Lincoln President-Elect by Harold Holzer

Author:Harold Holzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Chapter Ten

No Occasion for Any Excitement

BOARDING YET ANOTHER flag-bedecked inaugural special, Lincoln resumed his journey to Washington on Thursday morning, February 14. After an 8 A.M. farewell to Columbus “amidst the cheers of a few hundred Buckeyes” undeterred by the bad weather, the train, now overflowing with railroad officials and local politicians, zigzagged through eastern Ohio, past a ribbon of rural hamlets where “patient throngs” of well-wishers crowded the roadside to greet him, undaunted “by the shower above and the mud beneath.” 1

Saluted at each outpost by “songs, cheers, music, flying banners and the roar of artillery,” Lincoln responded as often as his schedule and voice allowed. Growing hoarser by the mile, he offered little that was new or newsworthy, but seasoned his rain-soaked chats “with his irrepressible wit and humor,” pleasing “his audiences hugely.” In Newark, he regretted that his schedule had “deprived” so “many fair ladies assembled” of the opportunity “of observing my interesting countenance.” Partaking of a home-cooked “dejeuner” during a stopover at Cadiz Junction, he teased that he was “too full for utterance.” Others on board were reported full, too—not of food but of “things spirituous,” the intake of which lubricated Ward Lamon enough to unleash his repertoire of rollicking songs, stimulating Robert Lincoln to join in while his father sat quietly in the rear of the car, reading newspapers, and resting his strained vocal cords. 2

Then, after passing through tiny villages with formidable names—Frazeysburg, Dresden, Coshocton, Newcomerstown, and Uhrichsville—the president-elect turned serious when he once again reached the winding Ohio River at Steubenville. Now standing just across the shore from secession-minded Virginia, he told a crowd swelled by clearing skies: “We everywhere express devotion to the Constitution. I believe there is no difference in this respect, whether on this or on the other side of this majestic stream.” Virginians, he acknowledged, wanted “their rights under the Constitution.” But as to who was entitled to adjudge those rights, Lincoln left no doubt. It was the “voice of the people,” as expressed in his own election. “If the majority does not control, the minority must—would that be right? Would that be just or generous? Assuredly not!” 3

Back on the road, Lincoln’s train now headed northward, hugging the Ohio River shoreline and, once the river diverted, turning back east toward Pennsylvania. But not before a comic scene unfolded at Wellsville, the final stop in Ohio. There, a drunken old Irishman staggered forward and dared Lincoln to shake hands with a Douglas Democrat. The president-elect not only seized the opportunity, but announced that “if he and the other friends of Mr. Douglas would assist in keeping the ship of state afloat, that perhaps Mr. Douglas might be selected to pilot it sometime in the future.” 4

The pilot of the inaugural special faced problems of his own. Not until past seven o’clock that evening, way behind schedule, did he finally ease the train into Allegheny City on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, much delayed by a derailed freight train blocking the way.

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