Pickett "I'm ... an Old Friend of George's"

John Hartwell

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From The Commoner, Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2, 1907, comes this, probably apocryphal, story:
pickett.jpg
It hardly seems likely that, ever having met him or not, Mrs Pickett would not have recognized him.
Or is this one of Miss Sallie's own modest recollections?
 
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Is it true or false that Lincoln was behind Pickett's appointment into West Point?, otherwise, where and how did they meet to become "old friends"?
 
Is it true or false that Lincoln was behind Pickett's appointment into West Point?, otherwise, where and how did they meet to become "old friends"?
Pickett was appointed to West Point in 1842, by John T. Stuart, U.S. Representative from Illinois who had been a law partner with Abraham Lincoln from 1837 - 1841. Beyond that it seems to be Mrs. Pickett's imagination.
 
From The Commoner, Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2, 1907, comes this, probably apocryphal, story:
It hardly seems likely that, ever having met him or not, Mrs Pickett would not have recognized him.
Or is this one of Miss Sallie's own modest recollections?
I have a sneaking suspicion that LaSalle was behind that fantastic tale. :thumbsup:
 
I'd thought the Stewart connection was all that tied Pickett in any way to Abraham Lincoln - and that's only by an association of an association! The country was a lot smaller then, and all sorts of unlikely people ran into each other at some unlikely point or other. Lincoln helping Pickett into West Point is probably not even possible as he wasn't a Congress critter at the time Pickett went in. Being very good friends is very much limited to Sallie's very fertile imagination. She was so busy polishing her husband's reputation she wore holes in it!
 
When I first read the clipping, I had the thought: "Can this possibly be true?" I see that my doubts are pretty well confirmed by other responses. Still, it's a heck of a good story!
 
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