I have just read your dispatch about sore tongued and fatigued horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigue anything? A. LINCOLN
General George B. McClellan was at it again. Or not at it, in a sense. McClellan had a habit of overestimating the enemy troop numbers and underestimating his own ability to attack. Lincoln was constantly frustrated.
In September 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia into western Maryland. Following their victory at a second battle of Bull Run, Lee moved his army north to a point near Sharpsburg, alongside Antietam Creek, where they took up defensive positions. With surprising aggressiveness, McClellan’s Army of the Potomac attacked Lee’s forces on September 17. The first assault came from Union General Joseph Hooker on Lee’s left flank, while General Ambrose Burnside later attacked the right. A surprise counterattack from Confederate General A.P. Hill helped push back Union forces. Eventually, Lee’s troops withdrew from the battlefield first. He moved his remaining army back across the Potomac into the safety of Virginia.
Always overly cautious, McClellan made no effort to follow. Lee had committed all of his 55,000 men, while McClellan only ordered a portion of his larger 87,000-man force into the fray. This numerical imbalance allowed Lee to create and exploit tactical advantages he should not have had. When questioned by Lincoln about his failure to pursue Lee, McClellan complained that his army and horses were sore-tongued and fatigued, and thus required rest. Lincoln responded tersely by telegram:
Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigue anything?
Antietam was destined to be the single bloodiest day of battle in American history. The casualties for both armies totaled a staggering 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.
Despite Lincoln’s frustration, Antietam stood out as an important battle in the fight for freedom. Although essentially a draw, the fact that Lee withdrew from the battlefield first allowed the North to record Antietam as a victory, something that Lincoln had been needing for some time. A few days later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
[Adapted from Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America]
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.
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Technically, Lincoln didn’t attend the exhibition, but on this date, October 14, 1861, a committee of commissioners for the industrial exhibition in England visits President Lincoln in the White House and asks use of a government vessel to transport American contributions to the fair. Lincoln had supported United States participation.
On August 4, 1834, at the age of 25, Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Illinois State Legislature. This was two years after he ran the first time – and lost.
Abraham Lincoln lost his 1856 Senate campaign, but in 1858 he had another opportunity to run for Senate, this time against his old rival Stephen A. Douglas. In June Lincoln gave what is perhaps one of his most cited oratories, the “House Divided” speech. Once again he warned that the Kansas-Nebraska Act had opened the country to expansion of slavery—not just in the territories, but throughout the nation. Beginning with a paraphrased line from the Bible (Mark 3:25), Lincoln notes:
At 9:10 am on Monday, June 3, 1861, Stephen A. Douglas died in Chicago at the age of forty-eight. Thus ended a remarkable life, both as a leader in the antebellum Democratic party and as a foil to Abraham Lincoln’s rise. Douglas had fallen ill weeks before while headed back to Illinois to lobby for Democratic support of the newly elected President Lincoln once the Civil War started. Lincoln immediately directs that government offices be close on the day of the funeral and that the Executive Mansion (aka, the White House) and departments be draped on mourning for thirty days. On June 4th, Secretary of War Simon Cameron issues a circular to Union armies, announcing “the death of a great statesman…a man who nobly discarded party for this country.”
On May 27, 1832, Captain Abraham Lincoln’s company is mustered out of U.S. service by Nathaniel Buckmaster, Brigade major. Lincoln writes the muster roll of his company, certifying that remarks on activities of several members are accurate and just. He then enrolls in company of Capt. Elijah Iles for service in 20-day regiment.
When he returned from the Black Hawk War, Lincoln was without any means of employment or income. He briefly considered learning blacksmithing, but he also wanted to further his education, which he acknowledged was sorely lacking. Around this time New Salem resident James Herndon sold his interest in the general store he owned with his brother Rowan to William F. Berry, who had served with Lincoln in the militia. Dissatisfied with Berry, a few weeks later Rowan sold his own share to Lincoln. Berry was the son of a Presbyterian minister from an influential family, so may have paid for his share, but Lincoln’s share was obtained on credit. In 1832, Berry and 22-year-old Lincoln were suddenly partners, store owners, and in debt.
The mood in Washington was euphoric. After four long years the war was nearly over. Lincoln had anticipated this ending in his second inaugural address, reminding northerners that they should welcome southerners back into the Union:
On March 17, 1863, President Lincoln and his wife, Mary, tour the Patent Office. Lincoln is no stranger to the Patent Office. His own 
