Students delved deeper into President Abraham Lincoln’s life by examining his scrapbooks, manuscripts and handwritten letters on Wednesday.
About 13 students and faculty members attended “Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War,” a seminar held at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center.
Attendees were given white gloves to wear while they held and viewed Lincoln documents, including newspapers and pamphlets, which were placed on six different tables around the room.
“It gives a unique perspective of not only Lincoln that’s not taught in school, but it offers aunique perspective on the war itself, the personal impact that it had on the soldiers, the people who survived it, and the people whose lives were ruined by it, ” said Assistant Director for Acquisitions Alexander Rankin, who organized the event.
The first table displayed items from the presidential campaign of 1860 and the beginning of Lincoln’s administration, such as letters from Lincoln asking for earmuffs for the soldiers and a famous letter by Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.
The second table had documents from administration correspondence within the White House, including a letter by Lincoln written the day before he was killed.
“This was the last thing he actually touched before he died,” Rankin said.
Another memorable letter was one by Lincoln that was copied for all who attended. It was written on Sept. 28, 1862, six days after the Battle of Antietam.
“The North responds to the proclamation sufficiently in breath; but breath alone kills no rebels,” the letter read.
The letter shows Lincoln’s intention of winning the war, said guest speaker and history professor Cathal Nolan.
“He was entering into the grinding war of attrition that would crush the South and win,” he said. “This was not the war that he thought he was getting into, but it was the war he was in, and he intended to win it.”
Another table featured artifacts depicting military problems during the Civil War. Among the archives were letters from General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee officially disbanding the army of North Virginia.
The fourth and fifth tables highlighted artifacts from Major General Fitz John Porter’s famous court case and photos of Lincoln by Truman Howell Bartlett.
The final table contained artifacts following Lincoln’s death, which help portray how the public perceived Lincoln. Among these items were an issue of “Harper’s Weekly,” featuring sketches of Lincoln in life and death and an ode to his funeral and a letter written by Mary Todd Lincoln mourning her husband.
“Everyone was trying to get their own piece of Lincoln,” Rankin said.
Attendees said the event helped them gain more insight into Lincoln’s life.
College of Fine Arts sophomore Abigail Lewis said she came to learn more about Lincoln’s history and her own family background.
“I’m a descendant of General [P.G.T.] Beauregard and I like to learn more about my family,” she said.
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