Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg today (Nov. 19) in 1863

Today (Nov. 19) in 1863 Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address and how wrong he was when he said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”

Unfortunately we didn’t have the photo of his delivering of the speech at Gettysburg (where we have visited several times).  The great orator, Edward Everett, was to blame.  After hearing Everett spoke for two hours, the photographer took it easy slowly preparing his equipments (dry plates, black box on a tripod, etc) when Lincoln began to speak. Bending and hiding his head under the hood, he heard Lincoln said, “of the people, by the people, for the people . . .”

Everett wrote Lincoln a day after, “I shall be glad, if I could flatter myself, that I came close to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.” To which Lincoln replied, “In our respective parts yesterday, you could not have been excused to make a short address, nor I a long one. I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little did I say was not entirely a failure. . . . Our sick boy [Tad], for whom you kindly inquire, we hope is past the worst.”

The day before Lincoln left for Gettysburg (by train), Tad (their son) was sick and doctors had no idea what ailed him.  Mary was still mourned for Willie [another son who died at White House not too long ago].  Many historians were not nice to Mary; some even made up the story saying Mary threw herself on the floor in an outburst of tantrum, trying to prevent Lincoln from leaving.

The truth is that Mary sent her husband a telegram the same afternoon when Lincoln left saying the doctor just visited Tad and he was better;  Mary was apparently trying to comfort and alleviate Lincoln’s anxiety so he could do a good job; a good job indeed.  Lincoln apparently also told Everett that their son, Tad, was sick when he left White House and that’s why Everett “kindly inquire” in his letter to Lincoln.

I took every chance to defend Mary Lincoln, even on the occasion of Gettysburg Address.