When we went to Springfield, the Mecca of Linconalia, we only saw a smidgen of the Lincoln statues in town, but we almost tripled our Looking for Lincoln Count. I can't begin to relate the depths of frustration one feels after photographing a Lincoln statue, getting back in the car, pulling into traffic, then seeing a whole other Lincoln statue. Springfield has too many Lincolns.
We captured three in Springfield proper.
Lincoln #6: Standing in front of the Illinois State Capitol, this statue symoblizes Lincoln's departure from Springfield as President-elect to begin his journey to Washington DC. Some states had threatened to secede if Lincoln won the 1860 election. He left for Washington, knowing his inauguration would rip the country apart. You can see the weight of that knowledge conveyed in the bronze. Dedicated in 1918, this one was done by Andrew O'Connor. O'Connor studied under Daniel Chester French (the guy who did the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC), the most prominent American sculptor of his day (his active years occurred after those of our buddy Lorado Taft).
Lincoln #7: This one stands opposite of the Stephen A. Douglas statue in the Illinois State Capitol. Leonard Volk completed both of these life-size plaster statues in 1876 (they are sealed with a bronze-like coating).
Lincoln #8: This sculpture, named A Greater Task, stands in Union Station Park across from the Lincoln Presidential Library. Sculptor and Decatur native John McClarey completed this Lincoln in 2006 and took the name from Lincoln's farewell speech to Springfield (which he gave before getting on the train for Washington DC).
Lincoln was probably the most brilliant speaker of his day, so I'm including this short speech in its entirety. Lincoln could easily stand up and speak for three to four hours at a time, but he could pack just as much of a punch in his 1-2 minute speeches like this or the Gettysburg Address.
"My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell."
He didn't return to Springfield until the winter of 1865 when they brought him to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery. I get chills everytime I read this speech.
Looking for Lincoln's Tomb
Much debate occurred over whether to lay Lincoln to rest in Washington DC or Chicago, but Mary Todd fought for Springfield. Eventually, she got her way. Lincoln's body traveled over 1,700 miles by special rail car to reach Oak Ridge Cemetery, just north of Springfield. He lay for a time in a temporary, smaller vault until 1871 when they moved him into the partially complete tomb.
Sculptor Larkin G. Meade designed the monument over the tomb. It stands 117 ft. high and features a statue of Lincoln directly in front of the obelisk. On each of the four corners of the base stands a bronze statue dedicated to each of the four military branches of the day: Cavalry, Infantry, Artillery, and Navy.
On the ground before the tomb, you can see the legendary Lucky Schnoz Lincoln. This one is actually a replica of a marble bust Gutzon Borglum sculpted for Theodore Roosevelt's White House. It now sits in the US Capitol Crypt.
You can see where numerous tourists have rubbed off the patina, leaving the nose shiny. The patina acts a protective covering, slowing the corrosion of the bronze, but like a good American, I contributed the inevitable demise of this bust.
Note: I've made a decision not to count replicas in the official Looking for Lincoln Count, however, since this replica is important in its own right, it counts as Lincoln #9
Further Note: If the name Gutzon Borglum sounds familiar, you probably recognize his name from some of his lesser works: Mt. Rushmore and Stone Mountain. Also, he was a prominent member of the Ku Klux Klan.
On the base, in front of the obelisk, Larkin G. Meade placed his own addition to the Lincoln statue population. Standing Lincoln (as Meade called it), or Lincoln #10 (as Aine and I know it), holds a scroll that represents the Emancipation Proclamation.
In the tomb itself, you can see the red marble monument over Lincoln's resting place. The actual vault sits ten feet below the monument. The guy at the door said we can take as many pictures as we want as long as I removed my hat and we spoke in reverent tones. Which was weird because I took off my hat before I walked in the door and we were already whispering. But I guess that was part of his spiel. Each of the flags represents a state in which Lincoln lived.
Mary Todd rests in a wall vault directly across from Lincoln. She followed him ten years later in 1881.
Looking for Mini-Lincolns
In the winding passages of the tomb, they've carved little alcoves and placed in them Mini-Lincolns. They each represent a different stage of Lincoln's life and all but two are replicas of other statues.
Mini-Lincoln #1: Seated Lincoln, a replica of the Lincoln Memorial sculpture by the famous Daniel Chester French.
Look: Any time you see a chair in a sculpture, it's meant to represent the authority of an office. Here, it represents the US Presidency. The pillars beneath his hands represent the power of the American Union.
Mini-Lincoln #2: Lincoln the Ranger by Fred M. Torrey. Commissioned specifically for the tomb, this one represents Lincoln's time as Captain of a company of Illinois militia. After he mustered out, he enisted as a private in a company of independent rangers. His total military service, all completed during the 1832 Blackhawk War, lasted 80 days.
Guess What: Since this one is an original, it also counts as Lincoln #11.
Mini-Lincoln #3: Lincoln the Soldier. The original, created by Leonard Crunelle, stands in Dixon, Illinois (President Reagan's boyhood home). This one commemorates Lincoln's aforementioned militia service, about which he said he "went to the campaign, served nearly three months, met the ordinary hardships of such an expedition, but was in no battle."
Mini-Lincoln #4: Standing Lincoln by Augustus Saint Gaudens, was dedicated in 1887 in Chicago. See the chair? That's right, it represents the Presidency.
Mini-Lincoln #5: Lincoln the Circuit Rider. Designed for the tomb by Fred M. Torrey, this statue represents Lincoln's time as a Circuit Rider in the 8th Judicial Circuit. He completed the entire 450 mile circuit on horseback. Interesting Note: Torrey worked for a time as an assistant to our own Lorado Taft. This one also counts as Lincoln #12.
Mini-Lincoln #6: The original, created by Adolph Weinman in 1909, stands in Lincoln's birthplace, Hodgenville, Kentucky. A full-sized replica also resides at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. See the chair? Also, notice how the shoe looks shiny from tourists reaching over the railing to touch it. I touched it, too.
Mini-Lincoln #7: Lincoln the Debater. This work by Leonard Crunelle was dedicated in 1929 in Freeport, Illinois, to memorialize the first of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Mini-Lincoln #8: You remember this one. A replica of Lorado Taft's Lincoln the Lawyer in Carle Park (home of the misrepresented Hickman Tree Walk).
Mini-Lincoln #9: Standing Lincoln. Another work by rockstar Daniel Chester French, this contemplative Lincoln stands in front of the statehouse in Lincoln, Nebraska. It represents Lincoln getting in the zone before delivering the Gettysburg Address.
Looking for Lincoln's Grave Robbers
Counterfeiter Benjamin Boyd fought the law, but the law won and incarcerated him. A member of his counterfeiting gang, Big Jim Kennally, desperate to get his buddy out of the pokey, came up with a brilliant idea: the gang would kidnap the body of Lincoln and hold it hostage until authorities released Boyd. Also, they wanted a lot of money.
First Plot: Big Jim moved the gang to Springfield and opened a bar and a dancehall to serve as both a cover and a base of operations. They took several trips out to Oak Ridge Cemetery to eyeball the tomb and plan their caper. A member of the gang, Thomas Sharpe, thought the plan so clever, he drunkenly outlined every detail to a local prostitute, Belle Bruce. Beautiful Belle decided to pass the information on to her close friend the Chief of Police. That pretty much nipped that one in the bud.
Second Plot: Big Jim managed to evade the fallout of the first debacle and constructed a second one. Learning his lesson from his narrow escape, he hired two men to head up the grave robbery while he stayed at a distance to avoid suspicion. He hired two men he knew well, Terence Mullen and Jack Hughes, promising to split with them the 200 thousand dollar ransom (that's 4 million in today's dollars). Mullen and Hughes, knowing the job would be a little big for only two of them, hired a third, Lewis Swegles. Swegles also happend to be a Secret Service informant on the doll for 5 bucks a day (that's 106 in today's dollars).
Swegles then notified his Secret Service contact, Agent Patrick Tyrell.
Mullen, Hughes, and Swegles, according to Big Jim's plan, broke into the tomb on the night of the 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. Swegles signalled Tyrell, who rushed out of the darkness with two Pinkerton agents close behind him. Only, one of the Pinkerton agents had drawn his gun before trying to sprint up the hill. He tripped and accidentally discharged his firearm. The grave robbers, alerted to the upness of the jig, skedaddled. Tyrell eventually hunted them down like dogs and brought them to justice.
Funny story: the grave robbers didn't take into account that the coffin had been sealed with lead. They only managed to move it a foot from its original spot.
Of course, like the economy or the weather or any number of things no one actually has control over, this attempted theft of Lincoln's body became the subject of some serious partisan finger pointing. The Democrats accused the Republicans of staging the theft to blame on the Democrats.
To ensure that no one would ever attempt such shenanigans again, Robert Lincoln had the coffin encased in a steel cage and placed under 10 feet of cement.
Here's your parting shot: A random Lincoln head outside the Governor's office in the State Capitol.
These are very interesting! I'm really enjoying them!
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