973.7L53 
 B2K542L 
 
 Keifer, Joseph Warren. 
 "Lincoln as I knew Him." 
 
 
 /• A 
 
LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnasiknewhiOOkeif 
 
REMARKS 
 
 of 
 
 GENERAL J. WARREN KEIFER 
 
 at Wittenberg College Radio Broadcasting Station (WCSO) 
 
 Springfield, Ohio, February 11th, 1927 
 
 at 8:00 P. M., on 
 
 "LINCOLN AS I KNEW HIM" 
 
 I am thankful for the privilege, for the first time in 
 my life, of addressing a radio audience. I cannot know 
 how many are my hearers nor can I realize the won- 
 ders of such inventions. 
 
 We are all delighted to honor the memory of the 
 great American whose birthday is celebrated tomorrow. 
 Although he died almost 62 years ago he belongs to 
 the present era of American history. His career was 
 perhaps the most notable one in America and his life 
 ended at the age of 56. 
 
 Lincoln for a number of years before the Civil War 
 had been a distinguished lawyer and prominent public 
 man in Illinois, although probably not nationally known 
 until his famous debates with Douglas in the campaign 
 
of 1858, in which he was defeated for the Senatorship. 
 
 I was admitted to the ^r January 12, 1858, by the 
 Supreme Court of Ohio. Shortly thereafter I made a 
 journey to a number of places before finally locating 
 for the practice of the law. Chicago was one place I 
 visited, but it was apparently without promise. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1858, I was in Springfield, Illinois, attending a 
 session of the Supreme Court of Illinois. There I saw 
 and heard an ungainly appearing man who was reported 
 to me to be "Abe Lincoln." He was arguing the ap- 
 plication of a statute of limitations to a defective tax 
 title to land. He talked very much in a conversational 
 way to the judges, and they gave attention, and in a 
 Socratic way the discussion went on. I did not see 
 anything to specially attract attention to Mr. Lincoln, 
 save that he was awkward, ungainly in build, more 
 than plain in features, roughly clad, his clothes not fit- 
 ting him, his trousers being several inches too short, ex- 
 posing a long, large, unshapely foot. But he was even 
 then, by those who knew him best, regarded as intel- 
 lectually and professionally a great man. 
 
 Shortly thereafter I came to hear and know a great 
 

 deal about this crude looking lawyer, and in 1860, al- 
 though but 24 years of age, I took an active part in 
 that exciting campaign, making many speeches in sup- 
 port of Lincoln for the presidency. War then came 
 and I served under this great Commander-in-Chief from 
 the beginning of the War until his death. 
 
 When the final attack of the Army of the Potomac 
 upon the Confederate works defending Petersburg and 
 Richmond was about to begin, President Lincoln visited 
 the Army at the front. There I saw him on March 
 25, 1865, twenty days before his assassination. He was 
 at the time on horseback with General Wright, my 
 Corps Commander. I was engaged in directing an at- 
 tack upon a Confederate position under orders from 
 superior officers, and in making the attack in accordance 
 with the orders our forces were being driven back. I 
 rode up to see General Wright to protest against the 
 orders and to get authority to make the attack in an 
 effective way. In my eagerness to take up the matter 
 in hand with General Wright I probably addressed him 
 rather abruptly. He motioned to me somewhat to re- 
 press my eagerness and then introduced me to President 
 
Lincoln, who was on horseback watching the result of 
 the assault on the enemy's outer line of works. On 
 this occasion he looked much the same as on my first 
 seeing him, except better dressed. On both occasions he 
 appeared to be a sad man, thoughtful and serious. I 
 did not tarry long at the interview, for General Wright 
 ordered me to proceed as I suggested, and I was in 
 haste to join the forces then engaged. I am proud to 
 say that our movement then under the eye of the Presi- 
 dent of the United States was successful. The surrender 
 of Lee occurred 15 days later. 
 
 Lincoln lived to see slavery actually destroyed, not 
 only by his Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, but by 
 the effectual destruction of the Confederate forces, and 
 the Union of the States was preserved. 
 
 Less than ten years before his death Lincoln had 
 written "Our political problem now is, 'Can we as a na- 
 tion continue together permanently — forever — half slave, 
 and half free'? The problem is too mighty for me. 
 May God in His mercy superintend the solution." 
 
 Under God, within ten years after this was written, 
 Lincoln was the instrument for the solution of the 
 mighty problem. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
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