews of Lincoln Assassination Books||Thanks Mr. Burkhimer for the link of Phillip C. Stone's "Review Essay" in the Journal of Abraham Lincoln Association.LBCRLBCRVery interesting reading and most assuredly guaranteed to open up a big ol' can of worms.LBCRLBCRWhile I have read Axelrod's, Kauffman's and Steer's accounts on the assassination, I am in disagreement with Stone's opinions sprinkled throughout his review. Stone seems content on playing both ends against the middle.LBCRLBCR"Blood on The Moon" is a fine book.LBCRLBCREdward Steer's certainly researched his subject well, and while "Blood on The Moon" is a "Mudd is Guilty" book,(insert can opener), meaning Steer's book to me, concentrates on Mudd's guilt more over than the subject at hand.LBCRLBCRSteer's only attempts to pry the lid off the coffin on the assassination story, thus, leaving a lot of un-answered questions, spectulation's and conjecture.LBCRLBCRMichael Kauffman's treaty, "American Brutus" on the other hand, clearly portrays an honest and a much better researched account of the events.LBCR LBCRKauffman not only opens the lid, he takes the body out and performs an autopsy on the subject.LBCRLBCRThat being said, "American Brutus", in my opinion,is the BEST book on this subject. I suspect Mr. Kauffman is not done on this subject, and more facts will unfold in time.LBCRLBCRAlso, I am grateful Phillip Stone didn't include Swanson's book! (now where is that can-opener?)LBCR LBCRLBCR Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2006/11/14||22:46:48||Lincoln's Security||Skip,LBCR LBCROne thing that needs to be realized is that Lincoln wouldn't have stood for guards around him like we are used to today. While we might think it was asking for trouble, we also forget that times were much different then. With access to the White House a matter of walking in the door, guards would have been superfluous, and in Lincoln's mind, unnecessary. Lincoln still smarted from the way his entry into Washington was handled and swore nothing like that would happen again. Even though Andrew Jackson had pistols pointed at him (both didn't fire) the assassination of a president was unthinkable...of course, until it happened. One aside concerning presidential assassination. Up until after Kennedy's death it wasn't a federal crime to assassinate the president. Indeed, making it a federal crime was one of the recommendations of the Warren Commission.LBCRBest wishes LBCRRob Wick Skip||||Lakeside Park||Kentucky||[email protected]||2006/11/15||10:14:42|| Thanks||Rob,LBCRLBCRThanks for your input and I know your right. I guess, because of how much I admire such a man as Lincoln and the United States losing such a man for what he fought for and won to have his life taken that way. He never got to enjoy a single day of peace during his term in office, yet he accomplished much more than any President before or after him. Blaine V. Houmes, MD||||Cedar Rapids||IA||[email protected]||2006/11/16|| 21:46:25||Dr. Leale, etc.,etc.||In a perfect world the human body would react to disease and injury in what we would consider an expected manner, but in reality that doesn't always hold true.LBCRLBCRThe previous statement that "blood pressure always drops, sometimes dramatically, when the body is cut, punctured, and certainly 'shot'" is misleading. A drop in systemic blood pressure can cause rapid death if a major blood vessel is cut, punctured, or shot, but Lincoln's blood pressure wasn't the big factor here--it was the pressure on his brain (intracranial pressure) which was elevated after the bullet tore through his skull, and ultimately caused his demise.LBCRLBCRWhen Dr. Leale arrived in the president's box, he found Mr. Lincoln slumped forward, his head on his chest, with no detectable pulse and no breathing. At that moment he was clinically dead. With Leale's efforts (whatever they may actually have been), he was able to restore "a feeble action of the heart and irregular breathing." By repositioning the president's head (opening an airway), and removing "the obstructing clot of blood from the wound," Dr. Leale allowed blood to flow out of Lincoln's head and reduce the intracranial pressure. Leale had recognized the need for this at once, because upon examining the president he "lifted his eyelids and saw evidence of brain injury." The only way Lincoln would have survived the trip over to the Petersen house if the clot had not been initially removed would have been if it had been dislodged inadvertently (and thus reduced the pressure)while he was being carried down to the street--and that was unlikely, as Dr. Taft was very careful about holding the president's head enroute. They weren't fools; both Drs. Taft and Leale protested when several had wanted Lincoln transported back to the White House. Taft and Leale knew he would not have survived the trip.LBCRLBCRHow can we be sure it was pressure on the brain that killed Lincoln? Several reasons: 1)The president displayed the classic signs of the "Cushing Reflex," named after Dr. Harvey Cushing, the father of U.S. neurosurgery. This phenomenon of increased pressure on the brain involves high blood pressure (which they couldn't measure, except by feeling the strength of the pulse), a slowing heart beat, and apnea (no breathing). Lincoln's vital signs were exquisitely recorded throughout the night by Dr. A.F.A. King, and he found the pulse initially slow, then increasing dramatically about 1AM, and then slowing and barely perceptible, along with labored and intermittent grunting breaths until they stopped and death was pronounced at 7:22AM. Even Dr. Fraser, in his American Heritage article, admits that despite all efforts the president was brain dead after 1AM. 2)Blood loss in this case was not a significant factor. Dr. Taft reported that the wound stopped bleeding after 5:30AM, although Lincoln lived for almost two more hours. 3)The autopsy performed at the White House by Dr. J.J. Woodward found "the track of the ball full of clotted blood" and the surrounding brain tissue swollen, as well as large clots on both outer surfaces of the brain, pressing inward.LBCR LBCRAll bleeding stops eventually, either by clotting or draining out of the body, but in this tragic episode it was increased swelling and pressure compressing the brain that killed Abraham Lincoln. Charly P||||||China||||2006/11/19||09:21:43||Thanksgiving Proclamation(s)?||I have noticed two different versions of Lincoln's supposed Thanksgiving Proclamation. One version is that found on this website under:LBCRThanksgiving Proclamation, 1863LBCRThe other version combines the main content listed on this website as Lincoln's Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day, 1863, followed with the proclamation of a day for national thanksgiving replacing that of a day for national fasting.LBCRAny help on how these documents can be explained would be very helpful. Thanks!LBCRLBCRLBCR Deanna Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale,||MI||[email protected]||2006/11/22||21:09:08|| pardon of the turkey||A friend asked when A Lincoln pardoned the turkey. She was thinking maybe Thanksgiving, but I really can't remember and have not found the answer. I know some Lincolnphile will know. Thank you in advance for your wisdom and Happy Thanksgiving. Roger Norton||||||||[email protected]||2006/11/23||12:52:17||Jack||Late in 1863 a live turkey was sent to the White House for the Lincoln family to feast on during the holidays. Tad Lincoln, age 10, quickly befriended the bird. Tad taught the turkey to follow him as he walked around the White House grounds. The turkey was named Jack, and Tad fed him as a pet. When the time neared to prepare the turkey for the Christmas meal, Tad burst into one of his father's Cabinet meetings. He was crying loudly. Tad told his dad that Jack was about to be killed, and that he had obtained a temporary delay from the "executioner" so he could put Jack's case before the President. Tad said, "Jack must not be killed; it is wicked." President Lincoln replied, "Jack was sent here to be killed and eaten...I can't help it." Tad, still sobbing, said, "He's a good turkey, and I don't want him killed." Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, paused in the midst of the Cabinet meeting. He took out a card, and on it he wrote an order of reprieve. Jack's life was to be spared, and Tad raced out of the Cabinet meeting to show the Presidential order to the "executioner."LBCRLBCROn Tuesday, November 8, 1864, Lincoln was elected to a second term as President. A special polling place had been set up right on the grounds of the White House especially for soldiers who chose to vote. Jack the turkey actually strutted in front of some of the soldiers and broke in line. Seeing this, the President looked at Tad and asked whether Jack would vote. "He is under age," was Tad's reply. LBCRLBCRThe "holiday turkey incident" may have revived youthful memories for the President. When young Abraham was about 8, a flock of wild turkeys approached the Lincolns' Indiana cabin. Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's dad, was not home so Abraham asked his mother if he might use his dad's gun. Nancy Hanks Lincoln gave permission, and Abraham shot and killed one of the turkeys. However, when the boy saw the beauty of the bird whose life was ended, he was very distraught. In Lincoln's own words, he never again "pulled the trigger on any larger game." Down deep Abraham was known to love animals generally. He treated them kindly. Sebastiao Albano||||Lavrinhas, SP||Brasil||[email protected]||2006/11/23|| 14:05:45||Thanksgiving Day||I would like to wish a very happy Thanksgiving Day to all my friends In USA.LBCRFrom a Brazilian friend of Lincoln and yours.LBCR T. Lane||||||Florida||||2006/11/27||09:24:59||Lincoln Conspirators Execution Photos||I've read that the site where the Lincoln conspirators were tried and hanged is in Ft. Lesley McNair in DC. Part of the building where the trial was held is apparently still there and the site of the scaffold is now where the tennis courts are. When one looks at the 1865 photos, especially the long view of the whole area which shows the scaffold at a distance and many of the buildings, is the building which is still standing today in that photo? Is it the small building that looks like a house which juts out of the big 3 story building or part of the long 3 story building itself? I can't find anything specific online to explain how that 1865 photo relates to the layout of the area today and if anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/11/28||17:59:37|| Execution Photos||In reply to your inquiry regarding the site of the execution of the Lincoln conspirators in 1865: Part of the penitentiary building does still exist. In the photos of the period, it would be the back part of the main building. The third floor was where the trial was held.LBCR In the recent past, it was referred to as Quarters 20 and was home to many families who loved to share their ghost stories of the "lady in black" who resided in their apartments. Back in the early-1980s, we at Surratt House Museum helped to coordinate a program on the old "That's Incredible" TV show about the ghost of Mary Surratt at Ft. McNair.LBCR Recently, the building has been renamed Grant Hall and has been impressively renovated into handsome office space.LBCR You are correct that the scaffold that executed the four prisoners would today stand near the back of the tennis courts.LBCR T. Lane||||||Florida||||2006/11/29||12:05:59||Execution Photos||Thank you for your reply. So the remodeled building which stands on the site today is part of the end of the 3 story building in the old photos which has the long wall attached to it that the soldiers are standing on? Does the front of the modern building face the scaffold site? I'm trying to understand the layout in the old photos compared to what's there today. I've never been there and can't seem to find any maps or photos online to make comparisons. Thank you for your help. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||[email protected]||2006/11/29||18:24:48|| Execution Photo||The side of Grant Hall (where you see the jutting-out addition -- now gone) faces the tennis court and site of the execution. Two-thirds of the old penitentiary was removed in the late-19th or early-20th century. The front now faces a perimeter road that runs in front of Generals' Row near the Potomac River. The part that was removed would have included the storage space where Booth's body was deposited in 1865 and where the four executed prisoners' bodies were transferred in 1867 before final removal in 1869.LBCRThe fort has been greatly enlarged over the years, and the brick wall fence that you see in the 1865 photo no longer exists.LBCRFor at least 35 years, Grant Hall has been painted a beige color with very Victorian brown trim around roof, windows, and doors. It is hard to recognize as the same building in the 1865 photo. T. Lane||||||Florida||||2006/12/01||08:52:10||Execution Photos||Thank you very much for your explanation of the present site. I wish I could find something online which would show the 1865 features on an overlay of a current map of the area. That would be very interesting. I appreciate your help in understanding the layout. One more question; is there any type of historical marker at the site? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2006/12/01||13:11:55||Historic Marker||In reply to the inquiry regarding there being a historical marker at Ft. McNair: The answer is no. There is no marker on the outside, but now that the interior has been so nicely renovated, there are numerous pictures marking the 1865 events on the inside. T. Lane||||||Florida||||2006/12/03||11:35:40||Historic Marker||LBCRThanks for the information. It would be very interesting to visit there some day. paul||||||||||2006/12/04||06:14:51||Historical marker||Do they even let people visit the grounds where the hangings took place??LBCRAfter all, it is a US military installation. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2006/12/04||17:33:42||McNair||Fort Leslie J. McNair is a very secure installation. Cars are thoroughly searched, if allowed on the post. I suggest calling the public affairs office before visiting. In the past, I know that reps have met groups of visitors who called ahead. It isn't an easy process to get on, however, so don't expect access as a casual visitor. mike gross||||arlington||tx||||2006/12/13||07:36:41||published diaries||Does anyone know if the diaries of Kate Chase and Emilie Helm are published? Lawrence Mohr||||Wallingford||CT||||2006/12/17||21:40:19||Presidential Pard|| Lincoln suppsedly pardoned a young solider who had falln asleep on duty at the behest of the soldier's mother. Anyone know, if true, where his words can be found? Roger Norton||||||||||2006/12/18||15:13:08||"Sleeping Sentinel"||Lawrence, I believe you are referring to the story of the "Sleeping Sentinel"LBCRwhich has endured all of these years. Lincoln's clemency in this case wasLBCRthe subject of a poem written in 1863 by Francis De Haes Janvier. The storyLBCRis that Lincoln made a last minute carriage ride, pardon in hand, to stayLBCRthe execution of a Vermont soldier named William Scott who had been givenLBCRthe death penalty for sleeping on guard duty. In the poem, Janvier depicts Lincoln frantically racing to the firing squad line-up to save the only son of Mrs. Scott, a widow. Although Lincoln was indeed known for acts of mercy and clemency, the story of the Sleeping Sentinel may be more legend than fact as no written evidence of Lincoln's pardon of Scott has been found. Thus, the story is probably not true; nonetheless it does generally reflect Lincoln's benevolent attitude, particularly with young LBCRsoldiers.LBCRLBCRIn William C. Davis' recent book entitled "Lincoln's Men," the authorLBCRexamines the evidence and concludes that the story of the "Sleeping LBCRSentinel" is mostly fiction. Seven months later, Scott was shot and killed LBCRat the battle of Lee's Mill.LBCRLBCRThe words to the "Sleeping Sentinel" can be found at this URL: LBCRhttp://www.civilwarpoetry.org/union/soldierlife/sentinel.htmlLBCRLBCR Skip||||lakeside Park||kentucky||||2006/12/20||13:38:21||Lincoln Pardons||Lawrence LBCRLBCRI found a site on the web when I typed in Lincoln and pardons and found some useful information.LBCRI didn't see a date for this incident, but Congressman Thaddeus Stevens from Pennsyvania came to Lincoln with a woman from his district asking for a pardon for her son that fell asleep at his post. Because Stevens had often berated Lincoln in the past for giving to many pardons, Lincoln ask him, "now, Thad, what would you do if you were President?" So it didn't really say if Lincoln signed the pardon for the young soldier. Sebastiao Albano||||Lavrinhas, SP||Brasil||||2006/12/22||21:16:44||Happy Holiday Season||I wish all Friends of Lincoln a Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy New Year with Love and Happiness.LBCRFrom Brazil,LBCRSebastiao Albano David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||||2006/12/22||23:39:50||Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and the soldier who fell asleep at his post||From the book "Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln" and the chapter by Schuyler Colfax pp 339-40: LBCRLBCR"Thaddeus Stevens, who so often criticised Mr. Lincoln very severely for not being aggressive and destructive enough, used to tell, with great gusto, this story of his own personal experience. Mr. Stevens had gone with an old lady from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (his district), to the White House, to ask pardon of her son, condemned to die for sleeping on his post. The President suddenly turned upon his cynical Pennsylvania friend, whom he knew had so often assailed him for excessive lenity, and said. 'Now, Thad, what would you do in this case if you happened to be President?' Mr. Stevens knew how many hundreds of his constituents were waiting breathlessly to hear the result of that old woman's pilgrimage to Washington. Of course, Congressmen who desired to be re-elected liked to carry out the desires of their constituents. Stevens did not relish the Prsident's home-thrust, but replied that, as he knew of the extenuating circumstances, he would certainly pardon him. 'Well, then,' said Mr. Lincoln, after a monment's writing in silence, 'here, madam, is your son's pardon.'" Joyce A. Luna||||cookeville||TN||||2006/12/26||13:36:29||Civil War||Was the first income tax imposed in 1862, because the Federal Government needed money for the War? LBCRJoyce Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2006/12/27||22:09:53||Abraham Lincoln and Gerald Ford||Nearly all Presidents have admired and looked to Lincoln for inspiration and it is almost obligatory for them to quote Lincoln. Quoting Lincoln can be a means of invoking the blessing of a nearly universally revered figure upon whatever point or issue one is trying to make or prove. Gerald R. Ford was not unique in this respect. In Gerald Ford�s first two major speeches, his message upon taking the oath of office and his pardon of Richard Nixon, Ford quoted Lincoln twice in each speech.LBCRLBCRIn his remarks upon taking office Ford first quotes from Lincoln�s 1862 Message to Congress: �And down the years, Abraham Lincoln renewed this American article of faith asking, �Is there any better way or equal hope in the world?��. Towards the end of his remarks Ford again quoted from Lincoln�s Second Inaugural: �to uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and to do the very best I can for America.� LBCRLBCRIn his remarks upon the signing of the Proclamation Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon Ford again quotes the same portion of Lincoln�s Second Inaugural: �I have promised to uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and to do the very best that I can for America.� Towards the end of these remarks Ford quotes from Lincoln�s Cooper Union Address: �I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.�LBCRLBCRDuring both the Civil War and Watergate our constitution was stretched and tested. Both times our nation needed firm, steady leadership. Both times our nation was blessed. LBCRLBCRBut, as president Ford famously said, �I�m a Ford, not a Lincoln�. LBCR Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||IL||||2006/12/30||11:56:40||statuette||Does anyone remember a artist/scupltor by the name of Daniel Gray? A number of years ago I remember seeing a statuette that he did, cold cast bronze I think, of a standing Lincoln. At the time I thought it was quite nice and I always thought that one day I would like to own one for myself. I am trying to find a source to the artist and/or statuette. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2006/12/30||22:47:39||Manhunt movie||I see where Harrison Ford will start filming the latest "Indiana Jones" sequel in 2007, so I guess this will seriously hamper efforts to bring "Manhunt" to the silver screen. Hope this doesn't prove to be the final nail in the movie's coffin.LBCRBest wishes LBCRRob mike gross||||arlington||tx||||2007/01/05||21:31:20||movie||speaking of movies, is ted turner coming out with his third civil war film? Randal Berry||||||||||2007/01/07||11:52:53||Manhunt||According to an interview I read with James Swanson, he was already paid for the movie rights for his book. LBCRSurely they will proceed with it, if a studio bought the rights. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/01/06||12:36:35||Abraham Lincoln Association||For two years now, I've been a member of the Abraham Lincoln Association. I've enjoyed my membership as well as the journal, and eventually would like to write some things and attempt to place them in the journal. However, when I got my renewal notice this year I noticed that the membership dues had jumped $15 to $50 a year instead of the $35 I've paid the past two years. Now, I understand that prices have to go up once in a while, but $15 seems an awfully big jump. For some people I imagine they didn't think twice about paying the extra, but in my little world money is extremely tight! I guess what I'm wondering is, has anyone decided not to renew because of the increase or have you paid it? Am I the only person concerned about this? Would appreciate some feedback.LBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Randal Berry||||||||||2007/01/07||16:13:40||||Rob,LBCRA $15.00 leap in membership seems awfully extravagant given today's economony.LBCRPerhaps if members would protest a little, they might see the error's of their ways.LBCRJust a thought, and it couldn't hurt.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Paul||||||||||2007/01/08||06:47:04||Swansons movie rights||A studio might have paid for the rights for Swanson's 'Manhunt', but they can wait years before ever getting around to filming it.LBCRIMO, a movie about this book is DOA. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/01/08||17:19:30||Movies, ALA||Not being in the business, it's hard for me to understand why they made such a big announcement if all their proverbial ducks weren't in a row. I guess it's always possible that the movie could still be made, but I wonder if Harrison Ford (if the latest Indy Jones flick revives what I think all will agree is a flagging career) would be enticed to play a role.LBCRLBCRAlso, concerning the Lincoln Association, I have thought about writing the group and explaining why I am balking at signing up, but it seems the entire experience is priced a little high. By that I mean the annual banquet. Last year I wanted to go and meet Doris Kearns Goodwin, but it would have cost us about $300 in travel, hotel and banquet costs, which again for some wouldn't have been a stretch but for me would have represented a major chunk of monthly income.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Diana||||Arlington Heights||IL||||2007/01/08||19:46:06||Ted Turner movie||The last I heard from a Civil War message board that I belong to is that Ted Turner has no plans to make a third Civil War movie at this time. ALO Editor||||||||||2007/01/10||16:09:39||Lincoln Tomb Vandalism||One of our readers wished to post a copyrighted story by the Springfield State Register- Tribune. Please use the following web address to read the story published on January 10, 2007: LBCRLBCRhttp://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/104992.asp Creegah||||Murphy||NC||||2007/01/14||09:20:20||A MUST SEE||Tonight at 6:00 PM EST on C-SPAN.LBCRJames Swanson's interview with Gabor Boritt about Boritt's book "A Gettysburg Gospel". ALO Editor||||||||||2007/01/15||15:30:10||Mailbag Postings||We've received several potential Mailbag queries lately which are adequately covered on our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you wonder why your posting was not published, please check this page first:LBCR LBCRhttp://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/faq.htm Cathy||||||||||2007/01/16||09:53:35||ALA Costs||Rob,LBCRLBCRI agree that the Abraham Lincoln Association membership rate hike seems steep. I happen to think the rising banquet costs seem the most astonishing. When you come from out of town, it cranks up your total outlay in a hurry. There's something about spending $500 for two-night stay that speaks to me. This year, it says, "Wouldn't it make more sense to replace that old snow blower instead?" Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/01/16||20:53:03||||Cathy,LBCRLBCRI know how you feel! Even though I haven't renewed yet, today I got an invitation for a reception to be held for Jon Meacham, who is this year's main speaker and the cost is $75 per person. Now for $75 that better be some d***n fine wine! I think I'm going to have to pass on the renewal this year. Maybe next year I will have some extra cash to spend. I really hate this!LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Roger Norton||||||||||2007/01/17||04:59:40||Lincoln color blind?||I have been asked if Abraham Lincoln was color blind. Apparently this information is contained in "The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View" by John R. Bumgarner. I do not have the book so I do not know exactly what Bumgarner says and what his source is for the information.LBCRLBCRHas anyone else read anything regarding this possibility? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||Maryland||||2007/01/17||18:25:47||Another Assassination Movie||Just found out that National Treasure 2 is in pre-production and scheduled for release in December 2007. Starring Nicholas Cage, it will "investigate" the Lincoln assassination through the so-called missing pages of Booth's diary. Where have we heard this before!?! Donna McCreary||||Charlestown||IN||||2007/01/18||17:01:31||Emilie Helm's diary|| Someone asked if Emilie Helm's diary had been published. The answer is no. Emilie did allow her daughter, Katherine, to use a few pages from it when writing the biography "Mary, the Wife of Lincoln." Then the diary was burned for it "contained too much bitterness" and Emilie did not want anyone else to read it. As of a few years ago, a few unpublished pages from the diary remained in a private collection. I am not sure they still exist. Some of the collection was donated to archives. The papers not wanted because they lacked historical value may either have been destoryed or they may still remain in a private collection. Louise Lindinger||||Cherry Hill||New Jersey||||2007/01/29||07:23:16||Lincoln Cottage||Does anyone know when the Lincoln Cottage will be open to the public? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/01/29||17:45:40||Lincoln Cottage Project||The last that we had heard at Surratt House Museum is that the completion date and opening to the public was set for September 22, 2007, the 145th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Deanna Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale||MI||||2007/01/31||17:33:59||Lincoln traveling to D.C.||I think I've asked this question before but children keep asking me: When Abraham Lincoln changed trains on the way to Baltimore, did Mrs. Lincoln and the children change trains as well.I've never found any answer to this question and I hope some of the Lincolnphiles have the answer. Thank you in advance for thinking. sincerely, Deanna Louise Lindinger||||Cherry Hill||New Jersey||||2007/02/01||09:15:51||Lincoln Cottage||Thank you, Laurie, for your answer regarding the Lincoln Cottage. There are many of us who are anxiously awaiting the opening date. And I wonder if invitations will be limited to special guests (Lincoln scholars, etc.)on that first day. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/02/01||11:11:36||||Deanna,LBCRLBCRWhen Lincoln first learned of the Baltimore plot on Feb. 21 he was in Philadelphia. After raising the flag at Independence Hall, the presidential party headed for Harrisburg, where Frederick Seward's son confirmed that the Baltimore plot was real. Lincoln decided to go back to Philadelphia by himself (although he told Mary of the plot) and board a special train for Baltimore. Mary stayed in Harrisburg with the boys. When Lincoln arrived safely in Washington on Feb. 23, he telegraphed Mary that he had arrived safely. Later that afternoon she arrived in Washington from Harrisburg after what David Herbert Donald calls an uneventful trip through Baltimore.LBCRLBCRHope this helpsLBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob mschild||||marion||il||||2007/01/25||12:47:53||sculpture||Why does the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum located in the Capitol have only one ear? Deana Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale,||MI||||2007/02/01||15:16:58||Lincoln traveling to D.C.||Dear Rob, Thank you for the great information. Thank you as well for the many thoughtful comments you share with other Lincoln lovers. Sincerely, Deanna Larry Mansch||||Missoula||MT||||2007/02/03||16:54:21||Lincoln bust||A Capitol tour guide once told me that Borglum sculped Lincoln without the ear (the left side of Lincoln's face is pointed south) because "Lincoln was deaf to the views, attitudes and opinions of the South." Randal Berry||||||||||2007/02/03||20:54:46||Lincoln's Missing Ear||Larry: your kidding...right? Tom Lapsley||||Fairview||OR||||2007/02/04||10:07:58||Lincoln Actor||Actor Lee Bergere, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the classic "Star Trek" episode "The Savage Curtain" died on January 31 at the age of 88. The episode will be aired on the TV Land cable channel on Monday, February 5. Larry Mansch||||Missoula||MT||||2007/02/04||19:37:18||Missing ear||No, I'm not kidding. I took 25 8th grade students of mine to D.C. three years ago, and the guide told all of us this story. Is it true? I have no idea! Has anyone else heard this theory, or any others? Roger Norton||||||||||2007/02/05||14:15:47||Barely defined ear||Gutzon Borglum's own explanation of why this was done can be read at this URL: LBCRhttp://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/lincoln_by_borglum.cfm Tim McPike||||Evanston||Illinois||||2007/02/07||14:16:25||Lincoln's court houses|| The Beardstown courthouse claims to be the only courthouse still in use where Lincoln once appeared. But the 5th District Appellate Court courthouse, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, is also still in operation, and Lincoln tried at least one case there. Katie||||Saratoga||NY||||2007/02/09||20:28:30||Face of Lincoln||Speaking of Lincoln sculptures, I seem to recall some you at one time talking about an old film shown back in the 50's of an artist sculpting Lincoln's face while simultaneously telling his life story; as the story went on, the face got older. I believe this is the link to it: LBCRLBCRhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=- 6070168358686932549&q=abraham+lincolnLBCRLBCRBeing a child of the 80's/90's, I never saw this myself until now :-) Norbert Hirschhorn||||London||England||||2007/02/11||04:14:23||Lincoln's gait||I would like to call your attention to this letter published in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, vol. 49, 2006, pp 631-2, in response to a recent study of persons descended from Abraham Lincoln who suffer a genetic form of unsteady gait (ataxia).LBCRLBCRLetter to the EditorLBCRLBCRLincoln�s GaitLBCRLBCROur article in your journal, �Abraham Lincoln�s Blue Pills� (co-authored withLBCRthe late Robert G. Feldman) proposed that Lincoln suffered mercury poisoningLBCRfrom elemental mercury in the 19th-century medication called the blue pill, or blue mass (Hirschhorn, Feldman, and Greaves 2001). His symptoms included bizarre behavior and outbursts of rage (known as erethism when caused by mercury),insomnia, forgetfulness, and hand tremor under stress.We also noted Lincoln�sLBCRodd gait, as described by his long-time law partner William Herndon:LBCR�When [Lincoln] moved and walked along . . . he put his whole foot down flat at once, not rising from the toe, and hence he had no spring to his walk.�We took this as a possible indication of sensory nerve damage related to mercury.LBCRLBCRNow for this latter sign comes a more intriguing explanation. Laura Ranum andLBCRcolleagues have found mutations in b-III spectrin associated with spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 (SCA5) in a family descended from Abraham Lincoln�s paternal grandparents (Ikeda et al. 2006). Descriptions of Lincoln�s gait are similar to gait abnormalities found in the early stages of SCA5 (Ranum, personal communication), such as this eyewitness account from the London Times journalist William Russell in March 1861:LBCR LBCR�Soon afterwards [Lincoln] entered, with a shambling, loose, irregular, almost unsteady gait. . . .� (Views of President Lincoln, 1861). Other eyewitnesses reported similarly: �His left shoulder was higher than his right and his walk was undulating and slightly off balance, making him resemble, someone said, �a mariner who had found his sea legs but had to admit there was a rough sea running.' LBCR LBCRThe Reverend Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, his pastor, said when Lincoln walked, LBCRhe looked as if �he was about to plunge forward, from his right shoulder, for he always walked, when he had anything in his hand, as if he was pushing something in front of him�� (Kunhardt, Kunhardt, and Kunhardt 1992, p. 321). LBCRLBCRIt would be interesting to know if SCA5 somehow makes persons more susceptible to heavy metal poisoning.LBCRAbraham Lincoln, arguably our greatest president, remains endlessly fascinating. Ranum�s findings should reinvigorate the call to test incoln�s DNA (from existing hair and bone fragments) for SCA5, among other diseases proposed (McKusick 1991). LBCRLBCRNORBERT HIRSCHHORNLBCR115 Greencroft GardensLBCRLondon NW6 3PE, [email protected] A. GREAVESLBCRDepartment of Environmental and Occupational HealthLBCRUniversity of Minnesota School of Public [email protected] LBCRHirschhorn, N., R. G. Feldman, and I. A. Greaves. 2001. Abraham Lincoln�s blue pills: Did our 16thLBCRpresident suffer from mercury poisoning? Perspect Biol Med 44:315�32.LBCRLBCRIkeda,Y., et al. 2006. Nat Genet 38:184�90.LBCRLBCRKunhardt, P. B., Jr., P. B. Kunhardt III, and P.W. Kunhardt. 1992. Lincoln: An illustrated biography. NewLBCRYork: Knopf.LBCRLBCRMcKusick,V. A. 1991.The defect in Marfan syndrome. Nature 352:279�81.LBCRLBCRViews of President Lincoln, 1861. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lincoln2.htm. Cheryl||||||||||2007/02/12||06:25:19||Feb.12,1809||Happy Birthday to the best leader this country has ever had. John||||Lakeside Park||Kentucky||||2007/02/12||07:13:42||Happy Birthday||Happy Birthday Mr. President whereever you are. Very few former Presidents are honored on their birthday. Yours is truly special to us all. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/02/12||18:27:13||Manhunt Movie||An online movie database is now listing that Manhunt, the movie based on James Swanson's book of the same title, won't be produced until 2009. I find it strange that they would produce a movie on Lincoln's ssassination in the same year that we we will be celebrating the bicentennial of the great man's birth. Randal Berry||||||||||2007/02/12||19:28:51||Manhunt Movie||Laurie,LBCRMaybe Mr. Swanson is "borrowing" more time.LBCRhahahahahaha! Chris Umhoefer||||Springfield||Illinois||||2007/02/12||20:05:24||Happy 198th Birthday||Happy 198th birthday Mr. Lincoln, you are the greatest leader that we have ever had and we will carry your life story and your message on through the ages. Iggy||||||||||2007/02/14||18:40:49||Manhunt 2009||Having 'Manhunt' come out in 2009 would be a perfect Hollywood promo tie-in with the Lincoln Bicentennial. John||||Raleigh||NC||||2007/02/15||08:20:55||Last Living Lincoln Descendant||I find it sad that the Lincoln-Todd blood line appears to have ended in 1985 upon the death of Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, the last great-grandson of the President. There was a question, however, whether a child born during his marriage to a much younger German lady could have been his after all and, therefore, the Lincoln family now extends into a fifth generation. Has there been any recent information about the young man in question who was born in 1968 and last known to be living in Williamsburg? Does he maintain a claim to be a Lincoln descendant? It would be wonderful if he were, despite his putative father's claim that he had had a vasectomy and prostectomy and was unable to father children-- wonderful but highly unlikely. Kurt Cruppenink||||Westville||IL||||2007/02/15||08:29:58||Lincoln Pup||My pure bred cocker spaniel gave birth Monday night to eight pups. The first one out was a beautiful black male with a white star under its belly. I named with Lincoln. I hope to send him to law school in Springfield. Happy Birthday Abe. Megan Hardgrave||||Carrollton||TX||||2007/02/20||00:55:20||re: Lincoln cottage|| Dear Laurie,LBCRLBCRI have been keeping in touch with the Lincoln Cottage for many years 2002-2007 (AKA Anderson Cottage as it was known in Lincoln's day)Project Manager Ms. Sophia Lynn and she told me via e-mail that the President Lincoln and Soldiers Home National Monument opening is being pushed back into 2008. LBCR LBCRhope this helps,LBCR Ron Homann||||Springfield||IL||||2007/02/27||17:34:12||Lincoln Bust||This is a bit off the subject but please be on the lookout for a bronze limited edition bust called Lincoln in Thought by Tom Clark, signed #76/100.LBCRIt has Lincoln's chin resting on his thumb and looking down and to the right.LBCRDark base with inscription Lincoln in Thought, approx. 14" tall, weighs 27 lbs. It was stolen from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office gift shop in Springfield on Feb. 15. You can contact the gift shop 217-525-1825 or call Crimestoppers in Springfield 217-788- 8311. Reward.LBCRThank you. Roger Norton||||||||||2007/02/28||15:02:23||Passing of James O. Hall||I have received a very sad message from Mike Kauffman: James O. Hall passed away Monday night, February 26. James O. Hall was a giant in the field of Lincoln, the Civil War, and most especially Lincoln's assassination. For anyone not familiar with James O. Hall, the Surratt House Museum has a web page devoted to his life at this URL:LBCRhttp://www.surratt.org/library/johall.html John Winterbauer||||Springfield||IL||||2007/03/01||06:55:45||James O. Hall||I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. Hall. As Roger points out, he was a giant in the field and a great scholar.LBCRI had the good fortune to meet him a couple of times and I enjoyed our conversations very much. LBCRHe should serve as an example to Lincoln researchers around the world and will be missed. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/03/01||19:38:50||James O. Hall||One of the greatest joys of my life was my friendship with the dean of Lincoln assassination studies, James O. Hall. We met in 1976, when he spoke to perspective docents who were in training in anticipation of the opening of the Surratt House Museum. LBCR After he spoke, I approached him and asked if he would like to hear my family story in relation to the assassination. He patiently said, "Of course..."; and I knew he had heard many people say that. His eyes lit up, however, when I mentioned that my family had lived in the tiny hamlet of T.B., Maryland since 1862. Since the village ties in with the kidnap/assassination story, he wanted to know where certain structures were -- and I knew! That began a wonderful friendship and learning experience for me. LBCR He was a friend and mentor to the Surratt Society and the museum. The most amazing thing to me was how much he wanted to share his knowledge with others. While many esearchers "guard" their information, Mr. Hall delighted in helping others. He will be greatly missed. It's a passing of the old guard. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/03/02||11:01:36||James O. Hall||Let me also pay my respects here to the esteemed Mr. Hall. I never had the opportunity to meet him, but heard all kinds of good things about him from my buddy Steve Miller. The stories of his generosity with other assassination researchers are legend. We can be thankful that he has left such a rich resource of material for future generations.LBCRLBCRBestLBCRRob ryan robles||||cypress||ca||||2007/03/05||22:09:03||schools attended||There is many reference to Abraham Lincoln attending school and recieving a law degree. On no website can I find the name of any school that he attended. Do you have a list of any names and location of schools that President Lincoln attended? Doug Caldwell||||St. Louis||MO||||2007/03/08||11:24:48||Vandalia||Lincoln's Sword is fun reading for the non-scholarly too. CSI-Springfield? LBCRLBCRAs a former resident of Vandalia, IL, I have wondered why Lincoln historians have skipped over this part of his life. Likely, little was recorded abut a little known politician but in reading Sword, it seems likely he would have written anonymous letters to the editor of The Illinois State Register newspaper while serving/residing in Vandalia from 1834 until the Capitol moved to Springfield in 1839. Thanks for the great book!LBCR Mike Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||||2007/03/11||14:20:27||"Lincoln's Vandalia"|| Dear Doug Caldwell,LBCRLBCRI suggest you check out Barringer's "Lincoln's Vandalia." It was published in 1949. You may be able to get a copy from Ebay or Amazon sellers. It is a good little read.LBCRLBCRPerhaps one problem is Lincoln himself contributed to making Vandalia obscure by working so hard to move the capital to Springfield. Susan||||Flint Hill||VA ||||2007/03/20||14:19:06||Montauk commander||I am interested in knowing about Edward E. Stone, the commander of the Montauk when Booth's body was brought there to be autopsied. Does anyone know anything about him? Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/03/21||09:48:42||Edward E. Stone||Susan,LBCRLBCRI did a quick check in the Official Naval Records and came up with some information on Stone. Most of it related to battle reports but there was a letter to Gideon Welles from David Porter concerning Stone. Here it is:LBCRLBCR"SIR: I beg leave to bring to the favorable notice of the Department Lieutenant-Commander E. E. Stone, commanding the monitor Montauk.LBCRThe officer has manifested proper zeal and spirit and been ready at all times to go into action.LBCRWhen ordered to attack Fort Anderson he did it handsomely; laid within 1,000 yards with the fire of the fort concentrated on him for over thirty-six hours and convinced the rebels that no work could be held where a monitor or monitors were brought against it.LBCRI am much pleased with Lieutenant-Commander E. E. Stone, and am sure he will give a good account of himself hereafter.LBCRI am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,LBCR DAVID D. PORTER.LBCRRear-Admiral."LBCRLBCRI would also suggest that you go to the Library of Congress' web site and do a subject search for Civil War naval history or monitors. In my research into Lincoln's assassination I haven't come across anything in the way of material on Stone, but others may have. Good luck.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob WickLBCR Norbert Hirschhorn||||London||England||||2007/03/21||02:57:55||New book on Lincoln and 'race'||I strongly recommend the new book by James Oakes, "What Did He Really Think About Race? By James M. McPhersonLBCRThe Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics." LBCRLBCRIt is reviewed by James M. McPherson in the current issue of the New York Review of Books, Volume 54, Number 5 � March 29, 2007.LBCR LBCRhttp://www.nybooks.com/articles/19994LBCRLBCRBert Hirschhorn Paul||||East Haven||CT||||2007/03/25||09:16:32||Laura Keene play in NYC||'Our Leading Lady', starring Kate Mulgrew as Laura Keene has opened in NYC. The play basically is about Miss Keene and her castmates of 'Our American Cousin' on the night Lincoln was shot. The reviews were favorable.LBCRThe show is playing until April 29 at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Stage II.LBCR Roger||||Napa||CA.||||2007/03/27||15:31:38||Reproductions of Volk Lincoln Hands|| Does anyone out there know where I can purchase a copy of both Leonard Volk's plaster castings made in 1860 of Abraham Lincoln's hands? Volk made one plaster casting of his face, but I'm looking primarily for his hands.LBCRLBCRI'm also looking for a copy of the Sun production movie made in the 70s called "The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies."LBCRLBCRThanks. C. Ligameri||||Westville||New Jersey||||2007/03/28||19:52:10||Lincoln Assassination CSI||I am a United States History I teacher and have for the longest time wanted to conduct with my students a CSI for the Lincoln Assassination. I am looking for any information, encouragement, ideas, advice to get this off the ground successfully. LBCRI would appriciate any and all help LBCRthank you in [email protected] Randal Berry||||||Arkansas||||2007/03/28||22:04:05||CSI||Well, an excellent book on more what your looking for is "Kennedy and Lincoln, Medical & Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations" by Dr. John K. Lattimer. (1980).LBCRLBCRThis book usually shows up on a VERY popular "auction" website.LBCRLBCRHope this helps! LBCRLBCRRandal BerryLBCR Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/03/29||00:11:41||||Please forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is a "CSI"?LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob jose jimenez||||guaynabo||puerto rico||||2007/03/29||12:02:22||a lincoln letter|| I'm trying to get information about a letter from Abraham Lincoln to one of his general Lincoln which he establish his interest of meet the slavery abolition in order to strengh the Union Randal Berry||||||||||2007/03/29||18:53:18||CSI||Rob,LBCRCrime Scene Investigator. LBCRRandal Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/03/29||20:36:45||CSI||Wow, how out of it am I? Guess I need to take a crash course in popular culture! Thanks for the info Randall.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Brian||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2007/03/30||12:46:04||Reproductions of Volk Lincoln Hands||You can find reproductions of Lincoln's Hands by Volk at the Lincoln Museum in Ft Wayne. You can find a link at this website. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/04/07||10:06:14||Hunt for Lincoln's Assassin|| Pardon me the shameless self-promotion if you will, but just wanted to let everyone know that on April 17 at 9 p.m. eastern (8 p.m. central) the National Geographic Channel will air "The Hunt for Lincoln's Assassin". Some of the names appearing include Mike Kauffman, Thomas Reed Turner, Steve Miller, Tom Goodrich, Dr. Blaine Houmes, Terry Alford and myself. These esteemed scholars were invited for their vast knowledge of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. I was invited as comedy relief. Seriously, it should be a riveting hour of television. Hope everyone watches.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Wick Randal Berry||||||||||2007/04/07||17:49:19||||Rob,LBCRThanks for posting that. LBCRWeekend before last I had the pleasure of being in the company of Kauffman, Miller and Houmes at the 8th Annual Surratt Conference.LBCRLBCRThis program should be great!LBCRLBCRRandal Berry EM Foxwell||||Fairfax||VA||||2007/04/07||17:20:04||Swanson (Manhunt) radio appearance, Apr 9||Edgar Award nominee James L. Swanson, author of _Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase forLBCRLincoln's Killer_, will be the guest on "It's a Mystery" on Monday, AprilLBCR9th, at 11 AM ET (Webcast at http://www.fcac.org/webr).LBCR LBCRElizabeth FoxwellLBCRProducer and host, "It's a Mystery" (WEBR, Fairfax, VA) LBCRhttp://www.elizabethfoxwell.com/ItsaMystery.html Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/04/07||21:49:28||Hunt for Lincoln's Assassin|| Randal,LBCRLBCRSteve mentioned that he spoke with you, and that you both got a snicker (not the candy bar) about my lack of cultural knowledge (LOL). Hope you enjoy the show.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Randal Berry||||||||||2007/04/08||19:52:40||||Rob,LBCRLBCRThat was Steve who snickered! I swear!LBCRI merely fell down laughing! LOL!LBCRLBCRRandal Deanna Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale,||MI||||2007/04/09||11:43:37||Lincoln relatives|| Told again that someone was related to Lincoln, I'm wondering if indeed, there are some some people from Nancy Hanks' line. I know it is hard to trace, but wondering if some Lincolnphile knows. thank you in advance for your trouble. Roxann Howell||||Boise||Idaho||||2007/04/09||20:30:21||Lincoln's 1860 Campaign Parade Photos||Does anyone know if there is a source for photos of the 1860 Illinois Republican party campaign parades? I know it's a long shot, but my ggg grandfather drove the carriage of Abraham Lincoln in one of these parades. I don't seem to find any sites or even newspapers that may have archived photos of the parades he was in. Thanks Roxann Howell||||Boise||Idaho||||2007/04/10||13:21:16||Lincoln's 1860 Campaign Parade Photos ||I hope to have narrowed down the search some. My ggg grandfather, George Whitfield Russell lived in Knox county, Il and was married Mary Lucretia Baird in Peoria, IL in 1856. The Lincoln/Douglas debate of 1858 was held in Galesburg with both giving speeches in Peoria. Maybe the parade was held in one of these two cities. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/04/13||11:08:53||Lincoln parade photos||In about 30 years of studying Lincoln, I've never come across any photos of him in a parade. Given that movement of any kind created a blurring in the photographs of that day, its unlikely any would have been attempted. If you could find one, you would not only have an unseen historical relic, you would have a heck of a lot of money coming if you sold it. Good luck on your research.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/04/14||18:20:48||Ford's Theatre Closing||Just a note for anyone planning on visiting Washington, DC and Ford's Theatre over the next few years: The theater will be closing in mid-May to undergo major renovations. It is expected that these renovations will take at least eighteen months.LBCRThe Petersen House across the street will remain open, we are told. Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/04/17||10:06:45||Vandals Strike Gettysburg Again||Hello all,LBCRLBCRHere is a link to an article about further vandalism at Gettysburg:LBCRLBCRhttp://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_5678649LBCR LBCRSad news.LBCRLBCR Randal Berry||||||||||2007/04/18||18:40:38||Rob Wick...Can I have your autograph?||Hi everyone,LBCRI just finished watching "Hunt for Lincolns Assassins" on the National Geographic channel, and it was very good! Rob, you, Mike, and Steve were terrific! Ruby King Arthur||||Alexandria||Kentucky||||2007/04/19||00:37:36||Nancy Hanks, mother of Abe Lincoln||Does anyone have information that Abraham Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, was the daughter of Abraham Hanks?? Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/04/19||10:11:14||Hunt for Lincoln's Assassin|| Randal,LBCRLBCRThanks for your kind words. Even though there were some things I would have done differently, by and large I was pleased with the final result.LBCR LBCRConcerning my autograph...if you just send your credit card and bank account numbers to some Nigerian friends of mine, we'll see what we can do (LOL).LBCR LBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Randal Berry||||||||||2007/04/20||22:02:40||Hunt For Lincoln 's Assassin||Rob, LBCRYou were right. There were a few things that I dissagreed with on this program.LBCROne, among others notable, Booth at Mudd's house without a "false" beard, and the way they treated the evidence about Mudd/Booth.LBCRLBCRWith that said, most folks know my opinion about the Mudd theory. I align with Kauffman.LBCR LBCRHowever, it was a good show and it keeps the interest about Lincoln alive and in general makes people thinkLBCRabout other possible scenarios. At least it does me.LBCRLBCRRandal BerryLBCR Peter Jacobson||||Martinsburg||West Virginia||||2007/04/21||22:54:47||Lincoln's Mother||Can anyone tell me in what part of Virginia Lincoln's mother, Sarah Hanks, was born? Creegah||||Murphy||NC||||2007/04/24||22:38:03||Lincoln's mother||Nancy (not Sarah) was born in Fauquier County. Davis C. Bruce||||Cape Cod, Mass.||||||2007/04/27||14:37:14||biography||Could anyone tell me what, in their opinion, is the best biography of Lincoln? I have Stephen B Oates' With Malice Toward None. Is this reliable etc? thanks Chris Umhoefer||||Springfield||IL||||2007/04/27||18:57:09||Best Lincoln Biographies||My favorite Lincoln biograhpies are David Herbert Donald's "Lincoln" and "Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography" by Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt. The latter is more "basic" and doesn't go into as much detail as other Lincoln biograhpies, but it has lots of neat pictures that make the book a pleasure to look through. "With Malice Toward None" is also good IMO. The first Lincoln biography I ever read was Carl Sandburg's, and I still think that it's decent, some people think that it "romanticizes" the Ann Rutledge legend a bit too much though.LBCRLBCRI've encountered a number of people who think that Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" is true. It is NOT (it wouldn't be called "historical fiction" if it wasn't fiction). I would steer clear of this book if you are looking for a good Lincoln biography. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/04/27||21:37:07||Lincoln Bios||Davis,LBCRPicking the best biography of Lincoln is like trying to decide which child is your favorite. All have their good parts. Also, it depends on whether you want single volume or multi-volume. That said, I think David Herbert Donald's book is the standard all others are measured by, although it is now relatively dated. Oates' book is certainly another good one in spite of the plagiarism charges that still dogs him. One that is much older but still retains value is Benjamin Thomas' bio while I would also put a plug in for Lord Charnwood's biography, which was published in 1917. In terms of multi-volumes, while some may argue, I still think Carl Sandburg's six-volume book is worth the purchase price (especially since I found mine on-line for $17) but "The War Years" are more respected than "The Prairie Years". Even though it isn't a full-length bio, James G. Randall's four- volume "Lincoln the President" should be in every serious student's library. If you have $1,000 or more lying around, you might see if you can find Nicolay and Hay's 10-volume biography. I hear that Michael Burlingame is working on a multi- volume biography of Lincoln, but haven't heard anything as of late. Hope this helps.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/04/30||13:01:24||Biography||Hello all, LBCRLBCRThough it is somewhat out of date, I still feel as do many others that Thomas's 1952 biography is the best single volume biography. I do not agree with all its conclusions, but it is the best intro. I know of.LBCRLBCRI would also agree that Charnwood's book is a classic. He writes in the best tradition of British liberalism. Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2007/04/30||17:05:01||Lincoln Biographies||Another more recent British perspective on Lincoln would be Richard Carwardine's Lincoln. LBCRLBCRA review by David Zarefsky can be found here:LBCR LBCRhttp://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/26.1/zarefsky.html james hayney||||camp hill||pa||||2007/05/05||16:13:42||deafness in Lincoln's son?||can anyone tell me if any of Lincoln's sons had a hearing problem? Roger Norton||||||||||2007/05/08||11:21:33||Lincoln boys||James, from what I have read, none of the Lincoln boys had a hearing problem.LBCRHowever, Robert was born with a crossed eye. As he was growing up other youths nicknamed him "cockeye." If the information in Irving Stone's "Love Is Eternal" (historical fiction) is correct, his condition was corrected via such a painful operation that young Robert had to be tied down as a surgeon cut the overactive eye muscle which released the eye to its normal position. No definitive date on this operation is known (as far as I know), but it was probably done when Robert was less than 10 years old. The surgeon was Dr. Sanford Bell, and he followed a surgical procedure developed in Germany by a Dr. Dieffenback as outlined in the book "Ueber das Schielen und die Heilung."LBCRLBCRAlso, Tad Lincoln may have been born with a partial cleft palate, his teeth came in crooked, and he spoke with a lisp. He was often difficult to understand. William H. Crook, one of President Lincoln's bodyguards, wrote that, "Taddie could never speak very plainly. He had his own language; the names that he gave some of us we like to remember today. The President was 'papa-day' which meant 'papa-dear.' Tom Pendel was 'Tom Pen,' and I was 'Took.' But for all his baby tongue he had a man's heart, and in some things a man's mind. I believe he was the best companion Mr. Lincoln ever had - one who always understood him, and whom he always understood." LBCRLBCREventually, sometime after the assassination but before the trip to Europe, Mary sent Tad to a dentist who recommended a spring frame for Tad's mouth to force the crooked teeth into proper position. Robert saw how annoying the spring frame was to Tad, and he changed the plan by hiring a gentleman named McCoy to teach elocution to Tad. It seems Robert's plan worked, as Tad's pronunciation improved under McCoy's tutelage.LBCRLBCRAlso, kudos to Rob Wick for finding a copy of Carl Sandburg's work for $17! That is terrific. On the topic of "good buys" I am finding that more Lincoln books which I had previously avoided due to high cost, are becoming available through cheaper reprints. For years and years I wanted a copy of William H. Crook's "Through Five Administrations," but I never purchased a copy because antiquarian bookstores wanted at least $50 and many times over $200 for a copy. But recently a paperback reprint became available, and I purchased a copy for about $20. Crook has some fascinating insights into the Lincoln family, and most particularly, I enjoyed his discussions of young Tad.LBCRLBCRFinally, to the gentleman who inquired about Lincoln books, I would always recommend Michael Burkhimer's "100 Essential Lincoln Books." Mike's book is an invaluable guide to anyone trying to decide where to begin when it comes to Lincoln reading. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/05/08||19:53:43||Lincoln Bios||Roger, I got lucky with the Sandburg volumes. I just happened to be surfing at Alibris when I came across that deal. I guess the seller didn't know what they had, because I've seen copies of "The War Years" go for as much as $200 for copies that were in horrible shape compared to the tightly bound copies I found. Just goes to show you that the internet is good for some things.LBCRLBCRBest wishesLBCRRob Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/05/14||07:36:49||Another Sad Passing||Dr. John Lattimer has passed away at the age of 92. He wrote and researched on both the Lincoln and Kennedy assassination.LBCRLBCRHere is a link:LBCR LBCRhttp://kevxml2a.verizon.net/_1_FM2TO104Y5R2KG__vzn.isp/apnws/story.htm?kcfg=ap art&sin=D8P3G7O00&qcat=health&ran=31506&passqi=&feed=ap&top=1 Roger Norton||||||||||2007/05/18||12:51:33||Alleged Lincoln quote in circulation|| Based on messages I have received this week the following quote, attributed to Abraham Lincoln, is currently in wide circulation on the Internet:LBCR LBCR"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." LBCRLBCRI am telling folks that this quote is bogus as far as Lincoln goes. I cannot find any source for it.LBCRLBCRDoes anyone know anything about this quote? Am I right in saying it is not Lincoln? I would appreciate any guidance or insight anyone has on this. Thanks. Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/05/18||19:45:13||Bogus Quote||Hello Roger,LBCRLBCRI have seen that quote from a number of neo-Confederates, but as usual they are dead wrong. The following excerpt if from factcheck.org:LBCR LBCR"Misquoting LincolnLBCRAugust 25, 2006LBCRUpdated: August 26, 2006LBCRBush supporters falsely quote Lincoln as advocating arresting, exiling or hanging members of Congress who damage military morale in wartime.LBCRSummaryLBCR LBCRSupporters of President Bush and the war in Iraq often quote Abraham Lincoln as saying members of Congress who act to damage military morale in wartime "are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged."LBCRLBCRRepublican candidate Diana Irey used the "quote" recently in her campaign against Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, and it has appeared thousands of times on the Internet, in newspaper articles and letters to the editor, and in Republican speeches.LBCR LBCRBut Lincoln never said that. The conservative author who touched off the misquotation frenzy, J. Michael Waller, concedes that the words are his, not Lincoln's. Waller says he never meant to put quote marks around them, and blames an editor for the mistake and the failure to correct it. We also note other serious historical errors in the Waller article containing the bogus quote.LBCR LBCRUpdate Aug. 26: Candidate Irey retracted the quote and apologized hours after this article appeared." Roger Norton||||||||||2007/05/21||09:17:46||Lincoln's Head Wound||Thanks, Mike. I sort of thought as much. LBCRLBCROn a much different topic, there have been some interesting articles in the past few days on Lincoln's wound and whether or not he could be saved with today's techniques.LBCRLBCRThe topic has been discussed at the LBCR13th Historical Clinicopathological Conference, sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs hospital. LBCRLBCROne doctor, Thomas M. Scalea, argues that Lincoln's wound wasLBCRa "non-fatal injury by 2007 standards."LBCRLBCRFor details, please go to LBCRhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2007/05/20/AR2007052000873.html?hpid=moreheadlinesLBCR LBCRAlso, there is a graphic of the wound at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/graphic/2007/05/21/GR2007052100042.htmlLBCRLBCR"In the intensive-care unit, a modern Lincoln would face myriad hazards, including infection, kidney failure and uncontrolled bleeding. If he survived them, the Everest of rehabilitation would lie ahead. But people do make it, Scalea said."LBCRLBCR"The modern prognosis predicts more than a vegetative state - and conceivably, the patient might recover enough to return to the White House to carry on the work he foresaw in his second term, healing the divided nation's war wounds."LBCR LBCR"Would he be 100 percent? No," Scalea said. "Brain injuries are an unpredictable thing."LBCRLBCRObviously this is just one trauma surgeon's opinion. I am sure the debate will go on and on beyond our lifetimes.LBCRLBCR Laurie Verge||||Clinton||Maryland||||2007/05/23||08:53:27||Manhunt Update||It is being reported that Walden Media has sold the rights to the popular "Manhunt" project to HBO, which is now planning a mini-series (minus Harrison Ford). Randal Berry||||||||||2007/05/23||21:55:34||Manhunt Update||Dang!LBCR I don't have HBO.LBCROh well, I guess I'll have to live without it.LBCRLOL!LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Cheryl||||||||||2007/05/24||17:13:38||Manhunt to HBO||Mr. Barry, you won't be the only one to not see Manhunt. I too was looking forward to seeing it, but guess I'll read the book again. Vicki ||||Ontario||CA||||2007/05/26||00:49:39||Lincolns Inaugular Parade||Hello LBCRI was told by my Grandmother that there were 16 women who rode on white horses during the parade and that one of the women was my great grandma. Is ther validity to the women, horses, etc?LBCRThank youu Steven G. Miller||||Lake Villa||IL||||2007/05/27||07:05:10||profile of James O. Hall||Andrew Ferguson has a wonderful piece on the late Lincoln assassination scholar, James O. Hall, in Friday's Wall Street Journal. The link is http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010121LBCRLBCR Randal Berry||||||||||2007/05/28||06:48:20||James O. Hall||Thanks for the link Steve.LBCRLBCRI never had a chance to meet the man and wished I could have picked his brains about a few things.LBCRLBCRRandal Fred Priebe||||Belleville||MI||||2007/06/05||06:20:50||A Gathering of Eagles||This past weekend, in Winchester, Virginia, a group of men and women gathered to debate the right of the southern states to secede from the Union. Lincoln and Davis debated one another. Then, a group of Confederate generals, led by Lee, debated the issue with a group of Union generals, led by Hancock. The setting was the Old Courthouse. Matthew Brady was there photographing. I had the privilege and honor of being Lincoln for the weekend. It was a fabulous experience. Unofficially, the event will be held again next year at the same site. This was a very stimulating experience. The audience went away with a new appreciation for the issues surrounding the war and a new respect for those of us who do living history to bring this war and its issues to the public. I would encourage people to attend next year. It is good stuff. Jessie||||Fowler||Indiana||||2007/06/09||17:19:58||Relating|| Was Abraham Lincoln realted to Uncle Sam? Jessie||||Fowler||Indiana||||2007/06/09||17:24:59||Injuries|| How many injuries did Abraham Lincoln have Matt||||Homer Glen||Illinois||||2007/06/12||15:44:00||Norman Rockwell||I was wondering if anybody was familiar with a painting done by Norman Rockwell. I cannot remember the name but it was of a young lawyer (student?) sitting at his desk (roll top?) reading/studying a book. Among other things on the desk was a picture of Lincoln. If anybody is familiar with this piece of art, please help! Randal Berry||||||||||2007/06/12||21:22:15||Lincoln/Uncle Sam/Injuries||Jessie, LBCRI don't think Lincoln was related to Uncle Sam. I think you relate to both of them wearing Top-Hats.LBCRBut no, no relation.LBCR LBCRThe only injury that Lincoln had, that I'm aware of, was the one he occured on April 14, 1865.LBCR David Lockmiller||||San Francisco||California||||2007/06/13||00:00:54||Rockwell painting||I found the picture that you were looking for at the following location. The title is The Young Lawyer.LBCRLBCRhttp://agora.stanford.edu/agora/cgi- bin/picViewer.cgi?library=rockwell&iNum=9 Michael Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||||2007/06/13||13:50:41||Lincoln's Head Injury||Hello,LBCRLBCRProbably the most serious injury that Lincoln had other than his fatal wounding was that when he was a young boy, he was at a mill whipping a horse as it went around and turned the grinding stone. The horse having had enough, kicked him in the head and knocked him out for a time. There was thought that he had been killed because he was so lifeless, and his father had to be summoned. He came to suddenly hours later with no apparent ill-effects.LBCRLBCR LBCRHope this helps.LBCRLBCRMike Burkhimer Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||Illinois||||2007/06/13||16:38:07||Norman Rockwell|| David, Thank-you very much for locating the picture of "The Young Lawyer" by Rockwell! My niece will be graduating law school next year and I was hoping to find a print of it that I can have framed and give it to her as part of her graduation gift. Man, I don't know how you found this illustration...I googled my fingers off and came up short every time. Thanks again and best regards, Matt ALO Editor||||||||||2007/06/21||09:55:20||Technical Problems||As Mailbag regulars know, we've experienced technical disruptions in recent weeks, due to problems our Internet Service Provider has encountered. Although the Mailbag is now in service, our email form is not. We are told that "someone is working on it."LBCR LBCRMeanwhile, we suggest that those who have written about Lincoln collectibles (newspapers, etc.) check our Frequently Asked Questions page, which includes resources which should be helpful. We recently added a link to detailed help on preserving old paper and other items from the National Park Service.LBCR LBCRhttp://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/faq.htm Nancy Domich||||San Jose||California||||2007/07/03||23:01:32||Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith||I am interested in information on Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, last living decendent of Abraham Lincoln. Not much is said about him other than is lived until 1985 at grew up in Woodstock. Property is now an inn. Would like to learn more about what he did with his life, school, career. I know he had no children and was the last living link to President Lincoln.LBCRAny information would be appreciated. ERIC M. STEPHENSON||||PALM COAST||FL||||2007/07/03||19:08:50||LINCOLN MEMORIAL & 1933||I was born and raised in central Il. I ran across a bronze watch fob with the Lincoln Memorial on it, under which is Springfield, Il. 1933 I thought "1933" had some significance to the Tomb or Oak Ridge Cemetary. I can't find any connection, maybe there is none. Can you help? Tom Vila||||Manalapan||NJ||||2007/07/04||13:54:53||Lincoln's stories||President Lincoln was noted for telling remarkable stories throughout his life, as he did in the evenings at Speed's general store in Springfield, prior to becoming president. Has anyone compiled sny of them? Connie Starling||||DeValls Bluff||Arkansas||||2007/07/06||10:53:07||Another Lincoln gone to glory||I am saddened to inform you that my father-in-law, Jim Starling, of Veedersburg, Indiana, who belonged to the Abraham Lincoln Presenters, passed away June 30, 2007. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last September and battled his illness for nine months. He was a great man who loved God, his family, and his country and will be missed by many. Megan Hardgrave||||Dallas||TX||||2007/07/06||23:20:41||re: Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith|| there is a great amount of personal info in The Lincoln Family Album by Harold Holzer& Mark E. Neely ,Jr. re issued in 2006 by southen Illinois university press and is avaible at major bookstores such as borders,amazon.com LBCRLBCRI have read the book and founf it very inciteful with over 400 family photo's , also if you can e-mail or write Holzer he has more antidotes that he could share as he got to talk to RTL Beckwith's Widow as a young professional starting out. LBCRLBCRHope I have added to your infoLBCRSincerely,LBCRm. hardgrave Mike Burkhimer||||Philadelphia||PA||||2007/07/07||19:43:15||Humor Source||In answer to the question of compiled Lincoln stories, I suggest P.M. Zall's "Abe Lincoln Laughing: Humorous Anecdotes from Original Sources by and about Abraham Lincoln."LBCRLBCRIt came out in 1982. It has been re-printed a number of times. It is well worth a look. Some of those stories are a little off-color. Michael Singer||||Yountville||Ca||||2007/07/11||13:19:50||Reparation for Slavery||I few years ago there was alot of talk about the descendants of slave owners making reparation to the descendants of slave. What ever became of this. Richard||||Bronx||NY||||2007/07/11||21:21:57||Did Abraham Lincoln say this?||Hello Everyone,LBCRI am 36 yrs old and the youngest of 4 brothers. I have a question about whether her or not Abraham Lincoln really said any thing close to these lines that my father has repeated to all of us as we grew up. I do not want to disprove my dad, because these words have really inspired me in different times of my life. But, just printed these words and about to frame them, but I do not want to misquote a President and have others see it. In Spanish, my dad would say with a finger in the air "(Abraham Lincoln once said,) A General could have lost 999 battles, and on his way to loosing the one-thousandths', sharpen his sword and obtain Triumph, and only then will he begin to put behind all the sorrow and losses." It may not sound as much, but it worked for me as a kid. And now need to find out before he gets sick again, so I can tell him these words and make him feel better....LBCRAnyway, perhaps you know if another person said these words through history, if not President Abraham Lincoln. Merv||||Los Angeles||CA||||2007/07/17||16:04:35||Looking for podcast entitled "Repeating History"||Hello,LBCRLBCRFor some time I've been trying to locate the above-mentioned podcast. The description reads, "A study of depression through some of Abraham Lincoln's personal letters."LBCRLBCRIt was once available on the iTunes Music Store, as well as via The Podcast Directory , but the download links no longer work.LBCRLBCRDoes anyone here have a copy or know where I might find it? Any info would be appreciated.... Since it was a free podcast, it would be perfectly legal to share a copy. (It could simply be attached to an email.)LBCR LBCRI can be reached at soundsgoodtome at mac daht cahm. (That's the anti-spam spelling. Please spell it the normal way.) :-)LBCRLBCRThanks. Mike Selby||||||British Columbia ||||2007/07/30||14:22:29||lost qote||I don't know if it was by Lincoln, or one of the founding fathers, but I remember reading a quote once in which it basically said something about we work so our children can become trades people, and they work so their children can become musicians and poets. It wasn't worded like this, but it was along this line?LBCR LBCRPretty vague I know.LBCR LBCRThank-you.LBCR LBCRWarmly,LBCRMike SelbyLBCRBritish Columbia Edna Scott||||Philadenphia||Pennsylvania||||2007/08/02||06:38:35||Abraham Lincoln||Can you find the quote by Abraham Lincoln, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power". Abraham Lincoln. Earl Williams||||Tyler||Texas||||2007/08/03||07:45:49||Lost Quote||Mike, the quote you refer to sounds more like something that John Adams once said''I must study warfare so that my children may study mathematics and literature.'' Christopher Heather||||Springfield||IL||||2007/08/03||09:52:53||UIS Lincoln Scholar Dies||University of Illinois at Springfield Lincoln scholar Phillip S. Paludan died Wednesday in Springfield, Illinois after a long illness. He was 69. Here is his obituary from the Springfield State Journal-Register: LBCRhttp://www.legacy.com/sj%2Dr/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=91872997 LBCR mike gross||||arlington||tx||||2007/08/06||20:31:28||lincoln poster||Can anybody tell me where I can view the poster of Lincoln by James M. Flagg?LBCRFlagg is famous for doing the Uncle Sam "I want you" poster. Thanks. Roger Norton||||||||||2007/08/11||04:41:02||Remembering James O. Hall||There is a wonderful article on the life of the late James O. Hall in the current edition of Frederick Hatch's outstanding "Journal of the Lincoln Assassination." I would recommend Mr. Hatch's publication to anyone interested in the Lincoln assassination. It is published three times a year at a very reasonable price. There is contact information within this website at http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/resource/publish.htmLBCR Mike Nash||||Las Vegas||NV||||2007/08/11||16:06:36||Lincoln's education and favorite books that he read growing up||I would be interested if anyone has a list, or knows where to find a list, of all of the books that Lincoln read during his childhood education. Both the books he read at school, and the books he read at home. LBCRLBCRI would also be interested if anyone has, or knows where to find, a list of Lincoln's favorite and most influential books that he read while growing up. LBCRLBCRI would enjoy reading some of the books that he read growing up myself. LBCRLBCRPerhaps some of today's youth could also read these books, following Lincoln's excellent example. Obviously, the books he read were a great influence on his life, and were part of the forming of the remarkable character that he had. Corey||||Olympia||WA||||2007/08/12||11:42:37||statue of Lincoln||Hello, I spent a summer in Washington DC, giving tours and part of a program for youth. Once a week we would go to the National Cathedral, and as we were going down stairs we would pass by a statue of Lincoln neeling down in prayer.LBCRLBCRIt is one of the most amazing statues I have ever seen of him... partly because it is so simple. LBCRLBCRI was wondering why that statue does not have a picture on this website, and I was also wondering if anyone knows if there are any replicas to buy out there.LBCRLBCRAny information would be awesome. Thank you,LBCRLBCRCorey Mike Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/08/12||22:43:18||Ferguson Book||Hello.LBCR LBCRHas anyone read the Ferguson book on the Lincoln world today? I am told it is quite funny.LBCRLBCRAny reviews? Chris Hutter||||Pittsburgh||PA ||||2007/08/13||17:19:34||Death Mask||Your site question whether a death mask of Lincoln was made. The Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Pittsburgh has a death mask or at least what they believe is a Lincoln death mask.LBCRLBCR Roger Norton||||||||||2007/08/15||13:42:40||Life Mask||There is a photograph of what the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall has on the web page at this URL: http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010813soldiersandsailors0813p4.aspLBCR LBCRThis is not a death mask. It is a copy of the life mask made by sculptor Clark Mills on February 11, 1865. Mark Vaughan Henderson||||Brisbane||Queensland||||2007/08/15||17:34:26||death threats||I was wondering how many death threats President Lincoln had while in office I have seen the figure of 10 000 and think that is a little on the high sideLBCRAny help would be much appreciated LBCRLBCRMark Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2007/08/15||18:06:07||Lincoln's Education||Some of the books young Abe read as he was growing-up were Shakespeare, Aesop�s Fables, Pilgrim�s Progress, Robinson Crusoe, Sinbad the Sailor and biographies of Franklin and Washington. Among the textbooks that Lincoln used were Dilworth�s Spelling-book, Pike�s Arithmetic, Scott�s Lesson in Elocution. Certainly the Bible was included in his early reading. LBCRLBCRLincoln�s Youth by Louis Warren is an excellent source on Lincoln�s early years and includes many references to books read by Lincoln. Douglas Wilson�s book Honor�s Voice also includes a chapter on Lincoln�s Self Education. LBCRLBCRI would agree that reading is a vital part of education but Lincoln did describe his own education as �Defective�. LBCR PWH||||East Haven||CT||||2007/08/16||19:28:30||Ferguson book||I read the book and I enjoyed it!LBCRThe chapter on the Lincoln impersonators was hilarious!!LBCR LBCRAs a side note, I'd also reccomend Sarah vowel's 'Assassination Vacation' too. A different take on Lincoln's (and Garfield and McKinley's) murders.LBCRLBCRIt's good to read some light hearted views on the Lincoln-so much written about him is taken soooo seriously! Rock Toews||||Annapolis||MD ||||2007/08/17||14:15:02||Lincoln's Education||Though long out of print, Martin L. Houser catalogued a list of 100 or so books that Lincoln had either owned or research indicated that he had read. Houser published his work in 1929 under the imaginative title, "The Books that Lincoln Read." LBCR LBCR-- Rock Toews Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||IL||||2007/08/18||12:08:15||Catholic Church||Does anyone have any thoughts or feelings of Lincoln's defence of Fr Chiniquy of Kankakee, IL? AJ WOLF||||VEEDERSBURG||INDIANA||||2007/08/19||13:31:50||Lincoln's Trip TO Washington, D. C.|| Lincoln's trip to Washington, D. C. is far more Historical and Interesting than his Burial Trip. I shed a tear also at Lincoln's death, but there is not much to learn studing the Burial Train Trip. LBCR Whereas, Lincoln's Trip to Washington involved:: Feb. 11-23, 1861 eighteen (18) railroad companies, twenty four (24) plus Locomotives (at speeds of 30-40 MPH), 1,904 miles, Twelve (12) days, a Number of Regions of the U. S., Assassination Plots, Geography, many types of Weather, Politics, what it took to Travel in the 1860's by railroad, and many Historical Evnets yet ahead of Lincoln and our Country.LBCR Next year (2008) the days of the week fall exactly as they fell in 1861. Then 2009 is the Lincoln Bi-Centennial.LBCR On, his Birthday, Feb 12, 1861 Lincoln woke up in Indianapolis, Indiana. At a little after 3:00 PM Lincoln was at (and spent the night) Cincinnati, Ohio. Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2007/08/22||21:06:40||Chiniquy||From what I�ve been able to piece together Chiniquy was a defrocked priest and somewhat of a nut case. Lincoln defended him in libel suite against charges that he called one Peter Spink a perjurer. Chiniquy claims that Lincoln confided in him his deepest faith. Of course Chiniquy also claimed that Lincoln�s services were worth at least two thousand dollars (Lincoln charged fifty dollars) and after Lincoln�s assassination claimed that Lincoln�s death was the result of plotting by perfidious Jesuits. LBCRLBCRAfter a lengthy trial and a deadlock jury in the libel suit Lincoln negotiated an out of court settlement between the parties. This case is a great example out of many cases where Lincoln acted as a reconciler as much as a lawyer. Perhaps the ultimate reconciliation attempted by Lincoln was his Second Inaugural Address. LBCR sallalia jones||||||AR||||2007/08/21||13:46:51||Lincoln||Lincoln in my eye's is a hero to the very end!! He had a lot of deaths in his family!!! Bill||||||PA||||2007/08/23||16:59:31||Poem at the Inaugural||Hi everyoneLBCR LBCRI'm new to this board. I am looking for information about a poem that I believe was given at Lincoln's second inaugural. To my knowledge it the poem was not written or given by Lincoln. What little I know about the poem is this:LBCR LBCRIt was a short poem. It was about experience and how God drips experience into us and we fight it every step of the way because it is painful. LBCR LBCRThats it. Thats all I know. Does anyone know of this poem and its author? LBCRLBCRIf you do, please email me directly at [email protected] LBCRThanks!!! Gene||||Luthersburg||PA||||2007/08/25||15:56:19||"Team of Rivals"||Hello,LBCR LBCRI'm impressed with the body of knowledge you all have here.LBCRLBCRForgive me if this has been asked and answered before - I could not find any reference to it. LBCRLBCRI'd like to your your opinions of the book "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.LBCRLBCRThank you,LBCRGene Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/08/27||20:10:20||Team of Rivals||Hello Gene,LBCRLBCRI would suggest "Team of Rivals" is worth the effort. It is a good book and covers a lot of ground. It is especially good on William Seward. (Goodwin seems to admire him greatly.) Gene||||Luthersburg||PA||||2007/08/31||00:24:40||"Team of Rivals"||Thank you Michael. I saw an interview with her on Charlie Rose and was quite impressed with it. I'll be getting the book to take on a camping trip this weekend.LBCR PATRICIA A FOWLER||||CAZENOVIA||NEW YORK||||2007/09/05||06:28:28||PRESIDENT LINCOLNS SECOND INAGURAL PARADE||DOES ANYONE HAVE INFORMATION ON PRESIDENT LINCOLNS SECOND INAGURAL PARADE? I HAVE HEARD THAT IT WASN'T MUCH BECAUSE OF THE PREVIOUS WEEKS WEATHER OF RAIN AND THE STREETS BECOME VERY MUDDY. "GODWILLEN"||||BEVERLY HILLS||CALIFORNIA||||2007/09/05||19:18:02||Lincoln Appointment of a Marshal?||Sometime in 1862, John S. Watts, a delegate of the New Mexico territory, wrote to Abraham Lincoln to recommend one LIPMAN MEYER to be the federal marshal of the territory.LBCRLBCRLipman apparently hailed, mostly, from Kansas.LBCRLBCRDoes anyone know if Lincoln made the appointment and if so, when? What is the paper trail? Or - does anyone know where I might look for an answer? LBCRLBCRThank you,LBCRSara Willen Joshua Foreman||||Seattle||WA||||2007/09/07||18:12:44||Lincoln's Religion||I've read that he was a universalist and that he actually wrote about it, but I can't find anything he said or wrote on the subject. Does anyone know of any books or websites that include his thoughts on the subject? Richard Lawrence Miller||||Kansas City||MO||||2007/09/08||12:24:59||Lincoln's Religion response||For most of his adult life Lincoln seemed to be a deist, believing that God created the universe and then stepped aside and made no intervention in its affairs. Lincoln was also a fatalist, believing that events were pre-ordained by God in the act of creation (which set in motion the first events, which caused subsequent events in an unbroken sequence to the present day), and those inevitable events could not be directed by humans (a paradoxical stance given Lincoln�s activism in human affairs).LBCRLBCRSome credible Lincoln associates report that during the White House years he believed he saw evidence of divine intervention in the world, and that he became a Christian in his heart though he never joined a church in those years.LBCRLBCRIn a July 31, 1846, statement Lincoln responded to charges of infidelity. That item is in the COLLECTED WORKS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN (available in book form and online). His early skepticism about religion is covered in my book LINCOLN AND HIS WORLD: THE EARLY YEARS, BIRTH TO ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE. Reliable accounts of his religious beliefs throughout his entire lifetime are in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: FROM SKEPTIC TO PROPHET by Wayne C. Temple and THE ALMOST CHOSEN PEOPLE: A STUDY OF THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN (also called THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN and LINCOLN�S RELIGION) by William J. Wolf. AJ WOLF||||VEEDERSBURG||INDIANA||||2007/09/13||14:14:07||Trip to Washington 1861|| Why did Abraham Lincoln leave on Feb. 11, 1861 on his trip to Washington, D. C.? After all, his Birthday is the 12th. Why would he not want to celebrate it in his then home at Springfield, Illinois ? ?LBCRLBCRHis trip Manager was William S. Wood. Who is he? He seems to come out of no where - then latter slips into the back gound a "Buildings Manager" for Washington, D. C. Josh Foreman||||Seattle||WA||||2007/09/14||13:21:06||Linoln's Religion: Part 2|| Thank you, Mr. Miller for your help. I found some specific references and was hoping you would comment. I understand that there has been many attempts by various denominations to claim Lincoln as their own, so I'm preceding with caution. Here is a very short article on a Christian Universalism website that has several open-and-shut statements by him. LBCR LBCRhttp://www.tentmaker.org/biographies/lincoln.htmLBCRLBCRAre you familiar with the book that is cited? �The Almost Chosen People� by William J. Wolf (Doubleday & Company Inc, 1959)LBCRLBCRAnd do you know anything about the claim made on pages 103-104: "...Lincoln wrote an essay about 1833 on predestinated universal salvation in criticism of the orthodox doctrine of endless punishment. It is also consistent with the evidence that in 1850, Lincoln, through the reading of his pastor's The Christian's Defense and his own wrestling with the problem, became convinced intellectually of the validity of the biblical revelation. Lincoln's conviction that God would restore the whole of creation as the outcome of Christ's atonement would have been in itself a bar to membership in the Springfield church he attended."LBCRLBCRThank you to anyone who can help me in my research! Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/09/15||10:26:18||Religion||Mr. Foreman, LBCRLBCRMy new book which looks at the very things you are talking about will be published next month. There is a link on this very website under "New Books."LBCR LBCRBest Wishes,LBCRLBCRMike Burkhimer Richard Lawrence Miller||||Kansas City||MO||||2007/09/17||22:11:04||Lincoln's Religion: Part 2 Response||THE ALMOST CHOSEN PEOPLE by William J. Wolf is considered to be a fine study of Lincoln�s religion. What Lincoln wrote about religion during his New Salem residence is disputed. Details are too lengthy for posting here, but for my analysis see the book LINCOLN AND HIS WORLD: THE EARLY YEARS, BIRTH TO ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE, pages 249-59. What Lincoln thought of THE CHRISTIAN�S DEFENCE is disputed. I would be surprised if it converted him to Christianity. That book is thoughtful, but I don�t think its arguments would have persuaded him. As I mentioned earlier, some persons who knew Lincoln during the White House years indicate he became a Christian at that time, but I doubt that THE CHRISTIAN�S DEFENCE was ever a factor. Your topic is one on which knowledgeable authorities sometimes disagree. Good luck on your research. Helen Cooke||||Sandy Creek, ||NY||||2007/09/19||10:34:19||Newspaper articles||The Pulaski Democrat newspaper for May 4, 1865 reports on page 2 that a Lt.S who was at Ford's the night of the assassination and a Guard of Honour at the Funeral was home on medical leave in Oswego - 2 paragraph's down from that there is a notice from the city of Fulton that Dr. HHHubbard, the Surgeon General of the Confederate Army is in town a paroled prisoner. Why would Hubbard be 'visiting' this far North? Carol Smith||||Markham||Illinois||||2007/09/19||18:04:30||Lincoln's religion/Josh Foreman post||Hi ...LBCRCame upon this site looking for poetry for my sister-in- law who has been diagnosed with lung cancer.LBCRAbout two weeks ago, my husband and I went to Springfield, Illinois to visit the Lincoln historical sites. The last day there,we went to 1st Presbyterian Church to see the pew that the Lincoln family "rented". I read some short history there on Lincoln not ascribing to any particular denomination by choice and choosing to not apply for membership. He believed in the sovereignty of God and recognized God's involvement in his presidency and life situations. It seems to me that the Bible is clear about what we should know about a man's religion... did he follow Christ or man? Did he trust in what Christ did on the cross, and presence of Christ's spirit in us = our only hope of glory or did he rely on his own works and keeping the law/religion. Why should we be concerned with anything less? As with my sister-in-law the bottom line suddenly has come into clarity...do I believe I need a savior from sin, and do I have new life in Christ. Now, that is an important thing to know about Mr. Lincoln. Carol Smith||||Markham||Illinois||||2007/09/19||18:32:37||Lincoln's religion|| LBCRMr Richard LawrenceLBCRLBCRA response to your comment on Lincoln's religion... LBCRLBCR"...An original version of speech by Abraham Lincoln as he departed Springfield, Illinois, to go to Washington to become president of the United States. A thousand citizens gathered to see Lincoln and his family depart. Lincoln, of course, never returned. First version of the speech follows,... purporting to be partly from the original manuscript in Lincoln's handwriting and partly from Lincoln's secretary as dictated by Lincoln." The second historical version we all know... LBCRLBCR LBCRcont,'d...LBCR LBCRLBCRVersion 1LBCR LBCR"Friends, no one who has never been placed in a like position can understand my feelings at this hour, nor the oppressive sadness I feel at this parting. For more than a quarter of a century I hve lived among you, and during all that time I have received nothing but kindness at your hands. Here I have lived from my youth until now I am an old man. Here the most cherished ties of earth were assumed. Here all my children were born and here one of them lies buried. To you, dear friends, I owe all that I have, all that I am. All the strange checkered past seems to crowd now upon my mind.LBCRLBCRTo-day I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with and aid me I must fail; but if the same omniscient mind and mighty arm that directed and protected him shall guide and support me I shall not fail -- I shall succeed. Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now. To Him I commend you all. Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity and faith you will invoke His wisdom and guidance for me. With these words I must leave you -- for how long I know not. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you an affectionate farewell."LBCRMy comments:LBCRThis original speech prior to his first term as president seems to show that Lincoln was not a deist, but believed in the direct involvement of God in men's affairs, and that our prayers are heard and that God does respond, as the personal God that I believe Lincoln knew Carol S.||||Markham||Illinois||||2007/09/19||18:41:47||Masonry||My husband and I were in Springfield over Labor Day, and we went to Oak Ridge Cemetery, and for the first time realized the great amount of Mason symbolism there. His tomb, the governors's tomb directly in front of Lincoln's tomb toward entrance, has the remnants of a square and compass and chain marked into the concrete porch which is almost rubbed away by wear. Does any one know if Lincoln's tomb turned minute angle (degrees from the 90 degree of building facing road? There must be hundreds of Mason obelisks, and symbols, including upside down stars on graves. Is there proof that Lincoln involved himself with Masonry? Rock Toews||||Annapolis||MD||||2007/09/20||15:58:56||Lincoln, Thomas Eckert, Annapolis||President Lincoln passed through Annapolis on his way to and from the Peace Conference at Hampton Roads in February of 1865. It was his only visit here. LBCRLBCRI am looking for information on this passage through Annapolis. There is an account in Bates's "Lincoln in the Telegraph Office" which records an incident supposed to have occurred on the train platform here on the return leg. The President, Seward, and party departed Annapolis at 7:30 am, nevertheless Eckert reports (via Bates) that "the platform was crowded with people, all eager to catch a glimpse of the President." In addition to that Eckert claims that a prominent political figure tried to learn the outcome of the conference from him with a $100,000 bribe. LBCRLBCRI know Bates's book is respected but I find this story pretty unbelievable. It seems unlikely that a train platform would be thronged with people at 7:30 am in a town that held little love for Lincoln. And the bribe story seems rather outlandish. LBCRLBCRSo...I'm curious what others' thoughts are. Also, does anyone know whether Eckert or Lincoln's valet, Charles Forbes, left any memoirs or papers of their own? LBCRLBCRMany thanks, and sorry for the lenth. doug gale||||marathon||ontario||||2007/09/22||14:05:45||lincoln quote||hi, dearching for origin of quote used by lincoln in gettysburgh address...government of the people, for the people, by the people'..who said it firstLBCRany help greatly appreciated Fred R. Shapiro||||New Haven||CT||||2007/09/23||07:31:19||06515||I am the editor of the recently published Yale Book of Quotations (Yale University Press). This book is intended to be the most accurate and comprehensive quotation dictionary. There is a large section of quotations by Lincoln, sometimes featuring better information about the precise source of the quotation than is found in any other book. For the second edition of The Yale Book of Quotations, I would welcome suggestions of any well-known Lincoln quotations not yet included in the YBQ. These can be e-mailed to me at [email protected]. ||||||||||2007/09/23||17:02:35||||I am digitizing old slides with a scanner and came across a picture of a curved brick wall with the saying "Our defense is in the preservation of spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands everywhere" with a statue of a young man on a horse. I traced the saying to Lincoln and with that information can figure that the young man is Lincoln (he may have a book in his hands, it's hard to see. I don't remember where we were when the picture was taken in 1964. Can anyone place the city and/or state? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/09/24||15:36:34||Lincoln in Annapolis ||In regards to Lincoln's being in Annapolis en route to the Peace Conference: You may wish to contact the Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Annapolis. They have extensive archives on the old Maryland Gazette which dates to the 1700s.LBCRLBCRDuring the Civil War, the Gazette was published by a Thomas Wilson, a Union man. Lincoln received only one vote in the town of Annapolis in 1860, and it was no doubt from Wilson. I would suspect that the newspaper gave coverage to a visit from the President. Rock Toews||||Annapolis||MD||||2007/09/26||11:23:43||Lincoln in Annapolis||Good suggestion regarding the newspaper archives for Annapolis, but unfortunately there is a gap of about a year during which apparently no newspapers from Annapolis have survived. Naturally, the Lincoln visit falls smack in the middle of that gap. LBCR LBCRI have another related question, however. The New York Herald did cover the story in their issue of February 5, 1865. The correspondent mentions two personal attendants who accompanied Lincoln: Messrs. Forbes and Smith. I know the one is Lincoln's valet, Charles Forbes, but does anyone have an idea who Messr. Smith might be?LBCRLBCRThanks. I can be emailed direct, if preferred, at [email protected] Roger Norton||||||||||2007/09/26||13:23:14||"government of the people,...."||There were several earlier uses of similar phraseology. In 1830 Daniel Webster used the phrase, "the people's constitution, the people's government; made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people." LBCRIn 1858 Reverend Theodore Parker, a noted minister, defined democracy as "a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people."LBCRIn 1819 Chief Justice John Marshall had written, "The government of the Union...is emphatically and truly a government of the people...Its powers are granted by them and are to be exercised directly on them, and for their benefit." Justice Joseph Story also expressed similar sentiments.LBCRLBCRLincoln had used Webster's speech as a resource for other speeches, including the House-Divided Speech and First Inaugural. According to William Herndon, Lincoln had read Webster's speech when he was living at New Salem and regarded it as "the grandest specimen of American oratory."LBCRLBCRIn his 1995 biography of Lincoln, David Herbert Donald said Lincoln may have used Webster's speech as the origin of the phrase but "more probably derived it from a sermon of Theodore Parker." (Herndon had called Lincoln's attention to Parker's sermon).LBCR LBCR Lauri C Phillips||||Cudahy, WI ||Wisconsin ||||2007/09/26||13:27:07||Springfield House color ||I am building a replica of the Springfield house and need to know what the colors of the house were? I can see that a dark, maybe forest green is used on the shutters with some gray trim at the top, and I know the house was built with rough-sawn oak, but what color was the exterior paint? Roger Norton||||||||||2007/09/26||13:43:03||Lincoln on horseback||A statue of a Abraham Lincoln on horseback was cast by Anna Hyatt Huntington who created a bronze statue of Lincoln as a young lawyer, reading a book while his horse pauses, head down, on a circuit ride in Illinois. Several copies were cast in various sizes. One of these is located at Syracuse University. Others are located in Bethel, Connecticut, Adrian, Michigan, Lincoln City, Oregon, and Salzburg, Austria. Additionally there is one at New Salem. The title of the statue is "On the Circuit."LBCRLBCRThis website has a picture of the statue at this URL: http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/art/horse.htm Rock Toews||||Annapolis||Maryland||||2007/09/26||17:51:18||Springfield House color ||Wayne Temple's book, "By Square and Compass," p. 44, notes the exterior paint color favored by Lincoln as simply "brown." Christopher Heather||||Springfield||Illinois||||2007/09/27||06:54:38||Lincoln on horseback||As Roger noted, there are copies of Anna Hyatt Huntington's statue "On the Circuit" all over the country. One of the smaller versions is in the collection of the Piatt County Museum in Monticello, Illinois. I haven't seen it for awhile, but I took pictures of it there in May 2003. It's about 4 ft. tall. LBCRLBCRLBCR Roger Norton||||||||||2007/09/28||05:32:06||Messr. Smith in Annapolis||In the fall of 1864 it was decided that a detail of the WashingtonLBCRMetropolitan Police force would be assigned to protect the President. This was at the request of Ward Hill Lamon, United States Marshall for the District of Columbia and a close friend of Lincoln's. Lamon had become increasingly fearful for the president's life. On November 3, 1864, the initial detail was composed of John R. Cronin, Alphonso Dunn (or Donn), Thomas F. Pendel, and Alexander (or Andrew) C. Smith. Changes were occasionally made, although the detail was never more than 5 officers at any one time. Other officers who served in the detail included William S. Lewis, William H. Crook, George W. McElfresh, Thomas T. Hurdle, Joseph Shelton, John F. Parker, and D. Hopkins. Parker was assigned to the detail sometime between late February and early April, 1865.LBCRLBCRSOURCE OF NAMES: "The Mystery of Lincoln's Guard" by James O. Hall in the May, 1982, issue of the "Surratt Society News," and "Lincoln's Missing Guard" by Frederick Hatch in the April, 2006, edition of the "Journal of the Lincoln Assassination."LBCR LBCRAlthough I cannot confirm it through a definite source, I am guessing that the presidential guard, Alexander (or Andrew) C. Smith (in the list above), may be the "Smith" Mr. Toews asked about.LBCR LBCR Richard Lawrence Miller||||Kansas City||MO||||2007/09/28||08:44:27||"government of the people, . . ."||Another "precursor to Gettysburg." Speaking to a Democratic convention in Illinois, state senator William J. Gatewood criticized another Democrat leader (Ebenezer Peck), shouting about �the hypocritical cant of this royal subject, about being of the people, for the people, and with the people� (quoted in CHICAGO AMERICAN, April 9, 1836). Carolyn||||Lake Forest||Illinois||||2007/09/28||09:39:21||Springfield Home Color|| The Lincoln home was repainted in the last few years, so it's possible the National Park Service staff there have paint chips for reference. Although it's likely that this is a custom-mix, perhaps they could give you some guidance about color.LBCRLBCRThe web address is: www.nps.gov/liho Earl Williams||||Tyler||Texas||||2007/10/11||14:10:57||Lincoln and Pericles||I own an an audio college course called ''The History of Freedom'' the lecturer Professor J. Rufus Fears of the University of Oklahoma pronounces Abraham Lincoln one of the three greatest democratic statesmen in history the others being the first citizen of Athens Pericles and Sir Winston Churchill.In one of the lectures Professor Fears discusses the similarity between the funeral oration of Peicles and the Gettysburg address.LBCRBoth speeches were memorials were fallen soldiers and both pronounced upon preserving freedom for future generations etc.Which raises the question in my mind of what was Lincoln's inspiration for the Gettysburg address? Had Mr. Lincoln read the speeches of Pericles? Rock Toews||||Annapolis||Maryland||||2007/10/12||16:26:19||Lincoln and Pericles||I don't think Lincoln's words at Gettysburg were directly influenced by Pericles, but Edward Everett's certainly were. In fact he opened his oration with a nod to the Greeks. See Garry Wills's "Lincoln at Gettysburg" for an excellent treatment of the subject. PABLO||||ARLINGTON||TX||||2007/10/17||05:25:40||LINCOLN STATUES AROUND THE GLOBE|| Does anyone knows how many sculptures exist around the world from Mr. Abraham Lincoln?LBCRLBCRThank you,LBCRLBCRPablo LBCR Suzanne Montabon||||Las Vegas||NV||||2007/10/21||22:44:54||doctor, attorney, teacher||While discussing Abraham Lincoln with my Uncle, he mentioned that during Lincon's time, a doctor, lawyer, and teacher were paid the same wages. I am a teacher and find this difficult to believe because of the gross discrepency in our pay compared to the other two professions. Does anyone know if this is true? Greg Romano||||Crosswicks||NJ||||2007/10/28||15:50:43||Daniel Gray -- Lincoln Sculptor||I'm new to this website. I have reviewed past comments and I noticed that a while back Matt Anderson inquired about the noted Lincoln sculptor Daniel Gray. I was just informed from a reliable source (I'm hoping that he was misinformed) that Dan had passed away. He created a number of high quality Lincoln sculptures, I think about nine in all (I have eight). I saw one for sale in the most recent Abraham Lincoln Bookshop catalogue. Let me know if you'd like any additional information. Joseph||||Sydney||N.S.W||||2007/11/03||22:19:41||English||What group was Lincoln representing? Randal Berry||||||||||2007/11/07||18:37:02||History Channel Special||Hi folks! LBCRI heard from Michael Kauffman a few days ago, and he informed me that the History Channel plans to air a documentry titled "American Brutus" based on his book on December 23rd.LBCRLBCRBe sure to mark your calenders!LBCRLBCRI'll keep everyone informed if the title/date has been changed. Cheryl||||||||||2007/11/08||21:44:29||Dec.23 History Channel Program||Finally, something to look forward to on t.v.!! Hope the Hollywood Writers strike doesn't put the ki-bosh to it!! Randal Berry||||||||||2007/11/10||19:01:05||American Brutus||Cheryl,LBCRnah, I believe production has already wrapped up.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Cheryl||||||||||2007/11/13||06:34:08||American Brutus||Saw the blurb they have on the Am. Brutus program at the Surratt Society site. Program sounds awesome--am anxious to see it! Randal Berry||||||||||2007/11/13||17:21:11||American Brutus||The "American Brutus" broadcast I mentioned earlier is to be called "The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth"LBCR LBCRThis is still airing on the History Channel December 23rd.LBCRLBCRSorry for the mis-information.LBCRRandal Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/11/14||14:57:47||History Channel||Have just spoken with production staff regarding the December 23 History Channel presentation derived from Michael Kauffman's book, American Brutus. The working title at this time is "The Hunt For John Wilkes Booth." Mike served as the consultant for the production, and the show will also include interviews with myself as director of the Surratt House Museum, and our members/historians, Dr. Terry Alford, John Andrews, Betty Ownsbey, and Doris Kearns Goodwin.LBCRLBCRThe producer of the program, Tom Jennings, went on one of the Surratt Society's early bus tours with Mike as the narrator and became intrigued with the story. After reading American Brutus, he was determined to see the history on film. Rob Wick||||Illinois||||||2007/11/16||11:01:34||American Brutus||Randal,LBCRLBCRAs long as it's not on the same night as "CSI" (whatever the heck that is!) :)LBCR LBCRBestLBCRRob Tony Cianciolo||||Montpelier||VT||||2007/11/17||07:19:49||Lincoln's aliments|| Recently I read a blog on AOL that recently modern doctors have diagnosed Lincoln with serval aliments. The blog mentioned they obtained the information from a plaster mask of Lincoln's face. The blog fail to mention specific aliments. Does anyone know what those aliments were? Sean Street||||Christchurch||Dorset (UK)||||2007/11/17||14:53:34||Corwin's "The Lonesome Train"||Where can I get to hear Norman Corwin's 1944 radio program of "The Lonesome Train"? Roger Martin||||Des Moines||Iowa||||2007/11/18||09:30:47||The New Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg||USA Today stated recently that someone has discovered another picture of Lincoln at Gettysburg sitting on a horse. What does everyone think about this? Do you think that it is authentic? Steve||||Somewhere||OH||||2007/11/18||17:58:39||New photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg discovered?||The photo looks promising to me, even though it is very grainy. Here is a link with the story and the photo included:LBCR http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312098,00.html Karen Needles||||College Park||MD||||2007/11/18||18:39:51||New photo of Lincoln||I am very skeptical of this new photo. Why would Lincoln have been sitting on a horse? From all the newpaper accounts he was escorted around town in a carriage. And Lincoln was not the only gentleman wearing a stove top hat that day. Karen Needles||||College Park||MD||||2007/11/18||18:46:13||New Grace Bedell Letter discovered.||Have you all heard about the new Grace Bedell letter that was discovered at the National Archives. Check out the story at http://cjonline.com/stories/110307/lif_214584253.shtml LBCRLBCRA Grace Bedell Foundation has been created to try and save her house in Delphos, Ks. If anyone on the list is interested in getting Lincoln to help save Grace's house, send a $5 to the Grace Bedell Foundation, c/o the Bank of Delphos, 202 N Main StLBCRDelphos, KS 67436LBCRLBCR PWH||||East Haven ||CT||||2007/11/18||18:53:40||New Lincoln photo||I saw it in USA Today and went to the website to see enlargements.LBCRI think it's real. Randal Berry||||||||||2007/11/18||21:14:03||||Rob,LBCRGood to hear from you!LBCR LBCRWhat is CSI? LOL!LBCRLBCRRandal Cheryl||||||||||2007/11/19||09:15:19||New Lincoln/Gettysburg Photo||Since it is taken from a crowd photo, so I have read, the photo is authentic. To me the question is how many other people were in the audience that day who were as tall as the President and wore stovepipe hats. Alex Rankin||||Boston||MA||||2007/11/14||15:55:15||Life Mask||I just found this wonderful list!!!! I have been researching Leonard Volk's life mask of Lincoln. I wonder if anyone might have contact information for Mr. Larry Nikolai. I am interested in speaking with Mr. Nikolai about which mask he used for the Lincoln in wax at the national museum. Also, any leads regarding the sculptor Thurman Howe Bartlett (father of the painter Paul Bartlett) would be greatly appreciated.LBCR LBCRWith great thanks,LBCRAlex Steve||||||OH||||2007/11/19||10:03:45||New Lincoln photo at Gettysburg||The man in the photo also appears to have a beard. Stovepipe hat, saluting troops as they march by, white kid gloves. Seems like President Lincoln to me. Kurt Cruppenink||||Westville||IL||||2007/11/19||12:23:55||Lincoln photo||This is not the only crowd photo of Lincoln on horseback at Gettysburg that I have seen. I don't recall the book at the moment but I have seen another photo taken at Gettysburg, along Baltimore street, showing a grainy photo of a man on horseback, with the stovepipe hat, riding toward the cemetery or southward. This photo shows the supposed Lincoln figure as directly facing the camera surronded by a figure with a white sash which I believe Ward Lamon wore at Gettysburg. I'll try and track it down if others aren't also aware of it. It is equally as questionable as this photo is. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2007/11/19||21:15:27||Lincoln photo||It truly amazes me all the fuss that can be raised by a blurry photo that could possibly (or not) be Lincoln. Just proves that interest never dies...only people! For the record, I'm skeptical that it's Lincoln, but even if it is, does it merit any of the hoopla? I can't see how.LBCRLBCRGood to hear from you as well, Randal.LBCRLBCRBestLBCRRob Roger Martin||||Des Moines||Iowa||||2007/11/20||09:58:28||The Newly Discovered Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg||I think that it is worth at least some of the hoopla. It is nice to see photos of Lincoln that he did not pose for, if they are authentic. j mcdonald||||macomb||illinois||||2007/11/21||13:27:20||new lincoln photo gettysburg||i must say this is quite the photo and i believe this probably is abraham lincoln but i am in disagreement with a few statements by mr richter and mr zeller. how do we know the gentleman is on horse back? i have downloaded this photo and have 3d and very high grade imaging software --- i do not see a horse. the person may be riding some other type of transportation----i just cannot see a horse-----or maybe he is just standing----also they state white glove left hand salute--- i do not see that even enlaged 300 times --- digitally i see exact light intensity at the left facial area and the same light intensity at the upper right rear brim area of the hat----this is not a glove image by the front of the face----but rather light--there is also no black sleeve under the white glove area----when this is properly digitized one can see this is light not white glove----i find it interesting no one has commented on the flag pole finial----the spread eagle to the left in the photo on the flag pole staff----this can give one some propective of scale-----they may have some of these finials at gettysburg ----i am sure they are in civil war collections--a measurement of this finial can be used to scale sizes of objects in photo--also photogrammetry can be used in the 3d setting ---this is a good find by these two gentlemen-----i just wanted to say i disagree with their white glove image and horseback----i do think it is probably lincoln ---- this man in the stove pipe hat is in the right place at the right time----congradulation guys good find----i takes this type of discovery to cause us all to rethink history, photography and and the ever present need by the media today and then to record our presidents every move----good job Roger Norton||||||||||2007/11/23||04:58:00||hoopla||Although they didn't say the same thing I agree with both Roger and Rob. My guess is that, as we approach the bicentennial, we're going to see hoopla to a degree that we've not before experienced. For the next few years I speculate all sorts of things will be discovered hidden away in "grandma's attic." Perhaps a small percentage of this will turn out to be terrific new discoveries, but much of it will most likely be worthless. It's even possible that enough will come out so Ed Steers will be able to write a second book on myths, hoaxes, and confabulations. (By the way, Ed's current book on this topic is terrific. I would definitely recommend it as a great read).LBCRLBCRAnyway, maybe I am wrong, but I am thinking we will have to get used to lots of Lincoln-related hoopla over the next few years. In a way, this is good, as our greatest president certainly deserves it. But there's a downside to it, also. Hopefully logic and common sense will prevail, and the true and authentic will be separated (and properly identified) from the fraudulent.LBCR LBCRHappy Holidays to all. Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/11/24||19:37:33||Radical or Conservative Cooper Union Speech||I want to ask readers on here if they have any opinions on what is shaping up to be a bit of a debate. Imean the whole nature of the Cooper Union Speech in 1860. Was Lincoln giving a conservative or a radical speech? In his latest book "Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency" Martin Harris enters the fray. LBCRLBCRHarold Holzer�s very influential "Lincoln at Cooper Union" has argued strongly that Lincoln�s speech was a radical one compared to where the nation was at the time and was a call for the Republicans to stand firm against the South. Lincoln scholar Mark Neely has also made this point. Harris takes issue with this interpretation. He writes, �Southerners, Lincoln argued, had caused the controversy by discarding �the old policy of the fathers� that prohibited the expansion of slavery and the foreign slave trade. �We resisted, and still resist, your innovation� of the policy of the Founders. This was true conservatism, in Lincoln�s mind.� It is hard to resist Harris�s logic. Even today conservatives often point to the �original intent� of the Founding Fathers when looking at the Constitution. This is exactly what Lincoln was doing in this speech. Allen Guelzo has made this point strongly as well.LBCRLBCRAny thoughts?LBCRLBCR Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||Pa||||2007/11/24||21:39:20||Correction ||Oh I meant William C. Harris not Martin...LBCRLBCRSorry. Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2007/11/29||20:18:21||Cooper Union|| Thanks for the provocative question Mike. It�s fun to have some meat to chew on once in a while. It�s been some time since I�ve read Messrs Holzer and Harris works on Cooper Union. After rereading the speech I�m torn between conservative and radical (much like my own political struggle these days!). LBCRLBCRLincoln�s �endorsement� of Senator Douglas�s statement that �Our fathers who framed the government under which we live understood this question just as well and even better, than we do now� I think concludes very conservatively. �As those fathers marked it, so let it be again marked, as an evil not to be extended, but to be tolerated and protected only because of and so far as its actual presence among us makes that toleration and protection a necessity.� LBCRLBCRThe second section, directed to the Southern People, and dripping with sarcasm is somewhat more radical. The third section directed towards the Republicans, continues the sarcastic and conservative tone. The thundering conclusion with �Let us have faith that right makes might� seems to me to have a radical ring as well. LBCR LBCRPerhaps however the true genius of the speech is that even today we are still debating whether the speech is conservative or radical. Lincoln built his reputation in Central Illinois by being a moderate and moderation how he obtained the nomination and the election Roger Norton||||||||||2007/11/30||05:01:42||Multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2B?||A book about to be published is called "The Physical Lincoln" by Dr. John Sotos. In the book Dr. Sotos argues that Lincoln suffered from a rare genetic cancer syndrome called MEN2B (multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2B). Sotos says that Lincoln did not have Marfan's syndrome, some of his boys and probably his mother had the same syndrome, and that the president had less than a year to live prior to the assassination. Included in Sotos' arguments are the fact that Lincoln had the classic body shape of those suffering from MEN2B. Sotos' feels Lincoln was dying of cancer during the last months of his life. Thyroid cancer is particularly common among people who have MEN2B.LBCRLBCRIt looks like yet another debate regarding Lincoln's health is about to unfold. I have heard all the arguments on the possibility of Marfan's syndrome and Stickler syndrome. Some have argued Lincoln suffered from ptosis (among other things). Yet, all this aside, the doctors who did the president's autopsy were amazed at the fine condition of his body. For example, Dr. Edward Curtis wrote, "I was simply astonished at the showing of the nude remains, where well-rounded muscles built upon strong bones told the powerful athlete. Now did I understand the deeds of prowess recorded of the President's early days." Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2007/12/01||09:41:57||Cooper Union Part #2|| Thank you Brian for your excellent thoughts.LBCRLBCRI am of the same opionion.LBCR LBCRI know it seems like a "cop-out" but I think Holzer and Harris are both right. I believe it was "conservative" in the sense of the original intent part of the speech.LBCRLBCRHowever, as you point out the section of the speech in which Lincoln is barely concealing his disdain for the arguments of slaveholders, hardly strikes me as "conservative."LBCRLBCRMary Neely once put it this way: "How would you feel as a Mississippi slaveowner reading this speech? Would it allay your fears?" The answer would have to be no.LBCRLBCROne other point to make is this. Seward, the big contender for the Republican nomination, gave a speech around this time that was truly "conservative." He refused to call the South "slave states" and referred to them as "capital states." It was an almost supine speech to the South. In the context of that the Cooper Union speech seems quite "radical." Marybelle Beigh||||Westfield||NY||||2007/12/04||20:05:38||new Grace Bedell letter||My name is Marybelle Beigh, Westfield NY Town Historian, and would like to obtain a photocopy of the newly discovered 2nd letter of Grace Bedell to Lincoln. It was found by a Karen Needles. Since the first letter was sent from Westfield NY when Grace Bedell was living here at age 11, this would be a welcome addition to our archives at the Patterson Library. I've heard nothing since the first announcement of finding the letter, and have tried to contact Karen Needles. If anyone can assist, it would be much appreciated. John Sotos||||Stanford||CA||||2007/12/05||12:57:18||new "Lincoln" photo||Three thoughts on the recent discovery that Lincoln may appear in a second photograph taken at Gettysburg:LBCRLBCR(1) I read that, in the picture, Lincoln-or-whoever was saluting with his left hand. This is strongly suggests it was not Lincoln, because saluting with the right hand is a deeply ingrained instinct in anyone who has served for even a short time in the military. Saluting is never done with the left hand. Lincoln served in the militia in the 1832, and interacted with regular Army units and officers. It is known that he had a horse while in the militia, so he would have had practice saluting while riding. I would ask if it's certain that the photo is not mirror-reversed.LBCRLBCR(2) In response to an earlier post: Lincoln did ride a horse to the ceremonies at the cemetery. See the book "Lincoln at Gettysburg" by Clark Carr, and Nicolay's article in vol. 47 of _The Century_. LBCRLBCR(3) Nicolay mentions that Lincoln was wearing white gloves. Thomas F. Schwartz||||Springfield||IL||||2007/12/06||09:48:23||Second Grace Bedell Letter||Marybelle Beigh can simply contact the National Archives to request a copy since that is where the letters of application reside. A transcription of this letter will be published in an upcoming issue of For the People: A Newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association. J. Eagon||||Elkhart ||IN||||2007/12/06||14:22:49||New Lincoln Photo|| This photo can be seen rather clearly in a blow up on any number of places on the Internet. USA today has one of the best enlargements.LBCRHow anyone could know for certain this is Lincoln? As to his "salute", left or right handed, it appears (to me at least) that the hand in question is that of a bystander reaching up or waving - which may, in itself give some credence to it being Lincoln riding by on a horse. LBCRObviously it is a a man with a stovetop hat. Beyond that, is anyone's guess. Sebastiao Albano||||Cruzeiro, SP||Brasil||||2007/12/08||19:46:08||Stories about Lincoln||Hi friends,LBCRLBCRI have a little school of English here in Cruzeiro, SP, Brasil. I would like to know if some of you can suggest me little and easy texts about Lincoln. Sometimes I like to talk about Lincoln to my students and read stories to them. If you have any story I would like you send it to me. LBCRMy email address is .LBCRLBCRSebastiao Albano Sebastiao Albano||||Cruzeiro, SP||Brasil||||2007/12/08||21:18:41||Stories about Lincoln||My email address is: [email protected] Randy Fry||||Coquitlam||B.C.||||2007/12/10||15:22:07||Search for Abraham Lincoln audio||Looking for 1959(?) Voice Of America audio program re Southern viewpoint of Lincoln as a tyrannical dictator who imposed martial law (and placed yellow fringe around court flags?). Name or better yet source.LBCRRandy Fry, [email protected] Peter Keiser||||Montpelier||vt.||||2007/12/11||08:21:40||finding stories he shared socially|| I am searching for any source that may have kept some record of his awesome talent of story telling. Everything I have read so far always mentions the great story teller he was. I want to find them and be able to look into his mind more to understand him on a deeper level. Tom Lapsley ||||Fairview||OR||||2007/12/14||23:51:55||New Lincoln Exhibit||The Oregon Historical Society has a new exhibit, "A House Divided: Lincoln in his own words" which will run from December 12 through March 31,2008. For more information, check their website at www.ohs.org. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/12/19||14:09:23||Hunt for JWB||Scheduling for The History Channel's production of The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth, based on Michael Kauffman's best-selling book, American Brutus, is as follows:LBCRSunday, December 23 - 8 pmLBCRMonday, December 24 - 12 amLBCRWednesday, January 2 - 8 am and 2 pmLBCRThis is a two-hour production. Sebastiao Albano||||Cruzeiro, SP||Brasil||||2007/12/22||14:52:25||A Wonderful Holiday Season||I wish a wonderful Holyday Season to all friends of Lincoln. May the joy and peace of this Christmas Season rest upon you and yours today and always. PWH||||Esat Haven||CT||||2007/12/24||11:44:42||JWB Hunt||Not a bad showLBCRAt least they didn't spend half of it dwelling on the Dr. Mudd question (he was guilty IMO)LBCRThey did skip explaining the calling card Booth left for VP Johnson though. The forbes the valet situation was glossed over alsoLBCRMr Kaufmann did an excellent presentation, and I liked the ending scenes at the site of Garrett's farm too. Randal Berry||||||||||2007/12/24||17:45:42||Hunt For JWB||I thought the show was the best treatment to date on the assassination.LBCRAs far as dwelling on the Mudd guilty/not guilty, I'm just glad Tom Jennings didn't provide the same old song and dance that Steer's and Swanson are known to perform.(regarding Dr. Mudd). Other than that, it was very entertaining.LBCRLBCRLBCRRandal Berry Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/12/26||18:32:22||JWB Hunt||The comment that The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth presentation was "entertaining" hits the nail on the head. The experts in the field did an admirable job with the history. However, the portions that relied on the production people to provide script or reenactments left us with at least a dozen historical inaccuracies -- everything from the shot being fired in a quiet Ford's Theatre to Edman Spangler being a stablehand to the biggest gaff of all at the end when Dr. Mudd doesn't get his pardon until six years after the assassination, in 1871 instead of 1869. There were at least 7-8 other goofs. Who did the proofing? Cheryl||||||||||2007/12/27||11:58:03||JWB Hunt||The program was good. . . but I thought Laurie Verge was going to be on it. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2007/12/27||14:11:37||JWB Hunt||I received a phone call from the producer on Friday afternoon, the 21st, telling me that they had made last minute changes and had cut my interview. Always the bridesmaid. Richard Lawrence Miller||||Kansas City||Missouri||||2007/12/27||14:52:43|| Lincoln's stories||Regarding Peter Keiser�s request for a source with stories told by Lincoln, a classic collection is P. M. Zall, editor, Abe Lincoln Laughing: Humorous Anecdotes from Original Sources by and about Abraham Lincoln published in Berkeley by the University of California Press in 1982. Many of Lincoln�s stories don�t seem all that good to me, perhaps because the written versions don�t reproduce his voice and his facial expressions - - rather like reading a transcript of a Groucho Marx routine, humorous but missing a lot. And often we miss the context in which Lincoln entertained listeners - - sometimes he was using a story to make a point. Lincoln�s stories, however, were apparently enjoyed by most persons who heard them, and Zall�s book has a generous sampling.LBCR Sebastiao Albano||||Cruzeiro, SP||Brasil||||2007/12/29||19:58:12||Lincoln movie|| After a long search, finally I found a movie in DVD about Lincoln in a bookstore in Sao Paulo. The title is " Young Mr. Lincoln", directed by John Ford and Henry Fonda starring as the Great Abe. I have watched it several times. I almost know the scenes by heart. Does somebody know any other movie and where I can purchase it? Randal Berry||||||||||2008/01/06||21:10:37||Movies||Sebastiao:LBCRTry Amazon.com or the History Channel.com for other Lincoln movies.LBCRHope this helps!LBCR LBCRRandal Berry Norbert Hirschhorn||||London, England||England||||2008/01/15||04:48:02||Lincoln's Health||For Roger Norton: See my post #185, 2/11/2007, for yet another candidate illness, spinal ataxia. Although, I think this one has merit.LBCRLBCRCheers,LBCR LBCRbert Norbert Hirschhorn||||London||England||||2008/01/15||04:53:04||Mary Lincoln's 'Madness'||Jason Emerson has published a new book called The Madness of Mary Lincoln (Southern Illinois University Press, 2007). He has discovered some new letters relating to the 'Insanity Trial'in 1875 that saw her being put into an asylum for several months; Emerson's diagnosis is Bipolar Disorder (aka manic- depressive illness).LBCRLBCRI wrote and posted the following review on Amazon.com: LBCRLBCR"I should say first that my own works on Mary Lincoln were generously referenced by Jason Emerson, with whom I had some correspondence as he prepared his book. My article, "Mary Lincoln's Final Illness: A Medical and Historical Reappraisal" (with co-author the late Robert Feldman, a neurologist)was published in the Journal of the History of Medicine,1999, volume 54, 511-542; also "Mary Lincoln's 'Suicide' Attempt: A Physician Reconsiders the Evidence", published in the Lincoln Herald, 2003. I can make both articles available if you write to me at [email protected]"Feldman and I show quite substantially that Mary Todd Lincoln suffered from a spinal cord degeneration called tabes dorsalis, and that the physicians who examined her in 1882 (commissioned to do so by Congress as it considered her plea for a pension) were experts in that disease. The signs and symptoms of that physical illness were the major pieces of 'evidence' to impute insanity at her trial. As for her delusional state in the run-up to the trial and just after, it is clear that this was a post-traumatic stress reaction to the 10th anniversary of her husband's murder -- it was not the first time that she had other, less severe, 'anniversary' reactions, something she herself recognized.LBCR LBCR"Although the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder is interesting, given her high strung and volatile personality with a mania for shopping, it can only be conjecture. Curiously enough with only four months of being in the asylum (truly a rest home for her, no medications or constraint,)in the years following, she showed no more classic manifestations of Bipolar Disorder; in fact, rather mellowed and reconciled with her son.LBCRLBCR"Emerson's book is splendidly written and a fine contribution to the field of Lincoln studies." Lynn Thalmann||||Haven||Kansas||||2008/01/15||15:58:35||Guard Duty at Trial||I have information that Co. C, 38th Wisconsin Infantry was among those on guard duty at the trial and execution of the Lincoln conspirators. I am looking for any details, photos, etc. pertaining to that company's involvement. MPRiley||||Huntsville||Alabama||||2008/01/16||19:35:47||Taber||I am trying to find a complete list of the Louise Taber collection that recently was donated/sold to the ALML in Springfield. Can anyone lead me to an on-line site that lists the contents of the collection? Randal Berry||||||||||2008/01/19||18:41:19||Taber Donation||If you will contact LBCRLBCRJill BurwitzLBCRAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum [email protected] she will provide the list.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Sebastiao Albano||||Cruzeiro, SP||Brasil||||2008/01/27||21:26:22||slaves||LBCRI know that Lincoln lived in Springfield since 1837 until he became president. Could somebody tell me if during this time there were slaves in the city? Tom Leahy||||Conway Springs||Ks ||||2008/01/28||01:19:29||2nd grace Bedell letter||This is in response to Marybelle Beigh's hunt for the 2nd Grace Bedell letterLBCR LBCR.http://www.lincolnarchives.us/content/features/grace_lincoln_reply.htmLBCR LBCRThe above should give you what you are looking for. LBCRLBCRIronically , I met Karen Needles at Kansas State University when I was doing an Abe Lincoln performance. LBCRLBCRPerhaps even more ironic although I now live in Conway Springs,Ks I am from Randolph,New York scott||||lincoln park||mi.||||2008/01/28||17:10:48||Lincoln 's Funeral Train Engine||I just got off a site from R. Norton and was informed that there were 42 different Engines used during the entire way throughout the funeral procession. I am inquiring about a particular Engine, that I stumbled upon , near Michigan TECH. U., back in 1983 while walking in the woods near Hancock and Lake Linden MI. The local people in that area told me that the funeral car had burned in Minn. and the Engine had made its way to this part of mi. and laid to rest. Some peculiar folklore, how and why it ended there , Could this Engine have anything to do with The Lincoln's Funeral Train Niki||||San Francisco||CA||||2008/01/29||21:40:21||Lincoln Heirs||There has been years of speculation that Lincoln had an affair with my great, great grandmother, resulting in an illegitimate heir of Lincoln, who turned out to be quite famous in his own right. Does anyone know where I can take this for further research? DNA testing? Our family has kept heaps of the anecdotal evidence (engraved watches, diary entries, etc) and I am ready to proceed. If you do have any thoughts, please email me at [email protected] Thanks! Niki Gordon Leidner||||Davidsonville||MD||||2008/01/30||19:09:25||New Website||To my friends at ALO---LBCRLBCRI just wanted to let you know that I have an updated website, with more free educational material on Lincoln and the American Civil War than ever! I still have the old favorites, i.e., The Outline of the Civil War, Lincoln's Faith in God, and Causes of the Civil War: A Balanced Answer. Now instead of going to http://members.tripod.com/~greatamericanhistory, though, go to www.greatamericanhistory.net.LBCRLBCRBest Wishes,LBCRGordon Leidner Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||Illinois||||2008/02/03||11:56:38||Trivia||I am trying to find the answer to this question, can anyone help?LBCRLBCR This close relative of a co-conspirator in Lincoln�s assassination not only willingly aided in the apprehension of said co-conspirator, but also hired legal counsel for the defense of that same co-conspirator. Name the person (the relative, not the co- conspirator). LBCR Roger Norton||||||||||2008/02/03||15:44:45||John C. Atzerodt||John C. Atzerodt. Penny Smith||||Carbondale||IL||||2008/02/05||15:39:59||Lincon's Health problems|| I'm haveing a debate with a friend and hope someone can help come to an agreement! Did Aberham Lincon have any health problems? There has been talk of severl aliments he endured. If someone could offer me some facts that would be great! Penny Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||IL||||2008/02/05||19:22:30||Quiz||Roger, what was the name of the relative? Roger Norton||||||||||2008/02/06||04:21:45||George Atzerodt's Brother||George Atzerodt had a brother whose name was John C. Atzerodt. John was a Union detective whose tip helped lead to the capture of George. Later, John arranged for William E. Doster to represent his brother at trial. Matt Anderson||||Homer Glen||Illinois||||2008/02/06||14:20:42||Quiz||Thanks very much Roger! Kim Bauer||||Decatur||IL||||2008/02/10||07:58:29||Lincoln Funeral Train Engine||To Scott: Your question concerning the funeral engine is an intriguing one. I would suggest that the best way to begin research is to try and find a local or regional newspaper that was associated with that particular "leg" of the journey. Many times these sources have more detail than the general publications like Powers' work about the Funeral. I can't tell you how many times I had a person tell me that his/her great-great relative was an engineer or a brakeman or a stoker on the Funeral engine. They never realized that there were so many engines and other variables for the Funeral.LBCRLBCRAnother and more time consuming research avenue is to try and get the particular engine number. Once you have that you can begin to trace back in the specific railroad records, (whichever rairoad line you have identified for that particular "leg" of the journey), and see if it was assigend to the Funeral. Unfortunately, many of these records have been destroyed throughout the years and this may prove impossible to complete.LBCRLBCRGood luck on your search. To be able to find an engine that did participate would be a boon for that community to use as a link to its Lincoln history.LBCRLBCRKim Bauer John Sotos||||Palo Alto||CA||||2008/02/11||05:14:05||Re: Lincon's Health problems||To Penny: Yes, Lincoln had health problems -- enough to write a book about! :-) To be precise, he had more health *conditions* than health *problems*. My book on his health will be out in a week or two. See: LBCRhttp://www.physical-lincoln.com/.LBCRLBCRThanks,LBCRJohn J. Eagon||||Elkhart||IN||||2008/02/11||14:57:58||Lincoln Carriage||The refurbished carriage that the Lincolns rode in to Ford's Theater is now on display at the Studebaker Museum in South Bend, Indiana. The carriage has been restored to pristine condition. LBCRIt is sobering to observe the carriage, knowing it was certain to be one of the last things Lincoln came into contact with shortly before his death.LBCRLBCRJre Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon ||PA||||2008/02/13||15:45:14||Start of the two year celebration!||Just a note...LBCRLBCRYesterday, 2/12/08 was the kick-off to the two year celebration of the 200th birthday celebration for our beloved 16th President!!!LBCRLBCRAnybody have any goals or tasks that want to accomplish to help out? Kent Tucker||||Rantoul||Illinois||||2008/02/13||21:19:53||Two-year event||Yeah, better not plan any outdoor events in Kentucky in February. Roger Norton||||||||||2008/02/19||08:47:56||Myths About Lincoln||Mike, one thing I would like to see is a reduction in all the half-truths and outright lies that circulate among the general public regarding Abraham Lincoln. As some of you may know, I am a retired teacher who has operated a Lincoln website for the past 12 years. I try to answer anyone who writes. All I can say is that the amount of misinformation out there is absolutely overwhelming. Although I realize it's a huge stretch, I'd love to see a book like Gerald D. Prokopowicz "Did Lincoln Own Slaves? And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincoln" become required reading in every high school in America. Prokopowicz takes on the monumental task of dealing with all the myths and setting the record straight. I am not an intellectual, and I rarely read books cover to cover, but I did with this one. It's terrific. Rob Wick||||||Illinois||||2008/02/19||10:59:14||My new blog||Just wanted to let everyone know that I've started a blog called "One Man's Rebellion Record". After seeing tons of Civil War blogs that dealt only with military matters, I decided to start one that deals primarily with social-political issues as well as study some of those whose study of the war influenced me and some of the books the wrote. I am currently discussing the life of James G. Randall, called by many the preeminent Lincoln scholar of the 20th century. I hope you will consider taking a look. It is located atLBCRwww.ejconger.wordpress.comLBCRLBCRBestLBCRRob Laurie Verge||||Clinton, ||MD||||2008/02/19||11:35:39||Lincolns' Carriage||I have e-mailed the Studebaker Museum regarding the recent posting that they are displaying the restored carriage in which the Lincolns rode to Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, but have received no response.LBCR Does anyone know what the provenance is for the carriage? Where has it been all these years? Does it now belong to the Studebaker Museum? Jerry Eagon||||Elkhart||Indiana||||2008/02/20||08:19:28||Lincoln Carrige||The carriage has been with the Studebaker family for many years. It was sent out to be refurbished before the new Studebaker Museum opened recently.LBCRIf you visit the website, they explain a number of things you might find of interest.LBCRLBCRIt is: LBCRhttp://www.studebakermuseum.org Steve||||New York||NY||||2008/02/19||23:35:51||Alleged new Lincoln photo||Sorry, but is this a bad joke or am I missing the point? I have 20/20 vison and I blew up photo 500x and all I can see is the back of his head and a part of his beard. No eyes, no lips, no mouth, no face. If you look at the known photograph of Lincoln taken at Gettysburg there are several people with beards and hats like Lincolns, including Ward Hill Lamon, his bodyguard.LBCRLBCRWhy is it that every man with a beard and a stove pipe hat is identified as Abraham Lincoln. LBCRLBCRIf you look closely at the photograph you will notice that the man on the invisible horse and everyone else is looking towards Lincoln. I bet the man is Ward Hill Lamon and he is on a high platform to make sure Lincoln is okay. John||||Raleigh||NC||||2008/02/20||09:28:44||Robert Todd Lincoln's Voice||I was wondering if there are any recordings extant of Robert Todd Lincoln's voice. RTL died in 1926 and it would be wonderful to hear a recording that might give us a clue of how the 16th President sounded. Alan Gornik||||Western Springs||IL||||2008/02/21||09:02:22||Lincoln monuments||I thought you might be interested in this activity of finding "Locations of places and objects directly related to the life, accomplishments, and events of America's sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln." LBCR LBCRhttp://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=99ff7e7b-d30c-47ad-b30d- b58b112b1b6b&wo=True&kw=LBCRLBCRMy nickname is "adgorn" and you can see a number of recent posts I made from sites in the Chicago area. Earl Williams||||Tyler||Texas||||2008/02/21||13:15:12||Lincoln's pockets||I have a question regaeding the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated.According to the Library of Congress where the contents are on display Mr. Lincoln's pocket contained nine newspaper clippings.Does anyone have any idea as to the contents of these clippings? I would appreciate any help, thank you. Roger Norton||||||||||2008/02/21||17:10:16||Newspaper Clippings||Earl, as far as the 9 newspaper clippings go, here are some details: LBCRLBCRThe first and the fourth describe Emancipation of the Slaves in the new State Constitution of Missouri which called for giving slaves their Freedom on July 4, 1870. They are critical of the Radical Republicans in Congress who argued for more immediate release. LBCRLBCRThe second and third clippings relate to the two platforms of the contending political parties in the Election of 1864 without comment. LBCRLBCRThe fifth and sixth assume to be actual letters from angry Confederate soldiers found on the battlefield. "The Conscript's Epistle to Jeff Davis" is especially colorful in its language, calling the president of the rebelling states a "bastard President of a political abortion." LBCRLBCRThe seventh clipping contains the marching orders of General Sherman issued on November 9, 1864, which dispatched his troops to fight their way across the South to the Atlantic Ocean. There were to be no supply trains. The soldiers were to live off the land, but were specifically ordered to discriminate "between the rich, who are usually hostile, and the poor or industrious" who were "usually neutral or friendly."LBCRLBCRThe eighth and ninth clippings are articles favorable to Lincoln, One recounts a speech by Reverend Henry Ward Beecher in Philadelphia. The other reports a letter from the English Reformer John Bright to the American newspaper editor Horace Greely which is full of praise for Lincoln's leadership and his re-election as President in the fall of 1864. We see his presidency, Bright wrote, as "an honest endeavor faithfully to do the work of his great office, and in the doing of it, a brightness of personal honor on which no adversary has yet been able to fix a stain." LBCR Tom Lapsley||||Fairview||OR||||2008/02/24||01:48:59||Newspaper Clippings||Earl, Facsimile reproductions of the clippings are available in Alan Axelrod's "Lincoln's Last Night" (Chamberlain Brothers, 2005). Joseph M Di Cola||||Queen Creek||AZ||||2008/02/27||12:19:33||Knob Creek cabin||In all of Stefan Lorant's pictorial histories of Lincoln, there is an "old" photo of the "original" Knob Creek cabin in a dilaidated state. Does anyone out there know anything about the provenance of that photo. Lorant never included a picture credit page in any of the volumes. Thanks.LBCRLBCRJoe Di Cola mike gross||||arlington||tx||||2008/03/03||18:38:30||||Just wanted to comment on Mr. Burkhimer's comments about the 200th celebration.LBCRi believe its our duty for those of us who admire and respect lincoln to do our best to promote his legacy.LBCR Randal Berry||||||||||2008/03/04||08:29:01||Dismantling Eisenschiml and Bates||The recent issue of The Surratt Courier has an excellent article authored by Blaine V. Houmes,MD, titledLBCR"The Mummy,The Autopsy, And The Rest of the Story"LBCRLBCRDr. Houmes gets to the heart of the story regarding David E. George the man who "claimed" he was John Wilkes Booth before his death. Otto Eisenschiml and Finis Bates both wrote best selling books claiming that JWB, (or a "double") "escaped" Garretts barnLBCRduring that fateful night and in later years "confessed" to friends, that he was indeed JWB! I am sure that most of you know the story and the books published by these two gentlemen.LBCRLBCRDr. Houmes effectively dismantles these "theories".LBCRIt is a "must read" article, very well researched. I suggest joining The Surratt Society(http://www.surratt.org/index.html to recieve this article.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Kent Tucker||||Rantoul||Illinois||||2008/03/05||00:48:36||Lincoln Museum closing|| There is a notice on the Lincoln Museum web site that the Ft. Wayne museum will be closed to the public effective June 30. The notice provides the reasons. Roger||||Norton||||||2008/03/05||10:06:06||"Surratt Courier"||Just a note to second Randal Berry's comment on "The Surratt Courier." Also, another publication which is a wonderful read (and a great value) is Frederick Hatch's "Journal of the Lincoln Assassination." Mr. Hatch, who has researched the assassination for over 25 years, is scheduled to speak at the Surratt House Museum 2008 Conference in late March. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/03/05||20:02:24||Roger Norton||Thanks Mr. Norton.LBCRI should have included Mr. Hatch's wonderful newsletter, it's a great one!LBCRAlso, Roger Norton has a "must see" website, http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/Lincoln.htmlLBCRLBCRRandal Berry Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2008/03/06||19:40:46||Fort Wayne Lincoln Museum||It is certainly disappointing to hear that the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne is closing. I�ve always thought of them as the �original� Lincoln Museum LBCRLBCRThe presentation of the exhibits is concise and inviting. The special programming, including the annual McMurty Lecture have been highlights on my Lincoln calendar. LBCRLBCRBest wishes to Joan Flinspach, and Sara Gabbard and the rest of that outstanding staff. LBCRLBCR�My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feelings of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. �To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell. �LBCR LBCRLBCR Jordan Hartman||||Bloomfield||Indiana||||2008/03/06||16:39:41||Help||please help me find someone that i can email to interview about the lincoln memorial Randal Berry||||||||||2008/03/10||22:42:30||||Jordon,LBCRI would email nps.govLBCR Dodi McVey||||Cypress (Houston) ||Texas||||2008/03/11||09:57:06||Abe Lincoln was part black?||Apparently the English teachers at our school are telling the kids that Abraham Lincoln was part black and that Barack Obama won't be the first black president elected in the United States. As a US History teacher, I am puzzled by this, because I have never heard, in all of my years in education that Abraham Lincoln is part black. If anyone can shed some light on this, we'd appreciate it. If you can't and you know of someone who may be able to, would you please forward this email to them. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/03/11||10:59:23||Lincoln Memorial||Jordan,LBCR LBCRTo receive help with your Lincoln Memorial project, please e-mail [email protected]. Mike is one of the Rangers assigned to the Washington Mall, and I am told that he is very knowledgeable on the Lincoln Memorial.LBCR LBCRThere is also a good book, "A Memorial for Mr. Lincoln," by Brent Ashabranner, published in 1992 by G.P. Putnam's Sons. Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/03/11||14:40:13||Lincoln Black?||Working at the Surratt House Museum, a site with ties to the Lincoln assassination, I encountered this theory years ago with elementary school groups informing me that Abraham Lincoln was black.LBCRLBCRThe closest that I ever got to tracking it down was being told about a book entitled "Five Black Presidents" by J.A. Rogers, a black historian and sociologist, published about 1965. I have never seen the book, but supposedly Rogers pronounces that Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Harding, and Eisenhower were all of mixed race. He also throws in Lincoln's first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, and Alexander Hamilton, whose mother was supposedly bi-racial. I have no idea what the "proof" is for any of the claims. Is anyone familiar with this book?LBCR John Sotos, MD||||California||USA||||2008/03/11||14:58:43||Re: Abe Lincoln was part black?||There is a footnote about this in my upcoming book, "The Physical Lincoln."LBCRLBCR(1) In Lincoln's time there were rumors that he was part black, so this meme has a very old history!LBCRLBCR(2) Even today, a serious Lincoln scholar told me about an unpublished manuscript by a physician that "establishes" that Lincoln was part black, based on certain facial features, including the lips. LBCRLBCR(3) Lincoln did have a large lower lip. This, however, was a result of the genetic malady that afflicted him, Tad, Willie, Eddie (probably), and Lincoln's mother (probably). The details are in "The Physical Lincoln," which, no fooling, should be out next week.LBCRLBCR(4) There are innumerable eyewitness descriptions of Lincoln's skin. Some (including Lincoln himself) say he was "dark" complected, but most descriptions talk about him being "sallow" -- i.e. yellow -- for which I have no good explanation.LBCRLBCR(5) There is no good reason to believe that Lincoln was part black.LBCRLBCRThanks,LBCRJohn Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/03/12||09:51:56||Lincoln black?||I have just learned that the correct title of the book dealing with the racial make-up of five of our presidents is correctly titled "The Five Negro Presidents," and it is still available through Amazon, Target, and online distributors. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/03/12||20:47:36||J.A. Rogers Book||Laurie,LBCRThe book by J.A. Rogers is called "Five Negro Presidents" and it's really cheap on Amazon. LBCRRandal Roger Norton||||||||||2008/03/14||04:45:06||President Lincoln Facing Right On The Penny||The current discussion is an excellent example of what I meant when I said a ton of misinformation about President Lincoln circulates among the general public. Here is the text of an e-mail I received on December 16, 2006:LBCRLBCR"I have been told that Abraham Lincoln�s mother has Negro blood. I understand this may sound odd, but it is a serious question that I am debating with someone. This argument started when someone told me about why Lincoln is facing the opposite direction from the other presidents on other coins. They said that it is a fact that he is facing the opposite way because his mother has Negro blood and that he is a disgrace to the American people. Can you provide the truth to settle this argument? Thank you."LBCR John||||Lakeside Park||Ky||||2008/03/14||09:14:50||Whats going on?||Lately when I check on comments posted on Friends of Lincoln, I only seem to find outrageous comments, questions or rumors concerning President Lincoln. Silly stuff about Lincoln being part black, or that he had some disease and wouldn't have lived long in his second term of office. LBCRI like reading stories and comments on how he did things or his way of thinking and even the way others thought and dealt with Mr. Lincoln. Kent Tucker||||Rantoul||Illinois||||2008/03/14||16:54:15||What it is||What's going on is no different than the last 150 years of speculation, sniping, valid research, backstabbing, educated guesses, etc. for/against/about Lincoln. The general public spread wild rumors. Egocentric researchers try to prove screwball points. Historians try to explain, revise and explain again. LBCRLBCRI also grow weary of some of it, but I always step back. All the wild verbage and genuine research out there only validate that we are dealing with one of the most complex and intriguing persons in the long saga of humanity. Roderick Fox||||Nashville||Tennessee||||2008/03/15||14:52:01||Lincoln as Black|| The hypothesis that Abraham Lincoln was black (had subsaharan African ancestry) is probably not true, but not it is not as unlikely as the hypothesis that he suffered some rare genetic disorder that may have killed him in office or affected his appearance. After all, about 10% of all citizens in this country identify themselves as African American, and probably at least as large a percentage of citizens who identify themselves as white have some African American Ancestry (I had genetic testing done, and discovered I am in that latter category). Therefore a prima facie case can be made that speculation about Abraham Lincoln's possible subsaharan African ancestry is neither absurd nor outrageous. LBCRLBCRThe contemporaneous claims that he had black ancestry cannot be rejected out of hand simply because they were plainly hateful and politically motivated. The same can be said about contemporaneous claims that Thomas Jefferson had children by his slave, Sally Hemmings, which we now know were almost certainly correct (contrary to denials by respected historians that they were absurd and outrageous - where have we heard those descriptors before?) or that President Harding had black ancestry (I believe he himself is said to have remarked that some of his ancestors "may have jumped over the fence..."). LBCRLBCRI think that what can be said with a fair degree of certainty is that IF (admittedly a very big IF) Abraham Lincoln did have Black ancestry: A) It would have been through his mother; B) He would have known about it; C) He would have been loath to admit it; D) It could have had a significant impact on his political and personal development; and E) If confirmed, it would require a rethinking of his life, his writings and possibly even his assasination. LBCRLBCRThe one piece of evidence supporting this hypothesis that has long intrigued me comes from William Herndon, his law partner. He reports report that Lincoln told him his mother, Nancy, was fathered by someone from a plantation owning family. LBCRLBCROf course, this speculation could be resolved immediately by DNA testing (or by mitochondrial DNA if the aim were to nail down his maternal ancestry) of existing tissue samples. I guess this comment is an argument that, with respect to this question (whether Abraham Lincoln had subsaharan African Ancestry), such testing may be warranted. LBCR LBCRRick Larry Nikolai||||Valencia||Ca||||2008/03/17||01:37:30||My Email Address||I see from a Yahoo search that somebody that has written to the Lincoln Mailbag is looking to contact me. My email address is: [email protected] Larry ross erwin||||chesnee||south carolina||||2008/03/18||08:41:34||"send us home"||Can anyone tell me about the black leader who asked President Lincoln to send all the slaves home as the races would never live in harmony thanks. from : [email protected] Jerry Eagon||||Elkhart||Indiana||||2008/03/20||09:19:32||Sending slaves back|| Actually, Lincoln considered the purchase of slaves from their owners in order to send them back to their homeland, considering it was cheaper than financing the war. The idea never gained traction however, and was superceded by the Emancipation Proclamation.LBCRFrederick Douglass might be the "black leader" you refer to, although he was definitely NOT for purchasing slaves and sending them back. His position was that they were here before slaving trade began in earnest, and that they had a right to live here. Seward R. Osborne||||Olivebridge||New York||||2008/03/21||12:28:15||President Lincoln's carriage||Hello,LBCRLBCR Does anyone have a clear side view of the carriage that President Lincoln and guests used to go to Ford's Theatre?LBCR As a 100% disabled veteran I cannot afford the $25 per image that the Studebaker Museum wants.LBCRLBCR Many thanks,LBCRSeward Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/03/21||14:02:16||Lincoln Carriage||As director of Surratt House Museum in Maryland, I have contacted the webpage at the Studebaker Museum in the past, trying to get information on the carriage. They have never bothered to respond. However, one of our fellow Lincolnites from this excellent site shared some newspaper clippings with us regarding the history -- thank you, Roger Norton.LBCRLBCRIf you have a specific contact at Studebaker that quoted the price to you, I will be happy to order a photo for Surratt House and to make a copy for you.LBCRLBCRContact me at [email protected], if interested. I will also need your e-mail and snail mail address if we pull this off. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/03/22||21:59:51||Laurie Verge Rocks!||You rock Laurie! LBCRThat was a terrific gesture!LBCRRB Robert J. Havlik||||south Bend ||IN||||2008/03/26||12:10:23||Lincoln Carriages||Hi All,LBCRMy name is Bob Havlik. I am a past President of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. I retired from Notre Dame and live in South Bend, IN. I have been working on a paper about the horses and carriages used by Lincoln through out his career. The Studebaker Museum is close-by and of course is included. The museum just refurbished the barouche Lincoln used and there were several newspaper articles about it.LBCROver the years there have been many articles and errors in its provenance as reported in the news papers. Some have said the carriage was made by the Studebakers (not true) and many have said it was a gift to Lincoln just before his second inauguration (also not true)LBCRMy research so far indicates he received a gift of a closed carriage for his first inauguration and that Mary Lincoln bought the open carriage shortly after. They may also have had a had a third carriage supplied by the Government, which Mary Lincoln mentioned, but my research has not yet come up with a description.LBCRThe second inauguration story came from an erronious story published in 1935. The curator of the museum recently distributed a copy to our local paper. An article was written using this story and it was picked up by AP and other internet sources. Because of the sensitivity of the information, I am awaiting the completion of my research and conclusions before I submit my results to the Museum. So far the Curator and Director of the Studebaker Museum have been very gracious to me and any one asking for information on the carriage. Recently a new Studebaker Arcives Collection opened near the Museum, but is a separate organization. I have yet to visit them and I am sure they will have much good information.LBCRBOB HAVLIK Seward R. Osborne||||Olivebridge||NY||||2008/03/26||12:21:48||Lincoln Carriage|| Hello Laurie,LBCRLBCR That was a fine gesture. I will email you shortly.LBCR By the way I am a lifetime member of Surratt Society.LBCRLBCRRegards,LBCRSeward Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/03/26||12:53:12||Lincoln Carriage||Just a note to let you know that my third attempt at reaching a real person at the Studebaker Museum worked. A very nice curator of collections responded and I was able to obtain a photo, which I will be sharing with Mr. Osborne.LBCR Mr. Havlik, thank you for your input and may I ask for your help. Based on the recent newspaper articles, I included a snippet about the Lincoln carriage in the April issue of the Surratt Courier, the monthly newsletter put out by the Surratt House Museum. That means I probably passed on some erroneous information. When you have completed your research, could you share it with the Courier and also with our museum's James O. Hall Research Center? s.r. willen||||beverly hills||california||||2008/03/27||13:11:25||Guards at Lincoln's Body Laying in State||Might anyone know where to find the names of the soldiers who stood guard over the LBCRremains of Abraham Lincoln when the President's body lay in state? LBCRLBCRI've read that one Augustus Golderman of the 17th Maine Vol. Inf. was one such soldier - and am hoping to find some confirmation.LBCRLBCRThanks [email protected] Jerry eagon||||Elkhart||Indiana||||2008/03/27||15:32:02||Lincoln's funeral guards||Check this following website:LBCRLBCR LBCRhttp://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/corrections/lincoln_burial.html Kathy Hall||||Chicago||IL||||2008/03/28||10:52:24||Lincoln's secretary||It is a story in my husbands family that Lincoln had a secretary with the last name Hall. If anyone can help me find this info, in print, I would appreciate it. Thank you, Kathy Pastor Dennis Farmer||||Springfield||Illinois||||2008/03/29||09:08:03||Lincoln's Church.. where is it today?||In 1912 the First Presbyterian Church, downtown near the railroad tracks was torn down and a new First Presbyterian Church was opened in its current location. The church that was torn down was the church that Abraham Lincoln and his family attended. Benjamin Knudson bought the bricks,pillars, stain-glassed windows and wood from the church and placed it in storage until he could locate some land in the north end to rebuild the church in memory of his wife, Clementine.LBCR In 1917, Clementine Memorial Presbyterian Church officially opened at 2075 N. 11th. It was a new home for Abraham Lincoln's church. The pillars still remain in the vestibule and the stain-glass windows still reflect their colors in the windows. Bricks and wood that was salvaged still hold the church in place. LBCRLBCRLBCR The church remained Presbyterian until October of 2003 when it officially was transferred by the membership to a Independent Non-denominatioanl church. Except for a seven month period when the church was vacated over mishaps concerning back taxes prior to 2003, the church has been open. Thousands have heard God's message within these historic walls, including President Abraham Lincoln and his family, when the building was located downtown.LBCR Thousands more have heard God's message here in it's current location. Sonatas and Cantatas have rang forth in melodious praise. God has blessed those who have entered and those who have left. Preachers have presented over 5000 of God's messages from the pulpit since Abraham Lincoln's day and many more than that since the structure was originally built by those railroad tracks downtown.LBCR Today the church houses many ministries and outreach programs for children and adults and offers many opportunities for Christians to serve the Lord. Jerry Eagon||||Elkhart||IN||||2008/03/31||07:38:02||Lincoln's Secretary's||Lincoln had two personal secretary's, John HAY and John Nicolay. Perhaps the Hall is mistaken for Hay.LBCRYou can check out detail about them, and Lincoln at this website:LBCR LBCRhttp://abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/Library/newsletter.asp?ID=22&CRLI=102 Joseph M Di Cola||||Queen Creek||AZ||||2008/03/31||13:23:41||Omnibus||Years ago, in the 1950's. there was a superb television show called Omnibus. During its run, it aired a number of programs on the life of Abraham Lincoln. Is anyone aware whether there are copies of those broadcasts still available? Thanks. Mike Burkkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2008/04/01||08:02:36||New Assassination Book on Mary Surratt||Hello all,LBCRLBCRI thought some of the posters on this forum would be interested in this.LBCRLBCRAs the Review Editor of the �Lincoln Herald,� I sometimes get samples of books for review. I received an advanced copy of �The Assassin�s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln� by Kate Clifford Larson. The book is to be published in June by Basic Books. They usually produce very high quality books. I have not read through the book, however it does look interesting. From what I have skimmed of the book it is very negative towards Mary Surratt and seems almost a rebuttal to the more recent Trindal book.LBCRLBCRThe author has a lot of good to say about some of the people in the assassination community in her acknowledgements and very much praises the work of the Surratt Society.LBCR Mark Reinhart||||Columbus||Ohio||||2008/04/01||08:38:20||Omnibus||The OMNIBUS program you are thinking of was a 5-part series called MR. LINCOLN. The series starred Royal Dano as Lincoln, and first aired in 1952. MR. LINCOLN dealt mainly with Lincoln's formative years, but the first episode chronicled Lincoln's assassination. Unfortunately, the series has never been released on home video. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/04/01||21:32:49||||Mike,LBCRThanks for the heads up on the Surratt book.LBCRI can't wait! I have always believed she was a tad more guilty than most folks thought.LBCRLBCRRandal Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/04/02||16:24:34||Larson Book||At Surratt House Museum, we are eagerly awaiting the release of Kate Larson's book on Mary Surratt. Ms. Larson did research here at our James O. Hall Research Center, and we were quite pleased to learn that she is presenting both sides of the Surratt story. We have stressed to visitors for over thirty years that there is much more to Mary Elizabeth Surratt than what historians have told us in the past. Her history is a fascinating one that more people should know about. Joseph M Di Cola||||Queen Creek||AZ||||2008/04/06||15:19:37||OMNIBUS||Thanks, Mark Reinhart--I greatly appreciate the information.-Joe Di Cola Steven G. Miller||||Lake Villa||IL||||2008/04/08||16:52:54||Booth's Diary mystery||There's a phrase in Booth's "diary" that has always puzzled me. He wrote: "I have only heard of what has been done (except what I did myself), and it fills me with horror." LBCRLBCRWas he talking about Powell's attack on the Seward family, the violence that followed in the wake of the news of the assassination, or something else? I'm curious about what the Mailbag readers think of this. Cheryl||||||||||2008/04/09||09:41:56||Booth Diary Entry||I'm no assassination expert-I'm no expert at/on anything- but I think what Powell did filled Booth with horror--from what I have read, the plan was to attack Sec. of State Seward--not the whole family. But what did anyone in the conspiracy expect when the Sewards had a full house being as family members lived there? Jerry Eagon||||Elkhart ||IN||||2008/04/09||11:59:20||Booth||Having read that passage a number of times and, like yourself, wondering exactly what Booth meant, I can only read it in the context of what he wrote before that sentence, and after. He is writing about his condemnation, how he has hurt his family and his cause by his deed.LBCRMy sense of that is that he is referring to the hate and bitterness that has now been directed at him, and that he has "heard" of these things, namely the price on his head, the dead or alive mentality, speaking of "these things" as an abstract - separate from himself. I could be wrong.LBCRIt would be interesting to know exactly what he heard of the assassination aftermath during his desperate days of running. What did he know? Who told him?LBCRLBCRJre Randal Berry||||||||||2008/04/09||18:06:01||Booths Diary||Steve,LBCRI always assumed Booth was writing about what happened at Sewards residence that night. LBCRMaybe Mr. K will chime in and give us his thoughts.LBCRRandal Roger Norton||||||||||2008/04/10||04:52:13||Booth's diary||I think I agree with what Jerry Eagon said. Thomas Jones gave Booth newspapers during the time he was in hiding, and Booth certainly found out how universally negative the reaction was to his crime. For example, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston is said to have exclaimed, "It's a disgrace to the age! I hope the North will not charge it to the Confederate Government." Booth was a monomaniac of the subject of Lincoln being the South's enemy, and it must have filled Booth with horror to see Copperheads, Southern leaders, etc. not coming to his support as he had hoped. In his own mind his act was heroic, but it came as such a shock when those he depended upon didn't view it that way. Booth may also have been horrified by the way the Northern government swooped down and arrested hundreds of people Booth knew to be innocent. Booth had a morbid quest for notoriety and to see hundreds of people being arrested because of his act must have horrified him as he would have felt no one else should be allowed the "limelight."LBCRLBCRThere is another diary entry that I have always wondered about. This is when Booth says, "The little, the very little, I left behind to clear my name, the Government will not allow to be printed." It can be assumed, I guess, that this was a reference to the letter he gave to John Mathews, but from what Mathews said I can't see how the letter would have cleared Booth's name. Is there any other explanation for this statement of Booth's? Randal Berry||||||||||2008/04/10||21:32:40||||Re-thinking,and re-reading, I agree with Mr. Norton. I always thought JWB was writing about the carnage at Sewards residence. Roger's opinion makes more sense.LBCRRandal Berry Roger Norton||||||||||2008/04/11||12:24:38||Booth's diary||Thanks, Randal. I must admit I am really just guessing as I find getting inside Booth's mind quite difficult. But that's partly what makes studying the assassination so fascinating; so many of the answers are simply not known. Of course it's possible Booth was referring to the carnage at Seward's home, but I think that Booth knew (1) Seward wouldn't be alone and (2) the mindset of Powell; thus I do not think he would be really too surprised at the possibility of other folks being maliciously attacked.LBCRLBCRYet another statement in the diary has long intrigued me. This is where Booth writes, "Though I have a greater desire and almost a mind to return to Washington, and in a measure clear my name - which I feel I can do." Any ideas on that one? Randal Berry||||||||||2008/04/15||15:00:18||JWB Escape Tour, HOLY COW!||All,LBCRIf you haven't experienced the John Wilkes Booth Escape Tour hosted by the Surratt House Museum, you are missing an incredible event! I just went this past weekend and it's an incredible tour! To actually see the places where Booth/Herold and everyone involved in the assassination makes everything you have read about it come to life!LBCRLBCRThe spring tours have sold out, but, if you go to http://www.surratt.org/su_bert.htmlLBCRyou might just be lucky enough to participate in the fall escape tours.LBCRLBCRIt is already a solid-gold memory for me, and Mr. Kauffman leaves no stone unturned on this story.LBCR I'm telling ya, GO!LBCRI'm going again, I swear!LBCRLBCR Kim Bauer||||Decatur||Illinois||||2008/04/15||16:34:42||Booth's diary||Dear Roger, LBCRLBCRI have long thought that the passage you mention is based on Booth's great desire to clearly and succinctly state his case before the American public. I don't think that Booth had any thoughts that he would be able to ever overcome the overwhelming evidence against him and what he had done. On the contrary, I believe that Booth seriously thought that he could give his thoughts and exclamations about his reasonings in a public court of law. After all, Booth was ego driven to the point that he believed that he- one of the Nation's greatest actors could do best what others could not do - tell his own side to the story. I honestly do believe that there was only one driving force that was stronger in Booth's mind that prevented him from returning to Washington, fear of death before he would have that chance. In the end, I think his last thoughts were of the the waste that his act had been,the waste in seeing this act go unrecognized by the people of the South. It is in this delusional state of mind that Booth wished that he had, (my opinion), one more stage to act out the final part of his minds' play a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. Roger Norton||||||||||2008/04/16||08:09:21||Booth diary entry||Kim, thank you very much for your outstanding insight and analysis. I think you've nailed it! Kurt Cruppenink||||Westville||IL||||2008/04/21||08:21:21||Early deaths||Can anyone recommend the best sources for information concerning the death of Lincoln's mother and his sister Sarah? Would these be from biographies or are there any specific works that describe their deaths and Lincoln's feelings and reactions to them? Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated. Joseph M Di Cola||||Queen Creek||AZ||||2008/04/21||13:14:25||Nancy Hanks and Sarah Lincoln ||To Kurt Kruppenink-LBCRLBCROne of the best sources for your inquiry is Louis A. Warren's "Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years Seven to Twenty-one, 1816-1830. It is still available. Skip||||Lakeside Park||Kentucky||||2008/04/22||10:12:17||Lincoln Stepmother||I would like to know more about Mr. Lincoln's Stepmother Sarah Bush. I know she lived to see him become President and also recieve the news of his death. How often did he write her and did he ever have contact with his step brothers and sisters. Jerry Eagon||||Elkhart ||IN||||2008/04/22||15:47:42||Sarah Bush Lincoln||Skip;LBCR LBCRHere is a website that will give you a good deal of information about Lincoln's family, and his stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln.LBCR LBCRhttp://www.nps.gov/archive/liho/family/sarah.htmLBCRLBCRRegards,LBCRLBCRJerry Eagon Kim Bauer||||decatur||IL||||2008/04/23||09:58:48||Early deaths||Kurt,LBCR LBCRAnother more psychohistorical work is Charles Strozier's "Lincoln's Quest for Union". This work is more analytical theory but it does attempt to place these deaths and other incidents in Lincoln's life in a psychological/psychoanalytical context. Again, take it for what it is attempting to convey - one author's viewpoints. Still, it is definetly worth the read. J Sotos||||California||USA||||2008/04/24||05:03:03||Deaths of Nancy & Sarah||Kurt, LBCRLBCRThe tales of Lincoln's mother's death are spun from very thin reeds -- just seven sentences, uttered by six people, 40 years after the fact, to William Herndon. LBCRLBCRFour of the people said she died of the milk sick. The other two thought it was something else, e.g. "a galloping quick consumption" to use Herndon's words. All of the "up close and personal" accounts of her passing are extrapolations from the milk sick diagnosis. I would not put any stock in them. LBCRLBCRThe fullest account of Sarah Lincoln's death is in a 1933 book by Dr. Milton Shutes. He recounted stories that were still being told in south Indiana. I got a little more from his papers at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA.LBCRLBCRThe primary source data are reprinted in _The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook_. If anyone knows of any additional primary data, I'd love to hear about it. Roger Norton||||||||||2008/04/25||11:45:06||"New" book on Dr. Mudd||A short time ago Mike posted information about a new book on Mary Surratt. Now I have just been informed by the University Press of Florida that a "new" book on Dr. Mudd will be coming out this spring. The publisher is sending me an advance copy. The reason I use "new" in parentheses is that the new book is an updated edition of Hal Higdon's 1964 publication entitled "The Union vs. Dr. Mudd." Higdon's original effort was quite evenly balanced toward the doctor although it was obvious Higdon felt Mudd was guilty of at least some degree of complicity. It will be interesting to see how and if Higdon thinks differently 44 years after his original book on the topic was published. I am led to understand that there will be a totally new introduction and epilogue; I do not know how many other changes there will be, but I expect there will be some. With all of the debate that has gone on, and with the differing opinions of experts like Mike Kauffman and Ed Steers, I am looking forward to what Higdon has to say regarding the doctor. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/04/26||07:42:15||"New" Book on Dr. Mudd||Roger,LBCRIt will be interesting to read Higdons new "epilogue" in the reprint of "The Union v. Dr. Mudd". It will also be of interest to see if he sides with Hall/Steers, or Kauffman/McHale.LBCRLBCRI am of the opinion that Dr. Mudd is not guilty. History tells us Booth hadn't orginally planned on going to Mudd's house after leaving Surratts Tavern but sought treatment at Mudd's after being inconvenienced by his injury. My opinion is, if he wasn't injured, why on earth would he stop at Mudd's at 4 in the morning? Coffee and conversation perhaps? Sorry for the digression! LBCRLBCRLBCR Here's a quote from Ed Steers,(August 15, 1997)LBCRLBCR "The government proved, and subsequently convicted Mudd of the specification that he conspired with John Wilkes Booth in Booth's conspiracy to capture Abraham Lincoln; a conspiracy which ultimately led to Lincoln's murder, and that he knowingly aided and abetted Booth in his effort to escape the federal authorities. There is no doubt among any reasonable student of the assassination that Mudd knew Booth when he came to his house in the early morning hours of April 15, 1865, and that Mudd learned of Lincoln's murder while Booth was still a "patient" of Mudd's. This proves aiding and abetting the murderer of President Lincoln."LBCR LBCRI have always wondered about the charges brought against Dr. Mudd, and WHY the same charges didn't apply against Cox, Ouesenberry, Jett and many others who "aided and abetted" Booth during his flight.LBCRLBCRAny takers?LBCRLBCRLBCRLBCRLBCR Robert J. Havlik||||south bend||IN||||2008/04/28||15:36:23||Milk Sickness||No one really knows what caused Nancy Lincoln's death. The more you look, the more questions come up. Most documentation, however, has centered on the coincidence of Milk Sickness in the area at the time of her death. There is an excellent recent article,"The 'Slows', the Torment of Milk Sickness on the Midwest Frontier" in Pioneer Midwest" in INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY, Vol. 102, No.1, March 2006, pg. 29-40, by Walter J. Daly.LBCROne question has been, "Why didn't young Lincoln drink his milk?" If he would have, he too would have contacted tremetol poisoning.There are some records of children in the area dieing of milksickness, about this time, who drank their milk. LBCRThe article suggests that the poison can possibly be transmitted in a "pot of greens", where white snakeroot could have been accidently introduced. As a young boy he might be less inclined to eat the "greens" than drink his milk. His mother may have made a pot for her aunt and uncle who were old and lived near-by and ate some herself. All three died.LBCRA less likely scenario might be that the possible poison was not caused by the white snakeroot but by another poison.Lincoln never smoked and he never said why. The three family members that died were all adults and may have smoked, as did many rural southern adults male and female. The skimpy accounts of the symptoms could be similar to extreme toxicity caused by smoking Jimsonweed a hallucinogen used by many rural people at the time. This would scare any young kid from future smoking. LBCRWho knows! Tremetol poisoning is still our best bet. Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2008/04/29||05:36:47||Another Booth Escaped Article.||From the Philadelphia Inquirer:LBCR LBCRhttp://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080426_Did_Lincoln_s_assassin_es cape__Science_may_finally_lay_debate_to_rest.htmlLBCRLBCRFrom the article:LBCRLBCR "'It's one thing if historians want to disagree with us, but it's hubris to say that it's impossible [we're] right. What kind of historian is that?'LBCRLBCR'It's not too late to set the record straight,' added Herman. 'This is not a minor footnote in history.'LBCRLBCRMost experts 'have a vested interest in keeping the standard story unchanged . . . but I'm convinced it wasn't Booth" at the barn,' said Guttridge, coauthor of Dark Union: The Secret Web of Profiteers, Politicians, and Booth Conspirators That Led to Lincoln's Death."LBCRLBCRVested interest? LBCRWhy do newspaper writers even take the time to write this stuff? Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/04/29||10:44:11||Booth Escaped||Mike,LBCR LBCRYou cannot imagine how frustrating it is at Surratt House Museum to work long and hard for thirty years to get accurate history out to the public and then have certain reporters who want to hear only the "conspiracy" theories.LBCRLBCRHold on to your stovepipe hats because there is more to come. Back in 1979, the U.S. public was treated to a terrible movie and subsequent book entitled The Lincoln Conspiracy, which espoused the Booth Escaped Theory. It was thrust upon us by David Balsiger and Charles Sellier. Guess what -- "They're Back..." Their company, Grizzly Adams Productions, recently announced plans to offer a "documentary" on Abraham Lincoln's life and the questionable aspects of his assassination as part of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration.LBCRLBCRGood historians can work their fingers to the bone, but they're never going to win! Of that I am convinced. Roger Norton||||||||||2008/05/02||13:37:01||"The Union vs Dr. Mudd"||I have now had a chance to go through Hal Higdon's new version of "The Union vs. Dr. Mudd." Unfortunately there are not as many changes as I thoughtLBCRthere might be; thus for folks who already have the 1964 edition I would not think it worthwhile to purchase the update. In the new edition, regarding Dr. Mudd's innocence or guilt, Higdon simply says he cannot "improve on the summary answer to this question on pages 210-213 in the first edition of "The Union vs. Dr. Mudd." In that edition Higdon puts Mudd somewhere in that "gray area" between 100% innocence and 100% guilt. He terms Mudd "no simple martyr."LBCRLBCRRandal, although I usually agree with your thoughts, I have not changed my opinion of the doctor since Mike Kauffman's outstanding book was published. I consider Kauffman's book the best ever published on the topic FAR surpassing most other books on the assassination. But with respect to the (good?) doctor, on that one single issue, I think Ed Steers got it right.LBCRMy own common sense tells me Mudd was in on it. Although the trial process was flawed, and justice took a back seat while all sorts of transgressions took place, and the commissioners were predisposed to find guilt, I do think the these men made some attempt to acknowledge differing degrees of guilt. For example, Ned Spangler, against whom the evidence was most flimsy, was given 6 years. But the doctor missed the death penalty by one vote. That's a big difference; I am convinced the commissioners, after hearing the evidence presented at trial, were extremely convinced of Mudd's complicity. LBCRLBCRPlus the commissioners did not hear all the evidence against Mudd. In 1977, 112 years after the trial, George Atzerodt's "lost confession" came to light. Joan L. Chaconas, a past president of the Surratt Society, discovered it. In his confession Atzerodt stated, "I am certain Dr. Mudd knew all about it, as Booth sent (as he told me) liquors & provisions for the trip with the President to Richmond, about two weeks before the murder to Dr. Mudd's." This may be a reference to the earlier kidnap plot, not the assassination, but it certainly implicates Mudd as being part of the group of conspirators.LBCRLBCRFinally, I think your point on Cox, Mrs. Quesenberry, etc. is excellent.LBCR Deanna Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale,||MI||||2008/05/02||15:54:20||spies of the Civil War||I have a young friend looking to learn about the spies during the Civil War...Does anyone have any good information on the tip of their tongue? Thank you so much, as always, for your generous Help. Sincerely, Deanna Randal Berry||||||||||2008/05/05||13:23:23||Roger||You make an excellent point. LBCRI don't think anyone could argue that Mudd wasn't a part of the conspiracy to kidnap, I think Mudd wasn't aware of a plot to murder the President. Only a few, Paine,Herold, etc. knew of the last minute change of plans.LBCRMy point being the others, Cox, etc.LBCRshould have recieved the same charges that Mudd did and it has always made me wonder.LBCRLBCRAnd yes, "American Brutus" is way beyond anybook written to date on the assassination, this we agree on.LBCRLBCRRandal Randal Berry||||||||||2008/05/05||17:21:48||Atzerodt "confession" cont.||The reason I don't believe Dr. Mudd didn't know about the plan to assassinate, comes from Atzerodt' cofession to Provost Marshall James McPhail WHILE in custody.LBCR LBCR"I am certain Dr. Mudd knew all about it, as Booth sent (as he told me) liquors & provisions for the trip with the President to Richmond, about two weeks before the murder to Dr. Mudd's." LBCRLBCR"Booth never said until the last night (Friday) that he intended to kill the President."LBCRLBCRThat last statement alone is telling.LBCRLBCRMany authors have implied that Atzerodt wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I'm very sure he was under duress when he made the "confession"LBCRLBCRRemember, he was trying NOT to recieve an invitation to a "necktie" party and was liable to say anything! Thats my 2 cents!LBCRBesides, if I recall, his "confession" was'nt allowed during the trial, however, I could be mistaken.LBCRLBCRRandalLBCRLBCR Roger Norton||||||||||2008/05/06||05:03:32||Dr, Mudd||Randal, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. My bad. I was responding to your sentence which read, "I am of the opinion that Dr. Mudd is not guilty." I took that to mean total innocence of anything. That's why I responded as I did; I wasn't trying to say Dr. Mudd had prior knowledge of the assassination itself.LBCR LBCRAs far as the difference between Mudd and the others who "aided and abetted," LBCRI think one possible explanation was that they were all guilty of being accessories after the fact, but only Dr. Mudd was shown to have had contacts with Booth prior to the fact. I may stand corrected as I don't have the trial testimony memorized, but I do not immediately recall there being evidence any of the others along the escape route had prior meetings with Booth. (An argument regarding John Lloyd could be made at this point, I suppose).LBCRLBCRI think Dr. Steers and others have essentially argued that Dr. Mudd could have conceivably saved Mr. Lincoln's life by going to the authorities prior to April 14 and reporting what he knew of Booth's kidnap plot. By not going to the authorities, Dr. Mudd therefore willingly remained a part of the kidnap plot and was punished accordingly. It starts to get pretty technical here....were Booth's kidnap and assassination plots two separate entities? Or was the assassination itself simply an outgrowth of the same conspiracy to kidnap? I think Mudd was convicted under the latter assumption, although in my humble opinion he was guilty either way. I do not think the military commission made any distinction between the kidnap and assassination plots. O'Laughlen and Arnold got life for simply being part of the original kidnap plot. Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2008/05/08||19:21:11||Famous Piece of Evidence||I am sure many of you have encountered this quote from Lincoln writers. I have a number of times, yet I have never been able to understand why it is given the significance that it is.LBCRLBCRHere is an example of the quote and the usual inference of its significance from Catherine Clinton in the “Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association:”LBCRLBCR"Even Mary's critics give her credit for playing a crucial role in the rise of Lincoln's political fortunes during the 1850s. No one could doubt that her coaching and scheming helped Lincoln attain his nomination as a presidential candidate. Again, her husband confirmed the primacy of Mary's role when, upon learning the results of the 1860 election, he begged off from well-wishers at the telegraph office to take home the good news, confessing, 'Well gentlemen there is a little woman at our house who is probably more interested in this dispatch than I am.' "More interested in this dispatch" betrays his wife's special contribution to Lincoln's political ascension, if we recognize the rarity of Mary's role."LBCRLBCRHow does Lincoln going to inform his wife about his victory and the comment that she is more interested than he is “confirm the primacy of Mary’s role?” How in any way does it show “his wife’s special contribution to Lincoln’s political ascension?”LBCRLBCRThe only thing it goes to is his wife’s ambition for his rise. This was a trait they all shared.LBCRLBCRI disagree strongly with the Clinton’s point. However, I am more interested in what people think of the use of this quote as evidence.LBCR Brian Steenbergen||||Grand Rapids||MI||||2008/05/08||22:35:56||Famous Piece of Evidence ||I believe that concluding from 'Well gentlemen there is a little woman at our house who is probably more interested in this dispatch than I am� that Abraham Lincoln is confirming his wife�s primacy in his nomination is to ignore the context in which quote was supposedly spoken. LBCRLBCRThe quote is given to Herndon in a statement by Charles Zane, a fellow attorney, sometime in 1865 Brent C. Greer||||Easley||SC||||2008/05/10||23:15:40||Spies in the Civil War|| Secret Missions of the Civil War by, Philip Van Doren Stern is a good book on spies in the Civil War. If no longer in print, it should be available at the library. Hope this helps. Joseph M Di Cola||||Queen Creek||AZ||||2008/05/11||13:25:06||van doren stern book on spies||The Van Doren Stern book on spies may also be available to own from alibris.com -- a great site for out-of-print Lincolniana. Fred Priebe||||Belleville||MI||||2008/05/12||06:35:42||Famous piece of Evidence|| This reminds me of another quote of Lincoln that, in my never to be humble opinion, is also misconstrued: From his Farewell Speech,"I now leave not knowing when or wether ever I shall return..." Some authors have tried to convince us that he is predicting his own death with this statement. I am NOT convinced that is true. Yes, he was receiving many threats against his life and that may be why he phrased it the way he did. However, to go so far as to say that he is PREDICTING his own death is a leap I do not wish to make. What say you? Dearnna Gaberdiel||||Hillsdale, ||MI||||2008/05/12||12:21:32||Spies of the Civil War||Dear Mr. DeCola and Mr. Greer, Thank you so much for the spy information and the book that tells about these interesting people. As always, the Lincoln friends come through again. Sincerely, Deanna Skip||||lakeside Park||Kentucky||||2008/05/13||07:25:22||Lincoln Predicting||I think the experts in mental health issues today would say that Mr. Lincoln could be the poster child for being Bipolar. In reading quotes, and stories about Lincoln. He tells funny stories, and often uses them to tell his views about events or issues. Next he's in deep thought or maybe depression with very good reason ie. the war, the loss of his children, his mother, even his own childhood. Either way, Mr. Lincoln knew he had to stay strong and he did. I don't think he was trying to predict his own death. I think he took the attitude, what happens, happens. He had a job to do and he was going to do it. John Sotos||||||||||2008/05/15||23:23:59||Predicting & Bipolar||In thinking about Lincoln's "prediction" of death, don't forget how different it was before antibiotics were invented. Life was tenuous & death capricious. (Bacterial pneumonia = #1 cause of death even in 1900; a perfectly healthy person would just up and die in a week.) Washington was known as a particularly unhealthy place. Lincoln was being more realistic than melodramatic.LBCRLBCRHave to disagree about Lincoln being bipolar. The time constant is all wrong. Lincoln changed from happy-faced to sad-faced (and back) way too fast to fit bipolar illness. In bipolar illness it usually takes days or weeks to change course. Also, being jolly is not the same as being manic.LBCRLBCR Randal Berry||||||||||2008/05/19||13:27:56||Predicting and Bipolar||I would like to hear Dr. Houmes opinion on this topic.LBCRLBCRRandal Berry Kate C. Larson||||Winchester||Massachusetts||||2008/05/15||11:31:11||Mary and John Surratt||Hello,LBCRLBCRI wanted to let everyone know that my Surratt book - The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln (Basic Books) - is due out June 2. Also, I have been contacted by Andrew C. A. Jampoler, who reports that he is finishing up a book on John Surratt - The Last Lincoln Conspirator, John Surratt�s Flight from the Gallows - and it will be published in October 2008 by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland.LBCRLBCRBest regards,LBCRKate C. Larson Michael Burkhimer||||Audubon||PA||||2008/05/21||15:32:01||New Epstein Book||The new Epstein book has been released on the Lincoln marriage. It is entitled "The Lincolns." Does anyone know what general angle the book is taking? Lisa Burnett||||Albuquerque||NM||||2008/05/23||11:56:49||looking for speech||When my son started school, I was given a speech by Lincoln about a first day of school. He is graduating now and I am looking for the speech. Does anybody know where I can get a copy of it? I cannot find mine.LBCRThank you Laurie Verge||||Clinton||MD||||2008/05/23||16:09:11||Surratt books||The new book on Mary Surratt, The Assassin's Accomplice, arrived at Surratt House Museum's gift shop today. Defenders of Mrs. Surratt will not be happy, but the author has done extensive research and consulted all of the best of the current works on the subject.LBCRLBCRAnother recent arrival in the gift shop is Kenneth Zanca's The Catholics and Mrs. Mary Surratt, which examines the role of the Catholic Church in 19th-century America as well as its position on the Civil War, Lincoln, the assassination, and the fate of Mrs. Surratt.LBCRLBCRLastly, we are expecting Mr. Jampoler's book on John H. Surratt, Jr. to arrive in early fall. As a member of the Surratt Society, the Surratt House Museum will be hosting a book signing in November.LBCRLBCRFor further information, please contact Surratt House at 301-868- 1121 or go to www.surratt.org. Randal Berry||||||||||2008/05/23||21:49:38||Surratt Book||Ms. Kate Larson, LBCRWould you please contact [email protected] you very much!LBCRLBCRRandal Berry