JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
Now really, anyone, male or female who sticks it to Dirty Dan Sickles is worthy of a second look as more than Mary Todd Lincoln's sister.
So here we have the First Lady's sister, reeling under widowhood when husband General Ben Hardin Todd fell at Chickamauga zeroed in on by our favorite, well zero. Happiest when playing in the political sludgepile, Old Dan had a field day with Mary Lincoln. You'd have thunk Mary herself wore vials of morphine and secret dispatches in her hoops, taking notes nightly while her husband talked in his sleep. Whined? When Lincoln and Mary invited the young widow ( and orphaned child, Kaherine.... ) to visit, Dan all but rolled artillery into his bedroom, the better to protect himself.
General Ben fell at Chickamauga, 1863. Sickles, never one to miss an opportunity to twist the knife, informed his widow Confederate soldiers were “scoundrels and ran like scared rabbits” at Chattanooga, 1862. He then had the gall to have his feeling ( singular ) hurt, and complained hugely to her brother in law when Mrs. General Ben Helm snapped, " Confederate soldiers had only “followed the example the Federals had set them at Bull Run and Manassas.”
General Ben Helm, Emily Todd Helm's sweetheart and husband, fallen at Chickamauga.
One of Mary's closest friends, sister Emily Todd Helm's soft writings have been largely ignored, the impression being not much is known of her. Perhaps not much is printed of her since she seems to have spoken through letters and magazine interviews. What can you say of Emily? She. Was. Loyal.
In the feeding frenzy surrounding her sister, McClure's magazine did an extraordinary thing. McClure's ' thing ' was documentation and sourcing, whether science, biography, literature or social ills McClure's wide stable of professionals lent cache to the name and " McClure's ", to them. Between Lincoln's enemies choosing the wife as a soft target and the vilely vicious William Herndon targeting Mary with plain, old made-up nonsense, she is still vilified today. Why? These articles and books became sourced in articles and books, which became sourced in articles and books- like a Mayflower passenger has a million grandchildren. I get witched at all the time over how dreadful was Mary Lincoln, look at what this source says, and that one and that one. All Mayflower relatives and no one wishes to still long enough to ascertain what in blazes occurred 150 years ago.
Written by Emily Todd Helm
Mary Todd Lincoln, from McClure's Magazine
Emily Todd was enlisted by McClure's to build fact. What no one stops to consider is the Southern tendency to strong, unbreakable family loyalty, Emily Todd and Mary Todd shared this. Southern women. Emily, in her interview, enlightens readers in this fragment. It's an opening salvo on the part of McClure's demolishing Herndon. For some reason it's all been lost, only it isn't. Possibly merely ignored in favor of crazy, Mean Mary Lincoln, an invention of political enemies ( Dan Sickles, cough ) and one, weasely opportunist 150 years ago. Their other sources will be another thread. There are quite a few.
Post war, Emily was post mistress in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. A copious letter writer, much really is known of her, would anyone but admit it. She was known as " Mother of the ' Orphan Brigade ' ", for tireless support for veterans and anyone else impacted by those awful years, loved her genealogy and maintained her deep love for her sister.
So here we have the First Lady's sister, reeling under widowhood when husband General Ben Hardin Todd fell at Chickamauga zeroed in on by our favorite, well zero. Happiest when playing in the political sludgepile, Old Dan had a field day with Mary Lincoln. You'd have thunk Mary herself wore vials of morphine and secret dispatches in her hoops, taking notes nightly while her husband talked in his sleep. Whined? When Lincoln and Mary invited the young widow ( and orphaned child, Kaherine.... ) to visit, Dan all but rolled artillery into his bedroom, the better to protect himself.
General Ben fell at Chickamauga, 1863. Sickles, never one to miss an opportunity to twist the knife, informed his widow Confederate soldiers were “scoundrels and ran like scared rabbits” at Chattanooga, 1862. He then had the gall to have his feeling ( singular ) hurt, and complained hugely to her brother in law when Mrs. General Ben Helm snapped, " Confederate soldiers had only “followed the example the Federals had set them at Bull Run and Manassas.”
General Ben Helm, Emily Todd Helm's sweetheart and husband, fallen at Chickamauga.
One of Mary's closest friends, sister Emily Todd Helm's soft writings have been largely ignored, the impression being not much is known of her. Perhaps not much is printed of her since she seems to have spoken through letters and magazine interviews. What can you say of Emily? She. Was. Loyal.
In the feeding frenzy surrounding her sister, McClure's magazine did an extraordinary thing. McClure's ' thing ' was documentation and sourcing, whether science, biography, literature or social ills McClure's wide stable of professionals lent cache to the name and " McClure's ", to them. Between Lincoln's enemies choosing the wife as a soft target and the vilely vicious William Herndon targeting Mary with plain, old made-up nonsense, she is still vilified today. Why? These articles and books became sourced in articles and books, which became sourced in articles and books- like a Mayflower passenger has a million grandchildren. I get witched at all the time over how dreadful was Mary Lincoln, look at what this source says, and that one and that one. All Mayflower relatives and no one wishes to still long enough to ascertain what in blazes occurred 150 years ago.
Written by Emily Todd Helm
Mary Todd Lincoln, from McClure's Magazine
Emily Todd was enlisted by McClure's to build fact. What no one stops to consider is the Southern tendency to strong, unbreakable family loyalty, Emily Todd and Mary Todd shared this. Southern women. Emily, in her interview, enlightens readers in this fragment. It's an opening salvo on the part of McClure's demolishing Herndon. For some reason it's all been lost, only it isn't. Possibly merely ignored in favor of crazy, Mean Mary Lincoln, an invention of political enemies ( Dan Sickles, cough ) and one, weasely opportunist 150 years ago. Their other sources will be another thread. There are quite a few.
Post war, Emily was post mistress in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. A copious letter writer, much really is known of her, would anyone but admit it. She was known as " Mother of the ' Orphan Brigade ' ", for tireless support for veterans and anyone else impacted by those awful years, loved her genealogy and maintained her deep love for her sister.