An oral history of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay's interviews and essays

378 Pages·1996·0.88 MB·English

by  John George Nicolay

An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln : John
title:
G. Nicolay's Interviews and Essays
author: Nicolay, John G.; Burlingame, Michael
publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
isbn10 | asin: 0809320541
print isbn13: 9780809320547
ebook isbn13: 9780585029764
language: English
Lincoln, Abraham,--1809-1865--Friends
subject
and associates--Interviews.
publication date: 1996
lcc: E457.2.N67 1996eb
ddc: 973.7/092
Lincoln, Abraham,--1809-1865--Friends
subject:
and associates--Interviews.
An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln
John G. Nicolay's Interviews and Essays
MICHAEL BURLINGAME
Sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Association
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Carbondale and Edwardsville
Copyright © 1996 by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Designed by Ed King
99 98 97 4 3 2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nicolay, John G. (John George), 18321901.
An oral history of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay's interviews
and essays/edited by Michael Burlingame.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Lincoln, Abraham, 18091865Friends and associates
Interviews. I. Burlingame, Michael, 1941. II.Title.
E457.2.N67 1996
973.7'092dc20 95-36368
ISBN 0-8093-2054-1 (cloth: alk. paper) CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of
American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO
Lois Erickson McDonald
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Editor's Introduction xi
1. THE SPRINGFIELD INTERVIEWS 1
Orville H. Browning 1
John Todd Stuart 7
Ozias M. Hatch 16
Clark M. Smith 17
William Butler 18
Milton Hay 25
Jesse K. Dubois 29
Henry S. Greene 32
Peter Van Bergen 33
Stephen T. Logan 34
John W. Bunn 39
2. THE WASHINGTON 41
INTERVIEWS
James K. Moorhead 41
Simon Cameron 42
Norman B. Judd 44
T. Lyle Dickey 48
Hamilton Fish 50
Lafayette Foster 53
Lot M. Morrill 54
William M. Evarts 56
Ward Hill Lamon 57
Page viii
Leonard Swett 58
Morton S. Wilkinson 59
Stephen A. Hurlbut 62
Lyman Trumbull 65
John Palmer Usher 65
Hannibal Hamlin 67
Joseph Holt 68
Richard M. Hoe 77
John M. Sherman 79
James Speed 80
Godlove Orth 82
Edward D. Neill 83
Henry Wilson 83
3. OTHER INTERVIEWS AND 86
TWO ESSAYS BY NICOLAY
Nathaniel P. Banks 86
Dr. Parker 87
Frederick W. Seward 87
A Son of John W. Crisfield 87
Robert Todd Lincoln 88
John G. Nicolay 90
William M. Springer 90
"Lincoln in the Campaign of 1860" 91
"Some Incidents in Lincoln's 107
Journey from Springfield to
Washington"
Notes 123
Index 159
Page ix
Acknowledgments
I am extemely grateful to John Y. Simon, the godfather of this volume
and my previous book, The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln. For
several years, he has been a constant source of encouragement and
support, which is deeply appreciated. I am also grateful to Richard N.
Current, Robert W. Johannsen, and Mark E. Neely, Jr., who comprised
the jury that bestowed the 1995 Abraham Lincoln Association Prize
on this book, and to Frank J. Williams, under whose presidency the
Association established the prize.
I am indebted to Wayne C. Temple and Thomas F. Schwartz, who
generously read the manuscript and gave me the benefit of their vast
knowledge of Lincoln and his times. I also received generous help
from Fred Baumann, Katie McDonough, and other members of the
staff at the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division; from Jennifer
Lee and her colleagues at the John Hay Library at Brown University;
and from Cheryl Schnirring and others at the Illinois State Historical
Library. Because some of Nicolay's interviews were in a peculiar
shorthand, I had to find someone who could translate them. The staff
at the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division referred me to
William Mohr, who took time from his work on the journals of
Montgomery Meigs to accommodate me. To all the above I extend
special thanks.
At Connecticut College, Julia Gerl, Tina R. Falck, Regina B. Foster,
and Anita L. Allen cheerfully and efficiently typed the interviews for
me. The college's R. Francis Johnson Faculty Development Fund
helped defray some of my research expenses. Thanks to the kindness
of Sue and Edwin Coover, my sister and brother-in-lawwho extended
hospitality at their suburban Washington home far above and beyond
the call of family dutythose expenses were a lot less than most out-of-
town scholars incur.
Finally, I would like to thank the lovely and long-suffering Lois
Erickson McDonald, who demonstrates Lincolnian forbearance when
I am away on extended research safaris and even more forbearance
when I am back in Connecticut.