Another Republican sneaks into town while Democrats laugh.Lincoln Sneaks into Washington . . . "Lincoln’s opponents widely ridiculed him for having “crept into Washington like a thief in the night.” A Washington correspondent noted that because of this, Lincoln had “but few defenders here.” The D.C. reporter for the Charleston Mercury wrote, “Everybody here is disgusted at his cowardly and undignified entry,” and hints of assassination plots could hardly “relieve the tall person… of the imputation of the most wretched cowardice.” A Louisville newspaper even opined that Lincoln had sneaked into Washington wearing his wife’s dress. Cartoonists savaged Lincoln with renderings of him sneaking through Baltimore in the dead of night.
"Critics noted with especial viciousness that the train Lincoln was supposed to have taken through Baltimore–the train that supposedly was to be attacked and possibly bombed–went through as scheduled with Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln and their three sons aboard." . . .
The New York Times reported that “oaths, obscenity, disgusting epithets and unpleasant gesticulations were the order of the day” as the train passed through Baltimore, but the Lincoln family made it through unharmed, arriving at Washington around 11:30 a.m.
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| Lincoln sat at the back of the train in disguise to escape his assassins. |
. . . "At the new year, 1861, he was already beleaguered by the sheer volume of correspondence reaching his desk in Springfield. On one occasion he was spotted at the post office filling “a good sized market basket” with his latest batch of letters, and then struggling to keep his footing as he navigated the icy streets. Soon, Lincoln took on an extra pair of hands to assist with the burden, hiring John Nicolay, a bookish young Bavarian immigrant, as his private secretary.
"Nicolay was immediately troubled by the growing number of threats that crossed Lincoln’s desk. “His mail was infested with brutal and vulgar menace, and warnings of all sorts came to him from zealous or nervous friends,” Nicolay wrote. “But he had himself so sane a mind, and a heart so kindly, even to his enemies, that it was hard for him to believe in political hatred so deadly as to lead to murder.” It was clear, however, that not all the warnings could be brushed aside.
"In the coming weeks, the task of planning Lincoln’s railway journey to his inauguration in the nation’s capital on March 4 would present daunting logistical and security challenges. The task would prove all the more formidable because Lincoln insisted that he utterly disliked “ostentatious display and empty pageantry,” and would make his way to Washington without a military escort." . . . More...
Excerpted from The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower. Copyright (c) 2013. With the permission of the publisher, Minotaur Books
Lincoln's Whistle-Stop Trip to Washington
The President-elect was widely ridiculed for his secretive entrance into Washington. Both newspapers and the general public were worried they had once again elected a weak, indecisive commander-in-chief. Fortunately for the Union, the fears were unfounded.
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| Lincoln Sneaks into Washington – The Civil War Months |
