• • • NUMBER 1908 SPRING 2015 Lincoln Lore ABOUT lllllltlfjl~ IS THE BULLETIN OF THE ALLEN CouNTY PuBLIC LIBRARY AND THE FRIENDS OF THE LINCOLN CoLLECTION oF INDIANA

CONTRIBUTORS: Frank Williams Sally Benjamin Butler Dale Ogden Edna Greene Medford Justin McKinzie ACPL: Cheryl Ferverda jane Gastineau Katie Hutmacher Adriana Maynard Philip Sharpley Curt Witcher Friends of the Lincoln Collection: Sara Gabbard, Editor Post Office Address Box 11083 Fort Wayne, Indiana 46855 [email protected] www.acpl.info www.LincolnCollection.org www.facebook.com/LincolnCollection Lincoln Lore® ISSN 0162-8615 Unless otherwise indicated, all images are held by the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection (LFFC).

Photos by Katie Hutmach,

Members of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection of Indi­ ana receive a discount for Moody, Tearful Night books published by South­ ern Illinois University Press. By Richard Masloski To order, contact Chi­ Donated by lan and Mimi Rolland cago Distribution Center at 1-800-621-2736 (phone); Titled "Moody, Tearful Night" from Walt Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in th Dooryard Bloom' d," this statue by Richard Masloski shows the mortally wounded Presi 1-800-621-8476 (fax); dent being carried by a doctor and four soldiers from Ford's Theatre to the William Peterse: or order online at House across Tenth Street, where he would die at 7:22a.m. the next day, AprillS, 1865. www.siupress.com. Use This statue was purchased by Ian and Mimi Rolland and was recently donated to the Alle1 promotional code FLC25 County Public Library with the expectation that generations of library patrons would b to receive a 25% dis­ able to view this exceptional work of art. count on your order. 2 SPRIN G 201 5 FEBRUARY 7 - JULY 5 SO COSTLY A SACRIFICE: LINCOLN AND LOSS EXHIBIT INDIANA STATE MUSEUM I INDIANAPOLIS, IN See the article on page 14 for information on this exhibit at the Indiana State Museum.

Painted plaster cast bust ofAbraham Lincoln. Gutzon Borg/urn, 1908 Lincoln Financial Fo undation Collection at the Indiana State Museum

MAY 6, 201 5 7: 00 PM "KILLING JOHN BROWN, KILLING LINCOLN: SECRETS OF THE ASSASSINATION" 201 5 IAN AND MIMI ROLLAND LECTURE A LLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY I FORT WAYNE, IN David Reynolds, Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, will give the 2015 Ian and Mimi Rolland Lecture at 7:00pm at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN. Reynolds is the author of many books, including: Lincoln's Selected Writings, Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom 's Cabin and the Battle for America, john Brown Abolitionist, Waking Giant: America in the Age ofjackson, and Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography.

JUNE 19, 201 5 I 7:00PM "WHEN FREEDOM CAME: EMANCIPATION AND THE QUESTION OF TIMING" ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY I FORT WAYNE, IN Edna Greene Medford, Professor of History at Howard University, will commemorate the anniversary ofJuneteenth (1865) with a program at 7:00 at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN. She is the author of Lincoln and Emancipation and coauthor of The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views.

SEPTEM BER 201 5 ANNUAL R. GERALD MCMURTRY LECTURE ALLEN COUNTY PUBLI C LIBRARY I FORT WAYNE, IN 2015 Lincoln Prize Award Winner Harold Holzer will give the annual R. Gerald McMurtry Lecture at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN. More details will be available in the summer issue ofLincoln Lore.

NUMB ER 1908 3 L ~An intervievv vvith Frank J. Williams on '( I th~ year 1865 I

Titt UUl!.~t~G OF COLOVDIA, SOUTD CAROUNA, hniUIJo.n 1~. t3t1.- [5l"l:f'QU:D aT W. Wa~ )

7he Burning of Columbia, South Carolina, February 17, 1865. Sketched by W Ward. Harper's Weekly, Apri/8, 1865

Sara Gabbard: Please describe "the March 2, ending organized fighting in the Forks west of Petersburg on April1, cap­ last battles" of the Civil War. Shenandoah Valley. On March 11, Sher­ turing 2,500 prisoners. Grant orders a gen­ Frank Williams: The second Union expe­ man occupies Fayetteville, North Carolina. eral assault on Petersburg on April2 which dition captures Fort Fisher near Wilming­ Restored to command by Jefferson Davis, breaks the Confederate lines and forces Lee ton, North Carolina January 13-15, 1865, General Joseph E. Johnston attacks the left to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond on the foreclosing the last major port for blockade wing of Sherman's army near Bentonville on night of April2. The Union sustains about runners. On February 1, General William March 19 with 21,000 men and is repulsed. 42,000 men killed, wounded or missing from T. Sherman leaves Savannah, Georgia, and Sherman enters Goldsboro on March 23 and June 1864 to April1865 during the fighting advances into South Carolina with greater joins General John M. Schofield's forces . at Petersburg, with Confederate casualties destruction of homes and property than in Newly appointed General-in-Chief Robert of approximately 28,000. Georgia. General Ulysses S. Grant renews E. Lee, who still commands the Army of Union cavalry captures Selma, Alabama, on the Union offensive at Hatcher's Run south­ Northern Virginia, attacks, unsuccessfully, April2. Lincoln tours Richmond on April west of Petersburg, Virginia. Sherman's army Fort Stedman southeast of Petersburg on 4. Lee retreats westward to Amelia Court enters Columbia, South Carolina, on Febru­ March 25. On March 27, Major General House on April 4 and is unable to secure ary 17 with widespread fire and looting ensu­ Edward R. S. Canby begins a siege of the needed supplies. His route to North Caro­ ing. On February 18, Confederates evacuate Confederate strong point on the eastern side lina is blocked by Union troops, so Lee con­ Charleston. of Mobile Bay. On March 31, Grant orders tinues his retreat westward. Pursuing Union On February 22, Union troops capture Sheridan to lead a major offensive west of troops capture more than 6,000 troops at Wilmington. General Philip Sheridan's cav­ Petersburg with heavy fighting at Dinwiddie Sayler's Creek on April 6. After his retreat alry routs the remnants of General Jubal Court House and White Oak Road. Sheri­ is blocked by Union troops at Appomattox Early's force at Waynesboro, Virginia, on dan overruns Confederate positions at Five Court House, Lee surrenders to Grant on 4 SPRING 2015 April 9. On the same day, Union troops tory as the Constitution protected slavery assault Fort Blakely near Mobile. Sher­ in the border states of Maryland, Ken­ I man resumes the offensive in North Car­ tucky, Delaware and Missouri and fed- olina on April10. Union cavalry captures erally occupied territory unless and until - Montgomery, Alabama on April12, the there was such an amendment abolish- same day Confederates abandon Mobile. ing slavery everywhere. Lincoln worried .-­ Sherman occupies Raleigh on April13. about a legal challenge in the courts that ~ While watching the British farce, Our could find his Emancipation Proclama- r"T'1 American Cousin at Ford's Theatre on tion unconstitutional. And as the procla­ April 14, President Lincoln is assassi­ mation was a war measure intended to last nated by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice for the duration of the war, what would be President Andrew Johnson is sworn in its effect once the war had ended? Would as 17th president on April15. African-Americans, absent a constitu­ Sherman and Johnston meet near Dur­ tional amendment, be required to return ham Station, North Carolina, on April to bondage? With the war ending, it was 18 and sign an agreement providing for prudent to act quickly. The House ofRep­ the surrender of the remaining Confed­ resentatives approves the amendment erate armies. On April21, Johnson and (119-56) on January 31, 1865. his cabinet reject the Sherman-Johnston Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward agreement. wanted passage of the 13th Amendment Lieutenant General Richard Taylor resolution by the lame duck Congress in surrenders Confederate forces in Ala­ January 1865, rather than waiting for the bama, Mississippi and eastern Louisi­ new Congress that the President said he ana to general Canby on May 4 - the would convene in March, for fear that the same day Lincoln is buried in Spring­ war would soon end with slavery intact. field, Illinois. Union cavalry capture Jef­ William T Sherman The war's end would result in the loss of ferson Davis near Irwinville, Georgia, on impetus by Congress for enacting final May 10 and imprison him at Fort Mon­ freedom, and the Emancipation Procla­ roe, Virginia, the same day Confederate mation would be considered moot and expired. If the amendment were imposed guerrilla leader William Qyantrill is fatally FW: AS Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Foner after the Confederate surrender, it could wounded in Kentucky. put it, "Emancipation had become an end appear vindictive to Northern voters given Surrender terms for the Confederate Trans­ in itself, which Lincoln would not aban­ the fact that the federal government had Mississippi department are negotiated in don even if it meant risking his own reelec­ promoted abolition as a war measure. If the New Orleans on May 26. Unaware of the tion." Despite fears of losing the election, war ended, why would the government still Confederate surrenders, the commerce raider sudden military victories by General Wil­ promote the concept? Shenandoah begins capturing and destroy­ liam T. Sherman at Atlanta on September ing whaling ships on May 29 near Alaska. 2, 1864 and Admiral Farragut a~ Mobile SG: Please describe the ratification On June 28, after making its final capture Bay, brought the President a second term process for the Amendment. in the Bering Sea, the Shenandoah ceases -the first since Andrew Jackson. Lincoln Were there major obstacles to hostilities and sails to Liverpool, England told the Congress in his December 1864 ratification in the North? What on November 7. annual message that the election result was was the reaction ofSouthemers? Johnson signs a proclamation of amnesty a referendum on the 13th Amendment and FW: Once approved by the House of Rep­ and pardon on May 29 and begins to estab­ that it was time for the House to, yet again, resentatives with two thirds in favor, as the lish new state governments in the south consider the issue in its lame duck session as Senate had approved it earlier, the resolu­ under conditions the Radical Republicans the Senate had passed the resolution to send tion was sent to the states for ratification. think too lenient. the 13th Amendment to the states earlier in The President signed the resolution although Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith 1864. Lincoln used his reelection victory to not required to do so and engendering some signs Trans-Mississippi surrender on June 2. claim that a popular majority favored the criticism by members of the Congress who Total deaths of the Civil War, original 13th Amendment. While he had the votes believed that this was strictly a Congres­ pegged at 620,000, have been revised by in the House once the new Congress con­ sional action. Delaware, Kentucky, New demographic historian J. David Hacker to vened in late 1865, the time was now and he Jersey and Mississippi voted against ratifica­ 752,000 for the period 1861 to 1870. pressed the House to action with the promise tion, but the 13th Amendment was approved of patronage and other favors if lame duck by twenty-seven states, with Illinois and SG: Why did Lincoln decide to force Congressmen would vote for the resolution. Rhode Island leading the way, and including the vote on the 13th Amendment with The president was also worried about legal eight former members of the Confederacy by the House of Representatives which and practical ramifications of his Emanci­ December 6, 1865. On December 8, Secre­ had refused to pass it in 1864? Did he consider the possibility ofwaiting pation Proclamation of}anuary 1, 1863, a tary of State William H. Seward will declare for the newly elected Congress to be military order that he believed could only be ratification complete with three fourths of seated before addressing the issue? effective in Confederate held states and terri- the states voting for the amendment. NUMBER 1908 t:; L.L.I SG: What was the general mood of the ton Blair. With Lincoln's approval in late and Rhode Island, Lincoln insisted that slav­ cc:::: people in early 1865? N orth? South? December 1864, Blair traveled to Richmond ery was dead. He did promise a pardon for 0 .....J FW: War-weary is the best way to describe to visit his political colleague Jefferson Davis. Confederate leaders and went so far as to the public mood- North and South not only Blair's suggestion to intervene in the Mexi­ suggest that if the Confederate States abol­ in 1865 but from early 1864 as mass death can Civil War was a non-starter. But Davis ished slavery, he would seek compensation. and suffering had become a permanent pres­ did give a letter to Blair for Lincoln offer­ Davis described Lincoln's terms as "degrad­ ence in the American psyche. Northerners ing to appoint commissioners to "enter into ing submission" and "humiliating surrender" and Southerners alike contended with the conference with a view to secure peace to the to rally Southerners. While the Hampton I shock of seeing men without arms or legs, two countries." Lincoln had Blair return to Roads conference failed to bring about an disfigured by shrapnel or ravaged by disease. Richmond offering to receive any commis­ earlier peace, it could not have occurred with­ Still the war continued as soldiers and civil­ sioner that Davis "may informally send to me out the deftness ofU.S. Grant. with the view ofsecuringpeace to the people of ians on both sides accepted the necessity of SG: What were Lincoln's primary our one common country." Overlooking the a fourth and fifth year of fighting with a objectives when crafting his Second mixture of determination, resignation and discrepancy between "two countries" and Inaugural Address? Did he succeed? regret. Many in the North expected that "one common country," Davis appointed FW: One thing that sets this inaugural Grant would quickly defeat Lee with his a commission composed of Vice President apart is its biblical and theological language. Overland Campaign in the Spring of1864 Alexander H . Stephens, President Pro Tern Within 701 words Lincoln mentions God and capture Richmond, while Confederate of the Senate Robert M . T. Hunter, and Assis­ fourteen times, quotes the Bible four times hopes focused on the gradual exhaustion tant Secretary ofWar John A. Campb~ll. The and invokes prayer three times. All of his of the northern will to fight and the defeat agents were told by Major T. T. Eckert­ words are directed away from himself He the President's representative- they could of Lincoln at the polls. As spring came in does speak of all and both. His second para­ both sides would plunge into battle not proceed unless they agreed to Lincoln's 1865, graph is marked by his inclusive language. - yet again. "one common country" as a basis for talks. This is a clue to the larger purpose of his The conference seemed aborted until Gen­ By this time, Confederate morale had clearly address. Parties in any war have a difficult eral-in-ChiefUlysses S. Grant, who usually dropped from the early optimism of1861 and time understanding the aspirations or point refrained from politics and had been directed the steely resolve o£1863, but in large mea­ of view of the other side. Lincoln knew the by President Lincoln to stay away from pol­ sure, that drop in morale came because of audience would have cheered him if he had icy other than military matters, intervened. battlefield losses. Conversely, Union morale demonized the South, but he chose a dif­ Grant demonstrated shrewd political acu­ was heightened in 1865 as civilians and sol­ ferent path by portraying a path that North men--for which he has not been credited. diers could see and feel victory. and South could follow. He telegraphed the President on February SG: Same question regarding the mood 2, "I am convinced, upon conversation with Lincoln's meaning flows from the largest of troops, both N orth and South. Messrs. Stevens [sic] & Hunter that their paragraph. He infers that the North, even FW: The fight, which was initially expected intentions are good and their desire sin­ while seeking reunion, knew that slavery was to be short and a rout, turned out to be a cere to restore peace and reunion .... I am the cause and the key moral issue. He sug­ bloody war of attrition, where defensive fire­ sorry, however, that Mr. Lincoln cannot gests that the South also knew that, despite power so overwhelmed the offense that at have an interview with [them]. ... I fear now its search for independence, slavery was its Antietam, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, their going back without any expression from wayoflife. Petersburg and west to Amelia Court House any one in authority will have a bad influ­ The president believed that there was a com­ and Appomattox - the soldiers mostly just ence." This is all Lincoln needed to hear. On mon responsibility for the war- from North stood there and watched each other die. reading Grant's wire, the President went to as well as South. Lincoln's final declamation There is a wide consensus that the Civil War Virginia to join Secretary of State Seward in the speech was a plea for both sides to live is the central theme of American history. It for a meeting with the commissioners. This in the future in a spirit of reconciliation. was the central theme in the lives ofNorth­ extraordinary "informal" four-hour meet­ Lincoln would state following the address ern and Southern men who fought in it. A ing of the five men took place on February that. "Men are not flattered by being shown Wisconsin soldier stated in one of his last 3, 1865 aboard the steamer River Queen at that there has been a difference between the wartime letters, "What an experience the last Hampton Roads. Lincoln would not accede Almighty and them." He told Thurlow Weed few years have been! I would not take any to an armistice while peace negotiations took that, "It is a truth that I thought needed to amount of money &have the events which place. What about official negotiations while be told." have transpired in that length of time blot­ the war continued? Stevens noted that even Lincoln would die six weeks later without ted out from my memory." Yet, the survivors King Charles I had entered into agreements the chance to effectuate reconciliation. It of the war in spring 1865 could only feel, as with rebels in arms during the English civil would take another 100 years for civil rights the veterans of any war, an abhorrence for war. Lincoln replied, "I do not profess to be legislation, as well as the courts, to see it the cruelty and killing they had witnessed. posted in history. All I distinctly recollect through. Yet the Civil Rights Act of 1866, about the case of Charles I, is that he lost his the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to SG: Were there any efforts to seek head." With the passage of the Thirteenth the Constitution would aid in insuring the peace during hostilities in 1865? Amendment resolution by the House ofRep­ vision of the Declaration of Independence FW: From both sides there were cries for resentatives three days earlier with several that all men are created equal and would peace. One final effort to end the Civil states already ratifying it, including Illinois . help define the meanings of freedom, citi- War was made by Democrat Francis Pres- 6 SPRIN G 201 5 13th Amendment Celebration, Harper's Weekly, SCDIE IN THE BOUSE ON TB'E PASSAGE OP TRE PROPOSITION TO AMDex parte Milligan that a mili­ nap the president. Booth tary tribunal could not try civilians where felt he was out of time so the civil courts were open and operating with he changed his kidnapping no threat by an enemy existed, many jurists plot to murder. disagree to the applicability of this case to the Lincoln military tribunal. In 1868, a U.S SG: Did Booth firmly District Court for the Southern District of believe that his act Florida upheld the jurisdiction of this mili­ would receive universal tary tribunal. In 1942 and again in 1946, the approbation, at least in the South? Would U.S. Supreme Court, in two cases stemming history treat him as from World War II, upheld the jurisdiction a hero? What was of military tribunals even though two of the the general response defendants were U. S. citizens. In 2001, a to the assassination federal court in the District of Columbia in the South? upheld the jurisdiction of the Lincoln tribu­

FW: Lincoln's death came nal to try U.S. citizens in a lawsuit brou~ht0 too late to have an impact by Dr. Samuel Mudd's grandson. Despite on the war and Confeder­ denial of some due process at the trial, the ate independence. Although commission itself was constitutional. The there were still over 120,000 war on terror U. S. Supreme Court cases Confederate troops and following September 11, 2001 have also three Confederate armies allowed the use of military tribunals, with in the field at the time of the consent of Congress, even though U.S. the assassination, the war citizens have been charged. was lost for the Confederacy SG: What are the main differences and only weeks from ending. between a military and a civilian The killing shocked the trial ...with special emphasis on the country. Northerners feared trials of Mary and John Surratt? ]oh11 Wilkes Booth saboteurs among them, FW: Mary Surratt was tried with her co-

8 SPRING 1015 defendants before a nine-man military com­ mission authorized by President Johnson who wanted a speedy trial with no leniency toward the conspirators. The commission­ ers would act as both judge and jury. Her son, John, would be tried two years later in I 18 6 7 in a civil trial resulting in a hung jury. So, the civilian-s who allegedly conspired to assassinate the president were tried in a military court- before Army officers rather than civil judges without a jury. Initially the Judge Advocate General, Joseph Holt, wanted to hold the sessions in secret but newspaper protests led to limited access, record keeping and eventual publication of officially approved transcripts. The overly broad indictment was an attempt to try the Confederate government as part of the conspiracy by claiming a link between the Confederates to Booth's plot. SG: I once read that "The assassination ofAbraham Lincoln changed the United States forever." Is this overstating the impact? FW: Abraham Lincoln's legacy to the nation was an essential one - the preservation of the Union and the end of slavery. This regi­ cide severely impeded the journey for equal­ ity. What changed was America itself. The world's first grand experiment in democracy had murdered its president. As the Illinois State Register said on April15, 1865, "The effect of this terrible blow cannot now be estimated." It was easy to hold the South responsible for Booth's act. It was less easy to regain the republic's innocence. In the years that followed, we found it was lost forever john Surratt in the mystery of democratic government. SG: Although we will go into more detail when you are interviewed for the was true to the notion he had articulated SG: W hat is your next 150th anniversary of 1866, what were on November 24, 1863, that slavery was Lincoln-related project? the initial decisions which were made destroyed and "there is no good reason .. . regarding Reconstruction in 1865? FW: My work on an annotated Lincoln for destroying the states to bring about the bibliography of all books published since FW: Abraham Lincoln could not have destruction of slavery." He worked for imme­ 1865 continues. I have a contract to do a imagined that the pro-Union Democrat he diate restoration of the seceded states to the book on Ulysses S. Grant as hero and I am wanted as his running mate in 1864 to calm Union. He sustained conservative South­ editino- a book on 7he Lincoln Assassination Wall Street would become sole leader of the 0 ern regimes with government patronage. Riddle with Michael Burkhimer. nation for seven of its most crucial months. As Peyton McCrary says ofJohnson's poli­ But on April15, 1865, less than three hours cies in Louisiana, "When Andrew Johnson after Abraham Lincoln had breathed his last, ABOUT THE AUTHOR assumed the presidency in 1865 he pursued Johnson took the presidential oath. With a reconstruction policy antithetical to that . Congress out of session, Johnson was in Frank Williams of his predecessor, if viewed in terms of its charge of what he called the "restoration" Frank Williams recently retired impact on the party system rather than in of the Union. as Chief Justice of the Rh ode Island light of superficial constitutional similari­ Supreme Court. He co-founded Most politicians expected Johnson to be ties." Johnson's conflict with the Republi­ The Lincoln Forum and is author of tougher on the South than Lincoln would can Congress over this question led to his Lin coln as Hero and Ju dging Lin coln. He have been. Claiming to be following Lin­ impeachment in 1868. co-edited (with Michael Burkhimer) coln's plan of reconstruction, Johnson The Mary Lincoln Enigm a. NUMBER 1908 9 U-1 Cl::: 0...... Teaching Lincoln and the Civil War An interview with Sally Benjamin Butler a Towles Middle School teacher in Fort Wayne, IN. I

BattleofGettysburg, Kurz &Allison, 1884

(Editor's note: When I first read these causes this universal appeal? What is it that roller coaster. The story of Lincoln and the "letters," they sounded so authentic that I attracts us to the story? Is it the tragedy of the Civil War produces a wide array of emo­ assumed that the assignment was simply to lives lost? Battlefield casualties from 1861- tions. There are feelings of sorrow stem­ find a historical figure and submit a letter 1865 produced staggering statistics: 51,000 ming from the tremendous loss oflife and that he/she had actually written, not to study at Gettysburg, 23,000 at Antietam, 24,000 yet laughter from one of Lincoln's jokes. a specific individual's life and create a letter. at Shiloh, more than 620,000 in all. Does the Learners are filled with indignation at the The reason that the letters sound so authen­ sorrow echoing through the White House treatment of slaves and also feel patriotism tic is that Sally Butler is an extraordinarily at the death of Willie resurrect feelings of with words from the "Battle Hymn of the gifted teacher with a passion for history that sadness many have experienced due to the Republic" and the "Gettysburg Address." she is able to convey to her students.) passing of a loved one, and this connection They feel the excitement of Pickett's Charge makes learning more meaningful? Or is it along with the melancholy caused by view­ Sara Gabbard: Is it difficult with simply the personalities involved? Studying ing Alexander Gardner's photographs of middle school students to develop an interest in Abraham Lincoln Lincoln and Lee, Grant and Gordon, Davis the dead at Antietam. Therefore, what stu­ and the Civil War? What portion and Douglass produces wonderful quotes dents in the middle find most alluring about of the story is most appealing? and scenarios that draw people to the time Lincoln and the Civil War is that they can Sally Butler: Having worked in four dif­ period. "With malice toward none; with relate to the information and somehow see a ferent middle schools over the course of charity for all; with firmness in the right, as picture of themselves by studying the nine­ God gives us to see the right, let us strive on teenth century. twenty-nine years, I have never had dif­ to finish the work we are in; to bind up the ficulty developing an interest in Abraham SG: What do students ofthat age nation's wounds; to care for him who shall Lincoln and the Civil War. Middle school already know about slavery and how have borne the battle, and for his widow, students are definitely a breed apart: social do they respond to this reality? and his orphan ...". Words, such as these beings on an emotional roller coaster, half SB: Students start to formally learn about from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, grown yet predominately immature, and slavery in the fourth and fifth grade. By demand attention. Perhaps the overarching able to be incredibly creative, insightful, and the time they reach middle school, they are theme of slavery is in itself enough to spark thoughtful despite moments of inattentive­ usually familiar with Harriet Tubman and interest. The nearly four million enslaved ness, insecurity, and selfishness. (My sanity Frederick Douglass. Some students have Americans who shaped our nation without has been questioned due to the fact that I experienced the Underground Railroad sce­ recognition or respect is proof of an injustice love working with this age group!) No matter nario at Camp Potawatomi (located near that simultaneously intrigues and disgusts how diverse their backgrounds, young people Fort Wayne), where at night they take on my pupils. This unfairness causes them to are drawn to Lincoln and the Civil War. I the roles of escaped slaves. Many elemen­ want to know more. Probably, the interest suspect that the fascination with the man tary school students begin reading about in Lincoln and the Civil War is a combi­ and the era that I have witnessed in eighth slavery through wonderful examples of his­ nation of all these things and more. One graders is similar to the interest most adults torical fiction such as Copper Son and Night­ must keep in mind the description of an in the United States and around the world john. By the time students get to my class, adolescent: social beings on an emotional have for Lincoln and the Civil War. What they have a basic knowledge of the topic 10 SPRING 2015 and are interested. It is my privilege as a his career, and follow his movements from preserved it was. So, the planning began in middle school teacher to be able to build on Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. We spend earnest. Over Memorial Day weekend in I this basic foundation of understanding. The time looking at photos of him and of his 1997, my love affair with Gettysburg, Penn­ maturity level of teenagers affords a deeper family. We read his speeches. When we get sylvania, began, and I have had the privilege - and more serious examination of the sub­ to 1860, we have a mock election and some of exposing the wonders of this battlefield ject of enslavement. Eighth graders certainly students, representing Southerners, don't to hundreds of my students. My philosophy r­ come to me with a strong reaction to the find his name on the ballot. Of course, we for leading trips to Gettysburg was twofold: ~ unfairness of slavery. Because adolescents look at all of the decisions, difficulties, and make the adventure as close as possible to r'T'1 tend to feel strongly about injustice in gen­ dreadfulness connected with Lincoln and what the actual soldiers experienced and use eral, the issue of slavery is something that the Civil War. By the time we get to April the monuments and memorials to bring the makes them feel angry. I have had some of 14, 1865, the students don't want him to be story to life. To help the students have a sense my African American students feel hesitant assassinated. They have known all along that of the hardships the Union and Confeder- to delve into the harsh realities of slavery it was coming, but they feel real regret that ate soldiers experienced, I forced everyone because the truth is so painfuL However, I he was killed. They are fascinated with the to walk the battlefield for four straight days. approach this sensitive subject with the idea conspiracy. It always surprises me how lit­ It didn't matter if the temperature was in that learning about all of our nation's past, tle they know about the assassination plot. the 90s or it was pouring down rain. Com­ especially the ugly parts, can truly mold us I have used a variety of tools to teach about plaints were met with the idea that we should into better human beings and more respon­ this. We have acted out the scene at Ford's endure these hardships in honor of the men sible citizens. I often tell my students that I Theatre. There is a game that I have used in blue and gray who struggled and died on care less about what they know in their heads in which the students hear evidence about this sacred ground. This approach definitely and care more for what they strongly feel in the killing and then have to decide which paid off. Year after year, I heard the same their hearts about the people who lived long of the accused are guilty and what sentences comment as we headed west toward home: ago. Studying those who shaped our nation's should be handed out. Students usually don't "Mrs. Butler, I could feel the importance of history becomes our story. Their pain is our think that Mary Surratt should have been this battlefield." And, of course, they didn't suffering. Their triumph is our victory. We executed! Mostly, students just want to talk want to leave! One of the traditions associ­ learn from the mistakes and make our world about what happened. They genuinely feel ated with this trip was having the students a better place because we are rich with the sad about Lincoln's death. They take it per­ "adopt" one of the 80 Hoosier soldiers who knowledge of those who came before us. sonally, as if he were a friend or relative. are buried in the National Cemetery and I was especially pleased this year with my Students love to view pictures ofFord's The­ were discussed by Lincoln on November 19, students' responses to lessons about slavery. I atre, the Petersen House, the blood-stained 1863, as some of the honored dead. Before currently teach at Towles New Tech, which chair, the derringer, and the bodies of the we went on our journey, a list was provided opened last year in Fort Wayne. Amy Nagel accused at the ends of their ropes (literally). with each soldier's name, regiment, and is my co-teacher, and our class is a combi­ They audibly let out a sigh at learning Tad's company. Students were encouraged to do nation of Language Arts and Social Stud­ quote: "Pais dead and I am only Tad Lin­ research to find information about the man ies. New Tech uses project-based learning. coln now, little Tad, like other little boys. they selected. Once we arrived in Gettysburg During our unit on the causes of the Civil I am not a president's son now. Well, I will and started our four days of touring, I always War, students collaborated with each other try and be a good boy and will hope to go to included the monuments dedicated to each to write slave narratives. Individually, they heaven someday to Pa and brother Willie, in Indiana regiment and gave details about the composed poetry about injustice after doing heaven." Students feel emotional and regret­ fighting in which they were engaged. When research on a wide variety of abolitionists ful about Lincoln's death. This is especially the time came to go to the cemetery, stu­ such as the Grimke sisters, Sojourner Truth, true as we continue in history with lessons on dents searched for "their" soldier's grave and John Brown, and Levi Coffin. Students also Reconstruction. Of all the people we learn once located, placed a red carnation on the analyzed poems dealing with slavery writ­ about in U.S. History, I feel that Lincoln headstone. My heart is still touched when ten by authors such as Walt Whitman and is the one person for whom most students I remember those solemn moments when Herman Melville. When their stories and develop a bond of affection. I suppose the these teenagers knelt by the tombs of sol­ poems were shared orally with the class, I fact that their teacher is so enamored with diers they never met from so long ago and was extremely delighted with what the stu­ him has something to do with this! paid them the most sincere tribute. That is why I have been a teacher for 29 years. dents had created. Historical accuracy was SG: Please tell our readers about The power to move someone, to help them in place, but in addition the students had your "field trips" to Gettysburg. captured the emotions associated with the understand another's sacrifice, and to lead SB: I worked at Fort Wayne's Memo­ topic of slavery. I was very proud of their them to feel emotion is incredible. Every rial Park Middle School for 17 years from accomplishments and knew that they "got it!" time I visit Gettysburg, and I go as much as 1996-2013. During my first year as a his­ I can, I view a tangible reminder of the fabu­ SG: How do you teach Lincoln's tory teacher there, Ellen Heiny, a parent lous experiences my students were provided assassination? Again, how do of one of my students, suggested that we on these field trips. It is the monument in your students respond? take a big field trip. I agreed and asked her Evergreen Cemetery. One year on our trip, where we should go. Out of the blue, she SB: We spend many weeks with Mr. Lin­ we discovered that the cemetery caretaker, said Gettysburg. At that point, I had only coln in my class. We start discussing him in Brian Kennell, was raising money to put up a been to this national treasure once but had our unit on the pre-Civil War. We analyze memorial to the women who helped with the his quotes, examine his early days, study fond memories of how beautiful and well NUMBER 1908 11 L.L.I aftermath of]uly 1-3, 1863. The monument wonderful students. ratives. They were also instructed to write Cl::: would be sculpted of Elizabeth Thorn, who in the vernacular of the day. SG: In studying the Civil War, I was the wife of the cemetery keeper during g know that you emphasize the use of the Civil War. Her husband Peter enlisted primary source material, especi~y CIVIL WAR SLANG: in the 138th PA Infantry. While he served letters from soldiers. Please explam Sheet Iron Crackers: hardtack his country elsewhere~ the Confe_derates paid how you used this method to instruct Sardine Box: cap box a visit to his town, his home, his cemetery. students to submit essays this spring. Graybacks: lice or Southern Soldiers Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill are, of SB: Thankfully, my father worked on the I course, named for the Evergreen Cemetery. Arkansas Toothpick: a large knife genealogy of our family and wrote books Pepperbox: pistol Intense fighting occurred right among the in which he included copies of my ances­ o-ravestones and men died, ironically, in this 0 tor's Civil War letters. In addition, a book Top rail #1: first class place. Elizabeth gave information about the entitled Hell on Belle Isle has been written Greenhorn, Bugger, Skunk: officers layout of the roads in town to General 0.0. about one of my relatives. Jacob Coburn Sawbones: surgeons Howard during the early phase of the fight. was in the 6th Michigan cavalry and had Hornets: bullets She lived in the cemetery gatehouse with her the misfortune ofbeing sent to Belle Island Possum: a pal, friend, or buddy two children and her parents. She was six in Richmond in 1863. Before dying of star­ Grab a root: potato or have dinner months pregnant with her third child when vation as a prisoner, he kept a diary. These Tight, wallpapered: drunk war interrupted her life. Like so many other family pieces were shared with my students civilians, it became necessary for her to flee to give them an understanding for what cor­ Barkjuicce, tar water, nokum stiff, from her home during the battle only to respondence and journaling from the nine­ Joy Juice: liquor return to broken windows, stolen linens, and teenth century was like. The task at hand Quick step: diarrhea death. The first soldiers to be buried after was for the students to write a narrative as Sunday soldiers, kid glove boys, parlor the battle were interred in Evergreen Cem­ if they were someone from the Civil War. soldiers: insulting words for soldiers etery by Elizabeth Thorn. With little help, Civilian or soldier, the choice was theirs. Fresh fish: raw recruits this woman did the impossible and put to An emphasis was placed on making sure the Sources: The Life offohnny Reb by Bell Irwin rest more than 100 of the dead. When her final compositions captured the vocabulary, Wiley and The Life ofBilly Yank by Bell Irwin baby girl was born three months later, she information, and feel of authentic writing Wiley, Courtesy ofU.S. Department oflnte­ was named Rose Meade Thorn, in honor from the time period. Students were also rior, National Park Service of General George Meade who gave the able to choose from dozens of photographs of Union a much needed victory at Gettys­ Civil War soldiers. They used the name and SG: Please comment on the following subjects which your burg. Elizabeth's story touched the hearts regiment of these men to do research about students explored in their essays. of students and adults alike, and we decided their experiences. Their narratives could then that we would help raise money for this new be based on reality, but the students had SB: Friendships - During our Civil War monument. By this point, our field trips to to use their own skills to add more details unit, the students read the novel Soldier's Gettysburg had already become art/history and descriptions. By reading the words of Heart by Gary Paulsen. This work of histori­ experiences as the art teacher, Sherry Shep­ real soldiers, the young authors were able to cal fiction is based on the real experiences of pard, joined me in our yearly adventures. get a feel for the phrasing and vocabulary a teenager named Charley who joined the Tying the design of the monuments with the of the Victorian era. We had conversations 1st Minnesota regiment in 1861. Two of our stories of the battle had always been our goal. about how different people are today in the · students decided to take what they learned Now our students were able to connect the twenty-first century. Civil War soldiers not in this novel about how the men (and boys) two subjects in a concrete manner. For two only wouldn't know anything about mod­ tended to enlist with their friends and family years, the young people of Memorial Park, ern technology, they also would not have members. Companies were often composed a fine arts school, created jewelry, painted been as blunt as people are today about men­ ofloved ones. This made the inevitable hor­ pictures, and designed charcoal drawings. tioning the unmentionable. Discretion was rors of war even harder to bear. The follow­ These works of art were then sold and the discussed. It is good for students to realize ing two narratives give a feel for how deep proceeds went to the monument fund. When how much communication has changed in friendships between soldiers could be. we brought a check for $1000 to Brian at 150 years. It was also beneficial for them to Evergreen, he was touched. Why would stu­ stretch themselves by trying to get into the BURYING A POSSUM dents from Fort Wayne, Indiana, care about mind of someone from so long ago. I think by Carson Bearcat (Bercot} a monument being built more than 600 miles analyzing quotes and passages from the real I was about 22 when the Civil War begun away in Gettysburg, PA? Why? The answer figures, both famous and obscure, helped the and me and Isaac my best friend had enlisted is because they had learned that history is students immensely to take on these roles. I together. We were so ready to get into the . about more than just a bunch of old dead was very impressed with their final products. people. These students had learned through war and fight for our beloved country. Both One of the resources we provided to the travellino- to this beautiful town and hiking me and Isaac were boys from the wilderness 0 students was a list of vocabulary used by for miles along these battlefield roads, that of Minnesota and knew how to take care of Civil War soldiers. Looking at the partial history is emotion. I am reminded of this ourselves when times got tough. Of course list below, the reader will realize how most each time I go to Gettysburg and look at me and Isaac were in the same regiment of these young authors took advantage of the statue that exists in part because of my coming from the same place and growing this guide to help them compose their nar- 1?. SPRING 2015 up together. I was fit as a fiddle but unfor­ people from our regiment fell to the ground nature for me and Pat, things like reloading ~ tunately Isaac was not. He had been cough­ left and right but we just kept charging. Men a rifle, fixing bayonets, and presenting arms. ing since before the war started and I was that me and Isaac had known from town, The food in the camp was less than satisfac- becoming a little worried. He was like a neighbors, all dead. We seemed to be whip­ tory: we were fed salted pork and sheet iron - brother to me, and I knew there wasn't a ping their line right out of shape. I had lost crackers. Sometimes we were given coffee. I lot we could do for sickness. Isaac!! He was just next to me; where did he never drank much coffee before, but being r-­ Isaac was the one person I trusted to be by go? I kept charging hoping that Isaac would in the army taught me to love it. ~ my side for the war because I knew we had show up but he did not. After a couple of weeks at camp, they r"T'' each other's back no matter what. Sure he Just as I looked over to fire more shots at the loaded all of us on a train and we headed to could be a little uppity at times but I knew greyback's line I saw Isaac!! I found him but Pennsylvania. There was talk of a big battle no matter what happened, Isaac would be I was too late ... I saw a Confederate right but I didn't believe any of it. The food they right next to me every step of the way. Before in his face and he shot a bullet. The dumb fed us on the train was way better than the we left off for war, Isaac's Ma had told me greyback's artillery shell went straight into stuff at camp, and, for once, my bread basket to rp.ake sure he got out of this war safe. Isaac's shoulder. I watched him fall to the was full. The train was real nice with nice She told me to keep my eye on him so he ground and couldn't believe that he got hit. I seats and comfy beds. On the train we met wouldn't get hurt because he was all she had. ran toward his body and sat next to it. I tried a good ol' chap named Charlie, He couldn't His Pa had just died two years ago and life everything to stop the bleeding but there was be older than 15 years old and he was already had been hard at home fo r him and his Ma. nothing to do. The bleeding wouldn't stop; off fighting in a war. We enlisted together on May 18th and were tears swelled up in my eyes ... His last words · Me and Patrick both met Colonel Wil­ going to be sent off to camp in the next week. were, "Patrick, Patrick, don't cry. I'm ... I'm liam Colvill, the man who would be com­ Camp life was hard. Neither of us got much gonna ... I'm going home now.. ." And with manding our regiment. He seemed to know food and we didn't have any proper place to one last smile, Isaac was gone. My best friend what he was talking about strategically and stay. The sergeants would run us day and gone ... but I had to be strong for Isaac I had seemed like a good ol' chap. Nothing else night to get us prepared for the war. We to keep fighting. So I charged at his killer happened the rest of the train ride and it was would run drills after drills, and by the end and stabbed him with my bayonet over and very uneventful so I seized the opportunity of training, I was all played out but I felt over. Col. Colvill had our regiment retreat to catch some shut eye. ready for the war. for the night. The war went on the next day When I awoke we were already in Penn­ They told us we gotta ride the train to get but I didn't get any action because I had sylvania and people were leaving the train. to Pennsylvania where our regiment was quickstep. After the battle ended everyone I quickly grabbed all my things and exited staying. On the train we met the men that was celebrating but I walked over to Isaac's the train with the others. When I got off, I would stand beside us in the war and were body, picked him up, and brought him to searched for Patrick. He was in the middle talking with them about home and our past. a proper burial, one he deserved, one that of pitching a tent. I ran over to him and he The train was real nice with nice seats and would be appropriate for Isaac. greeted me and we exchanged our thoughts very welcoming for a bunch of soldiers. I was and feeling about the war and if there would excited for the war to fight for my country SHEll SHOCK really be a battle here or not. We both agreed and risk my life for my country. All I wanted by Max Co/chin that nothing would really happen here and was our country to become strong again and that it was nothing to worry about. I was 19 when I joined the Union Army. I the way to do that is fight in this world to The next morning me and Patrick both signed up with my Possum, Patrick. We had make sure it happens. awoke to the firing of gunshots and cannons been best pals for as long as I can remem­ Me and Isaac met Col. William Colvill firing. We quickly got up and grabbed our ber. We were both boys from Minnesota and who would be commanding our regiment. equipment and rifles and exited the tent. knew how to take care of ourselves when Col. Colvill told us we would be going into There was smoke to the immediate south and things began to take a turn. Luckily we were battle soon at Gettysburg. I was so excited we guessed that was where the battle was enlisted together in the same regiment. I was to be fighting for my country and against and that was the direction that we headed grateful to go to war with my best friend and those rebels. Col. Colvill was a hard case but in. As we approached the cloud of smoke we there wasn't anyone else I wanted by my side. was a solid colonel and I felt that he would saw our regiment lining up and we quickly really lead us to win the battle. Patrick was a good ol' Hard Case. We were joined in. We started marching into a large extremely ready to fight in this war and I'm We marched to Gettysburg with the rest open field where we would probably chase glad that we'd be going in together. I had of our regiment to get ready to fight against off some greybacks. worked as a blacksmith before I enlisted rebel scum. My haversack was completely The sight that met us when we got closer and the conditions were not always the full, my gun was ready to fire, and I was was absolutely terrifying. It could easily be best. Sometimes I have these violent fits ready to fight in this battle. I looked at Isaac the entire Confederate army on the other of uncontrollable coughing but eventually and he had a face I had never seen before, side of the field. I looked behind us and was they would pass. almost a face of rage but it seemed like he actually surprised by the sight. We actu­ was ready to fight. Me and Patrick both enlisted on May 18th ally had an army to match. Easily 40,000 and were put into the same Regiment and We charged the Confederate soldiers, guns' men were standing behind me. All of our Camp. Camp life was hard. We had to do blazing, bullets flying everywhere. It was regiment took a knee and looked up to our drills over and over again until we got blisters mayhem. Isaac was charging at the Confed­ commander. He muttered two words, "Fix on our hands. Many things became second erate line and was in total rage. I watched as Bayonets'. All of a sudden I could see why. NUMBER 1908 1 ~ L.L.I The Confederate army was running towards A PRIVATE LIFE MADE PUBLIC ing in pain and agony with nothing for me cr::: us hollering a rebel yelL We quickly attached 0 by Alex Ryskamp to do to help. --I our bayonets to our rifles and awaited fur- In the end we may have succeeded in the ther orders. His next orders were to load our Journal of Private Pacolet Fernandez battle, but we sustained a great loss. Gen­ rifles and w_e did so flawlessly. All tha~ drill­ 29th ofApril, 1863 eral "Stonewall" Jackson was shot by one of ing had pa1d off. Then Colonel Colv1ll had I have begun to realize that camp life is his own men as Lee had ordered us to flank hollered one last order, "Charge!" rough as I just enlisted six days ago. Once I the Federal soldiers. Jackson survived with We did as he said and we all got up and enlisted others who had enlisted the same the wounds for only a few days before he l started charging at the Confederate line, day as I marched for a two day journey to passed. He was a great leader. The loss of closer, closer. I could feel the adrenaline in Fort Massachusetts in Mississippi. It was "Stonewall" is devastating to us and the rest my blood and I then realized how scared I a long and hard journey, longer than I had of the Confederacy. actually was. I looked to my right and saw anticipated, but it was worth it as I am to I may have survived this battle, but I fear Patrick right next to me, fierceness on his be fighting for what I believe is right. Once that I will not make it home after the war. face, I knew he was ready. We were now we arrived, we set up our tents and gathered I had a vision in my sleep last night that I about 300 yards from the Confederate line all of our items that we were given such as would not survive the next battle, making and they had already started launching can­ our sheet iron crackers, and our sardine box, me try to live my life to the fullest possible. nonballs and artillery shells at us. Closer, and the rest of the resources that we would This is proving to be difficult as the Green­ closer now only 150 yards out, we slowed need throughout the war. Throughout the horns are becoming harder and harder on down and started firing at the advancing first week that we stayed encamped at Fort their men, trying to prepare us for the next line. Wave after wave they were all drop­ Massachusetts, more recruits and enlisted time we face the Federals. Some of the men ping like flies and we just kept reloading men came in, while occasionally a regiment have become restless at night and try to sneak and firing. or two stopped by to see the sawbones after off to trade with the Federal troops. Six men The Confederates continued firing artillery some battles. Just yesterday a regiment that have been caught leaving camp so far. Each shells at us and they blew huge holes in our made it through the battle ofManassas came of them was executed today. As we are only line of infantry. The Union army was still through with more than half wounded. This volunteers and enlisted men, food is hard to advancing on the Confederates marching week I have been practicing battle maneuvers come by; the most we get each day is our straight at them, fearlessly. Now, only 50 and rifle tactics with my company the Lamar hardtack and the occasional bark juice. The yards away, an all-out war waged between Rifles, of the 11th Mississippi regiment. actual food is normally eaten by the bug­ the two sides. Shot after shot we took Con­ Tomorrow, we are to begin moving towards gers and other leaders. More and more men federates down and shot after shot they were Virginia, where we will meet with the rest are getting sick with dysentery. The rest of taking us down. The battlefield was now of our brothers in arms under General Lee, us are all played out from our practice and filled with smoke but I could see the peo­ who is a chief cook and bottle washer. We marching. ple around me getting shot and dying where have been told to be prepared for everything, Tomorrow we plan to move into Federal they lay. making me scared for my life. territory. I fear that I will not survive the We got closer to the Confederates and 9th of May, 1863 horrors of what lay there. I say goodbye to began battling with the greybacks with the world that could have been made great, I write this with my pen in hand as I have our bayonets. My face had been right in that was ruined as brother turned on brother. the face of a Confederate soldier when it survived my first major battle. On the day ofMay 3rd, the 11th Mississippi finally met (This narrative was a fictional story of a happened. An artillery shell was fired and nonfictional person, Private Pacolet Fer­ hit me directly in the shoulder. I fell to the with General Lee only to be put straight into battle in the middle ofChancellorsville. The nandez. He enlisted in the 11th Mississippi ground. I saw Patrick run over to my final Regiment, the Lamar Rifles, on May 23, resting place and stab the greyback mul­ Federals outnumbered us 2-1, making it a massacre. As I charged into battle, men that 1863 to fight in the Civil War. He was born tiple times with his bayonet, and he didn't in South Carolina, a student, was single and stop until his bayonet was completely red. I had known fell all around me. The hornets ripped into one of my closest possum's body; 17 years old. He was paroled at Appomattox He came over to me and slumped down. after the surrender was signed.) I could see the tears swelling in his eyes. he had possibly a dozen wounds, all of them Butter's comments: Fear- The following piece "Patrick, Patrick, don't cry. I'm I'm gonna ... either in the chest or bread basket. Because is a great example of how teenagers are able I'm o-oino- home now.. ." I died with a smile of this there was nothing I could do as he 0 0 to relate to Civil War soldiers because they so on my face. A smile because I had my best cried out for my help. All I could do was often were their same age. We discussed how friend by my side. keep moving past, as soon as I took one step away from him I felt the regret wash over the soldiers were supposed to be eighteen, but Bulter's comments: Description of Camp Life me, as he had been there during my train­ many were much younger than that. We exam­ -Students learned ab;ut how the soldiers lived ing and showed me how to clean my rifle, inedphotos ofsoldiers and were amazed at how between battles. The type offood that was eaten, and reload quicker. Unfortunately we were many were just boys. Many would never live clothes that were worn, and activities thatfilled ordered to pull our regiment back away from to be men. Many would come home forever up the long hours were discussed. Civil War sol­ enemy lines to prevent losing more men. I scarred by what they saw, what they experi­ diers spent more time contemplating and remi­ had to walk back past my possum as he laid enced, what they did, and what they became. niscing about battles than actually fighting in there bleeding to death. It was an absolute War isfrighteningfor all ages, for all involved. them. The Jollowingjournal reflects on some of horrific sight, to see him lying there, writh- But it is especially a fearful thingfor the youth these very things. 14 SPRING lOIS who enlisted with thoughts of glory, naive to reading descriptions ofthe aftermath ofbatt les. down. I couldn't do a thing to help him. I the realities of war. Even more deadly were the diseases that inflicted remember getting sawbones to go back for I the men in both the blue and the gray. Soldiers him that night but they wouldn't do anything THE TRUTH ABOUT WAR faced sheer exhaustion from long marches, suf­ because they knew he would soon die. I sat - by Chez ' lene Cornwall feredfrom unsanitary conditions, and camped next to him and he asked for me to take him in all kinds of weather. The extreme bravery out, so that he wouldn't suffer. I thought it r-­ My Name is Jacob Hershberger and this is and unremitting willingness to die seem alien best you should know before I died. 0 my record of my stay with the 142nd Penn­ ;::::tl:' to our modern way of thinking. Though we I want you to take good care of our daugh- rn sylvania. may not comprehend the reasons for the amaz­ ter; I want the best for you and Esther. Break It's dark and cold, wind howling, owls hoot­ ing endurance of Civil War troops, we can stiff the news to her lightly, but don't push her ing. It's quiet, but I still can't sleep. I remain admire their resilience. away. Be a hard case, for her sake. I know awake because I know that tomorrow we'll that the two of you will be alright without be fighting again, dying again, and losing MY DEAREST ETHEL me. I understand if you are fit to be tied, just ourselves once more. By Lauren Kieftr know I had to do something for this coun- I lie silently and think about my family. My try. I sure have been through the mill, and My Dearest Ethel, brothers, my father, and my dearest mother I hope that is enough for you. whom I love so much. The one who gave me It has been a happy seven years of marriage I wanted to take my last hours oflife writ­ the very journal I am writing in, the jour­ we have shared. I am so sorry to inform you ing you this letter; there is so much for me nal I have only chosen to use now. She told that I will not make it through the battle of to tell you and so much more that I want me to use it when I need someone to talk Gettysburg. I was ready for war; you were you to know. It is July 2 now, almost the to, when I need to put my thoughts down. reluctant for me to go. I now know that the 3. I am very weak, I will go soon. I have I need it now. I feel like I'm dying, losing fear oflosing me was the reasoning for your thought about my passing a lot, instead of myself. I'm slowly losing sight of who I was reluctance. I have been wounded right in my mourning I want you to be bully, for I have and who I wanted to be. I feel like my heart is bread basket while leading my men of Com­ done much for the country. Whichever way being squeezed until it turns to dust, floating pany B, 8th Florida regiment. I have been the war turns out I want you and Esther to away in the wind along with my will to live. lying on the ground for almost a day now, live a fulfilling life. If we, the Confederacy who knows how long I will stay here. I have I hear the wounded groan and scream in win, I will have accomplished what I set out no chance of recovery but a man brought me pain, their voices blending with the whistling for. If the Union wins, I still want you to water and said he would find help. Even if of the wind. They moan and call for loved be happy for the country and know that it he finds help, I won't make it. ones that will never come. The life draining will all work out. from their bodies with every passing minute. It is July 1 of 1863, soon to be the second. With my dying breath, it is July 3, 1863. Their parched and dry throats slowly quiet I am sure I will not make it another day. I have been on the battlefield wounded for them, but until then, I've learned to tune I will die a meaningful death, and I hope three days. The sawbones are about to work them out. It portrays me to be inhumane, that you are proud of what I've done for the on me now. The surgery will not be success­ but I am no longer human. For a human Confederacy. I have fought a good fight, ful, but that is alright. Sending all my love would not yearn to claim another's soul... but I am sorry I will not be able to see you to you and our daughter...... Honestly, I'm afraid. Not of the war, but again. You will be sent all the greenbacks Love your husband, Captain Thomas R. of going home. I'm afraid they won't accept I have earned throughout this bloody war. Love, of Company B, 8th Florida regiment. me. I am no longer the boy I used to be. No Please don't be uppity with the money, for I Butter's comments: Concern for families at longer the child they once knew. I've seen want you and our daughter to use it wisely. home-Students tried to make their writing things I shouldn't have seen, done things Time in between battles was harsh; it was sound authentic. Ideas were given as to what no child should do. I miss my family terri­ scarce as hen's teeth that we got any food bly and I don't know ifl will ever see them other than goobers and biscuits. Many of soldiers would discuss in fetters. Ofcourse, stu­ dents also read fetters, diaries, and journals again. That thought alone breaks my heart the men are dying of quick-step and being and shakes me to the core ... starved. I am happy to not be going out like from the period to get a feelfor what should be included. A recurring theme was concern for . . . I will need to shine and clean my gun that, for now I feel like I will have died toe­ those left behind. soon. The third day of battle will begin at ing the mark. I have seen many men get shot daybreak. I prepare myself for the carnage, down. The hornets hardly stop. My own best Part 2 of this article will appear in a later issue. the tears, and explosions. Sadness drapes possum was captured as a jailbird right in over me like a cloak, I feel my shoulders sag front of me, another was wounded by a hor­ and I wonder how long I will last. I don't net right in the head. He was dead instantly. ABOUT THE AUTHOR know if I can continue. I wonder as I stare These men, I watched die. I couldn't do any­ thing but keep fighting, or else I would die out into the darkness, Can I save myself, Sally Benjamin Butler before it's too late? too. I know you are already distressed from the Sally Benjamin Butler is a middle Butter's comments: Courage/Acceptance of school teacher at Towles Middle School, news of your brother passing. He was a good Death- One cannot study the Civil War with­ Fort Wayne (IN) Community Sc hools. out realizing the tremendous risk each soldier man. I always fought side by side with him faced daily. The horrors of battle are easy to on the battlefield. I remember the fifth day understandfrom viewingphotos ofthe dead and of the seven days battle when he was shot

lJIIMDtD lnnll · "1 r- L ~ So Costly a Sacrifice: Lincoln and Loss I: .....J ( by Dale Ogden

From Februar~ 7, 2~ 15, through July 5, 20 ~ 5, the In diana State Muse~m will mark the sesquicentennial of the end of the American Civil War, and of Lmco/n s death, thro ugh the dtsplay of more than 120 arttfacts and documents. The exhibition, So Costly a Sacrifice: I Lincoln and Loss examines these monumental events within the context of Victorian America's approach to human mortality. I MORTAliTY IN 19TH CENTURY AMERICA Give to Attia, my darling baby sister, my ftar I have not always done right but I knou watch, chain and the pin belonging, and also you forgive me. My love to all who have been During the mid-19th century, death was my gold ring which has no set in it, and my so kind to me and all the children I love dearly, a familiar element of everyday life in the cameo breast-pin. Good-bye, all. United States. The typical American woman bore six or seven offspring during her life­ Give to Aurelia my medal, my pencil, my ring M.J Porter time, and nearly 30o/o of American children with the white set, and my books, except the (Collection of the Indiana State Museum born prior to the 1880s died before reaching Bible I receivedfrom my Sunday School Class, and Historic Sites, Corydon Capital SHS) puberty. Unsanitary birthing procedures that which I want father to have, and the Hymn resulted in puerperal- or "childbed" - fever, Book which I got at the same time, and which THE FIERY TRIAL and other ills claimed one young mother I want Mother to have. While life expectancy for males in mid- for every fifty successful births. The infec­ To Helen, give my bracelets, my breastpin with 19th century America hovered around 45 tious disease tuberculosis was the leading white sets and the one withfather's miniature, years, that statistic was distorted by the num­ cause of death, but common maladies such and my mourning pin. - (Iforgot to say give ber of children who died in infancy. If an as measles, appendicitis, influenza, and even Relia my little mosaic pin, I want her to have American boy survived childhood, he had a diarrhea resulted in the deaths of count­ it.) Give my big lace cape to Relia. reasonable chance to live a long life. The car­ less Americans each year. The likelihood Father gave me that little black breastpin and nage of the Civil War dashed that hope. Sud­ of reaching adolescence without intimately now I wish mother to take it, it will be suit­ denly, huge numbers of otherwise healthy experiencing the death of an acquaintance or able for her to wear, and I wish her to do so. young men were dying at an appalling rate. a close relative was practically nonexistent. My white crepe shawl she must take, and ifshe The scale of death was unprecedented in Harrison County, Indiana, judge and seven­ can, get itfixed for her own wearing. the history of the United States. More than term Indiana state legislator, William Por­ As to my money, father says I have something 4,000 Americans died on a single day at the ter, fathered seven daughters, four ofwhom more than three hundred dollars. Give to my Battle of Antietam, and twice that num­ died of tuberculosis in their teenage years, dear R elia, Helen andAttia, each one hundred ber were killed during three days at Get­ or as young adults. Two weeks before her dollars, let them appropriate the amount as they tysburg. In the 14 months Andersonville death, William and Elizabeth Porter's eldest choose, I hope it will be wisely. Prison existed, nearly 13,000 Union POWs daughter, Mary Jane, a 26-year-old school­ Mother, that ring which was your mother's died from disease, malnutrition, or exposure. teacher, penned a will from her deathbed: take, and do with as you please, I do notfie! that As many as 140,000 soldiers died of dysen­ tery or chronic diarrhea during the course My Own Dear Father and Mother: I have any right to dispose of it. My clothes, do of the war. One in five white southern men I that my time on earth is short and I with as you please. They are not worth much. The feel of military age did not survive the conflict. thought I would write some of my little wishes less goldpen was Lizzie's, the larger is father's. To Aurelia and Helen give each a chemise but­ Such slaughter would test the nation's char­ about the disposition of my things. It is true, acter for generations to come. they are not many, nor very valuable, but they ton, both gold andjet. The Civil War was the first American con­ will serve as keepsakes from me. Mother, take five dollars of my money, and give dear Aunty Betsey flict where efforts to comfort every casualty, a p resent, or perhaps account for every fatality, and provide for she would prefer a every survivor rose to heroic heights. For five dollar gold piece. many citizens of the time, an especially pain­ I think maybe she ful aspect of the violence was that tens-of­ would. Tell her I thousands of young men were dying alone loved her till the last. and anonymous. Identifying, reclaiming, To you, mother and preserving, and burying the dead became a father, I have noth- national obsession. The first widespread use ing to leave but my of embalming and the rise of undertaking unalterable, dying as a profession, the development of national love and gratitude. cemeteries, and an endless progression of You have been dear, new methods for coping with death emerged. good parents to me Volunteers with the U.S. Sanitary Commis­ and as much as I sion, including many women such as Doro­ have loved you, I thea Dix and Louisa May Alcott, served at field hospitals and camps as nurses, raised money, worked to educate the government push a dispirited North into a negotiated and military on matters ofhealth and sani­ peace. John Wilkes Booth's assassination tation, or provided food, lodging and care of the 16th President was the culmination Union shelljacket for soldiers returning from service. After of this concept of a grand gesture. belonging to Sergeant the war, their newfound skills enabled some I never saw Mr. Lincoln so cheeiful and William Wilson, 19th Indiana volunteers to find work in jobs previously happy as he was on the day of his death. 1he I Volunteer Infantry, closed to women and encouraged many oth­ burden which had been weighing upon him of the legendary Iron ers to become actively involved in a range for four long years, and which he had borne Brigade. Shotfour of social movements from temperance to with heroic fortitude, had been lifted; the times, Wilson carried a Minii ball in his women's suffrage. war had been practically ended; the Union chest for the rest of A TIME TO BIND THE was safe. 1he weary look which hisfoce had so his life. long worn .. . had disappeared. It was bright Indiana State Museum NATION'S WOUNDS and cheeiful. The Civil War extracted an especially ter­ Hugh McCullough of Fort Wayne, IN. rible physical and emotional toll on Abraham Secretary of the U.S. Trea­ Lincoln. On a personal level, the Lincolns sury 1865-1869 were devastated by the death of their cher­ ished son Willie, claimed by typhoid fever "DETAILS OF THE DREADFUL in 1862; and the president's wife, Mary, lost TRAGEDY" Confederate artillery shell, a brother, a step-brother and the husband Throughout history, the news of momen­ circa 1863. Ibis shell struck of her favorite sister, each one who died the 18th Indiana Light tous events typically required weeks, or while serving in the rebel army. Simulta­ Artillery at Chattanooga even months, to become known through­ neously, the task of ordering multitudes to on August 23, 1863, killing out the general population. When John Corp Abram McCorkle. their deaths was a crushing burden for a Wilkes Booth and his band of reaction­ Indiana State Museum man who is remembered for his compas­ aries hatched their plot to kill Abraham sion. Upon hearing news of the slaughter at Lincoln on Good Friday of 1865, details Fredericksburg, Lincoln lamented, there is If of their success flashed across the con­ a worse place than Hell, I am in it. tinent via the newly completed web of But in the spring of1865, the Lincolns were the telegraph. On Saturday morning, the looking to the future with anticipation. The citizenry awoke to the horrifying report President's re-election had been secured the that the President of the United States previous November. On April9, Robert E. had been shot the night before and had Lee surrendered his Army ofNorthern Vir­ died earlier that morning. For the first ginia to the Union commander Ulysses S. time in history, an entire populace expe­ Grant, and the end of the country's bloody rienced a national calamity, essentially, nightmare was at hand. As thoughts ttirned simultaneously. Not only did Americans Patriotic Banner that hung in the Presidential Box to the hard work of national reconciliation, learn of the "Terrible News" (Lincoln was at Ford's 1heatre, April14, 1865 Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln planned an evening the first U.S. president to be assassinated of relaxation at Washington's popular Ford's and most Americans had believed such Theatre. atrocities were reserved for savages and a Washington was crazy with joy over the sur­ depraved Europe) together, they debated render of Lee. Every one of the Public Build­ the meaning of the tragedy, and followed ings was illuminated, and every private house the hunt for Booth, and the subsequent was blazing with candles from top to bottom trial and execution of the conspirators in the people were wild with excitement. chorus. Such a universal experience mag­ John B. Stonehouse "Dear Johnny" nified every aspect of the crisis and altered April16, 1865 the character of a nation. Gilder-Lehrman Collection at Many Americans got the report from the Pierpont Morgan Library newspaper extra editions that had been rushed into print. These single-sheet hand­ The fall of Richmond on April3, and Lee's bills were passed from hand-to-hand and surrender six days later, affirmed the hope­ posted in public places. Despite a break lessness of the Southern cause. The imminent in telegraph wires between northern Wis­ conclusion of a war between massed armies, consin and central Minnesota, by Sunday however, did not mean that all rebel parti­ morning 1he Saint Paul Press was able to sans were willing to abandon the fight. A few publish an extra edition on the assassi­ diehards believed that a single grand gesture nation with the promise of more news to 7he New York Herald 10:00 o'clock edition, might yet rally the Southern populace to follow immediately upon the completion Saturday, Apri/15, 1865 ... _ uuunr-n ' " ''""' LL.I of the necessary repairs. By the time Cali­ that union. For three days, the fallen lead­ is a prince, and a great man, fallen this day C5 fornia's evening newspapers were published er's remains lay in state in the rotunda of the in Israel?" ---1 on the day of Lincoln's death, according to nation's capitol while tens of thousands of When we last met for morning worship, it the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, the mourners filed past. The crusade to define was to commemorate the murder of the Lord news had traveled all the way to the Pacific the meaning of the war and to place Abra­ jesus Christ and to grieve over the sufferings Ocean "By Magnetic Telegraph." Though it ham Lincoln within that purpose was just ofHim who .. . diedfor our salvation .... We boasted a population ofless than 2,000 citi­ beginning. expected that on this day we should emerge from zens, within a few days of the tragedy Rock­ THE EASTER SERMONS the gloom and sorrow ofthe Passion Week, and I ville, Indiana's Parke County Republican rejoice in the fact and the lessons ofthe Savior's was reporting that "Already it is known from Throughout 1865 and into the following resurrection. Maine to California, that Abraham Lin­ year, the Easter sermons of many revered The Southern view of Lincoln's death was coln, the beloved of all Loyal men, is dead!" American pastors were collected and pub­ more complicated. Many of the elite recog­ Within weeks of the President's murder, lished in anthologies that were widely read nized their fate in Lincoln's hands was more the butchery of the American Civil War and discussed among the educated class. hopeful than it might be under less sympa­ had ended. Yet many questions remained Other homilies from less distinguished pul­ thetic leaders. Others felt the murder was a unresolved, and the abrupt removal of Lin­ pits were widely circulated in pamphlet form. righteous retribution. What torrents ofblood coln from the dispute led to confusion. The All attempted to bring some measure of sol­ Lincoln has caused to flow, and how Seward authority of the federal government, the ace and meaning to the horrors of the war, has aided him in his bloody work. I cannot be inherent rights of individuals, and the capac­ and to the president's death. sorry for theirfate. They deserve it. They have ity of states to govern their own affairs are Rev. Phineas Gurley reaped theirjust reward. issues that continued to be debated. Absent Chaplain of the United States Senate Kate Stone, Tyler, Texas, April1865 clear answers, many Americans of the post­ [W]e must see another hand- the chastening war era struggled to grasp the meaning of the hand ofa wise andfaithful God ... In the midst Attempting to touch the life of a great war and the inexplicable loss of their leader. ofour rejoicings we needed this stroke, this deal­ person by obtaining a personal souvenir Barely a month prior to Lee's surrender, ing, this discipline, and therefore he sent it ... has been a human impulse since medieval Abraham Lincoln had concluded his Second It is his prerogative to bring light out ofdark­ hucksters swindled the faithful by supplying Inaugural Address with a speculation on the ness and good out ofevil. countless splinters from what they claimed to possibility of a Divine Purpose behind the Rev. Henry Bellows be the "True Cross" ofJesus. Such an indus­ Civil War. Before offering his "With mal­ All Saints Church. New York, NY try developed around the martyred president almost immediately upon his death. Chips ice toward none; with charity for all" olive It was expedientfor ljesus} to go awayfrom all of wood from the house in which he died, branch to the Confederacy, the President bodily presence with hisfollowers .... Thus alone remnants of sheets from the deathbed and suggested that perhaps the horrific price could {He} ... keep them from closing in again scraps of clothing from those in attendance the nation had paid was simply a penance with their narrow earthly horizon-keep them were among the artifacts prized for their for the ghastly sin of slavery that the coun­ from falling back into schemes ofworldly hope­ intimate connection to the great and terrible try had tolerated for so long: from substituting devotion to his visible person. event. That some of these relics were authen­ Heaven .. . shall make him serve his country [Gurley and Bellows statements are cited in tic while others were forged for financial even more in death than by his life. "The Lincoln Memorial: A Record ... of the gain has had little relevance to their place Ralph Waldo Emerson, April19, 1865 Martyred President" John Gilmary Shea, in the American imagination for 150 years. Catholic historian, author, editor and pub­ The President was attacked on Good Fri­ Facing the horrors of the Civil War, Amer­ lisher: New York: Bunce &Burrington, 1865 day, and his death the following day moved icans struggled to find a metaphysical, even countless American ministers to draw par­ "THE MARTYR PRESIDENT. A SERMON" religious, meaning for their losses. Abra­ allels between Abraham Lincoln and Jesus ham Lincoln grew from a common man Christ in their Easter sermons, for which Rev. John Egar. who shared the ordeals of his fellow citizens, nearly half of the population are estimated to The Church of St. Paul. to the Martyr President, to the Savior of have been in attendance. Some Northerners Leavenworth, KS the Nation. In our time, the 16th president had detected, in the President's "With mal­ The murderer .. . is an object ofDivine wrath, is often viewed as a caricature of the man ice toward none" plea, an unsettling incli­ and the curse ofGod .. .. But brethren, this crime he was, as his image continues to evolve to nation to forgive the South for the blood - and it may have been permitted to teach us this day. that had been shed. A few of that persua­ the sacredness ofhuman life - sinks into the sion speculated that God had intervened nation's heart deeper than can any private crime to stay such an injustice. Many others were because the moralfoundation of our institu­ ABOUT THE AUTHOR inclined to accept the need for a blood sac­ tions is attacked. rifice in order that the nation's sins be for­ Dale Ogden Dale Ogden is the Chief Curator given. The sacred term "martyr" was widely "ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM of Cultural Hist ory at the Indiana State applied to both Christ and to Lincoln. Other LINCOLN . A SERMON" Museum in lndianapolis.The Exhibit "So observers found parallels between George Rev. John Drumm Costly a Sacrifice: Lincoln and Loss" is Washington - the "Father" of his country St. James Church. Bristol, PA on display now through July 5, 20 15. - and Abraham Lincoln - the "Savior" of 2d Samuel iii 38. "Know ye not that there 18 SPRING 2015 An interview with Edna Gre:e::, :,:~~:=~ ~

a mudsill. The mudsill consisted of the labor r-­ of a subordinate class. This left the "supe- ~ rior" beings the time to think and perfect I'T'1 society and government. To the extent that the South had this mudsill in the African American enslaved laborers, Southerners considered themselves superior to North- ern society. SG: Frederick Douglass' opinion of Abraham Lincoln seems to change through the years. Please comment. EGM: African American leaders, includ- ing Douglass, were initially suspicious of Lincoln. It had more to do with the pol­ icy of the Republican Party rather than the man himself. The Republicans were most concerned about the extension of slavery into the territories rather than its immediate demise. Most of them, including Lincoln, were generally willing to wait for decades for the institution to collapse. When Lincoln became the Republican nominee in 1860, African Americans hoped for the best, but understood that he was not likely to cham­ pion the end of slavery. Yet, when the war began, Douglass, especially, pressed the president to strike a blow against the insti­ tution. Until Lincoln issued the Emancipa­ tion Proclamation in 1863, Douglass kept up a steady stream of criticism through his newspaper and in public addresses. After 1863, he continued to criticize the presi­ dent's handling of the war, especially as it involved black soldiers-pay inequities, their Thomas Lincoln lack of opportunity for promotion, treatment on the part of Confederate forces, etc. For a time before the 1864 election, Douglass had Sara Gabbard: What is your SG: How reliable is William threatened to support a more radical candi­ opinion oflhomas Lincoln? Herndon as a source for historians? date. He regained some degree of confidence Edna Greene Medford: Lincoln's father EGM: All sources are problematic. Hern­ in Lincoln when the president enlisted his was a hardworking, but apparently mod­ don is no exception. We know he had certain assistance in devising a plan to get as many erately ambitious, man. Unlike his son, he biases and was not shy about pursuing his enslaved people as possible out of southern seemed comfortable with his way of life. own agenda. If we keep that in mind, and hands before he was forced to negotiate a Lincoln senior did not understand his son's if we compare his observations with other peace agreement. When Lincoln was assas­ drive to improve himself intellectually. In contemporaries, I think we get a better per­ sinated shortly after Lee's surrender, Dou­ that way, he was not very different from par­ spective ofLincoln and his times. Herndon glass grieved with the rest of the country. ents of any era who clash with their children is certainly not so problematic that we can In a June speech at Cooper Union, he sug­ over life choices. We tend to think ofThomas afford to ignore the many insights he brings gested that Lincoln was "emphatically the as unreasonable, but this is because we know to the study of Lincoln. black man's president." During his admin­ what Lincoln became. From the perspective istration, great things had occurred-rec­ SG: What is the "mud sill" theory? of Lincoln's environment, Thomas could be ognition of Haiti and Liberia, freedom for EGM: The "mudsill" theory was proposed considered reasonable. He was preparing his the enslaved, acceptance of black men as son for survival on the frontier. His dreams by James Hammond, senator from South soldiers in the Union army. Eleven years for his son were no broader than that. Carolina. Hammond and other southerners later, however, on the occasion of the dedi- NUMBER 19011 1 0 u...l ~ 0__,

Tll£ IliOTo L'i NEW YORK : DESTRUCTIOS OF THE COLOURED OllPHAN ASYLUl\1,

1863 Race R iots

cation of the Freedmen's Memorial, Dou­ "freedom and elevation" of black men and to death. David Chesebrough, who wrotE glass judged Lincoln to be "emphatically, women in Baltimore, but in the entire state a very revealing book about dissent among the white man's president." Black men and of Maryland and throughout the United the southern clergy during the antebellum women were, at best, his stepchildren. Of States. The Institute kept its doors open until and Civil War eras, provides an excellent course, Douglass was disillusioned by the 1890, when the building was sold. account of the challenges of those who dared lack of progress for African Americans dur­ to defy the South's effort to crush dissent on SG: Were there white Southern ing the intervening years. Yet he continued the matter of slavery and the war. clergymen who supported to praise Lincoln for his cordiality on the emancipation? If so, were they able SG: Please comment on the three occasions that they met and for what to persuade their congregations? significance ofJuneteenth. Douglass believed to be a lack of prejudice EGM: Although the southern clergy gen­ against people of color. EGM: On June 19, 1865, Major Gen­ erally supported, even championed slavery, eral Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston, SG: What was the Douglass Institute? there were those who recognized the immo­ Texas, and informed the residents there that EGM: The Douglass Institute was estab- rality of holding human beings as property enslaved men and women were freed by the lished in Baltimore in 1865 by a few dozen or simply thought slavery was not in the best provisions of the Emancipation Proclama­ black men and named in honor of the great interest of the South. For their efforts, they tion. Of course, this announcement came orator and abolitionist. It was the site of were routinely treated with condemnation, two and a half years after Lincoln issued gatherings and meetings of organizations ostracism, loss of employment, and banish­ the proclamation. For years African Ameri­ dedicated to improving the condition and ment; at its worst, they were imprisoned, cans in Texas celebrated this day as the end advancing the cause of African Americans physically abused (including lashings), and of slavery. The event was later celebrated in the city. When Douglass dedicated the sometimes murdered. As the war encouraged by African Americans all over the country. building in October 1865, he saw the Insti­ the South to stamp out dissent, the tactics However, the recognition of Juneteenth as tute as serving a much larger population. Not became more brutal. Certain clergy were the end of slavery is not universal. January only would it play a prominent role in the even charged with treason and sentenced 1st was celebrated in many areas, with "watch 20 SPRING 2015 night" programs held on the 31st ofDecem­ White women who were married to black and ideas must be included in the narrative. ber. In Richmond, residents celebrated April men, businesses that catered to African SG: Will the end of the "150th 3rd, the day the Union troops arrived and Americans, and white men and women anniversary years" of Lincoln's seized control of the city. One could just who attempted to quell the rioting or had presidency and the Civil W ar lead as easily make a case for the celebration of offered support to the black community also to a decreasing interest in the December 6, when the Thirteenth Amend­ came under attack. At one point, the Arch­ subject? What do you see as the most ment was ratified. The important thing is bishop ofNew York appealed to the rioters in significant direction which scholars not so much when emancipation occurred the name of God and the Catholic Church. should follow in the future? or when slavery ended, but that freedom and Thousands of white men, women, and chil­ EGM: The sesquicentennial has done won­ the prohibition of slavery occurred at all. dren participated in the rioting. If anyone ders to energize the American public and to It was certainly not a foregone conclusion. was brought to justice, it would have been a get Americans interested in the Civil War fraction of those who were guilty of murder SG: Regarding the 1863 draft riots era and the Lincoln presidency. Scholarly and destruction of property. in N ew York City: Was legal action conferences, special television programming, ever taken against the leaders? D id SG: What classes do you teach at and other public events have attracted audi­ any person of influence stand out as Howard University? H ow do you r ences eager to hear more. It has been excit­ a peacemaker? What was the media current students view the study of ing for those of us who live and breathe that coverage of the tragic results? history? Is their attitude different history to witness the renewed interest in the EGM: The 1863 draft riots represented the than that of students of the past ? era. There may be a lessening of enthusiasm deplorable mistreatment of African Ameri­ EGM: I teach United States History to when the commemoration has ended, but I cans in many of the northern cities. When 1877, African American History to 1877, imagine there will always be strong interest a new conscription act was put in place in Civil War and Reconstruction, and the Jack­ in both Lincoln and the war. After all, we July 1863, which allowed wealthy men to sonian Era. My students are concerned that are still dealing with the consequences of buy their way out of service, working class there is still too much emphasis on "the great actions taken and certain inactions during men and women, especially the Irish, offered men" and the majority population in the that period. It is the obligation of scholars strenuous objections. In their rioting they study of history. Many of them arrive on to broaden the narrative of the Civil War attacked government buildings and the campus with very little formal exposure to era, to include all the participants in what homes and businesses of African Ameri­ anything but this traditional approach to was one of the most important periods in the cans, even setting fire to and destroying the the past. They are hungry to know more. nation's history. Ifwe are successful in doing Colored Orphan Asylum that housed over My students have very definite opinions this, we will secure the continued interest of 200 children. The press, which had fueled about what they should be taught. African larger, more diverse portions of the national the discontent in the days leading up to the American history is a major focus for them, population. riots, sent newsmen to the streets to follow but they are enthusiastic about other areas SG: What is your next the rioters and record their actions. Black as well. They understand that history can­ Lincoln-related Project ? men, women, and children were attacked. not be taught in a vacuum, that all groups EGM: I have just completed a concise vol­ ume on the president and emancipation. Its "When Freedom Came: Emancipation focus is on Lincoln and his unspoken part­ nership with African Americans. I argue that together the president and people of color and the Question of Timing" helped to destroy slavery, and in so doing, moved the country closer to realization of the Friday, June 19, 2015 I 7:00 pm promise of the Declaration oflndependence -- ~ I Allen County Public Library I Theater, Lower Level 2 and America's creed. My next project will .a involve a study of the recognition of Haiti f \wl·· · Dr. Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard Uni­ and Liberia during the Lincoln administra­ versity, will present a lecture celebrating the sesquicentennial of tion. Research is currently underway. Juneteenth. The event is free and open to the public. · ~ Dr. Medford's talk, titled "When Freedom Came: Emancipation and ABOUT THE AUTHOR the Question of Timing," will address the issue of how we identify the arrival of African American freedom. As Dr. Medford explains: Edna Greene Medford Every schoolboy and girl knows that on January I, 1863. President Dr. Medford teaches courses on Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation declari g that all enslaved people in the states (or African American history, the Civil War parts thereof) still in rebellion "are and hencefo ard shall be free." What happened after and Reconstruction, and nineteenth­ that is contested ground. We know that enslaved people experienced emancipation at myriad century America. She is a coauthor of The Emancipation Proclamation: Three times and in myriad ways. Some were freed i mediately; others were not freed until they Views (2006) and a recipient of a 2009 exercised agency and fled the plantation , he vast majority awaited the arrival of federal bicentennial edition of the "Order of military personnel. Even within certain states that had been visited by Union forces, knowl­ Li ncoln" from the State of Illinois for edge of the proclamation did not reach all enslaved inhabitants swiftly or in any uniform her study of the president and the way. How, then, do we determine the proper date to celebrate African-American freedom? Civil War era

NIIMR ~ R IOO!l ~ 1 0~ A Law Student Looks at Abraham. Lincoln : by justin McKinzie, Indiana Tech Law School d

INTRODUCTION fact, he represente slaveholders and oth- "I simply wanted to tell you that there are ers who practiced some men in this world who were born to - 1 acts that are repre- do our unpleasant jobs for us."l Much like hensible. Lincoln Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Abra- biographer William ham Lincoln was one of those men des- d Barton explaine tined to embark upon a journey that was this by stating, "Lin- far from pleasant, but the world is grateful coin's opposition to for him today. slavery did not pre- Abraham Lincoln is prominently remem- vent his accepting bered as a bold leader through a time of war. a fee from a slave- His legacy as the President who forged the holder, any more path for all people to be free is heralded as a than his opposition shining example for all statesman to adhere to murder kept him to. Less mentioned in the history books is from accepting a fee Lincoln's success as an attorney and the won- from a murderer." derfullessons he provides any individual In Lincoln's Notes seeking to practice law. His perseverance is for a Law Lecture, legendary; through adversity, failure, and he remarked that he war Lincoln maintained that the". .. resolu­ was "not an accom- tion to succeed, is more important than any plished laWyer. I find other one thing." 2 Lincoln respected and quite as much mate­ encourao-ed the rule oflaw to "be breathed 0 rial for a lecture in by every American mother, to the lisping Lincoln-Herndo n Law Office those points wherein babe, that prattles on her lap." 3 I have failed, as in Lincoln was a skilled trial attorney who those wherein I have been moderately suc­ said that Lincoln "was not much of a reade1 commanded the respect of his opponents. cessful. The leading rule for the lawyer, as ... he would get a case and try to know all Peers recognized "his mastery of the art for the man of every other calling, is dili­ that was connected with it; and that way .. . of cross-examination, in which he had no gence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which he got to be quite a formidable lawyer." 11 equal."4 He rarely practiced criminal defense, can be done to-day." 8 Despite this experiential form oflearning, but when he did "it was invariably in defend­ Throughout the annals of history, Lincoln's one of Lincoln's partners, William Herndon, ing some poor unfortunate who was unable reputation for being honest, disciplined, and remarked that he "knew nothing of the rule~ to hire an attorney, and Lincoln, out of the always striving to do the right thing is intact. of evidence, of pleading, or practice, as laid goodness of his great and sympathetic heart, The lessons to be learned from his life are down in the text books, and seemed to care came to the rescue." 5 He sometimes expe­ valuable and his work as an attorney was a nothing about them." 12 However, "he relied rienced defeat but constantly persevered to stellar example to any person embarking on his keen sense of justice and struggled provide his clients with the best represen­ upon the path of becoming a lawyer. for it, throwing aside forms, methods, and tation possible. In a period of twenty-one rules, until it appeared pure as a ray oflight years, Lincoln tried nearly two hundred cases LINCOLN THE LAWYER flashino- throuo-h a fog-bank." 13 1his instinc- before the Illinois Supreme Court. 6 o 0 Lincoln was not known to be "a diligent tual form oflawyering served Lincoln well, The practice of law was the embryo for student of the law, but when pressed by as he combined it with good manners and Lincoln's political career. His integrity and necessity, he was a sophisticated user of the an amiable personality. Lawrence Weldon, values were tested and developed while he available sources of legal information ... a peer, once wrote that, "Mr. Lincoln was was an attorney. His fundamental belief in ) Lincoln's [study] was directed toward the always respectful and deferential toward the necessity of a unified nation was forged case before him." 9 Lincoln believed that the court, and never forgot the professional while he played a major role in the develop­ self-study and practical experience should amenities of the bar." 14 ment of railroad law. His Presidential plat­ govern the practice oflaw. Notwithstanding his lack of technical skill, form included a strong plan to expand the Lincoln learned a significant amount from Lincoln was a fantastic attorney in the court­ railroad to the Pacific Ocean. 7 other attorneys, and his partnership with room and "was masterful in a legal argu­ Lincoln's legal career is not without blem­ Stephen Logan was extremely rewarding; ment before the court his knowledge of the ish. While his opposition to slavery was con­ "[i]t is fair to say that no man contributed general principles of the law was extensive sistent throughout his life, he did not always more toward bringing Lincoln's natural gifts and accurate, and his mind was so clear and represent the morally acceptable party. In as a lawyer to their fullest fruition." 10 Logan logical that he seldom made a mistake in 22 SPRING 1015 their application." 15 Lincoln "dealt with was very successful. One of the more famous lead him to choose freedom over peace. It ~ the deep philosophy of the law, always knew cases that he tried displayed his cunning would.bolster his resolve so that he would the cases which might be quoted as absolute use of cross-examination and his brilliant have the courage to eventually rally his - authority." 16 perception of people. As any trial attorney nation to become closer to what he hoped Lincoln ran into his it could become. share of difficult wit­ nesses, he "would LINCOlN'S CASE FOR FREEDOM 5 ~ neither show resent­ Lincoln once spent an entire night argu- rT'1 ment nor attempt ing about slavery with Judge T. Lyle Dickey. to coerce the wit­ "Lincoln insisted that slavery could not con- ness but would go tinue to exist in the nation; Dickey contend- after him in a nice, ing that slavery was an institution recognized friendly way, ques­ by the Constitution ... [Lincoln] said, 'I tell tioning about [irrel­ you, Dickey, I am right. It is not possible for evant] things ... slavery to continue to exist in the nation; it's placing him at ease got to go."' 22 ... and before he was In a case that attracted much attention, aware of the harm Lincoln represented Bailey who had not paid ... the whole story on a promissory note in exchange for a girl would be laid bare, named Nancy who had been sold as a slave. and then Lincoln Bailey v. Cromwell, 3 Scam. 71 (Ill. 1841). would compliment Lincoln argued that Bailey was not liable the witness on his for the debt because: "the consideration for fairness." 19 which the note was given was a human being, The Almanac Trial and under the laws oflllinois, a human being is one of the legend­ could not be bought and sold, the note was ary cases that dis­ void. A human being could not be an object played the skills he of sale and transfer in a free State." 23 Lincoln possessed. How- had to appeal the case to the Supreme Court ever, "[f]or perhaps oflllinois where Judge Breese "established the only time in his the broad principle that 'the presumption career at the bar Lin- of the law in Illinois is that every person is Outside of the courtroom, Lincoln "often coln found himself in the excruciating posi­ free without regard to color,' and 'the sale took advantage of opportunities for media­ tion of having to defend a client he thought of a free person is illegal."' 24 Because Lin­ tion and compromise. He was able to resolve guilty, a cause in which he didn't believe." coln proved that the sale ofNancywas ille­ many cases by repairing the damage to the 20 William "Duff" Armstrong had been gal, the contract for her sale was void and plaintiffs' reputation ... [he] acted as a peace­ charged with murder. The key witness for Bailey was free from the debt. maker and showed sensitivity to what was the prosecution was Charles Allen, who had This case occurred when Lincoln was only actually at stake in those cases." 17 No matter testified that he could see clearly when he thirty-two years old and gave him the oppor­ the case, Lincoln maintained his principles witnessed the event because the light of a tunity to carefully examine the issue of slav­ and "discouraged pettifoggery and often full moon gave him visibility. Lincoln put ery in Illinois and across the nation. Another proposed amicable arrangements, even if it doubt in the mind of the jury by providing case later in his career gives us an even clearer meant losing fees ." 18 an almanac that showed that the moon was picture ofhis opinion on slavery. The integrity and skills he developed as an low on the horizon that night and was not A man named Hinkle had moved to Illi­ attorney translated into the success he expe­ as the witness described. nois from Kentucky with a family that he . enced in the political arena. His quick wit Ultimately, Armstrong was found not held as slaves. Because slavery was illegal a d likeable personality enabled Lincoln guilty, but Lincoln wrestled with the moral in Illinois, he freed them and one of the t win the office of the presidency and lead dilemma of assisting a guilty individual go sons got a job on a steamboat that traveled his nation through one the bloodiest con­ free. He had chosen his client over justice south. "At New Orleans the boy had gone flicts in the world's history. The discipline but had discovered he was "ready to do vio­ ashore, forgetting, or not knowing, that he and rule of law instilled into Lincoln, the lence to the principals [sic] that had always was liable to arrest .. . he was seized by the lawyer, granted him the ability to be one guided him. His sensitive spirit stirred to its police and locked up, the rules of the city of the most important figures in American utmost by that old debt of gratitude, he was requiring that any colored person found at history and the effects of his life continue preparing to subvert the law, something he'd large, after night, without a written pass to be felt today. never been known to do before, and appar­ from his owner, should be confined in the ently never did again." 21 'calaboose."' 25 1he boy was tried and ordered LINCOlN THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY Lincoln would never escape moral dilem­ to pay a fine which he could not afford, and Lincoln did not often represent defendants mas. These tough choices would haunt him the government threatened to sell him into in the criminal courts, but when he did he for the rest of his life. In the end, it would slavery so that the fee could be collected.

NIIMR~R IQOll "'l ~ LL.I Meanwhile, the boy's mother sought help these cases in Lincoln's life and how they and Essays, p. 38 (1996). C§ from Lincoln, "being one of the very few represent his views on slavery. However, 12 William H . Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, Hern­ --1 lawyers in Springfield who dared to under- "throughout Lincoln's rhetoric and later his don's Life of Lincoln, pp. 271-272 (1889).

take a case involving what were called the policy on slavery and antislavery ran a pro­ 13 Id. 26 rights of slavery." Lincoln and his partner found commitment to do everything possible 14 Abraham Lincoln: Tributes from His Associates, Herndon went to the Governor of Illinois to enforce the law. As a lawyer he felt a sacred (Lawrence Weldon, Reminiscences ofLincoln to see if they could bring the boy home. obligation to defend the interests of his cli­ as a Lawyer), pp. 240-241 (1895). When the Governor said there was noth­ ents, whatever they might be." 34 Regardless 15 PaulM. Angle, editor,AbrahamLincoln by Some 1ing he could do, "Lincoln rose to his feet, in of the views that evolved throughout his life, Men who Knew Him, Oames S. Ewing, speech great excitement, and said: 'By the Almighty! Lincoln's practice as an attorney is a testa­ to the Illinois Schoolmasters' Club, Blooming­ ton), February 12, 1909, p.39-40 (1910). I'll have that negro back soon, or I'll have ment to the importance of the law in our lives a twenty years' excitement in Illinois until and how one lawyer can impact the world. 16 Id. the Governor does have a legal and consti­ 17 Mark E. Steiner, An Honest Calling: The L aw tutional right to do something in the prem­ CONCLUSION Practice ofAbraham Lincoln, p. 84 (2006). ises!"' 27 Eventually, "the two lawyers sent Abraham Lincoln, like many of us, embod­ 18 Oliver Fraysse, Lincoln, Land and Labor, p. 161 money of their own to New Orleans, entrust­ ies a jumbled up and confusing set of ide­ (1994). ing the case to a correspondent; the fine and als that he was not always able to practice. 19 Joseph Benjamin Oakleaf, Abraham Lincoln as other expenses were paid and the boy sent There are goals and principles that we strive a Criminal Lawyer, p. 6 (1912). home to his grateful mother." 28 to attain and protect, but on occasion we fail 20 John Evangelist Walsh, Moonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac Trial, pp. 32 (2000). The most controversial case involving slav­ to uphold them. Most people are consistently ery and Lincoln was the Matson Slave Trial inconsistent. However, when it mattered the 21 Id. at p. 46. which occurred just before he had left for most, Lincoln was true to his values and 22 Paul M. Angle, The Recollections of William Pitt Washington as a Congressman. Matson had took action when he could make a positive Kellogg, editor, The Abraham Lincoln Quarterly, Volume III, No.7, September 1945, p. 326. slaves in Kentucky whom he sent to his farm impact on the lives around him. He was not 23 in Illinois seasonally to work. One of the perfect and there are many acts I am sure Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln: The Nation's Leader in the Great Struggle through which was loopholes in the slave law at the time was he wished he could atone for, but who of us Maintained the Existence of the United States, p. that if they were not "permanently situated is any different? Lincoln fought for what he 124-125 (1888), in the State oflllinois" they would not lose believed was right and sacrificed more than 24 John]. Duff, A. Lincoln: Prairie Lawyer, pp. 29 "their legal status as slaves." However, any man in the cause for freedom. He ulti­ 86 -87 (1960). mately paid with his life for his dedication Anthony Bryant was an exception for Mat­ 25 Noah Brooks, Abraham Lincoln: The Nation's son, and he permanently resided in Illinois. "to the proposition that all men are created Leader in the Great Struggle through which was One day Matson's housekeeper threatened to equal." 35 Maintained the Existence ofth e Un ited States, pp. deport Bryant's wife back to Kentucky and Lincoln's life as a lawyer should inspire us 125-126 (1888). sold into slavery in the deep south. Afraid all that it only takes one attorney to make 26 Id.

of the housekeeper, the Bryants ran away, a significant impact on the entire world for 27 Id.

and Matson sought to have t~em returned centuries to come. 2s Id. through the court. FOOTNOTES 29 John]. Duff, A. Lincoln: Prairie Lawyer, pp. Lincoln was persuaded by his friend Usher 130-131 (1960). Linder, who was representing Matson, to 1 Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, p. 215 (1960). 30 John]. Duff, A. L incoln: Prairie Lawyer, p. 135 join in the defense of the slaveholder. "No Roy P. Basler, et al., Collected Works ofAbraham (1960). one can guess what went on in Lincoln's Lincoln IL (1953), 327. 31 Albert A. Woldman, Lawyer Lincoln, p. 68 mind when he accepted the defense of the Abraham Lincoln, The Perpetuation of Our Polit­ (1935). ical Institutions: Address Before the Young Men's Kentucky planter; his motives will probably 32 Reinhard H. Luthin, The Rea/Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Springfield, Illinois, (1838), Collected always remain open to conjecture and dis- of p. 75 (1960). 30 Works, I, pp. 108-115. pute." Regardless, "Lincoln was pitiably 33 Albert J. Beveridge, Abraham Lincoln, 1809- 4 Joseph Benjamin Oakleaf, Abraham Lincoln as weak. His arguments in behalf of a cause 1858, p. 397 (1928). a Criminal Lawyer, p. 6 (1912). his conscience detested were spiritless, half­ 34 Kenneth J. Winkle, The Young Eagle: The Rise I d. hearted, and devoid of his usual wit, logic, ofAbraham Lincoln, p. 259 (2001). 6 Id. and invective. He lost the case. Jane Bry­ 35 Abraham Lincoln, Th e Gettysburg Address, ant and her four children were released from 7 James W. Ely Jr., Abraham Lincoln as a Railroad (1863). imprisonment." 31 The court held "that the Attorney, pp. 1-2, (2005). slaves should 'be and remain free and dis- 8 William E. Barton, The Life ofAbraham charged from all servitude whatever to any Lincoln p. 335. ABOUT THE AUTHOR person or persons from henceforth and for­ 9 Mark E. Steiner, An Honest Calling: The Law justin McKinzie ever."' 32 Lincoln's client "hurriedly left the Practice ofAbraham Lincoln, pp. 40-41 (2006). Justin McKinzie is a student at State of Kentucky, crossed the Wabash, 10 John}. Duff, A. Lincoln: Prairie Lawyer, pp. 94 the Indiana Tech Law School. This evaded his creditors and never paid Lin­ (1960). article was the winner of the Lincoln 33 coln his fee." 11 Michael Burlingame, editor, An Oral History of and the Law Essay Contest. ~ Historians argue about the importance of Abraham Lincoln, John G. Nicolay's Interviews 24 SPRING 2015