Dining with Abraham Lincoln - Throwback Thursday

Today -a sequel to my hunt for the perfect tuna fish sandwich.

Where I ate it was its own story, first told in 2013 (with some edits):

It isn't every day you get to eat lunch with a sitting President of the United States.  Or, to be more exact, the sitting statue of a former President.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, and our country's President during the United States Civil War.


In the summer of 2013 my spouse and I drove from our home in upstate New York to Arkansas for a visit.  On the way back home, we stopped for a rest break in Vandalia, Illinois.

Back in the 1830's, Vandalia was the capital of the state of Illinois - the second capital of Illinois,  from 1819 to 1839.  It no longer is the capital and you may be surprised to learn who is partially responsible for that.

This was the Vandalia state capital building, built in 1836.

In the city of Vandalia, a young Illinois state legislator got some of his early political experience.  His name was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln and some of his colleagues wanted the capital closer to the geographic center of the state.  Ironically, this particular statehouse was built to try to convince Lincoln and some of his colleagues to keep the capital in Vandalia.   It replaced a different building that was torn down while the legislature was in recess.  The hope was, the building would so impress the legislature that they would stay in Vandalia.

Looks nice, but Lincoln never tried any cases in this room.

The bribe (if you could call it that) didn't work, and Lincoln was not a beloved figure in Vandalia due to his actions in moving the capital away from their city.  But, time has a way of dimming memories.  Now, Lincoln is quite beloved in Vandalia.

In 2001, Lincoln Park was built near the statehouse. It features a statute called "Sitting with Lincoln".

On this bench, I ate lunch with Abraham Lincoln in 2013- the  tuna sandwich we had purchased in Missouri that morning, to be exact.  It was a hot sunny day, a day I would later treasure that winter, a harsh one, when below zero wind chills were the order of the day.

I hope Lincoln enjoyed that wonderful Missouri tuna sandwich as much as I did.

Have you ever met a famous person, or a person who became famous later in life?

Civil War Sunday - When Reenact?

150 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln, the assassinated 16th President of the United States, was buried in Springfield, llinois.  His body was brought there by train, the main long distance mode of transportation in 1865.

The route of the train was, itself, a type of reenactment, as it retraced (in reverse) the train trip that Lincoln made from his home in Springfield to his first inauguration in 1861.

At each stop, except for New Jersey, Lincoln's body lay in state.  Over 10,000. people watched the train leave Washington, DC.  Thousands more mourned at each stop:  Baltimore, Maryland.  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  New York City.  Albany (the capital of New York State).  Buffalo, New York (where, in 1901, another President would be assassinated).  Cleveland, Ohio.  Columbus, Ohio. Indianapolis, Indiana.  Michigan City, Indiana.  Chicago, Illinois and, finally, Springfield.

The route wasn't a straight line but made a loop. It was a long journey home.

All this weekend, solemn remembrances and ceremonies were held in Springfield.  Many observers dressed in Civil War era clothing.  Over twelve hundred Civil War reenactors participated. Blogs carried live coverage.  Six descendents of the 12 pallbearers who bore Lincoln's casket in 1865 attended. 

Why?  Why, when we have photos (some in stereo), and written accounts, do we need to dress up in costumes and reenact events?  Well, it may surprise you to discover that Civil War reenactments were already being held even while the Civil War was still being fought.

The earliest men and women reenacted successful hunts.  As for the Civil War reenactments held prior to the end of the war, there are various explanations-  fund raisers, battle practice, and to educate the people back home supporting (or not supporting) the war effort.

Reenactments are how we touch the face of history.  It is how history comes alive for us.  Instead of reading history in some history book (I have to admit I am not big on reading books on history, despite my interest in history) I would much rather go to a well-researched and historically accurate reenactment.

Apparently, many people feel the same way I do, and it isn't just the United States that does this.  In June of 2015, there will be a major reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo in Europe.  It will be, after all, the 200th anniversary of the final defeat of Napoleon.

Have you ever been to a historical reenactment of a battle or other historical event?

Vandalia

Vandalia, Illinois was not even on our trip itinery when we passed nearby in late August, 2013, on the way to Arkansas.   We were in a hurry, trying to make a nearly 1,300 mile  (2,093 km) car trip in only two days.  But then, we found out the importance of this small city of 7,043 people to the history of the United States.

We were going to take another route home but circumstances forced a change - and, suddenly, we were traveling near Vandalia again. 

For V day at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I want to talk about a road almost not taken, and what happened when we did take it and took the detour to Vandalia.

For example, we found the Madonna of the Trail statue.

I was amazed to discover that,by 1909, the old Santa Fe trail used in the 19th century for transportation purposes between Franklin, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico, was disappearing.   Eventually, a plan was formed by the Daughters of the American Revolution to both honor the old trails but also the pioneer women who traveled those trails, sometimes with young children in hand.

This is the Madonna of the Trail statue in Vandalia, Illinois, one of twelve such statues erected along the old "National Road".

Nearby, you find this sign.  Of course, being lovers of Civil War history, we had to spend some unscheduled time in Vandalia.

Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President and the President during the Civil War may not have slept here, but he began his political career in Vandalia, in the building that preceded this building.

No tours were scheduled on the hot afternoon we walked into this building, but a knowledgeable woman talked to us for some time, before we had to leave.

Lincoln, she told us wanted to move the state capital to a site more in the center of Illinois and eventually succeeded.  But first, Vandalia built this structure above, trying unsuccessfully to convince legislators to keep the capital in Vandalia.

For years, Lincoln was not a popular person in Vandalia, but all is forgiven.  Now, they honor their link with him.

I was so sorry to leave- I could have listened to her all day.

If only this staircase could talk,what tales would it tell us.


I highly recommend a visit to the Old Statehouse if you are in the area of Vandalia, or St. Louis, Missouri.  I wish I could let the woman who talked to us know how much I enjoyed listening to her.

Tomorrow, is my Civil War Sunday feature. Monday, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge resumes with W.  And, for W, I have a treat in store for you.

Lincoln

My "L" post for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge is not a place, but a person.

150 years ago, April 14, 1865, was Good Friday.  Just a few days before, April 9, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General U.S. Grant.  Although this action did NOT end the Civil War, (and I am one of many who believe it has never truly ended), many had rejoiced at the news.

But not everyone.

Some of those "not everyones" plotted to assassinate the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and two of his successors - the Vice-President and the Secretary of State, to totally disrupt the United States government.

The night of April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Henry Rathbone (an Army officer) and Rathbone's fiance,  watched a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC.  In those days Presidents were not guarded.

At around 10:15pm, an acclaimed actor and Confederate sympathizer,  John Wilkes Booth, entered Lincoln's private box and shot Lincoln in the back of his head.  The wound proved to be fatal.  Lincoln died the next day.

So what is so beautiful about that?  Well, 150 years later, the ways we pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln show how deep he is embedded in our national consciousness.

In Columbia, South Carolina, the capital of the first state to secede from the Union after Lincoln was elected President, I found this silver maple bust of Abraham Lincoln in a university museum exhibit called Crafting Civil (War) Conversations last month.

 In New York City, this plaque, near to one of the entrances to the High Line (on West 30th between 9th and 10th Avenues) tells a story of long ago.

In Vandalia, Illinois, I found a duplicate of a Lincoln Life Mask made in 1960.

In Vandalia, I also found a city park .  Lincoln began his political career in Vandalia, a city where his memory is constantly honored.  I once blogged about eating a tuna sandwich on that bench.

The aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln still echoes in our country even today, 150 years later.  Many cites or towns in our nation are called Lincoln or a variation (i.e. Lincoln Park) but not all of them are named after Abraham Lincoln (I found, for example, at least one error in this map).  Even today, there are people who revere Lincoln's memory and people who despise it.

However you feel, Lincoln has become an integral part of America the Beautiful.

Dining with Abraham Lincoln

It isn't every day you get to eat lunch with a sitting President of the United States.  Or, to be more exact, the sitting statue of a former President.

Today, February 12, would have been the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, and our country's President during the United States Civil War.

I enjoyed some vintage photos of the late President and then remembered I had a couple of pictures of my own.

In the summer of 2013 my spouse and I drove from our home in upstate New York to Arkansas for a visit.  On the way back home, we stopped for a rest break in Vandalia, Illinois.

Back in the 1830's, Vandalia was the capital of the state of Illinois - the second capital of Illinois,  from 1819 to 1839.  It no longer is the capital and you may be surprised to learn who is partially responsible for that.

This was the Vandalia state capital building, built in 1836.

In the city of Vandalia, a young Illinois state legislator got some of his early political experience.  His name was Abraham Lincoln.  (One day, I will blog more about Lincoln).  Ironically, this particular statehouse was built to try to convince Lincoln and some of his colleagues to keep the capital in Vandalia.  Lincoln and some of his colleagues wanted the capital closer to the geographic center of the state.  It replaced a different building that was torn down while the legislature was in recess.  The hope was, the building would so impress the legislature that they would stay in Vandalia.

Looks nice, but Lincoln never tried any cases in this room.

The bribe (if you could call it that) didn't work, and Lincoln was not a beloved figure in Vandalia for his actions in moving the capital away from their city.  But, time has a way of dimming memories.  Now, Lincoln is quite beloved in Vandalia.

In 2001, Lincoln Park was built near the statehouse. It features a statute called "Sitting with Lincoln".

On this bench, I ate lunch with Abraham Lincoln in 2013- a tuna sandwich we had purchased in Missouri that morning, to be exact.  It was a hot sunny day, a day I would treasure today, when I think of the subzero wind chills outside at this moment.

I hope Lincoln enjoyed that wonderful Missouri tuna sandwich as much as I did.

Have you ever met a famous person, or a person who became famous later in life?