Mary Todd Lincoln

[thea_447]

I believe when you click on the letter itself you will be able to read the words of Mrs. Lincoln from the original letter.



Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years

Letter, Mary Todd Lincoln to Abraham Lincoln advising her husband to remove the hesitant Gen. George B. McClellan from command, 2 November [1862].
(Abraham Lincoln Papers)





It is difficult to determine exactly when First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) lost confidence in George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885). The Union general's reluctance to capitalize on the advantage he had gained over Confederate forces in the Battle of Antietam just two months earlier had guaranteed his removal as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Exercising his usual caution, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was only awaiting the results of the upcoming congressional elections before sending the general into virtual exile. His wife's letter of 2 November 1862 suggesting that McClellan be removed from command merely reflected popular sentiment in New York, a key state in the elections. For several months after McClellan's meteoric rise to power, the First Lady had showered the "Young Napoleon" with social invitations and with flowers from the White House conservatory. Her influence with the general is perhaps best il****rated by her successful intervention in the scheduled execution of a soldier found sleeping while on picket duty. In a letter to his wife, McClellan stated that he was more than pleased to grant a request of the "Lady President." It is also worth noting that if Mary Todd Lincoln disliked McClellan for his lack of aggression, she despised Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) for exactly the opposite reason. Thus her apparent change of heart toward McClellan may have been as much political as military wisdom. Both men had such a large following, McClellan with Peace Democrats and Grant with Republicans of every stripe, that they threatened her husband's grip on the presidency. John R. Sellers, Manuscript Division

[thea_447]

I notice that the glitches are still here. Those asterisks in the middle of perfectly respectable words is a little disconcerting. Also I've been stuck on post 1,457 for a while now. I should be somewhere in the mid 1700's and Neil was far ahead of me but at least I was nearing the next rank. This is discouraging. I think I liked the old system better.

[jenna]

Thank you Thea for sharing that!! I found it so very interesting. I wonder if Lizzie was her colored companion that she cared so very much for. I know that Mary went to New York several times on shopping sprees, so this letter sounds like it comes from one of those escapades. And her mention of one of her espisodes. It's very intersting that she would mention that.

Jenna

[thea_447]

Thanks, Jenna. I too, have always been fascinated by Mary Todd Lincoln. Her obsession with her husband often makes people think she was unhinged, and she had many many reasons to be that way....children dying, her husband had loved another before her, her own side of the family fought for the South, etc. Too many problems for an unsettled mind to deal with.

I believe Mary Todd Lincoln might have led a happy life had she not chosen a politician! (Heck, that goes for all wives of politicians, with the exception of Hillary.)

Much adieu has been made of her famous seances, but from what I have read, this was more a form of entertainment of the day, is this not true?

The disturbing thing about that though is that she got Lincoln involved too. He already had the affairs of a country at war to contend with, a wife bordering on nervous collapse, and suffered himself from horrible bouts of depression. Seances would hardly have been my prescription for the President of the United States.

I want to read more about Mary though, because I would like to compare her to Varina Davis. Interesting thought, don't you think? But first, I need to find much more about Varina.

[jenna]

Much adieu has been made of her famous seances, but from what I have read, this was more a form of entertainment of the day, is this not true?

I had heard that she was soooooo grief stricken at the death of her boys that she was convinced that having the seances was the only way to keep in touch with them.

Also, Lincoln at one point, was so upset with Mary's mental state the he pointed to the nearest mental ward from the window of the White House and said something to the effect of: Mother, if you don't stop I will have to send you there.

Later in her life, after the assassination of Lincoln, she was commited for a time, because, and forgive me I can't remember the one remaining son's name, but he could not handle her any more.

Personally, I think she suffered from Bi-polar disorder. It sounds so very much like it, with the irrational spending sprees, the deep depressions, and the quickness to anger. Those are all associated with the disease. But unfortunately, at that time they didn't have the type of psycological knowledge as we do now, so she went untreated for years.

I am looking for the book, I think it was called "Abe and Mary" and it was on the couple. Now, go look at the general discussion area, because in searching for this book I came across this insane article that I just had to pass along.

Jenna

[jenna]

Ok Thea, I found a few interesting sites to check out:

http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln49.html

http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dy...ml%2Fml16.html


http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dy...y%2F3d1a4.html This site has some interesting mourning jewlery of Mary's on it. Very neat pieces.

http://www.ehistory.com/world/PeopleView.cfm?PID=95

I noticed in what I looked at, other then that one article, that they all pretty much say the same things about her.

Hope that helps you a little

Jenna

[thea_447]

Gosh, Jenna, thanks. These were all good, although I couldn't get into the first one. You're right though, they all say just about the same things about her.

I remembered about Robert taking her estate away from her for a while and that she'd lost children tragically and couldn't seem to recover her sensibilities.

You may be right about the bi-polar business. I wonder if it's ever been noted if she had any manic behavior such as staying up all night long for days at a time or super human strength at times.

Again, thanks for taking the time to add some insight into the tragic Mary Todd Lincoln.

[jenna]

Just also watched part of the "Lincoln Assassination" last night on the history channel, and they confirmed that Robert did have her comminted for a time. She was released thru the help of the first woman lawyer in Illinois, sorry the name escapes me. And that Tadd died at the age of 18 from some weird disease. Anyone remember what it was?

[30th_il]

tuberculosis

[30th_il]

Myra Bradwell was the lawyer...or at least the law firm if I remember correctly.