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Lincoln’s Jewish Spy

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Issachar ZacharieOn January 25, 1865, Abraham Lincoln directed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to give Lincoln’s Jewish spy and “cheroperdist” a pass to go into southern territory.

“I wish you to give Dr. Zacharie a pass to Savanna, remain a week and return, bringing with him, if he wishes, his father and sisters or any of them.”

So who is Dr. Zacharie, and what is a “cheroperdist”?

Let’s start with the second part. When the self-styled foot doctor Issachar Zacharie (he actually had no medical training and gave himself the “Dr.” honorific) first printed business cards to advertise his ability to relief sufferers from corns and bunions, he misspelled the word “chiropodist.” While possibly recognizable to many people today, the term chiropodist is outdated and synonymous with today’s term for foot doctor: podiatrist. Even though he didn’t have any official credentials, it turns out Dr. Zacharie was an excellent chiropodist and operated on Abraham Lincoln’s feet and those of many of his staff and officer corps. Zacharie serviced thousands of Union soldiers during the Civil War.

Just as Dr. Zacharie invented his profession and persona, he invented himself as a sort of Union spy. His exploits were extolled in a new book by E. Lawrence Abel called Lincoln’s Jewish Spy: The Life and Times of Issachar Zacharie. This is the short review I wrote on Goodreads:

An interesting in-depth look at a rarely examined public figure associated with Lincoln. Unafraid of self-promotion, even if he had to fabricate an educational background, Issachar Zacharie manages to insert himself into Abraham Lincoln’s inner circle. That is, at least to some extent as Abel tells us it’s sometimes difficult to separate Zacharie’s self-promotion from reality. Abel helps parse out that difference and shows us that Zacharie was in fact somewhat of an informant for Lincoln and a close associate of the ambitious, if not overly competent, General Nathaniel Banks. Along the way we learn much about being Jewish in nineteenth century America. Oh, and we also learn about chiropody, the cutting and shaving of foot corns and bunions (which turns out to have been a bigger problem for soldiers and politicians than could be imagined).

The depth of Abel’s research is readily apparent, as is the breadth of his sourcing. He manages to flesh out a little known character of the Civil War that is both interesting and informative. The book at times is repetitive and could have used some tighter editing in places, but overall is a great read for anyone interested in digging deeper into lesser known names.

Stanton replied to Lincoln’s directive the same day to note “An order for leave to Zacharie as directed by you has been issued & sent to Mr. Nicolay.” Zacharie apparently replied to say “I leave on Saturday per steamship Arago for Savannah where I hope to find my Dear old father and friends–if you have any matters that you would have properly attended to, I will consider it a favour to [you] to let me attend to it for you…”

Zacharie was quick to ingratiate himself with the Jewish population wherever he traveled. He would collect intelligence for the war effort, and also relay advice to Jewish men on how to help the Union effort. This is a little known element of the war and Abel’s book gives us much insight into that regard.

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That Time Conservatives Refused to Accept an Election – Lessons from Lincoln

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Obama inauguration 2013The election results were decisive. The new president-elect had won the popular vote by a substantial margin and had won more electoral votes than his competitors combined. The election had been secure, and the results were unequivocal.

Yet the conservative faction rebelled against the result. They said they would not abide by the voice of the people. Elements inside the government tried to override the vote and disrupt the government. Tearing the Union apart was more acceptable to them then living with the election results. Shortly after the election this faction sought to divide the country in half. Before the president-elect could even arrive in Washington to be inaugurated, he knew he would face a divided nation.

The election was 1860 and the president-elect was Abraham Lincoln.

Before Lincoln could take office, the conservative faction (the Democrats in Lincoln’s time), led by South Carolina and joined shortly thereafter by six more Southern states, seceded from the Union. Four more would join not long after the inauguration of its first Republican president (the “liberals” of the time).

The inauguration almost didn’t happen.

Unwilling to accept the election results, these conservative states attempted to keep the president-elect from reaching Washington. After some smaller attacks failed, they planned to assassinate the president-elect as he approached Washington by train along the corridor between Philadelphia and the nation’s Capital. Their plan to have a mob attack the president-elect as he passed through Baltimore was thwarted as Lincoln altered his schedule to arrive early. With many traitors to the Union present in Washington, and some engaging in active sedition in the Capitol itself, General Winfield Scott to extra precautions to protect Lincoln during his inauguration ceremony.

In his first inaugural address, Lincoln reminded the crowd that as President, he had “the most solemn” oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” the government, even as some were trying to attack the nation from within.

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

In this peroration, Lincoln hoped that the nation could remain united. Conservatives refused, and the war came. Four years and nearly 750,000 dead Americans later, Lincoln was reelected and offered a second inaugural address. In it he called for the nation, without malice, and with charity for all, to “strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.”

An earlier message to Congress reminded us the choices we make will be remembered.

Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves…The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We — even we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility.

The choice is up to us. Will we “nobly save or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth”?

We must.

We cannot escape history.

 

Fire of Genius

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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The Year in Science Traveling – 2020

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Well, this shouldn’t take long.

Normally I catalogue all the traveling I did over the past year. Like everyone else in 2020, I experienced a case of travelus interruptus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To say that put a damper on my travel intentions is an understatement. Most of the world won’t even let Americans cross their borders right now (how’s that for irony). Even crossing state lines is a challenge with several instituting significant barriers to visitors.

So this is how I planned for the year to go:

 

You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So…get on your way!

(compliments of Dr. Suess: Oh, The Places You’ll Go!)

 

Instead, my traveling year looked like this:

 

Passport stamps 2020

 

Notwithstanding the allure of my kitchen, which my bathroom scale says I’ve been spending way too much time in, my original plan had included a significant amount of travel in 2020. There were to be several Lincoln-related road trips: Illinois, New England, Upstate New York/Ohio, and California. Then there would be the annual four-day Lincoln Forum and commemoration ceremony in Gettysburg. That doesn’t even count the semi-monthly forays into downtown Washington DC for Lincoln Group of DC dinner/lectures and book study group. Nor does it count the “local” trips into Richmond and other spots in Pennsylvania. None of that happened.

I had also planned a road trip through the central U.S. to visit the remaining contiguous states I hadn’t seen yet. That didn’t happen either.

More far-flung plans were to finally get to the Middle East, in particular Israel, Petra, and the Egyptian Pyramids. There also was the idea of visiting the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu. Didn’t happen.

So what did I do this year, travel-wise?

Well, I did make one road trip. Around the first year anniversary of my father’s passing and the 4th of July I drove to New England to see my mother, and as it turns out, my brother and his wife who had unexpectedly moved nearby a few weeks before. I figured there was a small window prior to COVID infections getting much worse (which turned out to be true), so squeezed in the visit not long before Massachusetts cracked down on a mandatory 14-day quarantine, later to include mandatory negative test results (and now likely, vaccination). It was the only trip I made the entire year.

To keep myself busy, and at least somewhat sane, I read more than I planned. I summarized the 90 books I read in 2020 on my Hot White Snow website. I also read a lot of Abraham Lincoln books, which I’ve documented here. Click on my Goodreads link to follow my reading travels.

Beyond that I participated in dozens of Zoom webinars and interactive presentations. My Lincoln Group of DC lectures and book study group meetings all shifted to Zoom. I gave a few presentations myself via Zoom, and have another scheduled in a couple of weeks. Many of the events worked out well enough virtually, but I know we’ll all be ready to see each other in person when safe to do so.

I also took advantage of my 2020 calendar, which features photos by David Wiegers of Abraham Lincoln statues placed all over the world. For each month I would talk about the statue of that month, but also reminisce about my own time visiting the location, or in some cases, future plans if I hadn’t already been there. What started on a whim turned out to be an interesting way to travel back in time to 12 foreign locations where the people thought honoring Lincoln was a good idea. I enjoyed the ability to travel, at least in a sense, through those posts. You can see the December post and a recap with links to all the other posts here.

Not surprisingly, I’m not even going to try to preview 2021 travel. As vaccines slowly make it out to most Americans (and overseas), I’m working on the assumption that even road trips will be curtailed at least until summer. For now it’s wait and watch. When the timing is right I’ll be ready to get back out into the world. Hopefully you’ll join me.

P.S. Check out my “A Year in the Writing Life” annual post. It has some big news, which is yet another reason I don’t expect to travel until next summer. 2021 should be a much better year!

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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Mis-Understanding Abraham Lincoln and the Dakota 38

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Abraham LincolnThe recent pressure to remove Confederate statues has spilled over into monuments to other historical figures, most incredibly including Abraham Lincoln. As more and more of the country shifts “Columbus Day” to a more appropriate “Indigenous Peoples Day,” Lincoln has been targeted for his role in what is often referred to as “The Dakota 38.” The problem is that Lincoln’s role has been completely misunderstood and mischaracterized, which does poor service to the indigenous goal.

Dakota 38 refers to the 38 Dakota (sometimes called Sioux) Native Americans who were hanged in 1862 for crimes such as rape and murder in southwest Minnesota. The incident followed a short armed conflict in which several bands of Dakota rose up against repeated treaty violations during the 1850s that had led to increasing starvation and chronic hardship. Dakota fighters made extensive attacks on white settlers, resulting in an estimated 800 settler deaths. Hundreds of Dakota were captured by U.S. Army soldiers led by Major General John Pope. Military tribunals were held and 303 Dakota were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.

Mired in the ongoing Civil War and two weeks prior to issuing the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln assigned Pope to go to Minnesota to end the violence. Lincoln was unaware of the specifics at the time and was only informed of the capture, trials, and sentences long after they had occurred when on November 10th he received a telegram from Pope. Realizing the gravity of the sentencing, Lincoln immediately responded to Pope:

Your despatch giving the names of three hundred Indians condemned to death, is received. Please forward, as soon as possible, the full and complete record of these convictions. And if the record does not indicate the more guilty and influential, of the culprits, please have a careful statement made on these points and forwarded to me. Please send all by mail. [Lincoln to Pope, November 10, 1862, Collected Works 5:493]

Once received, Lincoln spent several weeks reviewing the trial records. Many of the trials were perfunctory, lasting as little as 15 minutes. Lincoln struggled through his review with the twin goals of ensuring the fairness of the actions while also discouraging further violence. On December 11, 1862 he responded to the U.S. Senate, which as a body had requested Lincoln provide his findings. Lincoln informed them:

Anxious to not act with so much clemency as to encourage another outbreak on the one hand, nor with so much severity as to be real cruelty on the other, I caused a careful examination of the records of trials to be made, in view of first ordering the execution of such as had been proved guilty of violating females. Contrary to my expectations, only two of this class were found. I then directed a further examination, and a classification of all who were proven to have participated in massacres, as distinguished from participation in battles. This class numbered forty, and included the two convicted of female violation. One of the number is strongly recommended by the commission which tried them for commutation to ten years’ imprisonment. I have ordered the other thirty-nine to be executed on Friday, the 19th instant. [Lincoln to U.S. Senate, December 11, 1862, Collected Works 5:550]

One further Dakota sentence was later commuted when new information called into question his conviction. Thus, the final number executed on December 26, 1862 was 38, hence “The Dakota 38.”

So Lincoln’s role was actually to stop the execution of 264 Dakota men where he believed the trial records did not support the sentence. Each of the men executed had been found guilty of violating women (rape) or participating in a massacre (murder). The raids, capture, trials, and sentencing all occurred far away from Washington and without Lincoln’s direct knowledge until after the fact. When he found out, he personally reviewed the case records and commuted the sentences of nearly 90% of those convicted.

This, of course, does not change the horrendous treatment that the United States has imposed on Native Americans throughout our history. The arguments against honoring Columbus with a holiday include his unintentional (bringing disease) and intentional (murder) of indigenous peoples along his routes of conquest (which, ironically, never included what is now the United States). Legitimate arguments can also be made against U.S. government actions long before Lincoln took office, including forced relocation of Native Americans in the 1830s and the Trail of Tears. Likewise, “Indian wars” in the latter half of the 1800s continued the oppression and forced removal of Native Americans as white settlers moved west. When Lincoln took office he inherited a long-standing system of corruption in the Indian Bureau. He did little to reform it during his first term – after all he was fighting to save the Union – but had promised to deal with the situation in his second term once the war was over. His assassination made that impossible.

Efforts to destroy or vandalize Abraham Lincoln statues are therefore misguided. There are valid arguments for removing Confederate statues and even Columbus, but those arguments don’t support attacks on Lincoln. Other statues sometimes targeted, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they were slaveowners, are also misguided. Washington and Jefferson helped start this country on a path where “all men are created equal.” Lincoln ended slavery in the United States. Each of these men, and all men and women, are as flawed as all of us are today. These were men who lived in the realities of their times and yet found a way to transcend those times to nudge us toward a more perfect union. We obviously have a long way to go, and often we seem to be moving in the wrong direction. But to achieve the ideal goals of this nation we must be willing to act based on knowledge and understanding. We must be focused on adding to our history by including the roles of women and people of color, as well as fully understanding historical people and incidents of the past.

Misunderstanding Lincoln and his role in the Dakota 38 executions hinders rather than advances those ideal goals and the concerns of indigenous peoples. We can better understand our history if we focus on providing the accurate context of such incidents. In many cases, that will call into question some of the omissions of history, but our goal should be understanding the realities, not creating an inaccurate and false counter-history.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World as well as two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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Lincoln and the Calcium Light

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In late August of 1864 Abraham Lincoln was still pushing research in technological advancement that might help the war effort. This interest put him in the middle of testing a calcium light between the Old Soldiers Home and the Smithsonian.

Homer Bates is best known for his post-war book, Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, in which he recounts the many visits by the President to the War Department next door to the White House. Bates recalls an incident in which a demonstration was arranged for his benefit while Lincoln was staying at what is now referred to as President Lincoln’s Cottage. Major Thomas Eckert and Bates traveled to the Soldiers Home one night while their colleagues set up a similar array in the tower of the Smithsonian Institute castle. Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry was also present to witness the tests.

Calcium light

Calcium light was not exactly new technology. Sometimes called Drummond light, and more commonly referred to as limelight, calcium lights were already in use as stage lighting for theaters and concert halls, hence the derivation of the phrase “in the limelight” for people in the public eye. The intense light is created by directing an oxyhydrogen flame at a cylinder of quicklime (calcium oxide).

According to Bates,

Lincoln was greatly interested in this exhibition and expressed the opinion that the signal system of both the army and navy could and would be improved so as to become of immense value tot he Government.

The calcium light signaling method did go on to be of value to the war effort, as were several other signaling and coding inventions. Lincoln encouraged these developments, and in some cases like this, was intimately involved in the testing of advancements. Calcium lights were eventually replaced by arc lighting, which in turn was replaced by direct current and then alternating current. This development becomes one thread that ties Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Henry to Nikola Tesla (and Thomas Edison too).

[Diagram courtesy of By Theresa knott (original); Pbroks13 (redraw) – Limelight_diagram.png, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4171671]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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The Thomas Edison – Abraham Lincoln Connection

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Thomas Edison was 14 years old when the Civil War broke out, but already learning how to send and received telegraph messages. Which is how he began his Abraham Lincoln connection. During the Civil War, the telegraph had become a critical means of communication, both to get news from the front and to relay strategies and orders from President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton. A popular song of the era captured the essence of the power of the telegraph:

For our mountains, lakes and rivers, are all a blaze of fire
And we send our news by lightning, on the telegraphic wire.

Edison spent the rest of the war working the telegraph lines safely ensconced in northeastern Michigan. After the war, Edison built his own business modifying telegraphs to send and receive on multiple channels, as well as print out the messages and automatically convert the dots and dashes into text. Much of his early work was sold to Western Union, that is until its Superintendent Thomas T. Eckert – who had been in charge of Lincoln’s telegraph office during the war – jumped ship to the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company and convinced Edison to sell his new quadruplex telegraph rights to them.

About ten years later Edison had moved on to invention of the tinfoil phonograph. In April 1878 he took it to Washington, D.C. for a demonstration of the National Academy of Sciences, created in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. There he met Joseph Henry, then doing double duty as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and President of the National Academy. Henry had been Lincoln’s unofficial science adviser during the Civil War. The demonstration went so well that Edison was asked to bring the phonograph up the road to the White House, where he demonstrated it in a personal audience with President Rutherford B. Hayes and guests into the wee hours of the morning. Lincoln friend and now Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz played a lively tune on the piano. Ironically, Edison was so deaf by this point that his colleague Charles Batchelor had done most of the presentation at the National Academy. At the White House, Edison chimed in with his off-yelled rendition of “Mary had a little lamb” and other ditties.

Still later, Edison invented what became the film projector. One of his most famous early films was The Life of Abraham Lincoln. A silent film (with musical soundtrack) presenting highlights from Lincoln’s life, The Life expanded the length of motion pictures and now took up two reels. The Life was a “two-part drama” that ran “from the scene in front of the log cabin to the assassination at Ford’s Theater in Washington.” The sales catalog claimed, “Nothing has been left undone to make this a consummate review of Lincoln’s life.” For the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in 1909, Wanamaker’s huge department store in lower Manhattan hosted a screening of Edison’s ten-minute film The Blue and the Grey, or the Boys of ’61, accompanied by “favorite war songs” of the era.

Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln

Edison was so enamored of Lincoln “that he placed Lincoln’s profile on his own letterhead, and wrote out this testimonial in 1880:

” … the life and character of Abraham Lincoln and his great services to this country during the war of the rebellion will stand as a monument long after the granite monuments erected to his memory have crumbled in the dust.”

The photo shown is in the collection of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL.

As I think back on my own admiration of Lincoln it strikes me that there are a number of connections between the three topics of my published books – Tesla, Edison, and Lincoln. Perhaps I was destined to write about all three.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Lincoln and Viruses on The Railsplitter Podcast

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My interview on “Lincoln and Viruses” is now live on The Railsplitter Podcast. I had been interviewed this past Thursday by Mary, Jeremy, and Nick of the Railsplitter podcast, and the episode (#122) is now on their podcast website. Their podcast has become a “must-listen” site for all things Lincoln. This is the second time I’ve been featured on the podcast. Previously they had selected my book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, as the very first book in their new book club installment. Over the course of three podcasts they reviewed the book and interviewed me. You can read about it and listen starting on this post.

Railsplitter podcast Episode 122_4-5-20

This current podcast was initiated based on my recent post, “That Time Lincoln Got a Virus and Almost Died.” That set us off on a deep dive on Lincoln’s bout with smallpox and how it compares to the 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic we are all currently going through. For much of an hour we seamlessly shifted back and forth from Lincoln’s time to the current era, talking not only about viruses but other diseases Lincoln had and the acceptance of science by presidents through our history (including Grover Cleveland’s secret surgery at sea). My twin science and historian backgrounds helped inform the discussion, leading Railsplitter Nick to comment that the podcast has its version of “Sanjay Gupta of the Lincoln world.” [Disclaimer: I am not a physician, so nothing I said constitutes medical advice other than “wash your hands and maintain social distancing.”]

I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and have been invited back for future episode(s) on The Railsplitter Podcast. If you haven’t already, check them out.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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That Time Lincoln Got a Virus and Almost Died

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Since everyone’s mind is on the coronavirus, it’s a good time to remember that Abraham Lincoln once caught a life-threatening virus. As wrote in Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, this occurred during and after his trip to Gettysburg to give his famous address:

As he gave his address, Lincoln was already feeling the symptoms of variola, a mild form of smallpox, which kept him bedridden for weeks after his return to Washington. He eventually wrote out several copies of his address, including one sent to Everett to be joined with his own handwritten speech and sold at New York’s Sanitary Commission Fair as a fundraiser for wounded soldiers.

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, smallpox, like coronavirus, is an infectious disease. Caused by two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor, initial symptoms of smallpox include fever and vomiting, followed in extreme cases by sores in the mouth and a skin rash. As it worsens, large fluid-filled bumps appear on the skin, which result in characteristic and deforming scars. Like coronavirus, the smallpox virus was spread as people coughed or sneezed and droplets from their infected nose or mouth spread to other people. The smallpox scabs forming on the skin remained contagious until the last scab fell off. Coronavirus doesn’t form the scabs – it attacks the lung tissue rather than the skin – but both smallpox and coronavirus can be spread by residues left on surfaces from bedding and clothes to handrails and elevator buttons. Which is why it is so important during this coronavirus pandemic to practice social distancing, wash your hands often, and avoid touching your face.

Most scholars treated Lincoln’s case of variola as a mild case of smallpox, but some recent researchers suggest it was much more serious and that he could have died. In 2007, for example, two researchers reported that:

When Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, he was weak and dizzy; his face had a ghastly colour. That evening on the train to Washington, DC, he was febrile and weak, and suffered severe headaches. The symptoms continued; back pains developed. On the fourth day of the illness, a widespread scarlet rash appeared that soon became vesicular. By the tenth day, the lesions itched and peeled. The illness lasted three weeks. The final diagnosis, a touch of varioloid, was an old name for smallpox that was later used in the 20th century to denote mild smallpox in a partially immune individual. It was unclear whether Lincoln had been immunized against smallpox. In that regard, this review suggests that Lincoln had unmodified smallpox and that Lincoln’s physicians tried to reassure the public that Lincoln was not seriously ill. Indeed, the successful conclusion of the Civil War and reunification of the country were dependent upon Lincoln’s presidency.

Indeed, Lincoln’s free African American valet, William H. Johnson, contracted the disease while caring for Lincoln after they had returned from Gettysburg. Johnson ultimately died a few months later. He had traveled with Lincoln from Springfield and, having no other family, Lincoln arranged and paid for Johnson to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Like most 19th-century personages, this wasn’t the first time Lincoln had been seriously sick. At nine years old he was kicked in the head by a horse and “apparently killed for a time.” He also had malaria at least twice. His melancholy (depression) was infamous, especially on a few occasions where friends worried for his life. Debate still roils about whether he had Marfan syndrome or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2B (MEN2B). Neither of these last two seems likely, but that doesn’t stop people from debating the ideas. There is no question, however, over whether he had variola/smallpox, although the severity of it remains undecided.

Lincoln survived his smallpox infection; William Johnson and many others did not. As much of the world today battles the current coronavirus pandemic, it is critical that we follow the advice of health professionals. As I write this, most of the USA is under some form of lockdown, from “social distancing” to “shelter-in-place.” Follow medical advice, stay away from people, and wash your hands frequently. Lincoln would agree.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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The Exhaustingly Exhilarating Lincoln Forum

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I have just returned from the annual Abraham Lincoln Forum in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The 3-day conference of non-stop meetings, presentations, and hallway socializing is somehow both exhausting and exhilarating. I came away with a great deal more knowledge, a renewed impetus for research, and a “to-do” list the length of my arm.

The schedule was shown in my pre-forum post, and the presenters didn’t disappoint. We heard about how the North felt they were an army of deliverance, how soldiers and Lincoln dealt with the constant reminder of death, and the intriguing story and legacy of how the first battle of the ironclad ships changed naval warfare. During the final day breakout sessions I participated in discussions on the Civil War Navy led by Craig Symonds and Anna Holloway. I even picked up a tip or two to discuss in my new book. I also had keynote speaker Sidney Blumenthal sign my copy of his book, my review of which will appear in the next Civil War Times magazine.

But the Forum is more than just scholarship, though there certainly is no shortage of that. It’s a chance for colleagues to compare notes, researchers to begin new collaborations, and friends to catch up since last meeting (which for many is, in fact, the last meeting of the Forum a year before). I found myself having deep discussions with some of the record number of fellow Lincoln Group of DC members in attendance (hence the long to-do list for follow up). With other DC-area colleagues I plotted future collaborations. I talked with photographer David Wiegers about future Lincoln statues to visit (and bought a calendar of statues in foreign countries). I even got to listen to a little blues guitar and harmonica by the inestimable Joe Fornieri.

One surprise happened during the first session. As we took a short break I notice that Michael Hardy was sitting in the row behind me. Mike runs the Facebook page “Liking and Learning About Lincoln,” which not only has shown incredible growth in the past year, under his guidance has continued to raise the amount members donate to the Lincoln Forum scholarship programs. Mike proceeds to tell me that he thinks about me every day, which I admit sounded a little weird until he reminded me of a conversation we had last year. I mentioned that I hadn’t written my Lincoln book for the deep scholars like Harold Holzer; I had written it to reach the public that might not pick up a scholarly tome. Mike took this to heart and uses that principle in deciding what to post on his page – the goal is to expand the knowledge among the populace. I wholeheartedly agree, and am humbled to do my small part in that regard.

One other surprise deserves mention. This past year the Forum arranged to have a sculpted bust of Lincoln donated to the town of Lincoln, Argentina. I have an personal affinity for Argentina, having spent some time there visiting a close friend a few years ago. Thanks to the Forum, that sculptor (and the original clay model upon which the bronze was cast) was on hand to explain his art while actually working on a new Lincoln bust while we spoke. As can be seen by the photos, sculptor Frank Porcu is amazingly talented and I thank him for taking the time to talk with me.

I have already put the Forum on my calendar for next year (yes, I have a 2020 calendar hanging on my wall quickly filling up). In the interim I plan to finish my next Lincoln book, give a few talks of my own, and continue traveling. On this last point I found my only disappointment of the last few days – an unexpected email informed me that my lower Caribbean cruise due to start in one week had been cancelled (ironically for a sailing vessel, because of necessary repairs to a propulsion engine). While not nearly as exciting or warm, I have plenty to do at home, including reading several new Abraham Lincoln books in competition for the Abraham Lincoln Institute annual book award to be given next March.

Time to get busy.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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On the Way to the Lincoln Forum

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George Buss David KentA funny thing happened on the way to the Lincoln Forum. After a career as a scientist, I became a Lincoln historian. And in a few days I’ll have the chance to join 300 of my colleagues at the annual Abraham Lincoln Forum.

The Lincoln Forum is a national organization for people “who share a deep interest in the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era.” While my occupation was scientist, my avocation – now my focus – was Abraham Lincoln. From reading Jim Bishop’s The Day Lincoln Was Shot and Carl Sandburg’s Prairie Years and War Years as a boy to collecting various artifacts as a teenager to my 1300-volume book obsession as an adult, I’ve always been a bit of a Lincoln geek. [For the record, that’s a good thing.]

For many years I attended the annual SETAC scientific meeting, which inconveniently put itself on the same week as the Forum. In 2014 SETAC was a week or so earlier, thus allowing me to also go to the Forum for the first time. The same happened in 2015 – after winning a prestigious SETAC award in Salt Lake City I returned in time to attend the 20th Anniversary of the Forum in Gettysburg. Now my focus is completely on the Forum and this year (2019) will be my sixth straight year in attendance. I’ve met a lot of great people each year, including Lincoln reenactor George Buss and a field of scholars led by the incomparable Harold Holzer and Frank Williams.

Lincoln Forum 2019

As the schedule above shows, this year’s Forum should continue to raise the bar on Lincoln scholarship. Among the speakers will be the authors of books I’ve recently read (e.g., Brian Dirck’s The Black Heavens, Sidney Blumenthal’s All The Powers of Earth) or read within the last couple of years (e.g., Anna Holloway and Jonathan White’s Our Little Monitor). Many of the other books to be discussed are on my further list of books to review in my roles as a columnist in The Lincolnian, reviewer for Civil War Times and other magazines, and a member of the book award committee for the Abraham Lincoln Institute.

If you’re going to this year’s Forum, feel free to look for me during meals and happy hours (or just roaming the hallways between sessions). I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends, making new friends, and discussing Lincoln with perhaps the single largest regular gathering of Lincoln scholars and aficionados in the world.

See you at the Forum!

[Photo: Selfie with George Buss/Abraham Lincoln]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!