The Life of Abraham Lincoln

Front matter

TO ANDREW JOHNSON, To Whom Providence Has Assigned The Completion Of ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LABORS, I DEDICATE This Record Of ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LIFE; WITH THE PRAYER That History, Which Will Associate Their Names Forever, May Be Able To Find No Seam Where Their Administrations Were Joined, And Mark No Change Of Texture By Which They May Be Contrasted.

Contents

Birth--Daniel Boone and the Pioneers of Kentucky--Abraham Lincoln, the Grandfather of the President--His Removal to Kentucky, and Death--His Brothers and Sons--Probable Origin of the Lincolns--Thomas Lincoln, the Father of the President--His Marriage--His Children--The Mother of the President--Early Education of Abraham Lincoln--His Schoolmasters--Zachariah Riney--Caleb Hazel--Religious Habits of the People--Parson Elkin--Slavery in Kentucky--Defective Land-titles--Removal of Thomas Lincoln to Indiana Lincoln's Early Industry--His Schools--Simplicity of Border Life--Death of his Mother--Her Funeral Sermon--Her Influence upon his Character--His early Practice of Writing--His Books--Anecdote illustrating his Honesty--His Father's second Marriage--Anecdote illustrating Mr. Lincoln's Humanity--He builds a Boat--A Fact for the Psychologist--He takes charge of a Flat-boat for New Orleans--His Contest with seven Negroes--He sells the Boat and Cargo, and returns on foot--His Mental Development--His Moral Character Marriages in Thomas Lincoln's Family--Marriage and Death of Abraham's Sister--Removal of Thomas Lincoln to Illinois--Difficulties of the Journey--Abraham assists in building a Log House and in splitting Rails--He leaves Home--Works for hire, Chopping Wood and Farming--Anecdote--Thomas Lincoln removes to Coles County--His death--Abraham goes to New Orleans with a Cargo of Swine--He is employed in a Store at New Salem--Anecdotes illustrating his Honesty--His Punishment of a Bully--His Adventure with the "Clary's Grove Boys"--He studies English Grammar--Attends Debating Clubs--Anecdote--His Employer fails, and the Store is closed--Mr. Lincoln is called "Honest Abe" Black Hawk--His Treachery--Governor Reynolds calls for Volunteers--Lincoln enlists--He is chosen Captain--His Popularity with the Soldiers--Forced Marches--"Stillman's Defeat"--Flight of the Indians--Volunteers Discharged--Lincoln reenlists--Capture of Black Hawk--Lincoln's Speech on General Cass--Mr. Lincoln becomes a Candidate for the Legislature--He is Defeated--Purchases a Store, but fails in Business--Is appointed Postmaster--Anecdote illustrating his Honesty--He becomes a Surveyor Mr. Lincoln was a Self-made Man--Loyal to his Convictions--Marked and Peculiar--Anecdotes--He was Respected and Loved--A Man of Practical Expedients--Anecdote--Mr. Lincoln was a Religious Man--His Faith in Divine Providence--His Logical and Reasoning Powers--He was Child-like Mr. Lincoln contemplates the Study of Law--He begins to make Speeches--Elected to the Legislature in 1834--Commences the Study of Law--Goes on foot to the Capital--Returns to the Study of Law and to Surveying--Re-elected to the Legislature in 1836--Speech at Springfield--The "Long Nine"--Distinguished Men in the Legislature--Change of the State Capital--Mr. Lincoln's first meeting with Stephen A. Douglas--Pro-slavery Resolutions adopted--Protest of Abraham Lincoln and Dan Stone--Anecdote Mr. Lincoln becomes a Law-partner of Major Stuart, and removes to Springfield--Re-elected to the Legislature in 1838--Political Parties in Illinois--Mr. Lincoln's Stories--The Member from Wabash County--"Riding the Circuit" in Illinois--Mr. Linoln's Ability as a Lawyer--His Regard for Justice--Mr. Lincoln and the Pig--His Power as an Advocate--His "Colt Case" in the Coles Circuit Court--His Exceptionable Stories--His Regard for Poor Relatives Mr. Lincoln Re-elected to the Legislature in 1840--Strange Incident in his Life--He Accepts a Challenge to a Duel--Forms a Law-partnership with Judge Logan--His Marriage--His private Letters--His Loyalty to Party--Anecdote illustrating his Generosity--Political Contest of 1844--Mr. Lincoln a Candidate for Presidential Elector--He Canvasses the State--Defeat of Mr. Clay--Mr. Lincoln visits him at Ashland--Anecdotes illustrating Mr. Lincoln's Courage--Anecdote illustrating his strong Party Feeling Mr. Lincoln nominated for Congress in 1846--He "stumps" his District--Elected by a large Majority--His fitness for the Position--The old Whig Party and the Mexican War--Mr. Lincoln's Resolutions--Mr. Hudson's Resolution--Mr. Lincoln's Speech, January 12th, 1848--Defense of the Postmaster-general--Mr. Lincoln a member of the Whig Convention of 1848--Advocates the nomination of General Taylor--Speech in Congress on the Candidates for the Presidency--Correspondence with the Whig Leaders in Illinois--Speeches during the Canvass--Second Session of the Thirtieth Congress--Mr. Lincoln's Position on the Slavery Question--He seeks for the Position of Commissioner of the General Land Office, but fails Mr. Lincoln returns to the Practice of his Profession--His Affection for his Children--His Absent-mindedness--He Studies Euclid--His Mechanical Skill--Anecdotes illustrating his Practice of Law--Opinions of Judge Caton, Judge Breese, Judge Drummond, and Judge Davis--Mr. Lincoln's Eulogy on Henry Clay--Admission of California as a Free State--"Compromise Measures" of 1850--Election of Mr. Pierce to the Presidency--Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill--Judge Douglas and Popular Sovereignty--Meeting of Douglas and Lincoln at Springfield--At Peoria--Extract from Mr. Lincoln's Speech at Peoria--Overthrow of the Democratic Party in Illinois--Election of Mr. Trumbull to the United States Senate Affairs in Kansas--Border Ruffians--Letter of Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Speed--State of the Slavery Question--Mr. Lincoln attends a State Convention at Bloomington--Republican Party organized in Illinois--Mr. Lincoln's Speech at the Convention--Mr. Lincoln a Candidate for the Vice-presidency at the National Republican Convention of 1856--Speech at Charleston, Illinois--Speech of Mr. Douglas at Springfield--Mr. Lincoln's Reply--The Lecompton Constitution--Position of Mr. Douglas Sketch of the previous History of Stephen A. Douglas--Mr. Lincoln's opinion of him--Mr. Douglas opposes the Lecompton Constitution--Democratic State Convention--Eastern Republicans favor Mr. Douglas' Re-election--Views of the Republican Party in Illinois--Republican State Convention--Resolution on the Dred Scott Decision and the Power of Congress over the Territories--Mr. Lincoln nominated for United States Senator--His Speech before the Convention--Speech of Mr. Douglas at Chicago--His Misrepresentations of Mr. Lincoln--His Views on the Dred Scott Decision--Mr. Lincoln's Reply--Illustrations of his Tact and Wit Mr. Lincoln proposes to Mr. Douglas a Joint Canvass of the State--Mr. Douglas declines, but proposes Joint Debates in seven Districts--Mr. Lincoln commences his Canvass of the State--His Reply to Douglas' Charge of Falsehood--Meeting of Douglas and Lincoln at Ottawa--Mr. Douglas' Charges, and Mr. Lincoln's Replies--Extract from Mr. Lincoln's Speech--Their Meeting at Freeport--Lincoln's Reply to the Questions of Douglas--His Questions to Douglas--Answers of Douglas, Lincoln's Rejoinder--Triumph of Mr. Lincoln in the Popular Estimation--Objects of Mr. Lincoln in the Campaign--Mr. Douglas Re-elected Senator by the Legislature Mr. Lincoln in the Winter of 1858-9 delivers a Lecture on the History of Inventions--His Popularity at the West--Letter to Dr. Canisius on Naturalization and Fusion--Reception by the State Convention at Decatur--The Presentation of the Rails from Macon County--Mr. Lincoln's Visit to Kansas--Extract from his Speech at Leavenworth--He Visits Ohio--Speaks at Columbus and Cincinnati--Extract from his Speech at Cincinnati--Popular Sovereignty Doctrine of Mr. Douglas--Mr. Lincoln Visits New York--Speaks at Cooper Institute--William C. Bryant presides at the Meeting--Great Ability and Research displayed in the Speech--Extracts--Mr. Lincoln Visits the Five Points Mission--Goes to Connecticut, and speaks at Hartford, New Haven, Meriden, &c.--His great Success as a Speaker--Anecdote related by Rev. J.P. Gulliver--Mr. Lincoln Visits his Son at Cambridge, and returns to Illinois State of the Country in 1860--Southern Leaders Preparing for Secession--Knights of the Golden Circle--Church and Press at the South--Cobb and Floyd--Opinions at the North--Democratic Convention at Charleston--Mr. Yancey and the "Fire-eaters"--Division of the Convention--Both Factions Adjourn without making Nominations--National Constitutional Union Convention at Baltimore--Bell and Everett nominated--Breckinridge nominated by the Fire-eaters, and Douglas by the regular Democratic Convention--Mr. Lincoln's Story--Republican Convention at Chicago--Prominent Candidates for the Nomination--The Party Platform--Balloting for President--Nomination of Lincoln--Enthusiasm of the Convention and of the Spectators--Disappointment of Mr. Seward's friends--Reception of the News at Springfield--The Committee of the Convention visit Mr. Lincoln--Speech of Mr. Ashmun, the Chairman--Reply of Mr. Lincoln--His Letter Accepting the Nomination Mr. Lincoln visited by Multitudes of People--Anecdotes--The Prospect for the Future--Mr. Lincoln's Views of the Duties of Christians and Ministers--His Conversation with Mr. Bateman--His Religious Faith and Convictions--Apparent Contradictions in Character--The Election of Mr. Lincoln Regarded as Certain--Course of the Southern Leaders--Silence of Mr. Lincoln during the Campaign--Election of Mr. Lincoln--Popular Rejoicing at the North, and Exasperation at the South--Feeling of the Republican Party--Effect upon Mr. Lincoln--An Optical Illusion--Visit to Chicago--Anecdotes illustrating Mr. Lincoln's Love of Children--"Cabinet-Making"--Mr. Lincoln's Views Enormity of the Rebellion--Floyd--Black--Buchanan--Secession of several States--Forts and Arsenals seized--Position of Mr. Stanton and Mr. Holt--Attempts to conciliate the South--Condition of the Country--Mr. Lincoln leaves Springfield for Washington--His Farewell Speech--His Speech at Indianapolis--Journey to Cincinnati--Speeches at Cincinnati--Reception at Columbus--At Pittsburg--At Cleveland--At Buffalo--At Albany--At Poughkeepsie--At New York--At Trenton--At Philadelphia--Plot against the President's Life--His Speech at Independence Hall--Reception at Harrisburg--Journey to Washington The Procession--Reception of the President by the People--The Inaugural Address--Cabinet Appointments--Rebel Sympathizers in Office--Mr. Lincoln's pacific Policy--Arrival of Rebel Commissioners in Washington--Surrender of Fort Sumter--Effect upon the North--Proclamation of the President--Response of Massachusetts--Attack upon the Troops in Baltimore--Proclamation declaring a Blockade of Rebel Ports--Position of Virginia--Secession of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas--Response to the Call of the President at the North and West--Mr. Douglas's Visit to Mr. Lincoln--His Devotion to the Country--Speeches in Illinois--His Sickness and Death Important Military Operations--Washington Relieved from Danger--Fortress Monroe Reinforced--The Government Works at Harper's Ferry Blown Up and Abandoned--Occupation of Cairo--Rebel Congress assembled at Montgomery--Message of President Davis--President Lincoln's Call for additional Troops--Affairs in Missouri--General Butler's "Contraband" Order--Battle of Big Bethel--Death of Colonel Ellsworth--Battle of Bull Run--Agreement between Buckner and McClellan--Position of the Government in reference to Slavery--The State of Western Virginia Organized--Battles of Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain--Special Session of Congress--Message of the President--The Majority of Congress sustain the Government--Mr. Crittenden's Resolution--Effect of the President's Inaugural and Message--Appointment of General McClellan to the Command of the Army of the Potomac Results of the Bull Run Battle--Foreign Relations--Seward's Instructions to Minister Adams--To our Ministers at other European Courts--Belligerent Rights of Rebels recognized by England and France--Sympathy of England with the Rebellion--J.C. Fremont appointed Major-general--Fremont's Proclamation--Lincoln's Letter to Fremont--Modification of Fremont's Proclamation--Letter of Hon. Joseph Holt--General Fremont and Colonel Blair--Charges against Fremont--General Grant occupies Paducah, Kentucky--Surrender of Colonel Mulligan--General Fremont takes the Field--He is superseded by General Hunter--General McClellan and the Army of the Potomac--General Butler captures the Hatteras Forts--Munson's Hill occupied by the Rebels--Battle of Ball's Bluff--Resignation of General Scott--Visit of the President and Cabinet to General Scott--Appointment of General McClellan to the Chief Command--Victory at Port Royal--Victories of General Grant in Missouri and General Nelson in Kentucky--Instructions to General Butler on the subject of Slavery Capture of Mason and Slidell by Captain Wilkes--Difficulties with England--Letter of Mr. Seward--Release of Mason and Slidell--Session of Congress--Message of the President--The Question of Slavery--Mr. Lincoln's Regard for the Constitution and the Laws--He Recommends Gradual Emancipation--Conference with Members of Congress from the Border States--Address of the President--The Confiscation Act--Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia--Letter of Mr. Greeley--Reply of the President--Mr. Cameron's Resignation--Appointment of Mr. Stanton--Mr. Lincoln's story General McClellan and the Army of the Potomac--Blockade of the Potomac--Order of the President for a grand Movement of the Armies of the Union--Order to the Army of the Potomac--General McClellan advises a different Plan from that proposed in the President's Order--Mr. Lincoln's Reply to McClellan--McClellan's Plan Adopted--Evacuation of Manassas--Orders of the President--Organization of Army Corps--Blenker's Division ordered to join Fremont--Banks to attack Jackson--McDowell's Corps retained for the Defense of Washington--McClellan at Yorktown--McClellan complains of the inadequacy of his Force--Correspondence between McClellan and the Authorities at Washington--General Franklin's Division sent to General McClellan--Evacuation of Yorktown--Battle of Williamsburgh--Battle at West Point--Correspondence on the Subject of Army Corps--Mr. Lincoln's "Little Story"--Capture of Norfolk--McClellan still Clamorous for Reinforcements--Defeat of Banks--Defeat of the Rebels at Hanover Court-House--Battle of Fair Oaks--Further Correspondence--The "Seven Days' Fight," and Retreat to James River--McClellan's Advice to the Government--The President at Harrison's Landing--The Army of the Potomac returns to Alexandria--Failure of McClellan to Reinforce General Pope--The Rebels cross the Potomac--General McClellan appointed to the Command of the Army in Virginia--Battles of South Mountain and Antietam--General McClellan ordered to pursue the Rebels--Stuart's Raid--President's Letter to General McClellan--the Army across the Potomac--McClellan relieved of his Command--His Character--General Burnside appointed to the Command--Defeat at Fredericksburg--Capture of Roanoke Island--New Orleans surrendered to General Butler--Military Affairs at the West Mr. Lincoln's Proclamation in pursuance of the Confiscation Act--Fernando Wood's Letters, advising Negotiation with the Rebels--The President's Replies--Mr. Lincoln's Letter to Mr. Hodges--Mr. Carpenter's Account of the Emancipation Proclamation--Cabinet Meeting--Opinions of Messrs. Chase, Blair and Seward--Mr. Boutwell's Account--The Preliminary Proclamation issued--Its Reception by the People--General McClellan's Order to the Army--The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1st, 1863--Proclamation suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus--Criticisms upon it--Circular Letter of the President on Sabbath-breaking in the Army--Letter to Governor Shepley Colonization Schemes of the President--Compensated Emancipation recommended--Bill for Enrolling and Drafting the Militia--Financial Measures of Congress--Opinions of the President--Western Virginia admitted to the Union--Representatives from Louisiana admitted to Congress--Peace Agitations--Course of Vallandigham of Ohio--His Arrest by General Burnside--Decision of Judge Leavitt--Vallandigham's Trial and Sentence--Sentence modified by the President--Letter of Governor Seymour--Vallandigham nominated for Governor by the Democratic Convention of Ohio--The Committee of the Convention visit the President--The President's Reply to their Letter--Resolutions of the Albany Meeting--The President's Reply--Universal Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus--The Draft--Riots in New York--Course of Governor Seymour--Action of the President--Elections of 1863--Letter from the Working Men of Manchester, England--The President's Reply--Mr. Lincoln's Letter to J.C. Conkling--Military Events of the Year--Battle of Chancellorsville--Lee's Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania--General Meade succeeds General Hooker in Command--Battle of Gettysburg--The President's Dispatch--Dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery--Speech of the President--Surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson--Mr. Lincoln's Letter to General Grant--Rosecrans' Campaign in Tennessee--General Grant defeats Bragg, and drives Longstreet from Tennessee--The President's Thanksgiving Proclamations--Difficulty among Union Men in Missouri--Mr. Lincoln's Opinion Mr. Lincoln at the White House--His Relations to the Members of the Cabinet--His Health--His Love of Music--His Sympathy with the Soldiers--Anecdotes--His Charity for Human Weakness--His Severity towards Deliberate and Mercenary Crimes--Anecdotes--Mr. Lincoln's Religious Character--Death of his Son--Anecdotes illustrating his Religious Character--His Interest in the Christian Commission--Anecdotes--Visit of Two Hundred Members of the Christian Commission--Remarks of Mr. Stuart, and the President's Reply--Mr. Lincoln's Interview with Rev. J.T. Duryea--His Interest in the Efforts of Religious Men--His Habits at the White House--Narrative of a Lady who urged him to establish Military Hospitals in the Northern States--Injurious effects of Excessive Labor, Anxiety, and Loss of Sleep--visits of Representatives of various Churches and Public Bodies--His Melancholy--Anecdotes--His Character The President's Message--Proclamation of Amnesty--Supplementary and Explanatory Proclamation of March 24, 1864--Failure of the Bill establishing a Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs, and of the Constitutional Amendment Abolishing Slavery--Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law--Debate in the House of Representatives on the Expulsion of Long and Harris--Case of General F.P. Blair--U.S. Grant appointed Lieutenant-general--Sanitary Fair at Baltimore--At Philadelphia--At the Patent-office in Washington--Visits and Speeches of the President--Order in reference to the Treatment of Colored Soldiers--Speech of the President on the Subject Presidential Election of 1864--State of the Country--Chase--Fremont--Convention at Cleveland--J.C. Fremont nominated for President--His Reasons for Accepting the Nomination--Withdrawal of his Name--Meeting in New York in Honor of General Grant--Baltimore Convention--Platform--Mr. Lincoln nominated for President--His Speech accepting the Nomination--Letter to the Committee of the Convention--Case of Arguelles--Congressional Plan of Reconstruction--The President's Proclamation--Manifesto of Senators Wade and Davis--Peace Negotiations--Mr. Greeley's Letters--Mr. Lincoln's Replies--Mr. Greeley at Niagara Falls--Consultations with Clay and Holcombe--The President's Letter to H.J. Raymond--Democratic Convention at Chicago--The Platform--McClellan and Pendleton Nominated--Vallandigham--Mr. Blair Retires from the Cabinet--Mr. Dennison appointed in his Place--Mr. Lincoln's Speech on the Adoption of a Free Constitution in Maryland--Protest against the Tennessee Test Oath--The President's Reply--Call for 500,000 Men--President Lincoln Re-elected--His Letter to Mrs. Bixby Military Operations of 1864--General Smith's Expedition from Memphis--Kilpatrick's Raid--The Red River Expedition--Surrender of Fort Pillow--Battles of the Wilderness--General Butler at City Point--Siege of Petersburg--Sherman's Campaign in Georgia--Capture of Atlanta--Sherman's March for the Coast--Capture of Savannah--General Thomas defeats Hood in Tennessee--Sheridan defeats Early in the Shenandoah Valley--Rout of Price in Missouri--Changes in the Cabinet--Death of Chief-Justice Taney, and Appointment of Mr. Chase--Message of the President--Passage by Congress of the Amendment to the Constitution abolishing Slavery--Call for 300,000 Men--Peace Conference in Hampton Roads--Mr. Lincoln's "Story"--Close of President Lincoln's First Term--His Re-Inauguration--His Inaugural Address--Resignation of Secretary Fessenden--Appointment of Mr. McCulloch--Proclamation to Deserters--The Draft Sherman's March--Occupation of Columbia--Evacuation of Charleston--Battles of Averysboro and Bentonville--Occupation of Goldsboro--The President at City Point--Advance of the Army of the Potomac--Defeat of General Lee--Evacuation of Richmond--Its occupation by General Weitzel--Surrender of General Lee--The President and the Kittens--The President visits Richmond--His Interview with Judge Campbell--Negotiations of General Sherman--Surrender of General Johnston--End of the Rebellion--Joy of the People--Popularity of the President--his Speech at the White House Position of President Lincoln before the World--Plots for his Assassination--Letter of Mr. Seward--The President's Interview with Speaker Colfax--His attendance at Ford's Theater--Enthusiasm of the People on his Arrival--J. Wilkes Booth--His Arrangements for the Assassination--Perpetration of the Deed--Escape of Booth--Death of the President--Attack upon Mr. Seward and his Son--Profound Grief of the Nation--Funeral Services at Washington--Departure of the Funeral Train for Springfield--Ceremonies at Baltimore--At Harrisburg--At Philadelphia--At New York--At Albany--At Buffalo--At Cleveland--At Columbus--At Chicago--Funeral Services at Springfield--Foreign Expressions of Sympathy with the Nation, and with Mr. Lincoln's Family--Mr. Johnson succeeds to the Presidency--Large Rewards offered for the apprehension of the Murderer--He is traced to his Hiding-place and Killed--Capture and Trial of his Associates--Closing Tribute to the Character and Administration of Abraham Lincoln

Preface

I have undertaken to write a biography of Abraham Lincoln for the people; and, although they will be certain to learn what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish in the book, I cannot consent to pass it into their hands without a statement of what I have aimed to do, and what I have not aimed to do, in its preparation. I am moved to this, partly by my wish that they may not be disappointed in the character of the effort, and partly by my desire that, in making up their judgment upon the work, they may have some reference to my intentions.

First, then, I have not aimed to write a History of the Rebellion. Second, I have not aimed to write a political or a military history of Mr. Lincoln's administration. Third, I have not aimed to present any considerable number of Mr. Lincoln's letters, speeches and state-papers. Fourth, I have not attempted to disguise or conceal my own personal partiality for Mr. Lincoln, and my thorough sympathy with the political principles to which his life was devoted. Though unconscious of any partiality for a party, capable of blinding my vision or distorting my judgment, I am aware that, at this early day, when opinions are still sharply divided upon the same questions concerning principles, policies and men, which prevailed during Mr. Lincoln's active political life, it is impossible to utter any judgment which will not have a bearing upon the party politics of the time. Thus, the only alternative of writing according to personal partialities and personal convictions, has been writing without any partialities, and without any convictions. I have chosen to be a man, rather than a machine; and, if this shall subject me to the charge of writing in the interest of a party, I must take what comes of it.

I have tried to paint the character of Mr. Lincoln, and to sketch his life, clinging closely to his side; giving attention to contemporaneous history no further than it has seemed necessary to reveal his connection with public events; and re-producing his letters, speeches and state-papers to no greater extent than they were deemed requisite to illustrate his personal character, to throw light upon specially interesting phases of his private life and public career, to exhibit the style and scope of his genius, and to expose his social, political and religious sentiments and opinions. In pursuing this course, I have been obliged to leave large masses of interesting material behind me, and to condense into the briefest space what the more general historian will dwell upon in detail.

From much of the history of Mr. Lincoln's public life, to which his future biographers will have access, I have been excluded. The records and other evidence of his intimate connection with all the events of the war for the preservation of American nationality, are in the archives of the War Department; and they are there retained, only to be revealed when the present generation shall have passed away. The Life of Washington, even though it was written by a Marshall, with the abundant access to unpublished documents which his position enabled him to command, or which it was the policy of the government to afford him, waited half a century for Irving, to give it symmetry and completeness. The humbler biographers of Mr. Lincoln, though they satisfy an immediate want, and gather much which would otherwise be forever lost, can hardly hope to be more then tributaries to that better and completer biography which the next, or some succeeding generation, will be sure to produce and possess.

I have no opportunity, except that which this page affords me, to acknowledge my indebtedness to those who have assisted me in the collection of unpublished material for this volume. I have been indebted specially to William. H. Herndon, Esq., of Springfield, Illinois, for many years Mr. Lincoln's law partner, who has manifested, from the first, the kindest interest in my book; to Newton Bateman, Esq., Superintendent of Public Instruction in Illinois; to James Q. Howard, Esq., United States Consul at St. John, New Brunswick; to Hon. John D. Defrees, Superintendent of Public Printing in Washington; to Hon. Henry L. Dawes, of Massachusetts; to Horace White, Esq., of the Chicago Tribune; to U.F. Linder, Esq., of Chicago; to J.F. Speed, Esq., of Louisville, Kentucky; to Judge S.T. Logan, Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, Rev. A. Hale, and Hon. Erastus Wright, old neighbors and friends or Mr. Lincoln in Illinois; to Rev. J.T. Duryea, of New York; and George H. Stuart, Esq., of Philadelphia. To these, and to the unnamed but not forgotten friends who have aided me, I return my hearty thanks.

Putnam's "Record of the Rebellion" has proved itself an inexhaustible fountain of valuable and interesting facts; and I have been much indebted to McPherson's History of the Rebellion, the best arranged and most complete collection of public documents relating to the war that has been published. I have freely consulted the campaign biographies of Messrs. Scripps, Raymond, and Barrett, to the excellence of which I bear cheerful testimony. Among other books that have been useful to me, are Nichols' "Story of the Great March," Coggeshall's "Journeys of Abraham Lincoln," Schalk's "Campaigns of 1862 and 1863," and Halsted's "Caucuses of 1860." Carpenter's "Reminiscences," published in the New York Independent, and an article by Noah Brooks in Harper's Magazine, have furnished me also with some very interesting materials.

Hoping that the volume will be as pleasant, instructive and inspiring in the reading as it has been in the writing, I present it to my indulgent friends, the American people.

J.G.H.

Springfield, Mass., November, 1865.

Chapter I.

The early life of Abraham Lincoln was a hard and humble backwoods and border life. As a boy and as a young man, he was not fond of wild sports and exciting adventures. It is doubtless true that the earlier years of many of his neighbors and companions would be more engaging to the pen of the biographer and the imagination of the reader, than his. His later career, his noble character, his association with the grandest and most important events of American history, have alone, or mainly, given significance and interest to his youthful experiences of hardship, the humble processes of his education, and his early struggles with the rough forces of nature among which he was born. The tree which rose so high, and spread its leaves so broadly, and bore such golden fruit, and then fell before the blast because it was so heavy and so high, has left its roots upturned into the same light that glorifies its branches, and discovered and made divine the soil from which it drew its nutriment.

When Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the presidency of the United States in 1860, it became desirable that a sketch of his life should be prepared and widely distributed; but, upon being applied to for materials for this sketch, by the gentleman who had undertaken to produce it, he seemed oppressed with a sense of their tameness and lowliness, and the conviction that they could not be of the slightest interest to the American people. "My early history," said he, "is perfectly characterized by a single line of Gray's Elegy:

'The short and simple annals of the poor.'"

His judgment then was measurably just; but events have set it aside, and endowed the humble details that seemed to him as so common-place and mean, with a profound and tender interest.

Abraham Lincoln was born in that part of Hardin County, Kentucky, now embraced by the lines of the recently formed county of Larue, on the 12th of February, 1809. A region more remarkably picturesque was at that time hardly to be found in all the newly-opened country of the West. Variegated and rolling in its surface, about two-thirds of it timbered and fertile, the remainder composed of barrens, supporting only black-jacks and post-oaks, and spreading into plains, or rising into knolls or knobs, and watered by beautiful and abundant streams, it was as attractive to the eye of the lover of nature as to the enterprise of the agriculturist and the passion of the hunter. Some of the knobs rising out of the barrens reach a considerable elevation, and are dignified by the name of mountains. "Shiny Mountain" is one of the most lovely of these, giving a view of the whole valley of the Nolin. A still larger knob is the "Blue Ball," from whose summit one may see, on a fair morning, the fog rising from the Ohio River, twenty miles away.

In a rude log cabin, planted among these scenes, the subject of this biography opened his eyes. The cabin was situated on or near Nolin Creek, about a mile and a half from Hodgenville, the present county seat of Larue County. Here he spent the first year or two of his childhood, when he removed to a cabin on Knob Creek, on the road from Bardstown, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee; at a point three and a half miles south or southwest of Atherton's Ferry, (on the Rolling Fork,) and six miles from Hodgenville. It was in these two homes that he spent the first seven years of his life; but before saying anything of those years, it will be best to tell how his parents found their way into the wilderness, and to record what is known of his family history.

In 1769, Daniel Boone, at the head of a small and hardy party of adventurers, set out from his home on the Yadkin River, in South Carolina, to explore that part of Virginia which he then knew as "The Country of Kentucky." After participating in the most daring and dangerous adventures, and suffering almost incredible hardships, he returned, abundantly rewarded with peltry, in 1771. Two years after this, he undertook to remove his family to the region which had entirely captivated his imagination; but it was not until 1775 that his purpose was accomplished. This brave and widely-renowned pioneer, with those who accompanied him and those who were attracted to the region by the reports which he had carried back to the Eastern settlements, lived a life of constant exposure to Indian warfare; but danger seemed only to sharpen the spirit of adventure, and to attract rather than repel immigration.

Among those for whom "The Country of Kentucky" had its savage charms was Abraham Lincoln, the grandfather of the President, then living in Rockingham County, Virginia. Why he should have left the beautiful and fertile valley of the Shenandoah for the savage wilds West of him cannot be known, but he only repeated the mystery of pioneer life--the greed for something newer and wilder and more dangerous than that which surrounded him. His removal to Kentucky took place about 1780. Of the journey, we have no record; but we know that at that date it must have been one of great hardship, as he was accompanied by a young and tender family. The spot upon which he built is not known, though it is believed to have been somewhere on Floyd's Creek, in what is now Bullitt County. Hardly more of his history is preserved than that which relates to his death. In 1784, while at work in the field, at a distance from his cabin, he was stealthily approached by an Indian, and shot dead.

The care of five helpless children was, by this murder, thrown upon his widow. She subsequently removed to a place now embraced within the limits of Washington County, and there she reared, in such rude ways as necessity prescribed, her little brood. Three of these children, sons, were named in the order of their birth, Mordecai, Josiah and Thomas. The two daughters were named respectively Mary and Nancy. Mordecai remained in Kentucky until late in life, but a short time before his death, removed to Hancock County, Illinois, where several of his descendants still reside. Josiah, the second son, removed while a young man to what is now Harrison County, Indiana. Thomas, the third son, was the father of Abraham Lincoln, the illustrious subject of this biography. Mary Lincoln was married to Ralph Crume, and Nancy to William Brumfield. The descendants of these women still reside in Kentucky. All these children were probably born in Virginia,--Thomas, in 1778,--so that he was only about two years old when his father emigrated.

Tracing the family still further, we find that Abraham, the emigrant, had four brothers: Isaac, Jacob, John and Thomas. The descendants of Jacob and John are supposed to be still in Virginia. Isaac emigrated to the region where Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee unite, and his descendants are there. Thomas went to Kentucky, probably later than his brother Abraham, where he lived many years, and where he died. His descendants went to Missouri.

Further back than this it is difficult to go. The most that is known, is, that the Lincolns of Rockingham County, Virginia, came, previous to 1752, from Berks County, Pennsylvania. Where the Lincolns of Berks County came from, no record has disclosed. They are believed to have been Quakers, but whether they were an original importation from Old England, under the auspices of William Penn, or a pioneer offshoot from the Lincolns of New England, does not appear. There is the strongest presumptive evidence that the Pennsylvania and New England Lincolns were identical in their family blood. The argument for this identity rests mainly upon the coincidences which the Christian names of the two families present. Three Lincolns who came from Hingham, in England, and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, between 1633 and 1637, bore the Christian name of Thomas. Another bore the name of Samuel, and he had three sons: Daniel, Mordecai and Thomas. Mordecai was the father of Mordecai, who was born in 1686. He was also the father of Abraham, born in 1689. About 1750, there were two Mordecai Lincolns in the town of Taunton. Here we have the three names: Mordecai, Thomas and Abraham, in frequent and familiar family use. Passing to the Pennsylvania family, we find that among the taxable inhabitants of Exeter, Berks County, Pennsylvania, there were, soon after 1752, Mordecai and Abraham Lincoln; that Thomas Lincoln was living in Reading as early as 1757, and that Abraham Lincoln, of Berks County, was in various public offices in the state from 1782 to 1790.