The Final Fourteen Days of Abraham Lincoln (Lecture)

14 days the final 14 days in the life of father Abraham Abraham Lincoln we're talking about less than 1% of his presidency in this program today he did not know it would be his final 14 days we can put it in context it was some of the most mental moments in the history of our nation with the climax of the Civil War with the question of reconstruction of the South and of course soon to be the assassination of our president so we'll be looking into the experience of Abraham Lincoln I'm going to try to ask questions several questions where did he go who did he see what did he say how was he reacting to events trying to get into the head of Abraham Lincoln to what extent can we get into his head during those crucial weeks we're going to see I think the weight of responsibility that was on our 16th president at the time the exhaustion that he faced having been four years and plus in war and the incessant demands upon his time which brought about that weariness and exhaustion but also moments of relief having received an invitation from General Grant to visit the front Abraham Lincoln made plans to visit to go from Washington aboard the River Queen to travel to City Point General Grant had been prompted by his wife to extend the invitation his wife accompanying him there at the front he had been concerned about the pressures on Lincoln and she had read press reports that the president was feeling oppressed in fact Gideon Welles noted that the president was then much worn down by his Labor's the New York Evening Sun reported that no man it has said works harder than does this universal genius mr. Lincoln he Rises with the Sun and don't go down with the Sun Grant had assumed that the commander chief would simply come as he wanted to when he wanted to but Robert Lincoln who now was an aide to General Grant explained that his father did not want to be intrusive and so hearing that General Grant extended an explicit invitation to the President and mrs. Lincoln insisted upon joining her husband for the trip which actually began a week later it would begin again on the 20th of March when asked about how long he would intended to stay he had responded well unlike the western pioneer who built a log cabin when he commenced he didn't know how much lumber he would need and when he was finished he didn't care how much he'd used up in other words it was an open experience for him four years of the war had weighed heavily upon the president but his spirits lifted markedly and being able to be away from Washington and witnessing the Army in the field making his trip to City Point you can see the map here the nation's capital the Confederate capital and how the journey by boat would have taken him from Washington down to City Point City point was the center of activities for the Army of the Potomac Colonel Theodore Lyman describe how the troops there cheered the arrival of the president who looked and his words shrewd very honest and kindly with no trace of low passions in his face General Sherman who had personally arrived in advance of his army observed mr. Lincoln as being well looking worn out but in time he warmed up indeed Lincoln shows what Sherman describes as the very impersonation of good humor and fellowship all that when bloodshed was addressed before the president he looked sad and sorrowful Admiral David Dixon Porter escorting Lincoln much of the time viewed the lines in his face as deeper and the rings under his eyes of a darker hue it was plain that the responsibility was oppressing him Porter accompanied the president who repeatedly visited field hospitals there around City point hearing him comet the country can never never repay these men for what they have suffered and endured well our story begins Saturday April 1st at City point Virginia the City point had actually risen up is one of the most bustling ports in the entire world providing needed support and supplies for the Army of the Potomac though the community itself was composed of tents and cabins temporary cabins the president spends much of this day waiting for reports sending and receiving messages secretary Seward who had been with him now returns to Washington perhaps a relief to the president although his counsel was much appreciated Lincoln hopes to conduct peace negotiations without the involvement of his own cabinet officers again it was a relief that the first lady was also departing for the Capitol although tad would remain with his father Mary Todd's time at City point had been awkward for the president as she had repeatedly insisted upon such deference that an officer assigned to help her said that the president was subjected to inexpressible public mortification but that he bore it with supreme calmness and dignity the port was so crowded that the ship that she had come on had to be docked outside the ship that was being used by General Grant and actually where mrs. Grant was staying and so mrs. Lincoln refused to go across mrs. grants boat to get to the shore so every time she would go at the shore they had to move that ship out move her ship to the port so to the dock so she could get on it was an ordeal to say the least back on the river Queen the president admits boat he was staying upon anxiously awaits a word from the front having extensive correspondent with conversations with Colonel Theodore Bowers Grant's adjutant general in the evening he receives a positive report regarding action at five Forks and an encouraging assessment from Porter and then presented with rebel battle flags he brightens up here is something something material something I can see something I can feel and understand and this means victory this is victory having a return to his cabin in this bed he had an ominous dream his dream was that he was back in the executive mansion and there he seemed to be in a deathlike stillness I heard subdued sobs as if a number of people were weeping I went from room to room and no person was in sight and I kept on until I got to the East Room where there rest of the corpse wrapped in funeral vestments and around it were station soldiers who acted like guards who's dead in the White House I said I demanded it of one of the soldiers the president was his answer he was killed by an assassin well he burst awake and slept no more that night spending the night walking the decks of it in the darkness with flashes of rockets in the distant sky his bodyguard William Crookes saw what he called such suffering in the face of the president such that he had never seen before April 2nd City Point Virginia Sunday Lincoln goes ashore on a barge ordered by Rear Admiral Porter with the intent of going on to Petersburg you can see City point in the upper right Petersburg still now under Confederate control and the railroad that would take him there he then rides out to meets headquarters and onto the entrenchments that are near the battlefield there where he watches the fighting from a distance for a short while at 7:45 a.m. he sends a message to mrs. Lincoln well this morning General Grant Telegraph's as follows the battle now rages furiously and all look now highly favorably later he also sends a message saying general rent Telegraph's that he has Petersburg completely enveloped suggested I shall go out and see him which I think I will do dad and I are both well the president updates Stanton's dispatches frequently coming in all going finally and a two o'clock he for its grants report to Sherman saying we are now closing into the works of the line immediately enveloping Petersburg all looks remarkably will and finally after a siege of nearly 300 days Confederate forces under Lee have abandoned Petersburg and Richmond that evening mr. Lincoln Telegraph's grant allow me to tender to you with all all of you the nation's grateful thanks for this additional and magnificent success at your kind suggestion I will visit you tomorrow that night and the next he will spin in a tiny cabin about the size of a confined cell aboard the malvern that was porter ship while the river Queen has gone to be restocked at Norfolk Monday April 3rd City point president rises early joking with Admiral Porter saying you can't put a long blade into short scabbard I was too long for that berth at 8 o'clock a.m. he hastens for a meeting with grant and Petersburg the city now evacuated he receives the generals ready response welcomed him to come to headquarters and a train is made up three well-built men by the way then try to barge their way into the president's car on the train only to be thwarted by Porter who is embarrassed that he had not posted a military guard there's no explanation but Porter had drawn his sword to stop the men and finally underway the entourage heads to Hancock station outside of Petersburg enroute the train is delayed as thousands of Confederate prisoners ragtag and exhausted cross the tracks poor boys those poor boys if if only they knew what we are trying to do for they would not have fought us and they would not look as they do arriving to the station Lincoln rendevouz with his son Robert on Grandstaff and is honored that the general has provided his very own horse Cincinnati to convey him farther outside the city they paused at Fort Monroe where bodies from both armies lie in the open from yesterday's combat lions of sadness can be seen in the countenance of the president said one with him and then finally reaching Petersburg there was from the town not a soul to be seen not even an animal on the streets according to one who accompanied him eventually arriving at headquarters with tad and Robert Lincoln's extends his hand to grant in hearty congratulations said one of grant's aides the scene was singularly affecting and one never-to-be-forgotten the two leaders talked for about an hour and a half in a Piazza of a small deserted house there in Petersburg Lincoln offers warm congratulations for the victory and thanks to both the grant and to his army which had accompanied now you not know general that I have had a sneaking suspicion for some days that you intended to do something like this his grant had communicated frequently with Lincoln and fully by telegraph while the president was at City point grant now explains that he had been very anxious to have the eastern armies vanquish their old enemies Lincoln responds that well I do not care where the aid comes from so long as the work is done of course there was a concern it would be Sherman's army that would finally defeat Lee and grant understood that would not go well the president urges the general to be lenient with the enemy army Robert Lincoln briefly rejoins his father and commander and then Lincoln mounts a horse to leave as grant heads back to the front his way back to City Point Lincoln shakes his head as he sees the destruction to homes in Virginia but he smiles when passing soldiers who are arriving under Sherman and who greet him enthusiastically calling out how you doing a vow you doing he returns to the Train and then back to City Point in high spirits and their review some of general ords troops then back aboard the USS Malvern flagship of Admiral Porter he receives a message from general Weitzel in the evening that Richmond is being evacuated at 5 o'clock p.m. Lincoln's still the company by tad writes to his wife reporting on the borscht progress and on the visit with their oldest son Robert Petersburg and Richmond are both in our hands dad and I have been to the former and been with Bob four or five hours he is well and in good spirits and perhaps reluctantly but he does add to his wife you may come down as you proposed the president also telegraphed Stanton who had expressed concern for his safety thanks for your caution but I have already been to Petersburg stayed with General Grant an hour and a half and returned here it is certain now that Richmond is in our hands and I think I will go there tomorrow I will take care of myself cheered by what the Army has accomplished mr. Lincoln ask Admiral Porter well can't the Navy do something at this particular moment in history and the Admiral responds that well they were intent on keeping for Confederate ironclads from threatening City point but thus prompted by the president he did authorize some firing to light up the night skies which pleased the president by morning by the way those rebel ironclads would have been scuttled Tuesday April 4th also City Point Virginia after spending a night aboard the Malvern the president greets Admiral holder with a story of a remarkable miracle I shrank six inches in length in about a foot sideways Porter had actually had the ship's carpenter extend the bed for the man who was six foot four Lincoln receives confirmation that Richmond has been abandoned and exclaims thank God I have lived to see this I have been dreaming a horror dream for four years and now the nightmare is gone I want to see Richmond it was by the way pads 12th birthday at 8:00 a.m. Captain Charles Penrose US Army and naval captain aah Adams the company mr. Lincoln and his young son as they set out for Richmond initially they journeyed aboard the River Queen but it became grounded in the James River they then have to transfer to the porters fly ship the USS Malvern due to river obstructions natural and tactical it becomes difficult for that ship to continue on and so they must abandon it for a much smaller barge which is simply manned by twelve oarsmen wearing blue jackets and round blue hats with each increasingly less impressive vessel they wind through the difficult course up the river going from City Point trying to reach Richmond going from one to another to another vessel Lincoln jokes about an office seeker had come to him asking for an appointment to become a minister abroad being denied well the man asked for one after another more modest appointments when he saw that he could not get what he asked for he asked for an old pair of trousers like it said it is well to be humble as he continues to the Confederate captain aboard the small barge the party ultimately lands that a place called Rockets on the edge of town which is by the way not far from Libby Prison you can see the map of the city of Richmond and also some of the destruction that it had faced it is a beautiful warm day and as they have arrived sooner than expected no welcoming party is there to greet them at the dock and so with six sailors in front of the President and six sailors and rear with Penrose and Porter on one side and Tad and crook on the other the party proceeds on foot toward general Weitzel quarters which was the house recently vacated by Jefferson Davis as they head out from the landing dozens of colored folk come praising Lincoln recognizing the president rushing up and crying out hallelujah glory glory glory praise the Lord a teary-eyed woman exclaims I thank you here Jesus that I behold President Lincoln and the president has visibly moved as the freedmen dance and clap and throw their hands in the air but when some kneel before him he responds don't kneel to me that is not right you must kneel to God only and thank him for the Liberty you will hereafter enjoy when some doff their hats to the president he returns the gesture one of the members of the president's party will note that that act on his part upset the forms the laws customs and ceremonies of centuries Lincoln has profoundly moved as Porter observes the sad face of the Lincoln of President Lincoln lit up by all the kindness Porter himself ever becomes worried that because of the hundreds who had poured in so fearfully that we all stood a chance of being crushed to death he orders the sailors the twelve sailors to fix bayonets but an instant hush came over the crowds as the president called out my four friends you are free free as the air cast off the name of slave and trampled upon it do not let your joy carry you into excesses learn the laws and and obey them obey God's commandments and thank him for giving you liberty for to him you owe all things well now there now let let me pass on I but little time to spare I do want to see the capital and must return to Washington to secure it for you that Liberty which you seem to prize so highly and then walking by Libby Prison and you know the story of that confinement one in the party declares that it ought to be torn down Lincoln retorts no it ought to be preserved as a monument it's the president shall party moves on crowds of well-wishers steadily grow including somewhat surprising any white faces in the crowd one such man in shirtsleeves tries to rush toward the president is rebuffed by the guard and Porter again draws his sword only to hear the man shout Abraham Lincoln god bless you throws his hat high in the air finally arriving at the Davis house Lincoln has shown into the room used for the office of the Confederate President and remarks well this must have been president Davis's chair and fatigued he sits down in it said a witness there was no triumph in a gesture or attitude he simply lays back in the chair like a tired man whose nerves had been carried him beyond his strength and another would comment upon his look of unutterable weariness the cheering crowds prompt him to step out on the balcony but he merely bowels and remains speechless Major General Godfrey weitzel commander of the Union forces that seized Richmond and Brigadier General George Foster Shepley newly appointed military governor of Richmond arrived to greet mr. Lincoln and then comes a surprise visitor it's the former US Supreme Court Justice John Archibald Campbell who during the war had served as the Confederate Assistant Secretary of War Lincoln had met with him you may recall with Alexander Stephens just two months earlier when terms of peace were proposed Campbell was accompanied by one-time Confederate General Joseph Campbell who was now operating the Tredegar Iron Works they request leniency for the south and the president responds that he cannot deal with any rebel leaders until they laid down their arms and avoid further bloodshed Lincoln agrees to meet with him and any other Confederate leaders tomorrow but only in the expectation of the rebellion would cease then after private discussions with general Weitzel president rights in order that general Weitzel is authorized to permit the body calling itself the legislature of Virginia to meet for the purpose of recalling Virginia troops from the Confederate armies that will become very much contentious issue by the way mr. Lincoln lunches with generals whitesell and Shepley and then rod rides around the city again you can see here on the map the House of Jefferson Davis and particularly the destination to be the Confederate capital he does not ride by the way in a carriage as is illustrated by this and envisioned here but actually into an army ambulance venturing through the crowd and in their journey hundreds of freed slaves fill the streets cheering singing with enthusiasm Lincoln said Shepley looks at it all attentively as he gets to the Capitol has a face expressive only of a sort of pathetic wonder though occasionally its sadness would alternate with one of his peculiar smiles the president by the way comments on how many in the crowd are obviously of mixed lineage having had a white master and a black mother reaching Capitol Square the president pauses to address the crowd composed mostly of newly freed slaves his reception at Lincoln is described by white soul as enthusiastic in the extreme stopping only briefly at the Capitol he returns to the Malvern for the night after dark by the way a civilian in a slouched hat and a long cloak insists on coming aboard the ship to see mr. Lincoln declaring that he has dispatches from General Grant Porter is alarmed by the report knowing that grant would only use a military courier but then in the meantime the man had simply vanished a half hour later a sailor hails the ship from the dock indicating his need to come aboard but when that also rouses suspicions of the good Admiral that man also disappears alarmed Porter issues strict orders as to who might step aboard the Malvern Wednesday April 5th Brigadier General Edward Ripley who had commanded some of the first troops to enter Richmond warned Lincoln of a plot against his life urging extreme caution Lincoln responds no general Ripley it is impossible for me to adopt and follow your suggestions I deeply appreciate the feeling which has led you to urge them on me but I must go on as I have begun the course marked out for me at 9:00 a.m. the president comes ashore in Rear Admiral Porter's barge goes to army headquarters there again he meets with Associate Justice Campbell this time with a prominent Richmond attorney to discuss how Virginia can be brought back into the Union and he repeats the conditions set forth in the Hampton Roads conference Richmond attorney Gustavus Myers observes that well certainly there was no exhibition made by him of any feeling of vindictiveness or exultation Campbell proposes an armistice but the president responds firmly we will not negotiate with men as long as they are fighting against us Lincoln tells Weitzel he is reluctant to issue him orders but in treating the defeated enemy he advised now if I were in your place I let him up easy I let him up easy and after the morning meetings an odd character then demands to see the president it is Duff Greene Duff Greene politician journalist eccentric he had been well a veteran over the war of 1812 newspaper editor one of Mississippi's elite he'd been confidante and counselor to Andrew Jackson John C Calhoun John Tyler Zachary Taylor James Buchanan and yes Jefferson Davis and well-known as a strong advocate of states rights and of secession but Lincoln and Greene had boarded together years earlier when Lincoln was a congressman the president allows him to come aboard only to be sternly berated by Greene as being a tyrant Greene demands a pass to travel freely from Richmond to which the president acquiesce and then without so much as a thank you Duff storms off the ship Lincoln leaves Richmond and to travel back to City Point upon arriving the ship with a thousand recently surrendered rebel prisoners his dock nearby they rush to the edge of the deck to see him and greet him and some were actually cheering the president lincoln comments the porter they will never shoulder I must get against us in the anger again and if grant is wise he will leave them their guns to shoot crows and their horses to plow with then informed that a Confederate General and prisoner of war wanted to see him lincoln expresses interesting well you know i've never seen a live rebel general in full uniform the captive brigadier general rufus behringer has received graciously it turned out that Barringer's brother had been a congressman a felt a Whig when Lincoln was in Washington and a dear friend when he had served in the House and the general is startled when the president says do you think I can be of any service to you and if anybody can be a service to a poor devil in my situation responded behringer I presume you are the man Lincoln thereupon pulled out a card from his pocket yet I suppose they will send you to Washington and there I have no doubt that they'll put you in the Old Capitol prison I'm told it's not a nice sort of place but I do have a powerful friend in Washington he thereupon writes out a note to Secretary of War Stanton this is General behringer of the southern army can you do anything to make his detention in Washington as comfortable as possible handing the card over to the astonished confederate general lincoln comments well anyway it's it's worth trying the general at a loss or words boughs out and leaves the room sobbing upon receiving a message from seward he replies i think there is no probability of my remaining here more than two days longer if that is too long well you can come on down but i passed the night at richmond and i have just returned at 6 p.m. by the way he receive a troubling report that Seward had been thrown from his carriage and seriously wounded April 6 Thursday City point this is Lincoln accompanied by Senator Charles Sumner attorney general speed Secretary of Interior James Harlan Judge William oat newly appointed undersecretary mrs. Elizabeth Keckley and the marquis de chambre arrives on the steamer mohassid there is little evidence that the president desires the presidents of a presence of any of them the first lady's presence a week earlier had been stressful for the president he hopes to establish with Grant the conditions for the Confederates surrender without the meddling of others nevertheless he diligently takes his time to explain to them the details of the campaign the Marquis a French visitor marvels at his patience and modesty Mary insisted on seeing Richmond to be accompanied by her guests and the president makes arrangement though he defers going not going with them then alone with his wife Lincoln mentions to her a dream the White House was on fire by the way this is not an actual historic the picture so alarming was the report that Mary sent two telegrams to Washington to get assurance that all was well and then vice president Johnson shows up along with New York Republican power broker Preston King both uninvited they came to give advice to the President on the terms of surrender and on reconstruction Porter here's the president visibly distressed by this in grumbling they have no business here they have no right to come down here without my permission the president then sends a message to General Grant of secretary Seward's accident and of the conversations he's had with former Justice Campbell if the wars further persisted in the South confiscated property will bear additional costs confiscations he says will be remitted to the people of any state which promptly withdraws its troops from resistance if confederate the confederate legislature of Virginia wishes to meet for the purpose white so will protect them I do not think it's very probable that anything will come out of it but I've been thought thought it best to notify you April 7th City point the day marks the end of Lincoln's second full week in Virginia the president forward said secretary Stanton encouraging telegrams from Humphreys generals Humphreys General Meade general right and now in a cheery mood he receives Assistant Secretary of War Dana and remarks Sheridan seems to be getting Virginia soldiers out of the war faster than this legislature could could the Confederate Congress told that they had in desperation tried to authorize enlistment of blacks Lincoln comments well when they have reached that stage the cause of the war would cease the cost ility Swift at the end the evil will cure itself the president then goes on to petersburg again to review and to congratulate the troops in doing so he wears himself out shaking hands mary arrives late for the event and then she come becomes outraged because the wife of general ward was there and was with lincoln she saw a Jellison irate that evening that she will demand the general lord will be fired the audacity of allowing her his wife to be with lincoln they returned to the ship where the president discovers that congressman james blaine of maine and elisha wahoo of illinois have arrived life a life lahu Washburn has arrived to confer with him leased by the way our allies these are friends he is glad to see Lincoln then tell de Grasse General Grant general Sheridan says if the thing is pressed I think Lee will surrender let the thing be pressed Saturday April 8th City point the president goes to shore again to meet with Washburn handing him a letter to give to Robert at the front the congressman observes Lincoln appearing exuberant at the impending into the war the presidential party including mrs. Lincoln and friend then goes by special train to Petersburg several colored servants aboard the steamship asked if they could possibly come along president readily acquiescence invites them to come and sit with the others and making the trip and then arriving they find the city has assumed a military environment with citizens rare to be seen Lincoln then insists on going again to visit the hospitals to visit the sick and wounded in his words to take by the hand the men who have achieved our glorious victories he spends five hours reportedly personally greeting every Union soldier in the hospital every patient an estimated 5,000 of them expressing appreciation to the volunteer nurses as well then he turns to go to the tents of the Confederate wounded but has advised not to enter as they are rebels but that is just where I want to go said Lincoln and greets them in the same way he had greeted the Yankee soldiers Mary notes that his visits to the wounded although a labor of love fatigued him very much when an army doctor expresses concern that his arm must ache with all that exertion all the shaking of the hands the president picks up an axe and chops vigorously for some minutes and then he holds the axe the heavy axe straight out and steady without faltering which was an act that several soldiers tried to repeat and could not hold that axe up Lincoln then confers with commanders at headquarters on the far side of town when one urges that Jefferson Davis be hung he calmly responds let us not judge that we be not judged on the return trip back to the railroad station he tries he stops to admire a magnificent tree probably not this tree but you get the image a tree that he had remembered from a previous visit and he takes time to describe to his companions the impressive features of this tree almost like a botanist instructing his students that evening a military band gives a farewell concert aboard the river Queen and the president requests two numbers the Marcy A's and Dixie when the musicians expressed surprise that the call for Dixie mr. Lincoln response that tune is now federal property it belongs to us and it anyway it's good to show the rebels that with us they will be free to hear at any time again Sunday April 9th the steamboat river Queen as it makes its way back to Washington on the return trip mrs. Lincoln is particularly irritable a house White House steward observed her berating and cursing her husband even slapping him in the face Elizabeth collect Lee her attendant listens to a young officer mentioning to the first lady how well Lincoln was received by the women folk in Richmond at which she remarks reacts with market irritation this is just an impression that whole day steaming up the Potomac the conversation turns on literary subjects and mr. Lincoln reads aloud for several hours to his companions most of the passages he selects are from Shakespeare but Lincoln takes particular delight in quoting Macbeth commenting upon its powerful depiction of human emotion and then while passing Mount Vernon the Marquis disturb Ron comments how the president's home in Springfield would one day be as revered as in like fashion president Ponder's it and as I Sparkle with the thought of home and nice flame Springfield oh how happy four years since will I be to return there in peace and tranquility as they drew near Washington mrs. Lincoln who had here the hitherto been absorbed in her thoughts said that enemy city is full of enemies the president upon hearing her retorted with an impatient gesture enemies never again must we repeat that word president returns to the capital city in excellent spirits the river Queen arriving at the dock at 6 p.m. bringing the president mrs. Lincoln pad attorney general speed Assistant Secretary Otto senators nor Harlan Moore key the streets are alive with people there in Washington bonfires everywhere celebrating the news of the surrender of General Lee but the president wants to go someplace in particular specifically and he goes directly to visit the home of William Seward his secretary recovering in bed from the grievous wounds we caught recall that he had suffered in his carriage accident when it becomes evident that Seward because of his injuries cannot get out of bed in fact he cannot even turn his head while lying in bed mr. Lincoln goes over and lies down on the bed beside him supported by his elbow bringing him face to face with his Secretary of State and then upon returning to the White House the crowds in the yard call for the president he responds briefly but pleasantly but obviously is exhausted Washington DC April 10th Monday Noah Brooks who the president is anticipating pointing appointing as his private secretary breakfast at the White House with the president secretary Stanton observes that the president is as happy as he's ever seen him before hearts beat with exultation that the Victory's says the President to celebrate Lee surrenders Stanton had ordered a 500 cannon fire which actually breaks windows near the White House doesn't add to the ease of the president and then Francis Pierrepoint the loyalist Union governor of Virginia unionist governor who had kept office by the way in Alexandria during the war meets with the president offers congratulations the president responds I want it distinctive Lee understood that I claim no part nor lot in the honor of the military move movements in front of Richmond all the honor belongs to the military and then Lincoln further comments that I have no plan for the reorganization of the south but I must be guided by events later that morning the president visits the Navy Yard crowd serenade him throughout the day and he makes several expand paradius brief comments then returning to the White House there's a short meeting with the cabinet and about 5:00 p.m. crowd of several thousand appear and this is my effort to try to convey that thousands of people bands assembly global house Lincoln response to the serenade and promises to prepare a speech for tomorrow the president requests that the musicians played Dixie again commenting you know it's one of the best tunes I have ever heard I insisted yesterday that we fairly captured it and I presented the question to the Attorney General and he gave us his legal opinion that it is our lawful prize at 6 p.m. and an unannounced delegation of 15 officials enters the White House to meet the president in the hallway and a spokesman for the group makes a speech and then presents Lincoln with a picture of himself and a silver frame Lincoln then writes a note to secretary Stanton tab wants some flags can he be accommodated and then he writes a note to secretary Wells let master tad have a navy sword Tuesday April 11th Washington president consults with general Butler on the issue of how to free how'd it help the freed Negroes Ward Hill Lamon also calls upon the president the president sins LeMond on a business matter connected with reconstruction on to Richmond lamanna's Marshall of Washington had considered his personal duty to protect the president and now he will have to be gone several days on assignment and then Secretary of Interior John Ashur comes to confer with the president he's a competent but assuming unassuming man he had submitted his resignation for the cabinet but has agreed to return on and remain until a replacement can be confirmed the cabinet then meets again with the cotton question the chief topic the president issues a proclamation closing certain ports of entry and another concerning foreign port privileges and then mrs. Lincoln writes general grant that the president is not feeling well but he would be very pleased to see you at dusk Lincoln makes a public address from the upper window of the White House to a boisterous crowd assembled on the White House lawn it is a grand celebration the president appears at one window with mrs. Lincoln at another Noah Brooks holds a candle behind the president that he might read his speech as he finishes each page he drops it to the floor and Tad enthusiastically scoops it up at one point tad appears at another window waving a confederate flag and the ecstatic crowd roars Elizabeth Keckley that's the course the the lady who attended the first lady she marvels at the swaying emotions of the crowd it was like the rising and following a billows a grand an imposing scene at the president throughout stands modestly in what would be his last public speech Lincoln doesn't spend so much time celebrating the victory as he does discussing the status of the former Confederate States and plans for reconstruction highlighting what was already being done in Louisiana let us all join in doing the acts necessary to restore on the proper practical relations between these states and the Union apparently the crowd was puzzled because they were there to celebrate the victories not ponder the difficulties of reconstruction and for the first time in public by the way Lincoln expresses his desire that the colored men who serve our cause as soldiers ought to be given the franchise to vote he also curiously intriguingly references some new announcement that I intend to make to the people to the south but without further explanation again the crowds are polite but puzzled why the president has spent so much time talking about the challenges yet facing the Union without taking time really to celebrate the victories April 12th Wednesday the president has much catch-up work to do be done after being gone for two weeks after breakfast Illinois senator browning who H browning introduces William C Bibb and influential unionists of Gummer Alabama interested in reconstruction how it be done and then Colonel William Kellogg former Chief Justice of the Nebraska territory and Senator James Harlan also vayas of Iowa interview mr. Lincoln about the appointment of the governor of Nebraska later in the evening to come to discuss problems of rehabilitation in the southern states Lincoln attends upon avoiding pointing Harlan a good friend as Secretary of the Interior in conversations then with the Marquita schönbrunn Lincoln speaks at length of the many struggles that I foresee in the future but I have affirmed resolution to stand for clemency against all opposition at another cabinet meeting the president races the idea for gracious reconstruction in Virginia but encounters more resistance from his cabinet officers later he visits visits secretary Stanton at the War Department and decides to revoke permission for the convocation of the Virginia assembly as they were apparently intending to do more than just pull back the army he then Telegraph's general Weitzel in Richmond is there any sign of the rebel legislature coming together on the understanding of my letter to you if there's any such sign-in for me what it is if there's no such sign yet well you may as well withdraw the offer he explains the white soul that former associate justice Campbell is an error if he understands that the Confederate legislature of Virginia is to be accepted as the rightful legislature of the state he explains the gentlemen who have acted as the legislature of Virginia in support of the rebellion well they have de facto power to withdraw the virginia troops but nothing more since virginia troops have now been captured by grant and an edict from the state legislature is not needed the president decides not to permit them to assemble April 13th Thursday the president visits the telegraph office early in the morning talks with pleasantries with Charles tinker and then goes to visit behind closed doors General Grant and general Stanton talking about military problems and possibly reconstruction he again visits with Nehru secretary wells regarding the establishment of federal authority in the Confederate States he next rise to the soldiers home hoping they're to have time and space for reflection and planning apart from the press of the many public officials Assistant Secretary of State excuse me assistant secretary of the Treasury mon-sol field shows up to discuss various demanding matters and notices that the President appears weary and sad the president writes to a friend US Supreme Court justice Davis Davis regarding conflict between Davis and the US Attorney General James speed Davis is upset while acknowledging the reasons Lincoln concludes it will never do for you and mr. speed to be on any other than a good understanding and then Friday April 14th president rises at 7 o'clock a.m. feeling a bit rested and relieved a good thing because his schedule that day would be especially heavy he enjoys breakfast with Mary and tad and then captain Robert Lincoln arrives a bit later reporting having been at the scene of General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse during the morning Lincoln again confers at length with Speaker House speaker Colfax who's preparing to visit the west coast he then confers with former Senator John Hale of New Hampshire who was his newly appointed minister to Spain and after that he goes for a short ride with Grant who was in town to meet with the cabinet then upon returning to the White House he discovers that many members of Congress are calling to congratulate him on the successful conclusion of the war and to offer their suggestions as to the next course of action he then meets with a postmaster of Detroit William Howard and afterwards with the Mississippi businessman complaining of the cotton being confiscated and about 10:00 a.m. Maryland Governor Thomas Wayne Swan and Senator Jon Cresswell from that state present a memorandum concerning appointments from Maryland president writes Brigadier General Van Alen an influential New Yorker saying I thank you for the insurance you gave me that I shall be supported by conservative men like yourself and the efforts I may make to restore the Union so as to make it well to use your language a union of hearts and hands as well as of States Lincoln then again Vincent visits the cipher room at the War Department to check on incoming transmissions and while there Enders into conversation with Brigadier General Thomas Eckert chief of the War Department telegraph officer it's an officer with whom the president has grown close because of his many visits to that office he tells Eckert if his hopes to attend the theater that evening won't you come along but the general declines respectfully at eleven o'clock a.m. the cabinet meets to welcome General Grant Stanton observes the president looking very cheerful and hopeful secretary of the treasury humic ala has never seen the president looking so cheerful and happy Secretary of the Interior designee James Harlan saw that Lincoln was transfigured from his customary sadness grant reports to the cabinet on the surrender of the Confederate forces and Stanton presents the draft of a plan for reestablishing Authority in the Confederate States lincoln comments that the federal government can't undertake to run state governments in all these southern states their people must do that though I reckon at first some of them may do it badly the president then tells several cabinet officers about a recurring dream of a ship moving with great rapidity to a dark and indefinite shore the cabinet meeting lasts about three hours including discussion relative to what should be done about president Davis and the other leaders of the Confederacy relief is expressed that Congress is out of session so that plans can be initiated for reconstruction without the interference from radicals the president speaks with regret that there are those in his own party who possessed feelings of hate and vindictiveness in which I do not sympathize and I cannot participate yet he acknowledges that he may have moved too quickly an author the virginia legislature to meet the concept is approved of having military governors in the south who would rule under martial law to maintain law until proper civilian government might be assured lincoln then invites general and mrs. grant to accompany him and the first lady to the theater that night grant responds with appreciation but indicates his strong desire to travel by train to visit his children in truth by the way julia grant may still not have desired to well revisit her unpleasantness with mrs. Lincoln house speaker Colfax and secretary Stanton also do mirror it is Good Friday and it is a time of great activity in a taxing time for public officials in Washington when asked by a citizen to issue a pass to travel to Richmond the president response no pass is necessary now to authorize anyone to go and return from Petersburg and Richmond people go and return just as they did before the war between 2:00 and 3:00 the president lunches with mrs. Lincoln and a private parlor but essentially eats but an Apple president meets privately then with Vice President Johnson immediately after wall after lunch we do not know what that conversation entailed afterwards mrs. Nancy Bushrod on Negro lady pushes by the guards on seeing the president the Manning to talk to him about her husband's pray pay the president allows it and he hears her out in an office to see what he might do then he takes time to write a pardon for a Confederate spy commenting well I think the boy can do is more good above ground than underground about 3 o'clock p.m. president mrs. Lincoln go for a drive in their carriage a drive alone she finds him supremely cheerful and even playful they stop at the Navy Yard to view three monitors damaged in the Fort Fisher North Carolina engagement they tour one of them the Montauk whereupon the ship's doctor observes them looking very happy on the return trip the president talks at the time when they can return to Illinois and live quietly yet he also mentions the desire to visit Jerusalem and then perhaps even California upon returning to the white house he finds that congressman Sam Nichelle Barger of Ohio was there to discuss appointments he takes the time to do so then assistant secretary Dana reports that Jacob Thompson Confederate agent in Canada is now make is now in the US making ready to sail for Europe should he be allowed to leave the country now let him go Treasury secretary humi kulluk arrives to speak privately with the president around 5:00 p.m. the congressman from New Hampshire edwin rollins arrives to call him the president to get a petition endorsed and then he'll annoy governor richard Oglesby with some uh the illinois friends and supporters arrive at the White House Lincoln takes the time to entertain them by reading several chapters of petroleum dean aspies book on of ironic humor and after supper the president again meets with House speaker Colfax relative to a special session of Congress one after another these public officials coming demanding his time Koufax mentions the concern that many have had for his safety while visiting Richmond to which Lincoln responds oh I was not scared about myself a bit eight pm the former congressman George Ashman of Massachusetts come this comes to see the president regarding the cotton claim against the government but Lincoln is pressed for time gives him an appointment by writing out a note allow mr. Ashman and friend to come in at nine o'clock a.m. tomorrow ward Hill lamin by the way Lincoln's close friend and who was the marshal of the District of Columbia before leaving on his mission to Richmond had pleaded with the president promise me promise me that you will not go out at night while I'm gone and particularly not to the theater hmm but the president feels he needs relief from the pressing matters of government and decides to proceed even though Mary complains about a headache he's concerned because notice of the attendance of the president has already been printed and so preparing to leave for Ford's Theater to see a farcical middie the president invites his older son Robert to accompany them but he also declines feeling exhausted all together that day about 14 people reported being invited by the President to go to the theater and all found reasons not to and then Mary invites her dear friend Clara Harris she's the daughter of New York senator IRA Harris invites her to come along to be escorted by major Henry Rathbun the White House guard William crook intends to accompany him to them to the theater but mr. Lincoln says to him you've had a hard day you deserve the night off the president exchanges a few words with former Congressman Arnold of Illinois while getting into the carriage to go to the theater and then at approximately 8:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m. they arrive this play has already been started but the actors stop and the band begins to play as upon his arrival and the people who were crowded into the theater cheer the arrival of the president he's about a half-hour late after the play had already begun and the actors here as they would have been demonstrating on the stage itself hail to the chief was played by the band and then great applause special arrangements by the way had been made to give the president a rocking chair for his aching back and the theater being unheated was chilly that night such that the ladies kept on their wraps and at one point the president put back on his overcoat during an admitted mission mr. Lincoln takes his wife's hand despite her protest that it was unseemly he says Mary it doesn't matter the play resumes with act three coming to a point where there was comic dialogue including a line spoken by Henry Hawke Henry Hawke is now on stage by himself and says his script I don't know the manners of good society eh well I guess I know enough to turn you inside out old gal you solved all the lies in the old mantrap and the crowd roars with laughter mrs. Lincoln being one of the loudest enjoying the moment and so ends two weeks of our story the life of a president you

Channel: GettysburgNPS

Views: 19,080

Rating: 4.4489794 out of 5

Keywords: Abraham Lincoln (US President), Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln (Event), gettysburg

Id: sKcc4iDXZ0Q

Length: 58min 37sec (3517 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 01 2015