More on Lincoln...

We seem to be awash in Lincoln material the past few days. I have been able to catch parts of the celebration of his birthday in the US Capital on Thursday. I only caught the politicians' speeches. I hope the rest of it was better. President Obama’s comments were abysmal. So the Confederates got to take home their guns to shoot crows? I’ll make sure that gets into the 58th NCT book! I also watched about two-thirds of National Geographic’s The Real Abraham Lincoln. Overall, not too bad. However, where were Major Rathbone and Miss Harris when Booth fired his shot? Nicely cast Booth, though. I will probably try and watch some of Stealing Lincoln’s Body this evening on the History Channel.



The North Carolina Biblical Recorder got into the act this week also. The Recorder was founded in 1830, and the issues for the War years (1860-1865) contain a wealth of information. When I did research for the book on the 37th NCT, I used several articles culled from the pages of the Recorder. On the back page of last week’s issue, the faith (or lack thereof) of Lincoln is explored. At least the article is straightforward about Lincoln’s beliefs, writing that “Most historians agree on this much: Lincoln was never baptized, never joined a church, and rarely, if ever, talked about Jesus.” I’ll also add that most historians agree that Lincoln did not become a “Christian” until about six months after his death. Well, Mr. President, that is a decision that must be made on this side of the equation.


This morning I read an article on the North Carolina State Department of Cultural Resources’ Civil War Sesquicentennial web site about the Tar Heel roots of Abraham Lincoln. The article, by Ansley Herring Wegner, looks into some of the lore that states that Lincoln was born in North Carolina, and that he and his mother, Nancy Hanks, were sent to Kentucky to cover up his illegitimate birth. The article mentions some of the research used in the 2003 book Tarheel Lincoln. The article can be found by following this link.



Lastly, Jerry Goodnight, the author of The Tarheel Lincoln, has written a follow up book, Looking for Lincoln: Amid the Rumors, Legends, and Lies. My work on the 58th NCT has kept me away from topics not related to the Army of Tennessee, so I have not had a chance to read this book. You might want to check it out. Find more information here.



Well, time to get back to the 58th NCT manuscript. The Army of Tennessee is getting ready to cross over the Duck River.