The Blairs returned to the Democratic Party. Though Frank Blair was selected as Seymour’s vice presidential candidate in 1868, his intemperate denunciations of opponents cut short what might have been a promising political future. He died from a fall in his house in 1875 at the age of fifty-four. Old Man Blair outlived his son by one year, maintaining “his physical vigor, his mental faculties and his sprightliness of disposition” until his death at eighty-five. Montgomery served as counsel to Democrat Samuel Tilden in the disputed election of 1876, which Republican Rutherford B. Hayes eventually won. Blair was writing a biography of Andrew Jackson when he died in 1883 at the age of seventy.
Gideon Welles supported Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial, remaining in the cabinet until 1868. Returning to Connecticut, he wrote a series of historical essays and was among the first to depict Lincoln as “a towering figure, coping admirably with herculean tasks.” His perceptive diary, which he edited in his last years, remains one of the most valuable sources on the dynamics within the Lincoln administration. Welles was seventy-five when he died from a streptococcus infection in 1878.
John Nicolay and John Hay remained friends until the end of their lives, coauthoring a massive ten-volume study of Lincoln based on his then-unpublished papers. Nicolay was at work on an abridged version of their study when he died in 1901 at sixty-nine. Hay served as secretary of state under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Shortly before he died from a blood clot at the age of sixty-six in 1905, he dreamed that he had returned “to the White House to report to the President who turned out to be Mr. Lincoln. He was very kind and considerate, and sympathetic about my illness…. He gave me two unimportant letters to answer. I was pleased that this slight order was within my power to obey.” Forty years after the assassination of his beloved chief, Hay awoke with an “overpowering melancholy.”
Mary Lincoln never recovered from her husband’s death. After returning to Illinois, she confided to Elizabeth Blair Lee that “each morning, on awakening, from my troubled slumbers, the utter impossibility of living another day, so wretched, appears to me, as an impossibility.” Were it not for her “precious Tad,” she told her boy’s tutor, she “would gladly welcome death.”
Mother and son were nearly inseparable. Tad journeyed with Mary to Europe, demonstrating what John Hay described as “a thoughtful devotion and tenderness beyond his years.” Not long after returning to America, Tad suffered what doctors termed “compression of the heart.” He died two months later at eighteen. “The modest and cordial young fellow who passed through New York a few weeks ago with his mother will never be known outside the circle of his mourning friends,” commented John Hay in a touching obituary written for the New York Tribune. “But ‘little Tad’ will be remembered as long as any live who bore a personal share in the great movements whose center for four years was Washington. He was so full of life and vigor—so bubbling over with health and high spirits, that he kept the house alive with his pranks and his fantastic enterprises.”
Mary’s misery was compounded by her ever-consuming worries over money. “It is very hard to deal with one who is sane on all subjects but one,” Robert confided in Mary Harlan, the young woman who would become his wife. “You could hardly believe it possible, but my mother protests to me that she is in actual want and nothing I can do or say will convince her to the contrary.” Her increasingly erratic behavior persuaded Robert to commit her to a state hospital for the insane where she remained for four months until she was released to the care of her sister Elizabeth in Springfield. The episode permanently estranged Mary from her only remaining child. After a final trip to Europe, she lived her remaining years as a virtual recluse in the Edwards mansion, where, in happier days, she and Abraham Lincoln had met and married. She was sixty-three in 1882 when her oft-stated longing for death was fulfilled at last.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ANYONE WRITING on Abraham Lincoln stands on the shoulders of a monumental body of work, including classic volumes by some of our country’s finest historians. I am immensely grateful to the many Lincoln scholars who generously welcomed me into their field, sharing sources, discussing ideas, inviting me to their homes, reading parts of my manuscript, and offering access to their rare collections of Lincolniana. They include David Herbert Donald, Douglas L. Wilson, Thomas F. Schwartz, Frank J. Williams, Harold Holzer, John R. Sellers, Virginia Laas, Michael A. Burlingame, Gabor S. Boritt, James O. Hall, Harold M. Hyman, Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kuhnhardt, and Louise Taper.
In the course of the last ten years, I have been guided in my search for primary materials by superb staffs at thirty different libraries. I especially wish to thank the remarkably generous Thomas F. Schwartz, Kim Matthew Bauer, Mary Michals, and John Marruffo at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
I owe thanks as well to the following: in California, John Rhodehamel and the staff of the Huntington Library. In Illinois, the Chicago Historical Society; the Newberry Library; the University of Chicago’s Special Collections Research Center and Harper Memorial Library; Daniel Weinberg and the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop. In Indiana, the Lincoln Museum. In Iowa, the State Historical Society of Iowa and the University of Iowa Library. In Kentucky, the Eastern Kentucky University Archives. In Louisiana, Judy Bolton and the staff of the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections of the Louisiana State University Library. In Maryland, the Maryland Historical Society.
In Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library’s Rare Book and Manuscript Collections; the Concord Public Library; Harvard University’s Government Documents and Microfilm Collection, the Houghton Library, the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, and Widener Library; and the Massachusetts Historical Society. In Missouri, Dennis Northcott and the staff of the Missouri Historical Society; the St. Louis Art Museum; and the State Historical Society of Missouri. In New Jersey, Don C. Skemer and Anna Lee Pauls at Princeton University’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
In New York, the New York State Library; Betty Mae Lewis and Peter A. Wisbey of the Seward House, Auburn; Mary M. Huth and the staff of the University of Rochester Library’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. In Ohio, the Cincinnati Historical Society; John Haas and the staff of the Ohio Historical Society; the Ohio State House; and the Western Reserve Historical Society. In Pennsylvania, the Dauphin County Historical Society and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. In Rhode Island, Mary-Jo Kline and Ann Morgan Dodge of Brown University’s John Hay Library. In Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society. In Washington, D.C., John Sellers, Clark Evans, and the staff of the Library of Congress; Michael Musick and the staff of the National Archives and Records Administration; James C. Hewes at the Willard Hotel; and the staff at the Blair House. And last, Michael Burlingame, who is for all Lincoln scholars a library unto himself, generously sharing his unparalled knowledge of Lincoln while writing his own monumental Lincoln biography.
I owe an immense debt once again to my great friend and indefatigable assistant, Linda Vandegrift, who has worked at my side on all my projects for the past twenty years.
I am grateful to Nora Titone (currently writing what I am certain will be an extraordinary biography of Edwin Booth, actor and brother to Lincoln’s assassin), who did research at Harvard University and in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln. Through our many discussions, she provided invaluable insights into the social, intellectual, and literary milieu of nineteenth-century America.
In Washington, Dr. Michelle Krowl, a brilliant Civil War historian who has published numerous scholarly articles and teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, displayed remarkable energy, intuition, and intelligence in digging through archives and checking source materials at both the Library of Congress and the National Archives.
There are many others who read portions of the manuscript and helped in various ways, including Judith Arnold, Beth Laski, Erik Owens, Louisa Th
omas, Chad Callaghan, Michael Goodwin, Lindsay Hosmer, J. Wayne Lee, Phyllis Grann, John Logan, Paul Webb, Kathleen Krowl, Brad Gernand, Karen Needles, and John Hill, and all our good friends at our two favorite watering holes in Concord, Massachusetts—Serafina Ristorante and Walden Grille. To Michael Kushakji, who came to our house day and night when our computers failed, I owe a special debt.
As always, I am grateful to my supportive and enthusiastic literary agent, Binky Urban, and to the men and women at Simon & Schuster who have become almost like family after more than twenty-five years of collaboration: David Rosenthal, Carolyn Reidy, Irene Kheradi, Jackie Seow, George Turianski, Linda Dingler, Ellen Sasahara, Lisa Healy, Victoria Meyer, and Elizabeth Hayes. For a superb job in copyediting the manuscript, I thank Ann Adelman and Emily Beth Thomas. I owe a special thanks to Roger Labrie, who displayed extraordinary grace under pressure while shepherding the book to meet various deadlines in the final stages.
I have long depended on my incomparable editor, Alice E. Mayhew, but never did her massive contributions weigh more heavily than on this book. No editor has a more profound knowledge of Abraham Lincoln. No editor could have given me better advice from start to finish on structure, tone, and language. She is the absolute best in her profession. I shall be forever grateful to her.
Finally, I owe more than I can ever express to my husband, Richard Goodwin, to whom this book is dedicated. He read and edited every single page, from the earliest drafts to the finished product. His passion for the subject of Abraham Lincoln matches my own. I argued with him, debated with him, and ended up usually following his advice. He has thought as deeply about Lincoln as anyone. This book is his creation as much as mine.
Concord, Massachusetts
July 2005
NOTES
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES:
AL
Abraham Lincoln
CS
Charles Sumner
EB
Edward Bates
EBL
Elizabeth Blair Lee
EMS
Edwin M. Stanton
FAS
Frances A. (Miller) Seward
FB
Francis Preston (“Frank”) Blair, Jr.
FPB
Francis Preston Blair, Sr.
FS
Frances A. (“Fanny”) Seward
FWS
Frederick W. Seward
GBM
George B. McClellan
GW
Gideon Welles
JGN
John G. Nicolay
JH
John Hay
JWW
Jesse W. Weik
KCS
Kate Chase Sprague
LW
Lazette M. (Miller) Worden
MB
Montgomery Blair
MEM
Mary Ellen McClellan
MTL
Mary Todd Lincoln
SPC
Salmon P. Chase
SPL
Samuel Phillips Lee
TB
Therena Bates
TW
Thurlow Weed
USG
Ulysses S. Grant
WHH
William H. Herndon
WHS
William H. Seward
CW
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln
HI
Herndon’s Informants NR National Republican, Washington, D.C.
NYH
New York Herald, New York, N.Y.
NYT
New York Times, New York, N.Y.
NYTrib
New York Tribune, New York, N.Y.
OR
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (128 vols., Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901)
Star
Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
Chase Papers
The Salmon P. Chase Papers: Microfilm Edition, ed. John Niven (Frederick, Md.: University Publications of America, 1987)
Lincoln Papers
Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Available at Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Washington, D.C.: American Memory Project, [2000–01]), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html
Nicolay Papers
Papers of John G. Nicolay, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Seward Papers
The Papers of William H. Seward (Woodbridge, Conn.: Research Publications, 1983
Welles Papers
Papers of Gideon Welles, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
NOTE TO READERS: When quoting from primary documents, original spelling and grammar have been kept.
INTRODUCTION
“there is little…of Abraham Lincoln”: Frederick Douglass, “Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln,” April 14, 1876, in Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings, ed. Philip S. Foner, abridged by Yuval Taylor (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1999), pp. 620–21.
“comparatively unknown…such anxious times”: Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Abraham Lincoln,” in Miscellanies (Cambridge, Mass.: Riverside Press, 1904), pp. 330–31.
“very near…perfect man”: EB, quoted in F. B. Carpenter, Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1866), p. 68.
“field of glory”: AL, “Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois,” January 27, 1838, in CW, I, p. 113.
“a new birth of freedom”: AL, “Address Delivered at the Dedication of the Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863; Edward Everett Copy,” in CW, VII, p. 21.
CHAPTER 1: FOUR MEN WAITING
Lincoln was up early: Henry B. Rankin, Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916), p. 187.
Chenery House: Paul M. Angle, “Here I Have Lived”: A History of Lincoln’s Springfield, 1821–1865 (Springfield, Ill.: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1935), p. 175.
Springfield businesses: See advertisements in Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Ill., May 18, 1860.
first ballot was not due to be called until 10 a.m.: Press and Tribune, Chicago, May 19, 1860; Star, May 19, 1860. visibly “nervous, fidgety…excited”: Christopher C. Brown interview, 1865–1866, in Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis, eds., Herndon’s Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998), p. 438 [hereafter HI].
the untidy office: William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, Herndon’s Life of Lincoln, introduction and notes by Paul M. Angle, new introduction by Henry Steele Commager (Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Co., 1942; New York: Da Capo Press, 1983), pp. 254–55.
The editorial room: Paul Angle, Lincoln in Springfield: A Guide to the Places in Springfield which were Associated with the Life of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, Ill.: Lincoln Centennial Association, 1927), p. 2.
a “complimentary” gesture: Entry of May 19, 1860, in Edward Bates, The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, ed. Howard K. Beale. Vol. IV of the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1930 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1933), p. 130.
the town clock: Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Ill., January 17, 1860.
James Conkling: Clinton L. Conkling, “How Mr. Lincoln Received the News of His First Nomination,” Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society (1909), p. 64.
his singular way of walking…needed oiling: Herndon and Weik, Herndon’s Life of Lincoln, p. 471.
“His legs…a hard day’s work”: William E. Doster, Lincoln and Episodes of the Civil War (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1915), p. 15.
His features…“as belong to a handsome man”: Press and Tribune, Chicago, May 23, 1860.
“so overspread with sadness…capital of Illinois”: Horace White, Abraham Lincoln in 1854: An Address delivered before the Illinois State His
torical Society, at its 9th Annual Meeting at Springfield, Illinois, Jan. 30, 1908 (Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Historical Society, 1908), p. 19.
“this expression…true friendship”: Ibid.
“his winning manner…and gentleness”: NYTrib, November 10, 1860.
“you cease to think…awkward”: Utica Morning Herald, reprinted in NYTrib, July 9, 1860.
“on a borrowed horse…a few clothes”: Joshua F. Speed, Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln and Notes of a Visit to California (Louisville, Ky.: John P. Morton & Co., 1884), p. 21.
population of Springfield: Harry E. Pratt, Lincoln’s Springfield (Springfield, Ill.: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1938), p. 2; Octavia Roberts, Lincoln in Illinois (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1918), p. 94.
number of hotels, saloons, etc.: C.S. Williams, comp., Williams’ Springfield Directory City Guide, and Business Mirror, for 1860–61. To Which is Appended a List of Post Offices in the United States and Territories, Corrected up to Date (Springfield, Ill.: Johnson & Bradford, 1860).
“the belle of the town”: “Lincoln and Mary Todd,” [c. 1880s], reel 11, Herndon-Weik Collection of Lincolniana, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress [hereafter Herndon-Weik Collection, DLC].
Mary’s education: Ruth Painter Randall, Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (Boston: Little, Brown, 1953), pp. 23, 25, 27, 28; Jean H. Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography (New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1987), pp. 37–42, 44–45.