Saturday February 16, 1861
Cleveland Oh.
Militia company of Cleveland Grays escorts Lincoln from hotel to 9 A.M. train. Leland's Brass Band entertains at depot.
Train stops at Ohio towns of Willoughby, Painesville, Geneva, Madison, Ashtabula, Conneaut, at Pennsylvania towns of Girard, Erie, Northeast, and at New York towns of Westfield, Dunkirk, and Silver Creek, arriving Buffalo 4:30 P.M. On board are committees from Ohio Legislature, Cleveland, Erie, Chautauqua County, N.Y., and Buffalo.
At Willoughby Lincoln has time to say good morning and goodbye. At Painesville he speaks from special platform to estimated 3,000 persons in response to introduction by Mayor Wilcox.
Crowd calls for Mrs. Lincoln at Ashtabula, and President-elect remarks that "he should hardly hope to induce her to appear, as he had always found it very difficult to make her do what she did not want to." At Conneaut Lincoln thanks "people for the kindly demonstration."
Horace Greeley boards train at Girard and rides to Erie. Lincoln greets crowd and receives baskets of fruit.
At 12:22 P.M. presidential party detrains at Erie, and committee escorts it to dining room of railroad company, where Lincoln makes speech. At Northeast he delivers brief remarks from rear platform.
En route to Washington, D. C., Lincoln's train stops in Westfield, New York, where a "large crowd" greets him. Lincoln remarks that Westfield is the home of twelve-year-old Grace Bedell, who "advised me to let my whiskers grow." Lincoln adds, "[A]cting partly upon her suggestion, I have done so; and now, if she is here, I would like to see her." Before he departs, Lincoln locates the "beautiful girl, with black eyes" and gives her "several hearty kisses . . . amid the yells of delight from the excited crowd."
Crowd of 15,000 citizens of Chautauqua County greets Lincoln at Dunkirk. From trackside platform he says: "Standing as I do, with my hand upon this staff, and under the folds of the American flag, I Ask You to Stand by Me so Long as I Stand by It."
Former President Millard Fillmore and crowd of 10,000 welcome presidential party to Buffalo at 4:30 P.M. Guard of soldiers and police being unable to prevent disorderly jam, guests are jostled and separated; Maj. David Hunter's arm is dislocated, and members of presidential partywalk to hotel. Lincoln rides in procession with Acting Mayor A. S. Benies, Committee Chairman A. M. Clapp, and Ward Hill Lamon, former law partner of Lincoln and bodyguard during trip to Washington. Arriving at American House, speaks from balcony in reply to welcome by acting mayor: "It is most proper I should wait, see the developments, and get all the light I can, so that when I do speak authoritatively I may be as near right as possible. . . . allow me to say that you, as a portion of the great American people, need only to maintain your composure." Meets 34 members of Buffalo committee and governor's staff, who will accompany him to Albany. Holds public reception at 7:30 P.M. Later receives another welcoming committee of 20 Germans headed by ex-Alderman Jacob Beyer. Listens to serenades by two singing groups.