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The Gettysburg Address 
 
 WHEN WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, 
 ITS TRUE FORM 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT 
 
 Reprinted from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy for October , /pop 
 
 Printed by 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
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 Richard Barksdale Harwell 
 
THE GETTYSBURG 
 
 WHEN 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, 
 ITS TRUE FORM 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT 
 
 Reprinted From “The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, m 
 
 October, 1909 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 1909 
 
nAKVAHD COLLEGE 
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 THE BEQUEST Of 
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 The Standard Version. — President Lincoln’s Final Revision. 
 
 Photographed from the fac-simile first published in “Autograph Reaves of Our 
 Country’s Authors,” Baltimore, 1864. 
 
 (Reduced) 
 
THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. 
 
 WHEN WRITTEN, HOW RECEIVED, ITS TRUE FORM. 
 
 BY MAJOR WILLIAM H. LAMBERT. 
 
 [Read before the Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania, Military 
 Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, February 14, 1906 ; 
 and before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, February 8, 1909.] 
 
 The most notable of the series of speeches made by 
 Abraham Lincoln after leaving Springfield, and while on 
 his way to Washington for his inauguration as President, 
 was that made in this city in Independence Hall, and in- 
 spired by its sacred memories ; and the most famous of his 
 addresses as President was delivered at the dedication of the 
 Soldiers’ National Cemetery on the battlefield of Gettysburg. 
 
 Consideration of these remarkable utterances upon the 
 soil of our State would seem appropriate by the Historical 
 Society of Pennsylvania at this time of commemoration ot 
 the centenary of Lincoln’s birth; and your attention is in- 
 vited to the circumstances attending the delivery of the 
 Gettysburg Address, as described in some of the accounts 
 of the dedication, which I present in an endeavor to de- 
 termine what was the origin of the address, how it was 
 received, and what is its true form, for, strange as it may 
 appear, widely differing answers are given to these several 
 questions. 
 
 President Lincoln left Washington for Gettysburg at 
 noon on Wednesday, November 18, 1863, in a special train 
 consisting of four passenger coaches; he was accompanied 
 by a large party that included members of his Cabinet, 
 several foreign ministers, his private secretaries, officers of 
 the Army and Navy, a military guard, and newspaper cor- 
 respondents; the train arrived at Gettysburg about dark. 
 Mr. Lincoln spent the night at the house of David Wills, 
 
2 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 Governor Curtin’s representative and the active agent in 
 the establishment of the Soldiers’ Cemetery. 
 
 Arnold, in his “ History of Lincoln and the Overthrow 
 of Slavery,” asserts that the President “while on his way 
 from the White House to the battlefield was notified that 
 he would be expected to make some remarks,” and that 
 asking for some paper a rough sheet of foolscap was handed 
 to him; “retiring to a seat by himself, with a pencil he 
 wrote the address.” 
 
 Similarly Ben Perley Poore says in his “ Reminiscences 
 of Lincoln ” that “ his remarks at Gettysburg * * * were 
 written in the car on his way from Washington to the 
 battlefield, upon a piece of pasteboard held on his knee.” 
 In the beautiful story by Mrs. Andrews entitled “The 
 Perfect Tribute,” which, because of its wide circulation in 
 the magazine in which it first appeared, and subsequently 
 as a daintily printed book, has done much to form popular 
 opinion of the composition and delivery of the Address, it 
 is said that the President after gazing wistfully across the 
 car at Edward Everett — who was not in it, having pre- 
 viously gone to Gettysburg by another route — appealed to 
 Secretary Seward for the brown paper he had just re- 
 moved from a package of books : “ May I have this to do 
 a little writing ? ” and then with a stump of a pencil labored 
 for hours over his speech. 
 
 On the contrary, General James B. Fry, who was present 
 in the car as one ot the escort, says that he is confident that 
 the assertion that the Address was written in the train en 
 route to Gettysburg is an error, and states, “ I have no 
 recollection of seeing him writing or even reading his 
 speech during the journey, in fact there was hardly any 
 opportunity for him to read or write.” Hicolay, the senior 
 of the President’s private secretaries, in an interesting and 
 highly valuable paper on the Gettysburg Address, says, 
 “ There is neither record, evidence, nor well founded tradi- 
 tion that Mr. Lincoln did any writing or made any notes 
 on the journey between Washington and Gettysburg,” 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 3 
 
 the many interruptions incident to the journey, together 
 with the rocking and jolting of the train, made writing 
 virtually impossible. 
 
 In Mowry’s “ History of the United States for Schools,” 
 published in 1896, it is said : “ There is conclusive evidence 
 that the words of the address were not written out until after 
 the Presidential party had arrived upon the ground” ; and 
 in an appendix it is stated : “ The following account of how 
 the address was written was received directly from the lips 
 of ex-Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, who was present 
 on the occasion and knew whereof he affirmed. Governor 
 Curtin said that after the arrival of the party from Wash- 
 ington, while the President and his Cabinet, Edward Ever- 
 ett, the orator of the day, Governor Curtin, and others were 
 sitting in the parlor of the hotel, the President remarked 
 that he understood that the committee expected him to say 
 something. He would, therefore, if they would excuse him, 
 retire to the next room and see if he could w’rite out some- 
 thing. He was absent some time, and upon returning to 
 the company had in his hand a large-sized, yellow govern- 
 ment envelope. The President sat down, and remarked 
 that he had written something, and with their permission he 
 would like to read it to them, and invited them to criticise 
 it. After reading what he had written upon the envelope, 
 he asked for any suggestions they might make; Secretary 
 Seward volunteered one or two comments, which Mr. Lin- 
 coln accepted and incorporated. Then he said, 4 How, gen- 
 tlemen, if you will excuse me again, I will copy this off/ 
 and returning again made a fresh copy to read from.” 
 
 A somewhat different account of Governor Curtin’s 
 recollection is given by Hon. Horatio King in his “ Turning 
 on the Light,” wherein he writes that in 1885 at Gettys- 
 burg the Governor said : “ I saw Mr. Lincoln writing this 
 address in Mr. Wills’ house on a long yellow envelope. He 
 may have written some of it before. He said 4 1 will go and 
 show it to Seward,’ who stopped at another house, which 
 he did and then returned and copied his speech on a fools- 
 
4 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 cap sheet.” Mr. King adds that the Governor expressed 
 extreme regret that he had not secured that envelope on 
 which he most positively declared he saw Mr. Lincoln writ- 
 ing his Address as above described. 
 
 The Hon. Edward McPherson of Gettysburg, for many 
 years Clerk of the House of Representatives, said in 1875, 
 in a newspaper communication, that after Mr. Lincoln had 
 retired to his room on the night of the 18th he sent for his 
 host and “ inquired the order of exercises for the next day 
 and began to put in writing what he called some stray 
 thoughts to utter on the morrow.” Mr. Wills believed that 
 the Address was written in his house and said in 1893, as he 
 had earlier, that the President read “ from the same paper 
 on which I had seen him writing it the night before.” 
 
 Prof. Draper in his “ History of the American Civil 
 War,” one of the most scholarly and philosophic of the his- 
 tories of the Rebellion, asserts that when the President rose 
 to speak “ he unpremeditatedly and solemnly said, ‘ It is 
 intimated to me that this assemblage expects me to say 
 something on this occasion.’ ” 
 
 Noah Brooks, newspaper correspondent at Washington 
 during the war, who, having been acquainted with Mr. Lin- 
 coln in Illinois, was on terms of friendly intimacy and has 
 written much about him, declared that a few days prior to 
 the 19th of November, 1863, Mr. Lincoln told him that 
 Mr. Everett had kindly sent him a copy of his oration in 
 order that the same ground might not be gone over by 
 both ; the President added, “ There is no danger that I 
 shall, my speech is all blocked out — it is very short.” In 
 answer to the question whether the speech was written, he 
 said, “N"ot exactly written — it is not finished anyway.” 
 Brooks further asserted that the speech was written and re- 
 written many times, and revised somewhat after Mr. Lin- 
 coln's arrival at Gettysburg. 
 
 Ward H. Lamon, a personal friend and associate of Mr. 
 Lincoln before the war, accompanied him from Springfield 
 to Washington, was appointed Marshal of the District of 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 5 
 
 Columbia, and had confidential relations with the President 
 throughout his administration, and was the Chief Marshal 
 of the ceremonies at Gettysburg; and he devoted a chapter 
 of his “ Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1865,” to 
 the Gettysburg Address, in which he writes : “A day or two 
 before the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettys- 
 burg, Mr. Lincoln told me that he would be expected to 
 make a speech on the occasion ; that he was extremely 
 busy, and had no time for preparation ; and that he greatly 
 feared that he would not be able to acquit himself with 
 credit, much less to fill the measure of public expectation.” 
 Lamon says he was shown “ a sheet of foolscap, one side of 
 which was closely written with what he informed me was a 
 memorandum of his intended address. This he read to me, 
 first remarking that it was not at all satisfactory to him. It 
 proved to be in substance, if not in exact words, what was 
 afterwards printed in his famous Gettysburg speech.” 
 
 A newspaper paragraph, the original date and source of 
 which are unknown to me, alleges that Senator Cameron 
 had asserted that he had seen a draft of the address in the 
 White House before the President left Washington. 
 
 Such are the divergent testimonies concerning the prep- 
 aration of the Address. Fortunately there exists documen- 
 tary evidence to substantiate the statements of Brooks and 
 Lamon and Cameron, and to establish conclusively that 
 the Address was the outcome of deliberation and careful 
 thought. 
 
 The formal invitation to the President was written on the 
 2nd of November and specifically stated that “ it is the 
 desire that you as the Chief Executive of the Nation for- 
 mally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few 
 appropriate remarks.” In the article before referred to Nic- 
 olay says that Mr. Lincoln carried in his pocket the auto- 
 graph manuscript of so much of his Address as he had 
 written at Washington, and a facsimile reproduction of the 
 original draft is given. The first page of the manuscript is 
 written in ink and ends with an incompleted sentence, facts 
 
6 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 which justify Nicolay’s inference that at the time of writing 
 it in Washington the remainder of the sentence was also 
 written in ink on another sheet of paper. On the morning 
 of the 19th when, in Nicolay’s presence, the President fin- 
 ished writing his Address he used a lead pencil with which 
 he crossed out the last three words of the first page and 
 wrote other words above them and on another sheet wrote 
 the remainder of the Address, in substance about one-third 
 of the whole ; this second page is also produced in facsimile. 
 This manuscript consisting of two pages was in Mr. Lin- 
 coln’s hands when he delivered his Address. Undoubtedly 
 the first page of this manuscript was part of the original 
 draft of the Address and the second page was the new draft 
 substituted for the cancelled original, there being probably 
 some immaterial differences between the two versions. 
 
 Another manuscript exists, which is now in the possession 
 of the family of the late John Hay, who as one of the Pres- 
 ident’s private secretaries was present at the dedication. 
 This manuscript, which is in the President’s autograph, 
 is reproduced in facsimile in Putnam's Magazine for Feb- 
 ruary, 1909, in connection with “ Recollections of Lincoln” 
 by Gen. James Grant Wilson, who believes the manuscript 
 was written after the President’s return from Gettysburg. 
 
 The Hay manuscript is undoubtedly the second existing 
 draft of the address, but because of information obtained 
 from Col. John P. Nicholson, to whom it was imparted by 
 Secretary Hay, I am convinced that this manuscript was 
 written before November 19, 1863, and that it was inad- 
 vertently left at Washington. This opinion is further 
 strengthened by the internal evidence of the manuscript 
 itself. 
 
 The second page of the Nicolay manuscript is almost 
 identical with the corresponding page of the Hay manu- 
 script, but the latter in its entirety conforms much more 
 closely to the Address as actually delivered than the Nico- 
 lay and justifies the belief that the Hay was the final draft 
 of the complete Address before its delivery. Neither man- 
 
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 (Reduced) 
 

 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 7 
 
 uscript was written after the delivery of the Address, for 
 neither contains the notable addition of the words 44 under 
 God,” that were interpolated by the President when he 
 spoke, and which he would not have omitted from any sub- 
 sequent transcript. 
 
 Whatever revision may have been given to the Address 
 en route to or at Gettysburg, whatever changes or additions 
 may have been made in its delivery, the Address existed 
 in substantially completed form before the President left 
 W ashington. 
 
 There can be no doubt that he had given prolonged and 
 earnest thought to the preparation of this Address ; he had 
 had more than two weeks’ notice that he was desired to 
 speak ; and although the demands upon his time and atten- 
 tion were such as to allow him little opportunity for unin- 
 terrupted thought, he appreciated the momentousness of 
 the occasion, he knew how much was expected of him, and 
 what was due to the honored dead, and he did not trust to 
 the inspiration of the moment or rely upon his readiness as 
 an impromptu speaker when he dedicated the Soldiers’ 
 Cemetery at Gettysburg, for he had wrought and rewrought 
 until there came into perfect form the noblest tribute to a 
 cause and its heroes ever rendered by human lips. 
 
 The Address has been so long and so generally accepted 
 as the highest expression of American oratory, that it is 
 difficult to realize that it ever had less appreciation than 
 now. The testimonies of those who heard the Address 
 delivered differ widely as to the reception given it and as 
 to the impression it made. 
 
 In the 44 History of the Battle of Gettysburg ” (published 
 in 1875) Samuel P. Bates in giving an account of the dedi- 
 cation ceremonies quotes the Address and says : 44 Its de- 
 livery was more solemn and impressive than is possible to 
 conceive from its perusal. Major Harry T. Lee, who was 
 one of the actors in the battle and who was present upon 
 the platform at the dedication, says that the people listened 
 
8 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 with marked attention throughout the two hours that Mr. 
 Everett spoke ****** but that when Mr. Lincoln 
 came forward and, with a voice burdened with emotion, 
 uttered these sublime words the bosoms of that vast audi- 
 ence were lifted as a great wave of the sea ; and that when 
 he came to the passage, 4 The brave men living and dead, 
 who struggled here,’ there was not a dry eye.* * * * ” 
 
 Arnold in his life of Lincoln (1885), after citing the 
 Address, states: “ Before the first sentence was completed, a 
 thrill of feeling like an electric shock pervaded the crowd. 
 That mysterious influence called magnetism, which some- 
 times so affects a popular assembly, spread to every heart. 
 The vast audience was instantly hushed and hung upon his 
 every word and syllable. Every one felt that it was not the 
 honored dead only, but the living actor and speaker that 
 the world for all time to come would note and remember, 
 and that the speaker in the thrilling words he was uttering 
 was linking his name forever with the glory of the dead. 
 * * * jyi his hearers realized that the great actor in the 
 
 drama stood before them, and that the words he said would 
 live as long as the language ; that they were words which 
 would be recollected in all future ages among all peoples, 
 as often as men should be called upon to die for liberty and 
 country. As he closed, and the tears and sobs and cheers 
 which expressed the emotions of the people subsided, he 
 turned to Everett and, grasping his hand, said, 4 1 congratu- 
 late you on your success.’ The orator gratefully replied, 
 4 Ah ! Mr. President, how gladly would I exchange all my 
 hundred pages to have been the author of your twenty 
 lines.’ ” 
 
 Major Nickerson, of the 8th Ohio, who had been severely 
 wounded in the battle, was present at the dedication and 
 had a seat on the platform within a few feet of the speak- 
 ers, gave an account in Scribner’s Magazine, July, 1893, of 
 his 44 Two Visits to Gettysburg.” He says : 44 Others, too, 
 have differed as to the immediate effects of the President’s 
 remarks. I give the impressions received at the time, 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 9 
 
 which were also identical with those of all with whom I 
 spoke. I thought then and still think it was the shortest, 
 grandest speech to which I ever listened. * * * My 
 
 own emotions may perhaps be imagined when it is remem- 
 bered that he was facing the spot where only a short time 
 before we had our death grapple with Pickett’s men and 
 he stood almost immediately over the place where I had 
 lain and seen my comrades torn in fragments by the 
 enemy’s cannon-balls — think then, if you please, how these 
 words fell upon my ear.” Then, quoting a portion of the 
 Address, the Major adds : “ If at that moment the Supreme 
 Being had appeared with an offer to undo my past life, 
 give back to me a sound body free from the remembrance 
 even of sufferings past and the imminence of those that must 
 necessarily embitter all the years to come, I should have 
 indignantly spurned the offer, such was the effect upon me 
 of this immortal dedication.” 
 
 Robert Miller, who had been the Adjutant of an Ohio 
 Regiment of 100 days’ volunteers, was a member of the 
 Ohio Legislature and attended the dedication ceremonies, 
 stated in a letter published in the Eaton, Ohio, Register, 
 November 30, 1863: “The tall form of the President ap- 
 peared on the stand and never before have I seen a crowd 
 so vast and restless, after standing so long, so soon stilled 
 and quieted. Hats were removed and all stood motionless 
 to catch the first words he should utter, and as he slowly, 
 clearly, and without the least sign of embarrassment read 
 and spoke for ten minutes you could not mistake the 
 feeling and sentiment of the vast multitude before him. 
 I am convinced that the speech of the President has fully 
 confirmed and I think will confirm all loyal men and 
 women in the belief that Abraham Lincoln, though he 
 may have made mistakes, is the right man in the right 
 place.” 
 
 The Commissioners representing Massachusetts at the 
 dedication, in their report to Governor Andrew, say, “ The 
 brief speech of President Lincoln * * * * made a 
 
10 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 profound impression ” ; and that it was spoken with great 
 deliberation. The correspondent of the Boston Daily 
 Advertiser, who was probably one of the Commissioners, in 
 his letter to that paper expressed a similar view and added 
 that the remarks “ seemed to he emphatically the right 
 words in the right place.” 1 
 
 A committee from the city of Boston attending the dedi- 
 cation reported : “ Perhaps nothing in the whole proceed- 
 ings made so deep an impression on the vast assemblage or 
 has conveyed to the country in so concise a form the lesson 
 of the hour, as the remarks of the President, their sim- 
 plicity and force make them worthy of a prominence 
 among the utterances from high places.” 2 
 
 The opinions of these Commissioners and of Lieutenant 
 Miller are especially valuable because expressed and recorded 
 immediately after they had heard the address. 
 
 John Russell Young, who was present on the speaker’s 
 platform as representative of the Philadelphia Press , in an 
 article published in 1891, based upon his recollections and 
 memoranda made at the time, says that the report made by 
 the Associated Press “ was studded with applause, hut I do 
 not remember the applause and am afraid the appreciative 
 reporter was more than generous — may have put in the ap- 
 plause himself as a personal expression of opinion. * * * * 
 I have read * * * of the emotions produced by the 
 
 President’s address, the transcendent awe that fell upon 
 every one who heard those most mighty and ever living 
 words, to be remembered with pride through the ages, I 
 have read of the tears that fell and the solemn hush, as 
 though in a cathedral solemnity in the most holy moment 
 of the Sacrifice. * * * There was nothing of this, to 
 
 the writer at least, in the Gettysburg Address.” 
 
 In Lamon’s account he professes to quote Mr. Lincoln’s 
 own opinion of his Address and says that, “ After its delivery 
 on the day of commemoration he expressed deep regret that 
 
 *Burrage: “Gettysburg and Lincoln,” p. 124. 
 
 *Burrage: “Gettysburg and Lincoln,” p. 125. 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 11 
 
 he had not prepared it with greater care. He said to me 
 on the stand immediately after concluding the speech : 
 4 Lamon, that speech won’t scour ! It is a flat failure and 
 the people are disappointed.’ He seemed deeply concerned 
 about what the people might think of his address, more 
 deeply, in fact, than I had ever seen him on any public 
 occasion. * * * The occasion was solemn, impressive, 
 
 and grandly historic. The people, it is true, stood appar- 
 ently spell-bound ; and the vast throng was hushed and 
 awed into profound silence, and attention to his words arose 
 more from the solemnity of the ceremonies and the awful 
 scenes which gave rise to them than from anything he had 
 said. He believed that the speech was a failure. He 
 thought so at the time and he never referred to it after- 
 wards in conversation with me, without some expression ot 
 unqualified regret that he had not made the speech better 
 in every way. On the platform from which Mr. Lincoln 
 delivered his address and only a moment after it was con- 
 cluded, Mr. Seward turned to Mr. Everett and asked him 
 what he thought of the President’s speech. Mr. Everett 
 replied, ‘It is not what I expected from him, I am disap- 
 pointed.’ Then in his turn Mr. Everett asked, 4 What do 
 you think of it, Mr. Seward ?’ The response was, 4 He has 
 made a failure and I am sorry for it. His speech is not 
 equal to him.’ Mr. Seward then turned to me and asked, 
 4 Mr. Marshal, what do you think of it ? ’ I answered, 4 1 
 am sorry to say that it does not impress me as one of his 
 great speeches.’ 
 
 44 In the face of these facts it has been repeatedly pub- 
 lished that this speech was received by the audience 
 with loud demonstrations of approval ; that amid the tears, 
 sobs, and cheers it produced in the excited throng, the 
 orator of the day, Mr. Everett, turned to Mr. Lincoln, 
 grasped his hand and exclaimed, 4 1 congratulate you on 
 your success,’ adding in a transport of heated enthusiasm, 
 4 Ah ! Mr. President, how gladly would I give my hundred 
 pages to be the author of your twenty lines ! ’ 
 
12 
 
 The Gettysburg Address . 
 
 “As a matter of fact, the silence during the delivery of 
 the speech, and the lack of hearty demonstration of 
 approval immediately after its close, were taken by Mr. 
 Lincoln as a certain proof that it was not well received. 
 In that opinion we all shared. If any person then present 
 saw, or thought he saw, the marvelous beauties of that won- 
 derful speech, as intelligent men in all lands now see and 
 acknowledge them, his superabundant caution closed his 
 lips and stayed his pen. * * * * I state it as a 
 
 fact, and without fear of contradiction, that this famous 
 Gettysburg speech was not regarded by the audience to 
 whom it was addressed, or by the press and people of 
 the United States, as a production of extraordinary merit, 
 nor was it commented on as such until after the death of 
 the author.” 
 
 While there may be some truth in Lamon’s narrative, and 
 the language ascribed to Lincoln seems natural and char- 
 acteristic, allowance should be made for the author’s idio- 
 syncrasies as exhibited in the “ Life of Lincoln ” published 
 in 1872, that, purporting to have been written by Lamon, 
 and was based upon information that had been secured by 
 him, was really written by Chauncey F. Black, son of Presi- 
 dent Buchanan’s Attorney-General. Certainly Lamon’s 
 assertion concerning Everett’s criticism of the Address is 
 not consistent with his letter to the President on the follow- 
 ing day, in which, after thanking Mr. Lincoln for the kind- 
 ness shown himself and his daughter at Gettysburg, Mr. 
 Everett said: “ Permit me also to express my great admi- 
 ration of the thoughts expressed by you with such eloquent 
 simplicity and appropriateness at the consecration of the 
 Cemetery. I should be glad if I could hatter myself that 
 I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours 
 as you did in two minutes.” 
 
 The President’s reply was characteristically modest; I 
 quote the reference to himself : “ In our respective parts 
 yesterday you could not have been excused to make a short 
 address nor I long one. I am pleased to know that in your 
 judgment the little I did say was not a failure.” 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 13 
 
 Mr. Clark E. Carr, who was present at Gettysburg as a 
 Commissioner from Illinois, is the author of an address, 
 “ Lincoln at Gettysburg,” in which he quotes liberally 
 and with approval from Lam on and from Nicolay, and 
 also gives his own impressions concerning the President/s 
 Address, saying : “ His expressions were so plain and 
 
 homely, without any attempt at rhetorical periods, and his 
 statements were so axiomatic, and, I may say, matter-of-fact, 
 and so simple, that I had no idea that as an address it was 
 anything more than ordinary.” But he adds, “ Every one 
 was impressed with his sincerity and earnestness,” and, 
 “ There was one sentence that did deeply affect me — the 
 only one in which the President manifested emotion. With 
 the close of that sentence his lips quivered, and there was 
 a tremor in his voice which I can never forget. * * * 
 
 The sentence was, ‘ The world will little note, nor long 
 remember what we say here, but it can never forget what 
 they did here.’ ” 
 
 This sentence that so impressed Mr. Carr attracted the 
 attention of George William Curtis, who, in Harper's Weekly , 
 December 5, 1863, said of the Address, but with special ref- 
 erence to the sentence quoted: “ The few words of the 
 President were from the heart to the heart, they can not 
 be read even without kindly emotion. It was as simple 
 and felicitous and earnest a word as was ever spoken.” 
 
 However the various narratives may differ as to the degree 
 of appreciation of the Address, all agree that the Presi- 
 dent was accorded most respectful attention and that his 
 bearing and demeanor were appropriate to the solemn occa- 
 sion. I have found no evidence to justify the statements in 
 “ The Perfect Tribute” that the effect on the audience of the 
 President’s voice was ghastly and with his gaunt figure too 
 much for the American crowd’s sense of humor, and that 
 a suppressed yet unmistakable titter caught and ran through 
 the throng. It is unfortunate that this popular story should 
 promulgate such a travesty of fact. 
 
 The circumstances attending the delivery of the Address 
 
14 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 were not such as to conduce to its full appreciation. The 
 procession that had escorted the President to the field had 
 been greatly belated, and after his arrival upon the plat- 
 form the proceedings were still further delayed, awaiting 
 the arrival of the orator of the day. Mr. Everett’s oration, 
 that had been preceded by a prayer of some length and by 
 music, was of two hours’ duration, so that when the Presi- 
 dent spoke it was to an audience that had been standing for 
 nearly four hours. 
 
 The brevity of the speech, the absence of rhetorical 
 effort, and its very simplicity prevented its full appreciation. 
 Nicolay’s statement seems to accord with the facts, and as a 
 devoted admirer of his Chief he would naturally incline to 
 enhance rather than to minimize the effect of the Address 
 upon the audience. 
 
 “ There is every probability that the assemblage regarded 
 Mr. Everett as the mouthpiece, the organ of expression, ot 
 the thought and feeling of the hour, and took it for granted 
 that Mr. Lincoln was there as a mere official figurehead, 
 the culminating decoration, so to speak, of the elaborately 
 planned pageant of the day. They were therefore totally 
 unprepared for what they heard and could not immediately 
 realize that his words, and not those of the carefully 
 selected orator, were to carry the concentrated thought ot 
 the occasion like a trumpet-peal to farthest posterity.” 
 
 Undoubtedly there were many in the audience who fully 
 appreciated the beauty and pathos of the President’s Ad- 
 dress, and many of those who read it on the following day 
 perceived its wondrous character; but it is apparent that 
 its full force and grandeur were not generally recognized 
 then, either by its auditors or its readers. Not until the 
 war itself had ended and the great leader had fallen did the 
 Nation realize that this speech had given to Gettysburg 
 another claim to immortality and to American eloquence 
 its highest glory. 
 
 The variations between the several contemporary ver- 
 sions of the Address and its many subsequent reproductions 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 15 
 
 are remarkable, particularly in view of its brevity and im- 
 portance. Attention has more than once been attracted to 
 these variations; and because of the differences between 
 the earlier reports and the version published in autographic 
 facsimile in 1864, it has been assumed that the discrepan- 
 cies were due either to blunders on the part of reporters, or 
 to their attempts to improve the President’s composition. 
 But examination of a number of versions forces the conclu- 
 sion that while some of the minor variations in the news- 
 paper reports were caused by typographical or telegraphic 
 errors, the rhetorical differences between these reports and 
 the later version were plainly the result of the author’s 
 own revision. 
 
 The reports of the Address, published November 20, 
 1868, in the Ledger , the North American, the Press , and the 
 Bulletin of this city, in the Tribune and the Herald of New 
 York, in the Advertiser and the Journal of Boston, and in 
 the Springfield Republican, and on the 23d in the Cincinnati 
 Commercial , were furnished by the Associated Press. The 
 reports printed in the Philadelphia papers named agree 
 with the exception of obvious misprints. The New York 
 papers agree with a single exception, probably a typo- 
 graphical error; the Boston papers also agree substantially 
 with but three verbal variations. But the respective ver- 
 sions of the several cities differ from each other in a number 
 of details, probably because of errors in telegraphing the 
 reports from Gettysburg. 
 
 The reports of the Address published in the Philadelphia 
 Inquirer and in the Cincinnati Gazette , November 20 and 
 21 respectively, differ materially from each other and from 
 the Associated Press report, and are apparently independent 
 in source ; lacking in completeness, they seem to be para- 
 phrases rather than literal reports, and are probably free 
 renderings of notes made at the time, but are valuable so 
 far as they go, in aiding to determine which of the other 
 reports most nearly represents the words actually spoken. 
 
 Another independent report of greater value is that made 
 
16 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 by the Massachusetts Commissioners, which they assert is 
 “ in the correct form as the words actually spoken by the 
 President, with great deliberation, were taken down by one 
 of” themselves. The differences between their report and 
 that printed in the North American , which is freer from 
 obvious errors than any other version of the Associated 
 Press report that I have seen, are slight. 
 
 Nicolay says that the President did not read from the 
 written pages, and that he did not deliver the Address in 
 the form in which it was first written, but from the fulness 
 of thought and memory rounded it out nearly to its final 
 rhetorical completeness. Brooks states that as Mr. Lincoln 
 read from the manuscript he made a few verbal changes. 
 
 Comparison of the several reports named leads to the con- 
 clusion that the President, remembering what he had written 
 in the Hay manuscript, delivered his Address in closer 
 accordance with it than with the Nicolay manuscript which 
 he held, but to which he referred little. The North American 
 report, which in my judgment reproduces the words spoken 
 more accurately than any other, and more closely than the 
 President’s final revision, differs from the Hay manuscript in 
 several instances, but materially only in the words “ under 
 God,” which were interpolated by the President as he spoke, 
 for the phrase does not appear either in the Nicolay or the 
 Hay manuscript, and in the use of u the ” instead of “ this ” 
 before “ government of the people.” 
 
 Nicolay says that a few days after the visit to Gettysburg, 
 upon receipt from Mr. Wills of a request on behalf of the 
 States interested in the National Cemetery for the original 
 manuscript of the Dedication Address, the President re- 
 examined his original draft and the version that had ap- 
 peared in the newspapers, and he saw that because of the 
 variations between them, the first, that is, the Nicolay, 
 seemed incomplete and the others imperfect; he therefore 
 directed his secretaries to make copies of the several reports 
 of the Associated Press and, “ comparing these with his 
 original draft and with his own fresh recollection of the 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 17 
 
 form in which he delivered it, he made a new autograph 
 copy, a careful and deliberate revision.” 
 
 What became of this first revision is unknown, it was 
 not received by Mr. Wills, who wrote me years ago : “ I 
 did not make a copy of my report of President Lincoln’s 
 speech at Gettysburg from a transcript from the original, 
 but from one of the press reports. I have since always 
 used the revised copy furnished the Baltimore fair, of which 
 I have a facsimile in lithograph.” 
 
 Other copies were made, one in February, 1864, at the 
 request of Mr. Everett, to be bound, with the manuscript of 
 his oration and Mr. Lincoln’s letter to him of November 20, 
 in a volume to be sold at the Metropolitan Fair for the 
 benefit of the United States Sanitary Commission. Still 
 another copy was made at the request of the Hon. George 
 Bancroft for the benefit of the Soldiers and Sailors Fair in 
 Baltimore ; this, having been written on both sides of a letter- 
 sheet, was unavailable for purposes of lithographic produc- 
 tion in facsimile, and Mr. Lincoln, in March, made another 
 copy, which was reproduced in “ Autograph Leaves of Our 
 Country’s Authors ” — a volume published for the benefit 
 of the fair. 
 
 This version exhibits the result of the author’s final revi- 
 sion, and, except in punctuation and in the use of “ on ” 
 instead of “upon” in the first sentence and in the omission 
 of “ here” between “ they” and “ gave” in the last sentence, 
 is identical with the version made at Mr. Everett’s request, 
 which is the earliest of the several existing revisions of 
 which I have been able to learn. 
 
 In an address so brief, but so momentous, every syllable 
 tells; and though the differences between the final revision 
 and the speech as actually delivered are few and seemingly 
 immaterial, the changes intensify its strength and pathos 
 and add to its beauty, and as so revised the speech cannot 
 be too jealously preserved as the ultimate expression of the 
 author’s sublime thought. Increasing appreciation of Lin- 
 coln’s character and of his fitness for the great work to 
 
18 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 which in the providence of God he was called enhances 
 the value of his every word, and surely the form by which 
 he intended this utterance should be judged is that in which 
 we should perpetuate the Gettysburg Address. 
 
 ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE 
 CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG. 
 
 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth 
 on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and 
 dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 
 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether 
 that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, 
 can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that 
 war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as 
 a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that 
 that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper 
 that we should do this. 
 
 But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not 
 consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave 
 men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated 
 it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world 
 will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it 
 can never forget what they did here. It is for us the liv- 
 ing, rather, to he dedicated here to the unfinished work 
 which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 
 It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task 
 remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take 
 increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the 
 last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve 
 that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this 
 nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and 
 that government of the people, by the people, for the peo- 
 ple, shall not perish from the earth. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 November 19, 1863. 
 
tej eq ^ fcj Sq cq fei tej fej fej fcq cq fej tcj fej cq 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 19 
 
 Appendices. 
 
 A. 
 
 Four versions compared. The first draft, the Nicolay ms. ; the second 
 draft, the Hay ms.; the Associated Press report from the North Ameri- 
 can, Philadelphia, Nov. 20, 1863 1 ; the final revision, Baltimore, 1864. 
 
 Nicolay. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
 
 Hay. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
 
 North American. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
 
 Baltimore. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
 
 forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, 
 
 forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, 
 
 A. forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty 
 
 forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, 
 
 and dedicated to the proposition that " all men are created equal ” 
 
 and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 
 
 A. and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, 
 
 and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 
 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
 A. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
 
 nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long 
 
 nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long 
 
 A. nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 
 
 nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 
 
 endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. 
 
 endure. We are met here on a great battle-field of that war. 
 
 A. endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war; 
 
 endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. 
 
 1 Notes of applause omitted. 
 
to is- bq % is- fcq isj ba ^ fcq ^ to ^ fcq is- bs faq ^ fco is- |5| ^ bo is- fej ^ fco ^ fcq b> to t<- fej ^ 
 
 20 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final rest- 
 
 We have come 1 * 3 to dedicate a portion of it as a J final rest- 
 
 A. we are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final rest- 
 
 We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final rest- 
 ing place for those who died here, that the nation might 
 
 ing place for 8 those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
 A . ing place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
 ing place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might 
 
 live. This we may, in all propriety do. 
 
 live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 
 A. live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, 
 live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 
 
 But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not con- 
 But in a larger sense we can not dedicate — we can not con- 
 A. but, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot con- 
 But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not con- 
 
 secrate — we can not hallow, this ground — The brave men, liv- 
 secrate — we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, liv- 
 A. secrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, liv- 
 secrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, liv- 
 
 ing and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above 
 ing and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above 
 A. ing and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above 
 ing and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above 
 
 our poor power to 
 our poor power to 
 A. our poor power to 
 our poor power to 
 
 add or 
 
 detract. 
 
 The 
 
 add or 
 
 detract. 
 
 The 
 
 add or to detract. 
 
 The 
 
 add or 
 
 detract. 
 
 The 
 
 world will little note, 
 world will little note, 
 world will little note, 
 world will little note, 
 
 nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget 
 
 nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget 
 
 A. nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget 
 
 nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget 
 
 what they did here. 
 
 what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedi- 
 
 A. what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedi- 
 
 what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedi- 
 
 1 In the Hay ms. Mr. Lincoln first wrote are met. See facsimile. 
 
 8 In the Hay ms. Mr. Lincoln first wrote the. See facsimile. 
 
 3 In the Hay ms. Mr. Lincoln first wrote of. See facsimile. 
 
to ■*! h) £ to to fn •*! {»» ta! hj Saj to Saj tq taj to £ bj to tq S* to taj tt) to Sa; !qj taj to £ tq £ 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 21 
 
 cated here to the unfinished work which they 
 A. cated here to the unfinished work that they 
 
 cated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
 
 It is rather for us, the liv- 
 
 have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us 
 
 A. have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us 
 
 have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us 
 
 ing, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before 
 
 to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before 
 A. here to be dedicated to the great task remaining before 
 
 to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before 
 
 us — that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
 
 us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
 
 A. us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
 
 us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
 
 that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of 
 
 that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of 
 
 A. that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of 
 
 that cause for which they gave the last full measure of 
 
 devotion — that we here highly resolve these dead shall not 
 
 devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
 
 A. devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
 
 devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
 
 have died in vain; that the nation, shall 
 
 have died in vain; that this nation shall 
 
 A. have died in vain. That the nation shall, under God, 
 
 have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall 
 
 have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the 
 
 have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the 
 
 A. have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the 
 
 have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the 
 
 people by the people for the people, shall not perish from 
 
 people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from 
 
 A. people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from 
 
 people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from 
 
 the earth, 
 the earth. 
 
 A. the earth, 
 the earth. 
 
22 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 B. 
 
 From Report of the Commissioners representing Massachusetts at the 
 Dedication of the National Cemetery. 
 
 Dedicatory Speech by President Lincoln. 
 
 Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this 
 continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the propo- 
 sition that all men are created equal. 
 
 Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation 
 — or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated — can long endure. 
 
 We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to dedi- 
 cate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who have given 1 
 their lives that that nation might live. 
 
 It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 
 
 But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we 
 cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
 struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power 2 to add or 
 to detract. 
 
 The world will very 3 little note nor long remember what we say here; 
 but it can never forget what they did here. 
 
 It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated , here, to the unfinished 
 work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to 
 be here 4 dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these 
 honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
 here gave the last full measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve 
 that these dead shall not have died in vain ; that the nation shall, under 
 
 1 North American (Associated Press) : here gave , and so other papers, 
 except Boston Journal, Boston Advertiser, and Cincinnati Gazette, which 
 have have given , and Inquirer, who gave. Hay and Baltimore : here 
 gave. Nicolay : who died here. 
 
 2 North American (Associated Press) : poor power, and so Nicolay, Hay, 
 and Baltimore. All but Philadelphia papers omit poor. 
 
 8 North American (Associated Press) omits very, and so all other papers 
 and Nicolay, Hay, and Baltimore. 
 
 4 North American (Associated Press): here to be, and so other Philadel- 
 phia papers, except Inquirer, which has neither phrase, and Cincinnati 
 Gazette. All other papers and Hay and Baltimore to be here. Nicolay : 
 here be. 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 23 
 
 God, have a new birth of freedom, and that 1 government of the people, 
 by the people, 2 for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 
 
 C. 
 
 Report in Philadelphia “Inquirer,” November 20, 1863. 
 
 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this 
 continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the propo- 
 sition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great 
 civil war, testing the question whether this nation or any nation so con- 
 ceived, so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on the great battle- 
 field of that war. We are met to dedicate it, on a portion of the field 
 set apart as the final resting place of those who gave their lives for the 
 nation’s life ; but the nation must live, and it is altogether fitting and 
 proper that we should do this. 
 
 In a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot 
 hallow this ground in reality. The number of men, living and dead, 
 who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor attempts to 
 add to its consecration. The world will little know and nothing remem- 
 ber of what we see here, but we cannot forget what these brave men 
 did here. 
 
 We owe this offering to our dead. We imbibe increased devotion to 
 that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion ; 
 we here might resolve that they shall not have died in vain ; that the 
 nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the Gov- 
 ernment of the people, for the people, and for all people, shall not 
 perish from earth. 
 
 — Same report in “The Compiler” (Gettysburg), November 23, 1863. 
 
 Report in Cincinnati “Daily Gazette ,” November 21, 1863. 
 
 Four score and seven years ago our fathers established upon this Con- 
 tinent a Government subscribed in liberty and dedicated to the funda- 
 mental principle that all mankind are created free and equal by a good 
 God. And now we are engaged in a great contest deciding the question 
 whether this nation or any nation so conserved, so dedicated, can long 
 remain. We are met on a great battle-field of the war. We are met 
 here to dedicate a portion of that field as the final resting place of those 
 who have given their lives that it might live. It is altogether fitting 
 and proper that we should do this. 
 
 1 North American (Associated Press) inserts the, and so other Philadel- 
 phia papers and Cincinnati Gazette. Hay inserts this. Other papers 
 and Nicolay and Baltimore agree with Massachusetts. 
 
 2 North American (Associated Press) inserts and, and so all other 
 papers. Nicolay, Hay, and Baltimore agree with Massachusetts. 
 
24 
 
 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 But in a large sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we 
 cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, the living and the dead, 
 who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add to 
 or detract from the work. Let us long remember what we say here, 
 but not forget what they did here. 
 
 It is for us rather, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
 work that they have thus far so nobly carried forward. It is for us here 
 to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us, for us to renew our 
 devotion to that cause for which they gave the full measure of their 
 devotion . Here let us resolve that what they have done shall not have 
 been done in vain ; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth 
 offered ; that the Government of the people, founded by the people, shall 
 not perish. 
 
 — Apparent typographical errors are as in original reports. 
 
 D. 
 
 “ From Pennsylvania Magazine , History and Biography October , 1909. 
 
 Centenary of Abraham Lincoln’s Birth. — 
 
 The Centenary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth was observed by the His- 
 torical Society of Pennsylvania at a Special Meeting, February 8, at 
 which Major William H. Lambert, a member of the Council, read a 
 paper entitled “ The Gettysburg Address, When Written, How Received, 
 its True Form”; and also by an Exhibition of Lincoln Autographs and 
 Relics, that continued through the week. In addition to the Society’s 
 own treasures, the following articles from Major Lambert’s Lincoln Col- 
 lection were shown : 
 
 Lock of Lincoln’s Hair, cut April 15, 1865. 
 
 Cuff Button worn by Lincoln April 14, 1 865. 
 
 Inkstand owned and used by Lincoln in his Springfield Law Office, 
 with certificate by his partner Herndon, that from this stand the 
 “House divided against itself” speech was written. 
 
 Cane owned and used by Lincoln, and presented by him to Rev. Dr. 
 Gurley, pastor of the Church attended by the President and his family 
 in Washington. 
 
 Cane presented to Lincoln in 1860, and after his death presented by 
 his widow to Frank B. Carpenter, the artist. 
 
 Books Owned by Lincoln and Containing his Autograph. 
 
 A Dictionary for Primary Schools — Webster — 1833. 
 
 Paley’s Works. 
 
 Gibbon’s Rome. 
 
 Hallam’s Middle Ages. 
 
 Angell on Limitations. 
 
 The Illinois Conveyancer. 
 
 Books Presented to Lincoln. 
 
 The Republican Party, speech by Charles Sumner, with his autograph 
 presentation. 
 
 Hitchcock’s Religious Truth, with autograph presentation by Herndon. 
 
The Gettysburg Address . 
 
 25 
 
 Books Used by Lincoln , Each with Certificate of that Fact. 
 
 Colton’s Life and Speeches of Henry Clay. 
 
 Speech of Stephen A. Douglas. 
 
 Books Presented by Lincoln with his Penciled Autograph 
 Inscription in Each. 
 
 Lincoln and Douglas Debates, 1860, with two A. L. S. of Lincoln 
 and one of Douglas, relating to contest, inserted. 
 
 Lanman’s Dictionary of Congress, 1859, with A. L. S. of Lincoln to 
 Lanman inserted. 
 
 Autographs of Lincoln. 
 
 “ Abraham Lincoln — His Book.” — Small blank book in which Lincoln 
 pasted clippings from newspaper reports of various speeches and wrote 
 notes and a letter to Hon. J. N. Brown, for whom the book was prepared. 
 
 Autograph page from “ Sum Book” signed by Lincoln and dated 1824. 
 
 Soldier’s Discharge in “Black Hawk War,” blanks filled by Lincoln, 
 who signed as Captain, September 26, 1832. 
 
 Autograph Document — Notes of Survey, 1836. 
 
 Autograph Praecipe in his first law suit, October 8, 1836. 
 
 A. L. S. to Hon. John T. Stuart, January 20, 1840. 
 
 A. L. S. to William H. Herndon, June 22, 1848. 
 
 A. L. S. to John D. Johnson (step-brother), November 25, 1851. 
 
 A. L. S. to Hon. John M. Palmer, September 7, 1854. 
 
 A. L. S. to John E. Rosette, February 20, 1857. 
 
 A. L. S. to Hon. Lyman Trumbull, April 29, 1860. 
 
 Note signed to the Secretary of the Interior, March 15, 1861. 
 
 A. N. S. to Lieut. Genl. Scott, August 7, 1861. 
 
 A. N. S. to General McClellan, September 30, 1861. 
 
 A. N. S. to Secretary of War, July 28, 1862. 
 
 A. L. S. to Governor Curtin, July 25, 1864. 
 
 A. L. S. to Dr. W. O. Snider, July 25, 1864. 
 
 A. L. S. to General Grant, City Point, April 6, 1865. 
 
 Nine visiting cards with Autograph notes signed on each, various dates. 
 
 A. L. S. of Col. J. E. Peyton to the Adjt. Genl. U. S. A. with favor- 
 able endorsements by several citizens of Philadelphia, and Mayor Henry, 
 Governor Curtin, and President Lincoln, but disapproved by the Secre- 
 tary of War. 
 
 Proposed measures for gradual and compensated abolition of slavery 
 in Delaware ; four pages in President Lincoln’s autograph. 
 
 Plan of Campaign for fall of 1861, two pages in autograph of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln. 
 
 Autograph manuscript of his Address at the opening of the Sanitary 
 Fair, Baltimore, April 18, 1864. 
 
 Autograph Manuscript— Thoughts upon Slavery. 
 
 Legal documents in Autograph of Lincoln, the several firm names 
 signed by him. 
 
 Stuart & Lincoln. 
 
 Logan & Lincoln. 
 
 Lincoln & Herndon. 
 
26 The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 Legal Documents in Autograph of Lincoln signed for himself and 
 associated counsel. 
 
 Lincoln & Lamon. 
 
 Whitney, Davis, Swett & Lincoln. 
 
 Autograph judicial opinion written by Lincoln at request of the Clerk 
 of the Court. 
 
 Lincoln and Herndon Fee Book, 1847. 
 
 Copper Medal, copy of Gold Medal given Mrs. Lincoln by French 
 citizens. 
 
 Lincoln Centennial Medals by Roin6, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. 
 
 Lincoln Medals by Brenner, Silver and Bronze. 
 
 Original Ambrotype, August 13, 1860. 
 
 Original Ambrotype. 
 
 Original Daguerreotype. 
 
 Twelve Contemporary Card Photographs. 
 
 Program of Arrangements for reception of President-Elect, Philadel- 
 phia, February 21, 1861. 
 
 Obsequies of President in Philadelphia, April 21, 1865. 
 
 Ticket of Admission to Independence Hall, April 21, 1865. 
 
 Ford’s Theatre Play-Bill, April 14, 1865, First Issue. 
 
 Ford’s Theatre Play-Bill, April 14, 1865, Second Issue. 
 
 Manuscript notes descriptive of the last hours of President Lincoln 
 and of the autopsy, written April 15, 1865, by Dr. C. S. Taft, one of 
 the attending Surgeons. 
 
 Autograph Copy by Walt Whitman of “ O Captain ! My Captain ! ” 
 
 Among the exhibits of the Historical Society were the following 
 original autograph letters : 
 
 Executive Mansion 
 
 Major General Grant. Washington, July 13, 1863. 
 
 My dear General. 
 
 I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this 
 now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you 
 have done the country. — I wish to say a word further — When you first 
 reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do, what you 
 finaly did — March the troops across the neck, run the batteries with 
 the transports, and then go below ; and I never had any faith, except a 
 general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedi- 
 tion, and the like, could succeed. When you got below, and took Port 
 Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the 
 river and join Gen. Banks, and when you turned Northward East of the 
 Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal 
 acknowledgment that you were right, and I was wrong. 
 
 Yours very truly 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Executive Mansion 
 
 Eliza P. Gurney. Washington September 4, 1864. 
 
 My esteemed friend, 
 
 I have not forgotten — probably never shall forget — the very impressive 
 occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon. 
 
The Gettysburg Address. 
 
 27 
 
 two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later 
 ever been forgotten. In all it has ever been your purpose to strengthen 
 my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good Christian people 
 of the country for their constant prayers and consolations ; and to no 
 one of them, more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are 
 perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accu- 
 rately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of 
 this terrible war long before this ; but God knows best, and has ruled 
 otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error 
 therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light he gives 
 us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. 
 Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, 
 which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay. 
 
 Your people — the Friends — have had, and are having a very great 
 trial. 
 
 On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can 
 only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some 
 have chosen one horn and some the other. For those appealing to me 
 on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could 
 and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you 
 believe this I doubt not, and believing it, I shall still receive, for our 
 country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in Heaven. 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 

 
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