LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln, An Account of His Personal Life, Especially of Its Springs of Action as Revealed and Deepened by the Ordeal of War

By Nathaniel Wright Stephenson

Authority for all important statements of facts in the following pages may be found in the notes; the condensed references are expanded in the bibliography. A few controversial matters are discussed in the notes.

I am very grateful to Mr. William Roscoe Thayer for enabling me to use the manuscript diary of John Hay. Miss Helen Nicolay has graciously confirmed some of the implications of the official biography. Lincoln's only surviving secretary, Colonel W. O. Stoddard, has given considerate aid. The curious incident of Lincoln as counsel in an action to recover slaves was mentioned to me by Professor Henry Johnson, through whose good offices it was confirmed and amplified by Judge John H. Marshall. Mr. Henry W. Raymond has been very tolerant of a stranger's inquiries with regard to his distinguished father. A futile attempt to discover documentary remains of the Republican National Committee of 1864 has made it possible, through the courtesy of Mr. Clarence B. Miller, at least to assert that there is nothing of importance in possession of the present Committee. A search for new light on Chandler drew forth generous assistance from Professor Ulrich B. Phillips, Mr. Floyd B. Streeter and Mr. G. B. Krum. The latter caused to be examined, for this particular purpose, the Blair manuscripts in the Burton Historical Collection. Much illumination arose out of a systematic resurvey of the Congressional Globe, for the war period, in which I had the stimulating companionship of Professor John L. Hill, reinforced by many conversations with Professor Dixon Ryan Fox and Professor David Saville Muzzey. At the heart of the matter is the resolute criticism of Mrs. Stephenson and of a long enduring friend, President Harrison Randolph. The temper of the historical fraternity is such that any worker in any field is always under a host of incidental obligations. There is especial propriety in my acknowledging the kindness of Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, Professor James A. Woodburn, Professor Herman V. Ames, Professor St. George L. Sioussat and Professor Allen Johnson.

CONTENTS

I. THE CHILD OF THE FOREST II. THE MYSTERIOUS YOUTH III. A VILLAGE LEADER IV. REVELATIONS V. PROSPERITY VI. UNSATISFYING RECOGNITION VII. THE SECOND START VIII. A RETURN TO POLITICS IX. THE LITERARY STATESMAN X. THE DARK HORSE XI. SECESSION XII. THE CRISIS XIII. ECLIPSE XIV. THE STRANGE NEW MAN XV. PRESIDENT AND PREMIER XVI. "ON TO RICHMOND!" XVII. DEFINING THE ISSUE XVIII. THE JACOBIN CLUB XIX. THE JACOBINS BECOME INQUISITORS XX. IS CONGRESS THE PRESIDENT'S MASTER? XXI. THE STRUGGLE TO CONTROL THE ARMY XXII. LINCOLN EMERGES XXIII. THE MYSTICAL STATESMAN XXIV. GAMBLING IN GENERALS XXV. A WAR BEHIND THE SCENES XXVI. THE DICTATOR, THE MARPLOT AND THE LITTLE MEN XXVII. THE TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE XXVIII. APPARENT ASCENDENCY XXIX. CATASTROPHE XXX. THE PRESIDENT VERSUS THE VINDICTIVES XXXI. A MENACING PAUSE XXXII. THE AUGUST CONSPIRACY XXXIII. THE RALLY TO THE PRESIDENT XXXIV. "FATHER ABRAHAM" XXXV. THE MASTER OF THE MOMENT XXXVI. PREPARING A DIFFERENT WAR XXXVII. FATE INTERPOSES

BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author and publisher make grateful acknowledgement to Ginn and Company, Boston, for the photograph of St. Gaudens' Statue; to The Century Company of New York for the Earliest Portrait of Lincoln, which is from an engraving by Johnson after a daguerreotype in the possession of the Honorable Robert T. Lincoln; and for Lincoln and Tad, which is from the famous photograph by Brady; to The Macmillan Company of New York for the portrait of Mrs. Lincoln and also for The Review of the Army of the Potomac, both of which were originally reproduced in Ida M. Tarbell's Life of Abraham Lincoln. For the rare and interesting portrait entitled The Last Phase of Lincoln acknowledgment is made to Robert Bruce, Esquire, Clinton, Oneida County, New York. This photograph was taken by Alexander Gardner, April 9, 1865, the glass plate of which is now in Mr. Bruce's collection.