The Life and Writings of Abraham Lincoln

by Abraham Lincoln

  DEAR SPEED: Yours of the 16th June was received only a day or two since. It was not mailed at Louisville till the 25th. You speak of the great time that has elapsed since I wrote you. Let me explain that. Your letter reached here a day or two after I had started on the circuit. I was gone five or six weeks, so that I got the letters only a few weeks before Butler started to your country. I thought it scarcely worth while to write you the news which he could and would tell you more in detail. On his return he told me you would write me soon, and so I waited for your letter. As to my having been displeased with your advice, surely you know better than that. I know you do, and therefore will not labor to convince you. True, that subject is painful to me; but it is not your silence, or the silence of all the world, that can make me forget it. I acknowledge the correctness of your advice too; but before I resolve to do the one thing or the other, I must gain my confidence in my own ability to keep my resolves when they are made. In that ability you know I once prided myself as the only or chief gem of my character; that gem I lost—how and where you know too well. I have not yet regained it; and until I do, I cannot trust myself in any matter of much importance. I believe now that had you understood my case at the time as well as I understood yours afterward, by the aid you would have given me I should have sailed through clear, but that does not now afford me sufficient confidence to begin that or the like of that again.

  You make a kind acknowledgment of your obligations to me for your present happiness. I am pleased with that acknowledgment. But a thousand times more am I pleased to know that you enjoy a degree of happiness worthy of an acknowledgment. The truth is, I am not sure that there was any merit with me in the part I took in your difficulty; I was drawn to it by a fate. If I would I could not have done less than I did. I could not have done less than I did. I was always superstitious; I believe God made me one of the instruments of bringing your Fanny and you together, which union I have no doubt he had foreordained. Whatever he designs he will do for me yet. “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” is my text just now. If, as you say, you have told Fanny all, I should have no objection to her seeing this letter, but for its reference to our friend here: let her seeing it depend upon whether she has ever known anything of my affairs; and if she has not, do not let her.

  I do not think I can come to Kentucky this season. I am so poor and make so little headway in the world, that I drop back in a month of idleness as much as I gain in a year’s sowing. I should like to visit you again. I should like to see that “sis” of yours that was absent when I was there, though I suppose she would run away again if she were to hear I was coming.

  My respects and esteem to all your friends there, and, by your permission, my love to your Fanny.

  LETTER TO JAMES SHIELDS

  This letter marks the beginning of the Lincoln-Shields feud. Shields was the Democratic State Auditor of Public Accounts. He was Irish by birth, experienced as a soldier and he was an expert fencer. Lincoln, with the help of Mary Todd and one of her friends, Julia Jayne, had sent a series of letters supposedly signed by “Rebecca” of the “Lost Townships” to the Whig Sangamon Journal. These letters had made fun of Shields. Lincoln’s animus was both political and personal, for he disliked the energetic little Irishman who was an ardent supporter of Stephen A. Douglas.

  Tremont, September 17, 1842

  JAS. SHIELDS, ESQ.: Your note of today was handed me by General Whitesides. In that note you say you have been informed, through the medium of the editor of The Journal, that I am the author of certain articles in that paper which you deem personally abusive of you; and without stopping to inquire whether I really am the author, or to point out what is offensive in them, you demand an unqualified retraction of all that is offensive, and then proceed to hint at consequences.

  Now, sir, there is in this so much assumption of facts and so much of menace as to consequences, that I cannot submit to answer that note any further than I have, and to add that the consequences to which I suppose you allude would be matter of as great regret to me as it possibly could to you.

  MEMORANDUM OF INSTRUCTIONS TO E. H. MERRYMAN, LINCOLN’S SECOND IN THE LINCOLN-SHIELDS DUEL

  Merryman was a young Springfield doctor who was an expert swordsman. He probably did his best to get Lincoln entangled in a situation for which he had no heart. The conditions are very likely Merryman’s; the bloodthirsty manner in which the duel was to be fought could hardly have been thought up by the peacefully minded Lincoln. The Missouri side of the Mississippi River opposite Alton was chosen because the Illinois law forbade the fighting of duels. Fortunately for all concerned, some friends interceded, and the duel was called off just as the contestants were ready to go into action.

  September 19, 1842

  IN CASE Whitesides shall signify a wish to adjust this affair without further difficulty, let him know that if the present papers be withdrawn, and a note from Mr. Shields asking to know if I am the author of the articles of which he complains, and asking that I shall make him gentlemanly satisfaction if I am the author, and this without menace or dictation as to what that satisfaction shall be, a pledge is made that the following answer shall be given:

  “I did write the ‘Lost Townships’ letter which appeared in the Journal of the 2d instant, but had no participation in any form in any other article alluding to you. I wrote that wholly for political effect—I had no intention of injuring your personal or private character or standing as a man or a gentleman; and I did not then think, and do not now think, that that article could produce or has produced that effect against you; and had I anticipated such an effect I would have foreborne to write it. And I will add that your conduct toward me, so far as I know, had always been gentlemanly; and that I had no personal pique against you, and no cause for any.”

  If this should be done, I leave it with you to arrange what shall and what shall not be published. If nothing like this is done, the preliminaries of the fight are to be—

  FIRST. Weapons: Cavalry broadswords of the largest size, precisely equal in all respects, and such as now used by the cavalry company at Jacksonville.

  SECOND. Position: A plank ten feet long, and from nine to twelve inches broad, to be firmly fixed on edge, on the ground, as the line between us, which neither is to pass his foot over upon forfeit of his life. Next a line drawn on the ground on either side of said plank and parallel with it, each at the distance of the whole length of the sword and three feet additional from the plank; and the passing of his own such line by either party during the fight shall be deemed a surrender of the contest.

  THIRD. Time: On Thursday evening at five o’clock, if you can get it so; but in no case to be at a greater distance of time than Friday evening at five o’clock.

  FOURTH. Place: Within three miles of Alton, on the opposite side of the river, the particular spot to be agreed on by you.

  Any preliminary details coming within the above rules you are at liberty to make at your discretion; but you are in no case to swerve from these rules, or to pass beyond their limits.

  LETTER TO JOSHUA F. SPEED

  The seconds who had been so eager to push their principals forward in the Lincoln-Shields duel promptly fell to fighting among themselves. William Butler was Lincoln’s friend; Merryman appointed Lincoln as his second, and the situation then took on all the aspects of an old-fashioned French farce. This duel also ended without bloodshed. Much more important than the trivia of the duel, however, is Lincoln’s query to Speed: “Are you now in feeling as well as judgment glad that you are married as you are?” Lincoln was impatient to know the answer, as he might well be, for just one month after writing this letter he married Mary Todd.

  Springfield, October [4?], 1842

  DEAR SPEED: You have heard of my duel with Shields, and I have now to inform you that the dueling business still rages in this city. Day before yesterday Shields challenged Butler, who accepted, and proposed fighting next morning at sunrise in Bob Allen’s meadow, one hundred yards’
distance, with rifles. To this Whitesides, Shield’s second, said “No,” because of the law. Thus ended duel No. 2. Yesterday Whitesides chose to consider himself insulted by Dr. Merryman, so sent him a kind of quasi-challenge, inviting him to meet him at the Planter’s House in St. Louis on the next Friday, to settle their difficulty. Merryman made me his friend, and sent Whitesides a note, inquiring to know if he meant his note as a challenge, and if so, that he would, according to the law in such case made and provided, prescribe the terms of the meeting. Whitesides returned for answer that if Merryman would meet him at the Planter’s House as desired, he would challenge him. Merryman replied in a note that he denied Whiteside’s right to dictate time and place, but that he (Merryman) would waive the question of time, and meet him at Louisiana, Missouri. Upon my presenting this note to Whitesides and stating verbally its contents, he declined receiving it, saying he had business in St. Louis, and it was as near as Louisiana. Merryman then directed me to notify Whitesides that he should publish the correspondence between them, with such comments as he thought fit. This I did. Thus it stood at bedtime last night. This morning Whitesides, by his friend Shields, is praying for a new trial, on the ground that he was mistaken in Merryman’s proposition to meet him at Louisiana, Missouri, thinking it was the State of Louisiana. This Merryman hoots at, and is preparing his publication; while the town is in a ferment, and a street fight somewhat anticipated.

  But I began this letter not for what I have been writing, but to say something on that subject which you know to be of such infinite solicitude to me. The immense sufferings you endured from the first days of September till the middle of February you never tried to conceal from me, and I well understood. You have now been the husband of a lovely woman nearly eight months. That you are happier now than the day you married her I well know, for without you could not be living. But I have your word for it, too, and the returning elasticity of spirits which is manifested in your letters. But I want to ask a close question, “Are you now in feeling as well as judgment glad that you are married as you are?” From anybody but me this would be an impudent question, not to be tolerated; but I know you will pardon it in me. Please answer it quickly, as I am impatient to know. I have sent my love to your Fanny so often, I fear she is getting tired of it. However, I venture to tender it again.

  LETTER TO SAMUEL D. MARSHALL

  This letter is of no importance except for its last sentence which is filled with poignant significance, for Lincoln wrote it when he had been married just one week.

  Springfield, November 11, 1842

  DEAR SAM: Yours of the 10th Oct. enclosing five dollars was taken from the office in my absence by Judge Logan who neglected to hand it to me till about a week ago, and just an hour before I took a wife.…

  I have looked into the Dorman & Lane case, till I believe I understand the facts of it; and I also believe we can reverse it. In the last I may be mistaken, but I think the case at least worth the experiment, and if Dorman will risk the cost, I will do my best for the “biggest kind of a fee” as you say, if we succeed, and nothing if we fail. I have not had a chance to consult Logan since I read your letters, but if the case comes up, I can have the use of him if I need him.

  I would advise you to procure the Record and send it up immediately. Attend to the making out of the Record yourself, or most likely, the clerk will not get it all together right.

  Nothing new here, except my marrying, which to me, is matter of profound wonder.

  LETTER TO RICHARD S. THOMAS

  Shortly after his marriage, Lincoln began a long campaign to become a United States Congressman. He had finished his last term in the State Legislature early in 1841—he was compelled to wait until August, 1846, to be elected to Congress. That he wanted very much to go is clearly indicated by this letter.

  Springfield, Illinois, February 14, 1843

  FRIEND RICHARD:… Now if you should hear any one say that Lincoln don’t want to go to Congress, I wish you as a personal friend of mine, would tell him you have reason to believe he is mistaken. The truth is, I would like to go very much. Still, circumstances may happen which may prevent my being a candidate.

  If there are any who be my friends in such an enterprise, what I now want is that they shall not throw me away just yet.

  LETTER TO JOSHUA F. SPEED

  Lincoln was disappointed in his ambition to receive the Whig nomination for Congress; the Sangamon County Whigs chose Edward D. Baker as their candidate. Baker was a good friend of Lincoln’s. He was a brilliant orator, and he later distinguished himself in politics and on the field of battle in the Mexican War and in the Civil War. He was killed at Ball’s Bluff on October 21, 1861. Lincoln named his second son after him. The allusion to a coming child at the end of this letter indicates that Lincoln had promised to name his first born son after Speed. Mrs. Lincoln evidently had something to say in the matter, for the child was named Robert Todd Lincoln after her father.

  Springfield, March 24, 1843

  DEAR SPEED: We had a meeting of the Whigs of the county here on last Monday to appoint delegates to a district convention; and Baker beat me, and got the delegation instructed to go for him. The meeting, in spite of my attempt to decline it, appointed me one of the delegates; so that in getting Baker the nomination I shall be fixed a good deal like a fellow who is made a groomsman to a man who has cut him out and is marrying his own dear “gal.” About the prospects of your having a namesake at our town, can’t say exactly yet.

  LETTER TO MARTIN M. MORRIS

  Morris was a friend of Lincoln’s living near New Salem which by this time was in Menard County. Lincoln writes a political letter to him on the coming Congressional nomination. According to Morris, Lincoln was still strong in Menard County because of his former residence at New Salem. Lincoln, although appointed a delegate for Baker, is willing to see if he can still pull the nomination out of the fire. His marriage with Mary Todd with its aristocratic connections is telling against him among the plain country people; so is his reputation for agnosticism. James Short, to whom Lincoln refers, was a New Salem farmer, who had once refunded a debt for Lincoln in order to save his personal property from being seized. It is interesting to note that the Whig nomination for the district was given to neither Baker nor Lincoln, but to John J. Hardin, who was elected to Congress in August, 1843.

  Springfield, Illinois, March 26, 1843

  FRIEND MORRIS: Your letter of the 23d was received on yesterday morning, and for which (instead of an excuse, which you thought proper to ask) I tender you my sincere thanks. It is truly gratifying to me to learn that while the people of Sangamon have cast me off, my old friends of Menard, who have known me longest and best, stick to me. It would astonish, if not amuse, the older citizens to learn that I (a stranger, friendless, uneducated, penniless boy, working on a flatboat at ten dollars per month) have been put down here as the candidate of pride, wealth, and aristocratic family distinction. Yet so, chiefly, it was. There was, too, the strangest combination of church influence against me. Baker is a Campbellite; and therefore, as I suppose, with few exceptions got all that church. My wife has some relations in the Presbyterian churches, and some with the Episcopal churches; and therefore, wherever it would tell, I was set down as either the one or the other, while it was everywhere contended that no Christian ought to go for me, because I belonged to no church, was suspected of being a deist, and had talked about fighting a duel. With all these things, Baker, of course, had nothing to do. Nor do I complain of them. As to his own church going for him, I think that was right enough, and as to the influences I have spoken of in the other, though they were very strong, it would be grossly untrue and unjust to charge that they acted upon them in a body, or were very near so. I only mean that those influences levied a tax of a considerable percent upon my strength throughout the religious controversy. But enough of this.

  You say that in choosing a candidate for Congress you have an equal right with Sangamon, and in this you are undoubtedly
correct. In agreeing to withdraw if the Whigs of Sangamon should go against me, I did not mean that they alone were worth consulting, but that if she, with her heavy delegation, should be against me, it would be impossible for me to succeed, and therefore I had as well decline. And in relation to Menard having rights, permit me fully to recognize them, and to express the opinion, that if she and Mason act circumspectly, they will in the convention be able so far to enforce their rights as to decide absolutely which one of the candidates shall be successful. Let me show the reason of this. Hardin, or some other Morgan candidate, will get Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, Tazewell, and Logan—making sixteen. Then you and Mason, having three, can give the victory to either side.

  You say you shall instruct your delegates for me, unless I object. I certainly shall not object. That would be too pleasant a compliment for me to tread in the dust. And besides, if anything should happen (which, however, is not probable) by which Baker should be thrown out of the fight, I would be at liberty to accept the nomination if I could get it. I do, however, feel myself bound not to hinder him in any way from getting the nomination. I should despise myself were I to attempt it. I think, then, it would be proper for your meeting to appoint three delegates, and to instruct them to go for some one as a first choice, some one else as a second, and perhaps some one as a third; and if in those instructions I were named as the first choice, it would gratify me very much. If you wish to hold the balance of power, it is important for you to attend to and secure the vote of Mason also. You should be sure to have men appointed delegates that you know you can safely confide in. If yourself and James Short were appointed from your county, all would be safe; but whether Jim’s woman affair a year ago might not be in the way of his appointment is a question. I don’t know whether you know it, but I know him to be as honorable a man as there is in the world. You have my permission, and even request, to show this letter to Short; but to no one else, unless it be a very particular friend, who you know will not speak of it.