train, pictured here, would wind through the Midwest, passing through Indianapolis, Cincinnati, heading north into New York to stop in Buffalo and then southward toward Philadelphia and Baltimore. The route would be repeated four years later in reverse as Lincoln's body was returned to his home state. On the outbound route, Lincoln made over one hundred speeches. One of the more prophetic ones being at Independence Hall on February 22, 1861, where he raised the flag at Independence Hall to commemorate George Washington's birthday and said:"I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is a sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world, if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. "
To put this in context, On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union and on February 1, 1861 along with six other states, the Confederate States of America was born. Four more would soon follow. Matters of "national importance" and "considerable difficulties" in deed. The War, or the "Wahr" as I grew up knowing it, would ultimately cost almost 1.1 million lives due to casualties, disease, suicide, naval engagements etc. From Faust's "Encyclopedia of the Civil War:
"The Federals lost 110,100 killed in action and mortally wounded, and another 224,580 to disease. The Confederates lost approximately 94,000 as a result of battle and another 164,000 to disease. Even if one survived a wound, any projectile that hit bone in either an arm or a leg almost invariably necessitated amputation. The best estimate of Federal army personnel wounded is 275,175; naval personnel wounded, 2,226. Surviving Confederate records indicate 194,026 wounded.Like many Southern boys, I grew up dreaming that maybe if I had been the last man over the wall into the Union guns at Pickett's Charge in Gettysburg I might have made the difference. I have stood on that hallowed spot many times and in my youth cried that on this spot the dream died. As an older, wiser man I cry for the cost of poor decisions. Needless to say, in my younger days, I didn't think much of Mr. Lincoln. Now, I am grateful for what he did and admire the true genius of the man. He was a conniving politician like the rest of them but, I think, he had a sense of honor. Freeing the slaves was only part of what the war was fought about, but he deserves the credit and I won't get into a drawn out fight about states rights here.
In dollars and cents, the U.S. government estimated Jan. 1863 that the war was costing $2.5 million daily. A final official estimate in 1879 totaled $6,190,000,000. The Confederacy spent perhaps $2,099,808,707. By 1906 another $3.3 billion already had been spent by the U.S. government on Northerners' pensions and other veterans' benefits for former Federal soldiers. Southern states and private philanthropy provided benefits to the Confederate veterans. The amount spent on benefits eventually well exceeded the war's original cost."
After Lincoln has spoken at Independence Hall, he was advised by Allan Pinkerton that a plot on his life was afoot. Lincoln persisted on speaking to the Pennsylvania legislature and riding the train to Baltimore. There, he was disguised (some reports say he was dressed as a woman) and smuggled into Washington D.C.
Now, aside from some interesting reminiscences of the War between the States, I am drawn to this story because of the continuing urge of the current President-Elect to try to channel Abraham Lincoln. It has been announced that he will re-enact the last leg of Lincoln's journey to Washington by boarding a train in Philadelphia to ride to Washington. They will go off the beaten path to go pick up commuter Joe Biden
in Wilmington, Delaware and then continue anon. So, I ask, what disguise will Obama wear to be smuggled into Washington from Baltimore? He has disguised himself quite well as a "centrist" and a "moderate" so far. The "Office of the President Elect" has further announced that he will be sworn in using Lincoln's Bible. While that is probably a relief to some who were afraid he would choose a Koran, I find the attempt at connectivity revolting. If "Barack Hussein Obama" (the name he will use to be sworn in) had studied Lincoln as closely as he claims he has, he would realize that one trait Ol' Abe was known for (aside from always getting picked to play center in pick-up basketball games) was humility.When Lincoln went to dedicate the Gettysburg Cemetary and delivered the now famous "Gettysburg Address," he purposely kept his remarks very short. Disappointingly short to the gathered crowd, but he felt that it was inappropriate for the President to hog the clock when the Cemetary Commission had hired an orator, Edward Everett, who spoke for two hours before Lincoln mounted the dais. Lincoln knew that his role was governance, not showmanship. The contemporary reaction of the time to the Gettysburg Address was overall not good...his "hometown newspaper," the Chicago Times said "the cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of the president." But Everett knew better. Writing to Lincoln the next day he said: "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
But then there's Barry! He's the star of the show...our Savior...our own Barachrist Superstar!!! Oh, and did you know that we have a crisis????!!!!! My God, the economy is in the tank! Unemployment will reach double digits!!!!! The world as we know it is coming to an end!!!!!! Oh, and that's Obama speaking, not the silver hair plugged man from Delaware. But not to worry! Since the crisis is so huge, so enormous, so unimaginably horrible, let's just give all the power to Barry and let him solve all our problems and salve all our fears. It worked for Hugo Chavez in Venezuela! It worked for Lenin in Russia...why shouldn't it work here? Hope and Change! Hope and Change! Chant mindlessly along with me now: "Yes we can!"Oh, that reminds me, didn't the Israelis and Hamas get the memo that world peace would reign after January 21st? Couldn't they have just waited a couple of more weeks for the flowers to bloom and love to conquer all from the Land of Hopeandchange? Obama would do well to heed the words of Charles Simmons, "Integrity is the first step to greatness."
Now, can we put things in perspective? I am reminded of a wonderful saying that Senior Chief Wonder, USN taught me when I was a tenderfoot Ensign: "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!" Does the current financial situation compare in ANY way, shape or form, to the condition of the Union when Lincoln headed to Washington? If you answered "yes," to this question, you need to take a hard look at yourself. Like me, your 401K may be down 40%...you may be temporarily out of a job...you may not be able to get a car loan to buy that cool Congressional Motors special-alternate-fuels vehicle BUT, put it in perspective people, the dissolution of the United States is not upon us (yet)! I feel like Bill Murray in "Stripes:" "We're not Watusis, we're not Spartans, we're Americans!" It's about 2:49 into the following clip:
There is another irony in all this Lincoln adulation on the part of B.H.O. Lincoln inherited a divided country, but in assembling his cabinet, he not only appointed his most bitter rivals, he appointed folks from every region of the Union (getting secessionist Southerners to play along didn't work out to well, but he tried):
"So New England got Gideon Welles of Connecticut as Secretary of the Navy. The mid-Atlantic got William M. Seward of New York as Secretary of State and Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania as Secretary of War. Ohio got Salmon P. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury. The border states got Attorney General Edward Bates of Missouri and Postmaster General Montgomery Blair of Maryland. The West of that day -- today's Midwest -- got Caleb Smith of Indiana as Secretary of the Interior. Lincoln even approached a Southerner -- Rep. James A. Gilmer of North Carolina, a former Whig -- to serve in his cabinet, but Gilmer declined."
To date, one Southerner has been appointed by Barry...an ex-mayor of Dallas to be a trade representative. The South is paying the political price for not supporting the junior senator from Illinois. I thought "unity" was one of the principal values in the Land of Hopeandchange.
In all, the Lincoln morphing is eerie and more than a little strange. But like the Greek Columns at the DNC gala in Denver, I suspect it's all about image with no substance behind. The American people will be paying the price for this lack of substance and, in the words of H.L. Mencken, we will "get it good and hard." But we will survive...this is 2009, not 1861.
Rumble on!