Category: Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln Book Acquisitions – January to June 2014

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Lincoln book towerI have a lot of Abraham Lincoln books. Too many for my shelves, it seems. While I read a dozen (or two) books about our 16th President every year, the fact remains that my collection outpaces my available time. Still, it remains a joy.

I’ve previously listed the Lincoln books I acquired in 2013. In this post I’ll list the books I’ve acquired in the first half of this year. And yes, I know that June still has a couple of weeks to go, but I’ve put myself on a moratorium (of sorts), at least until the end of the month. Check out the list below.

David J. Kent is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and a soon-to-be-released ebook on Tesla and Renewable Energy. 

Here’s the list!

Ambrose, Stephen E. Nothing Like It In The World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 2000
Bacon, Benjamin W. Sinews of War: How Technology, Industry, and Transportation Won the Civil War 1997
Barton, William E. Abraham Lincoln And His Books 1920
Borritt, Gabor (ed) The Gettysburg Nobody Knows 1999
Boritt, Gabor S. (ed) Lincoln The War President 1992
Denenberg, Barry Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life Remembered 2008
Fletcher, George P. Our Secret Constitution: How Lincoln Redefined American Democracy 2001
Gary, Ralph Following in Lincoln’s Footsteps: A Complete Annotated Reference to Hundreds of Historical Sites Visited by Abraham Lincoln 2001
Goodheart, Adam 1861: The Civil War Awakening 2011
Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs 1999
Haydon, F. Stansbury Military Ballooning during the Early Civil War 2000
Herdon, William H. and Weik, Jesse William Herndon’s Life of Lincoln 1942
Holzer, Harold Lincoln: How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America 2012
Katcher, Philip The Civil War Day By Day 201
Martin, Iain C. Worthy of Their Esteem: The Timeless Words and Sage Advice of Abraham Lincoln, America’s Greatest President 2009
Miller, Richard Lawrence Lincoln and his World: Prairie Politician 1834-1842 2008
Mills, Eric Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War 1996
Poleskie, Stephen The Balloonist: The Story of T.S.C. Lowe – Inventor, Scientist, Magician, and Father of the U.S. Air Force 2007
Randall, J.G. Mr. Lincoln 1957
Ross, Charles Trial by Fire: Science, Technology and the Civil War 2000
Sandburg, Carl Abe Lincoln Grows Up 1956
Stashower, Daniel The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War 2013
Stoddard, William O. Inside the White House in War Times: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln’s Secretary 2000
Thomas, Benjamin P. Lincoln’s New Salem 1987
Thompson, Frank Abraham Lincoln: Twentieth Century Portrayals 1999
Waugh, John C. One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln’s Road to the Civil War 2007
Widmer, Ted (Ed) The New York Times Disunion 2013
Wilson, Douglas L. Lincoln before Washington: New Perspectives on the Illinois Years 1997
Wilson, Douglas L. Lincoln’s Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words 2006
Zeitz, Joshua Lincoln’s Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln’s Image 2014
Lincoln Takes Norfolk 1983
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Book Review – Lincoln Unbound by Rich Lowry

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Lincoln UnboundTwo books in one. The first works; the second doesn’t.

Rich Lowry is a conservative pundit and editor, and this is reflected in the last of the six chapters that comprise the book. If you are interested in Abraham Lincoln, read the first five chapters and don’t waste your time on the final chapter. If you are looking for far right wing talking points, go straight to the final chapter, which presents current day “conservative” principles vaguely wrapped in the authors’ view of Lincoln’s beliefs.

The odd thing is that the first book, i.e., chapters one through five, provides some valuable insight and interpretation of Lincoln’s upbringing, values, and views on the grand questions of the day. Lowry correctly identifies Lincoln’s remarkable ambition and desire to rise from meager beginnings and make something of himself in the world. Lowry discusses Lincoln’s belief in government-sponsored “improvements” in infrastructure, modernization, and industrialization. He also delves into Lincoln’s own inventiveness and appreciation of emerging technologies – railroads, canals, weapons during the Civil War, just to name a few.

The writing often rambles, but its unevenness shouldn’t significantly lessen the reader’s ability to garner the historical significance of Lincoln’s belief that hard work was a path toward advancement, both of individuals and the country. Lowry’s discussion of Lincoln’s views with respect to racism and slavery, as well as his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, are sometimes out of sync with more established historians, but are nevertheless important interpretations to consider, even if after doing so you don’t agree with him. Overall, Lowry has offered valuable insights not seen in more academic and scholarly biographies of our sixteenth president.

Which makes the final chapter so bizarre. Lowry makes valid points when he sticks to reporting Lincoln’s views from the perspective of Lincoln’s time period. But when he tries to force fit Lincoln into somehow approving of far right wing screed and surreality the author reveals his own biases. Here he often suggests Lincoln would disdain today’s government (as Lowry clearly does) but then provides information that would lead many to conclude the opposite. The creation of false premises to support a pre-defined conclusion is a common problem with pundits flying on the extreme wings of either party, and Lowry puts these on vivid display in this final chapter. While likely this was the main purpose of producing the book in the first place, the author would have been better to leave out this particular chapter. It cheapens an otherwise informative book.

So I highly recommend you read the first five chapters. Think about Abraham Lincoln and his times. Then learn your own lessons from Lincoln and ignore the disjointed, unsupported, polemic at the end.

Additional Note: I read the book and wrote this review in September 2013. I subsequently met Rich Lowry when he was the guest speaker at the March 2014 Lincoln Group of DC meeting. I had the privilege of joining his table for dinner prior to his presentation. My impression was that he was genuinely nice. As we discussed his book and other Lincoln topics it became apparent his actual views were not as extreme as the views he appears to espouse in his sixth chapter. That said, based on that discussion and his presentation, he is unquestionably a strongly conservative and Republican partisan, which is certainly expected from the editor of the National Review. However, as my book review above notes, in my opinion the final chapter doesn’t reflect Lincoln and his times as much as it reflects Lowry’s current political leanings. Despite that negative, the first five chapters of the book are very much worth reading.

More Abraham Lincoln book reviews can be read here (scroll down for more).

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and is writing a book on Abraham Lincoln’s interests in technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, and a signed copy can be ordered directly from me. The second printing will be available in Barnes and Noble bookstores soon, or you can download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com.

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Book Review – Lincoln in New Orleans by Richard Campanella

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Lincoln in New OrleansAn exceptionally well researched book recreating Abraham Lincoln’s flatboat trips to New Orleans. Campanella is an expert on New Orleans, and has expanded his expertise upstream to develop a detailed account of Lincoln’s two trips down the Mississippi River. No small feat given that the sum total of all the first person reminiscences of the trips by Lincoln and participants wouldn’t fill a page of text. Campanella’s recreation, like many efforts based on such scant direct information, is not however contrived in the least. On the contrary, the effort he has put into collecting and analyzing fragmented – and often contradictory or dubious – accounts is exemplary.

I would suggest the book is for the serious reader rather those with a casual interest in Lincoln, New Orleans, or the Mississippi River. It is extremely fact-dense, and the writing style is scholarly, yet accessible for thoughtful enthusiasts. Those expecting an exhilarating story of adventure won’t find it, though an adventure it does describe. To me that not only doesn’t take away from the book, it helps define it as scholarship to be taken seriously.

After a short introduction there are only five long chapters. The first explores Lincoln’s father Thomas’ own flatboat trip as a youth, along with setting the stage for Lincoln’s  desire to hit the muddy waters himself. “The 1828 Experience” is a massive undertaking; more than 100 pages of detailed research into the timing of his first flatboat trip while still living in Indiana, the building of the boat, the obstacles in the rivers and elsewhere, the arrival and lingering in New Orleans at the end, and the trip back home. Campanella teases apart the disparate accounts, provides a detailed analysis of the attack by slaves, and places Lincoln in the context of the technologically changing times.

Another chapter examines Lincoln’s second flatboat experience in 1831, including analysis of the mill dam story, the crew and timing of departures, and much more. While truncated so as not to repeat the riverine details well covered in the previous chapter, it still tallies about 40 pages. This is followed by a chapter speculating about what Lincoln may have seen and done in New Orleans, framed by extensive actual facts about what was going on there at that time. In his Conclusions chapter Campanella assesses what influences these flatboat voyages may have had on Lincoln’s views of slavery, internal improvements, and political philosophy. On top of all of this Campanella adds two appendices providing wonderful background material on commerce on western rivers and on New Orleans itself during the time period in which Lincoln was developing into the President he would become.

This is an extraordinary book of scholarship that deserves more attention that it has apparently received. It’s not for the casual reader, but it should be for everyone seriously interested in this critical period of Abraham Lincoln’s life.

More Abraham Lincoln book reviews can be read here (scroll down for more).

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and is writing a book on Abraham Lincoln’s interests in technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, and a signed copy can be ordered directly from me. The second printing will be available in Barnes and Noble bookstores soon, or you can download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com.

Feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Abraham Lincoln and the Technology of War

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Organized by the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, this exhibition explores how cutting-edge Civil War technological innovations captured Lincoln's fascination and impacted the conduct of the war.The American Civil War was a crossroads between the old style of warfare and modern warfare. This modern warfare (if one can call the wholesale taking of lives “modern”) is explored in an exhibit in the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership called “Abraham Lincoln and the Technology of War.” The exhibit runs through July 6, 2014, so make your plans soon.

In a nutshell, the old way of fighting had mainly been a function of how many men could be thrown together for close-quarters combat. Men lined up to fire single shot muskets at fairly short ranges, then engaged in hand-to-hand (or bayonet-to-bayonet) fighting. Thousands would die on the battlefield; thousands more would die of infection and disease. The Civil War saw plenty of this old way of fighting. But it also saw plenty of new technology being put into play.

To get to the exhibit you enter through the Petersen House, then take an elevator up to the fourth floor of the adjacent Center and work your way down. Start by gazing at the tower of Abraham Lincoln books.

Lincoln book tower

On the second floor you’ll find the technology of war exhibit, organized by the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. Lincoln was fascinated by technology and both used and helped encourage its development during the war. He was the first president to use the telegraph for rapid communication.

Telegraph

Lincoln had long been a proponent of internal improvements, including railroads. And the difference in railroad infrastructure between the North and the South was both dramatic and crucial to the war’s outcome. More on that in the future.

RailroadsThe advancements in railroads, manned balloons, and cannons moved warfare into the modern age. The evolution of basic weaponry – away from single-shot muskets and toward repeating rifles and pistols – increased both the distance and lethality of offense.

Rifles

I’ll have much more on this topic in the coming months as I continue my exploration of Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. To get a taste of the current exhibit at Ford’s Theatre, check out this short video about the collection:

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and is writing a book on Abraham Lincoln’s interests in technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, and a signed copy can be ordered directly from me. The second printing will be available in Barnes and Noble bookstores soon, or you can download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com.

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Book Review – The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln by C.A. Tripp

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The Intimate World of Abraham LincolnThe premise of the book is that Abraham Lincoln was a homosexual, or at least a bisexual. The problem with this premise is that it is purely conjecture and the author does not support it at all. Basically, he just made it up.

C.A. Tripp was a sex researcher and colleague of Alfred Kinsey, and author of The Homosexual Matrix. This background so stilted his research methods and how he drew his conclusions that the book is simply a preconceived contention in search of support. Unfortunately for Tripp, he provides none. Tripp passed away two weeks after supposedly completing the manuscript for the book. In an introduction, the Mary Todd Lincoln biographer Jean Baker apologetically notes that if Tripp had lived he most certainly would have had to edit the book more extensively and that at least one more chapter would likely have been added. In reality, another chapter would not have made any difference. The book is so weak that the publishers provided three “reactions and comments” from outside reviewers in an Afterword. The book also includes three appendices that supposedly support the author’s contention, though these materials actually do not provide any additional support whatsoever.

The only “evidence” that Tripp provides for Lincoln’s presumed homosexual tendencies is the well known fact that Lincoln shared beds with men during his lifetime. But this standard is so low that the majority of men during that era would be classified as having homosexual tendencies, as it was commonplace to share sleeping arrangements in the cramped quarters of the time. This is especially true for those, like Lincoln, who were quite poor early in their lives and who traveled extensively on the legal circuit with other lawyers and judges. Tripp offers no evidence at all of any sexual relationship with anyone. He merely presumes it and bases the entire book on this unsupported assumption. Of all the writings by Lincoln, his presumed inamoratos, friends, colleagues, and family, none suggests any sexual relationship at all with any man. In fact, all suggestions by Lincoln’s contemporaries of normal sleeping arrangements are rebuffed by Tripp as somehow, these people who knew him best, simply being oblivious to the obvious signs. The problem is that these signs are apparently obvious only to a homosexual sex researcher of the late 20th century incapable of viewing events from the perspective of the first half of the 1800s. His only other “evidence” is the fact that Lincoln told some ribald jokes; something again that ignores the fact that Lincoln was constantly telling stories, most of which were not, in fact, sexually oriented at all. Nor does telling jokes make anyone gay.

It should be noted that most of the book actually is taken up questioning his relationships with the various women Lincoln courted. Somehow all of these heterosexual relationships, and the fact that he sired four children with Mary Todd (who he spends an entire chapter decimating), merely show that he was secretly harboring homosexual tendencies. In the end, the book provides no evidence whatsoever of such tendencies, and in fact, provides substantial evidence to the contrary. Clearly the book was written based on the predisposition of the author and cannot be considered a credible examination of Lincoln’s life.

More book reviews can be seen by clicking here and scrolling down.

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Abraham Lincoln Book Club of Washington DC

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The Abraham Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia has a book club. And this past weekend we finished reading Herndon’s Lincoln, the book that we’ve been discussing for the last nine months. In my earlier review I noted that this particular edition of the book was greatly enhanced by the incredible editorial annotation by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis. Even more invaluable was the input from the book members themselves.

I should emphasize that our Lincoln Group book club includes several historians, archivists, researchers, and all-around Abraham Lincoln scholars. We also had people who had little previous knowledge of Lincoln. Each of us brought our own preconceptions, backgrounds, and opinions, which when informed further by the personal insights of Herndon and others who knew Lincoln, made for lively and sometimes surprising discussions. Arising from the three-quarter-year analysis was a much deeper understanding of both the book and Abraham Lincoln. I think everyone in the group would agree that it was a worthwhile and special experience.

LGDC book discussion group

This last session was special in another sense as well. Because of a last minute scheduling conflict we were not able to use the room that has been our home base for the last nine months. Normally we meet on the 5th floor of the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership, across the street from the famous site of Lincoln’s assassination and next to the Petersen House, where Lincoln died.

Our backup plan was Ford’s Theatre itself, or more accurately, the conference room on the top floor of Ford’s Theatre. Bypassing the lines queued up for the matinee of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, we found the entrance to an elegant conference room tucked into the rafters of the theater. Here is the view from the top as the audience filed in for the performance.

Ford's Theatre from the rafters

George Healey’s famous painting of Abraham Lincoln loomed over our group as we discussed the final chapters. Imagine sitting in a room discussing the motivations of the man gazing in thoughtful contemplation over your left shoulder. No, we weren’t intimidated. Much.

LGDC book club

Abe did photobomb the apparently requisite selfie at such grandiose events. Left to right are John Elliff, Richard Margolies (our esteemed discussion leader), Abe, Me, and Rodney Ross.

Selfie

While a bit of Lincolnesque melancholy was felt with the ending of this past year’s discussion, a new birth of excitement was in the air because we had chosen the next book for discussion – The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln by noted Lincoln scholar, Michael Burlingame. Even more exciting is that, thanks to Rod Ross, Michael Burlingame has agreed to speak to our discussion group on November 1st. Check out the LGDC site for more details as they emerge.

For those in the Washington DC area with an interest in Abraham Lincoln, please consider our Lincoln Group book club. You don’t have to be a Lincoln expert to join; you just have to read the book. It doesn’t get much easier than that. And the rewards?

Priceless!

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies at Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as online at B&N.com and Amazon.com.

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Herndon’s Lincoln by William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik (Edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis)

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Herndon's LincolnThis is an extraordinary book, for several reasons. First, William H. Herndon was Abraham Lincoln’s law partner for sixteen years prior to Lincoln becoming President. Second, because Herndon spent several years after Lincoln’s assassination writing to and interviewing scores of people who knew Lincoln during his life and career up to the presidency. Third, because editors Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis have done an extraordinary job digging into Herndon and Weik’s original letters and notes to discern between actual reporting and embellishment. There have been many versions of Herndon’s Lincoln produced in the years since its 1889 release, but Wilson and Davis’ voluminous and informative endnotes make this edition superior.

Herndon has been accused of being too biased in discussing Lincoln’s relationship with his father and with Mary Lincoln, and of seriously embellishing the story of Ann Rutledge. Nevertheless, he tirelessly undertook an effort to document Lincoln’s history through his interviews of those who knew him best. Herndon’s efforts at collecting this information, along with Weik’s effort to get the book written, have provided an invaluable service to everyone who wants to better understand our sixteenth President. Wilson and Davis complete the picture by helping us sift through what is supported, what is embellishment, and what is still a mystery. Herndon’s Informants, another volume edited by Wilson and Davis, is a must-have corollary to Herndon’s Lincoln as it contains the full text of each letter and interview conducted by Herndon. I highly recommend both.

I should note this edition of Herndon’s Lincoln was the book we read this year in our Lincoln Group of DC book club.

LGDC book discussion group

We started reading the book in September 2013 and will have our last monthly meeting in early May 2014, at which time we’ll also discuss the book we’ll read this coming year. [Check out the website for more information on how to join us.] The insights arising from the varying views offered by other book club members were as invaluable as the Wilson and Davis notes. The discussion helped bring the book to life.

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies at Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as online at B&N.com and Amazon.com.

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Tesla, Travel, and Lincoln – Current and Upcoming Events

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Here on Science Traveler I cover three main topics – Nikola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, and Science Traveling. It’s been a busy few months so far this year, and the rest of the year is shaping up to be even busier. Here are some quick updates on what to expect.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

I’ve recently become the Coordinator for Outreach and Education for the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. In that role next week I’ll meet with key people from the infamous Ford’s Theater to evaluate any common goals and activities. I’ll also be working with the Lincoln Group President and Board to develop a program to better integrate with other Lincoln groups, scholars, and the public.

I expect to make great strides on my own Abraham Lincoln book this year, as well as a new Lincoln book project I’ll talk more about later. Meanwhile, the Lincoln Group book club is wrapping up our discussion of Herndon’s Lincoln and will decide shortly on what book we’ll tackle next.

I also had the privilege of joining Lincoln Group member and National Archives researcher Rodney Ross for a Civil War event at the exclusive Cosmos Club in Washington DC. The coordinator of that event even asked me to be a speaker on my book topic next year. That makes four or five requests for speaking engagements already being lined up for when the book comes out.

Nikola Tesla

Nikola TeslaTesla world has been equally busy. I continue to work on the Tesla and Renewable Energy ebook I expect to release in June. The ebook format will keep the cost low and allow reaching out to the large number of people who haven’t yet discovered the great inventor. Meanwhile, the second printing of my Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity book is scheduled to be in Barnes and Noble book stores in time for Tesla’s birthday in July.

I’ll be giving a presentation on Nikola Tesla at the Ipswich Museum on July 7th, and expect to be part of the Tesla Days events in Philadelphia on July 9th. I also expect to be doing presentations and book signings in July and August once the second printing is in the stores. I’m eager to include a west coast trip on the schedule.

One exciting project is the development of a curriculum to teach about Nikola Tesla in schools. The Tesla Science Foundation has been working with Ashley Redfearn Neswick at the Tacony Academy Charter School, and there is potential for using my Tesla book as part of that curriculum.

Science Traveling

James JoyceI’ve been documenting on these pages some of the highlights of my February 2014 trip to Patagonia, Argentina. I’ll have more on other trips I’ve taken in the past as well. But the next few months could get very busy with new science travel.

I’m planning a trip out to Chicago/Springfield sometime in May or June. The main purpose is to visit and do some research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, but I’ll take advantage of the trip to also see the exhibits (including Tesla) from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as well as check out other Lincoln sites. In November I’m expecting to go to the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, PA.

July will be a trip home to New England to visit family, as well as a possible Tesla book tour to the west coast. The end of August should find me in the fjords of Norway, plus trains through Sweden and Denmark. The fall, in addition to Gettysburg, may take me to Vancouver and, hopefully, India. By Christmas I’ll be ready to curl up under the Yule log.

One more thing I initially forgot to mention: I’ll be giving a presentation on Monday, April 28th at the CPRC 2014 Annual Meeting. My topic is “Remembering the Big Picture: Communicating Local Science to a Global Audience.”

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies at Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as online at B&N.com and Amazon.com.

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A Little Bit of the Civil War in New York

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The New York Historical Society has some new guards. Or maybe they are old guards?

Of course, they were there to protect the President, Abraham Lincoln.

Okay, and maybe chat with some kids.

Frederick Douglass was there too.

Just a little teaser from the road, thanks to modern technology.

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Robert E Lee Surrenders to Ulysses S Grant – April 9, 1865

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On April 9th 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. So began the end of the Civil War. They met at the house of Wilmer McLean in a village called Appomattox Court House. The trials of four years of war etched the faces of both Generals as their weary troops struggled between thankfulness that the war was ending and patriotism for the causes they felt were still attainable.

Appomattox Court House

In the days before the surrender, Grant and Lee had exchanged a series of messages through the front lines. Both men were cautious, avoiding commitments that they could not keep. Not surprisingly, Lee was hesitant to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to the Union forces. But he was a realist. After the defeat at Petersburg, Lee had on April 2nd warned Confederate President Jefferson Davis that Richmond could no longer be protected. As Davis and the Confederate government fled southward, Lee knew that his armies could no longer hold off the inevitable. The South would fall in defeat.

Robert E Lee Surrenders to Ulysses S Grant

The terms of the surrender were simple. All Confederate forces were to be disbanded and allowed to return to their homes, “not to be disturbed by the United States authorities so long as they observe their paroles.” While “arms, artillery, and public property” were to be confiscated, officers were allowed to keep their side-arms (swords and pistols), private horses and baggage.

As General Lee mounted his horse to ride away from the McLean house, “General Grant now stepped down from the porch, and, moving toward him, saluted him by raising his hat. He was followed in this act of courtesy by all our officers present; Lee raised his hat respectfully, and rode off to break the sad news to the brave fellows whom he had so long commanded.”

The war would rapidly come to an end. But just as rapidly, President Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated. While the fighting was over, the struggle for freedom and equality would go on for decades, even a century, beyond this fateful day.

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.