The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania: A History and Guide

Bradley R. Hoch

Published by Penn State University Press 2001

The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania

A History and Guide

Bradley R. Hoch

In the series Keystone Books

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780271072227

Overview
Contents

About this book

What is the Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania? It is the story of Abraham Lincoln in the Keystone State—the chronicle of where he went, what he did, and what he said in the state. The trail begins with Lincoln's Pennsylvania ancestors, moves on to his travels, public appearances, and speeches, and concludes with his funeral train in 1865. The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania tells a story for the reader, but it is also a guide for those who would travel the state figuratively or literally, to recover the memory of America's sixteenth president.

The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania transports the reader back in time to key moments in Lincoln's public life. In 1846, at the age of thirty-seven, Lincoln was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Using mileage that Lincoln claimed for his trip, available routes, duration of the journey, and average speeds, Bradley Hoch is the first to establish the probable route Lincoln followed on his way from Illinois to Washington, D.C. Hoch concludes that he traveled by steamboat along the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers and by stagecoach on the National Road into Maryland.

After Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, he transformed his inaugural journey from Springfield to Washington into a grand railroad tour of northern cities, hoping to cement the people's loyalty to the Union and to himself. His inaugural train, the first of its kind, made several stops in Pennsylvania. Hoch follows Lincoln throughout his journey, including the dramatic last leg—the "secret night train"—when Allan Pinkerton and his agents, determined to protect Lincoln from would-be assassins, cut telegraph lines and sidetracked trains in order to spirit him safely from Harrisburg to Washington.

Hoch recovers symbolic moments, none more moving than Lincoln's funeral train as it stopped in several Pennsylvania cities, including York, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Erie. In Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell was placed at the head of Lincoln's coffin when it lay in Independence Hall. As more than one hundred thousand mourners passed by, the bell's inscription memorialized his life: "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

Rarely seen photographs, engravings, and maps enrich this illuminating volume. In the final chapter, Hoch offers a guide of sites to visit in present-day Pennsylvania, making The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania a welcome book for a wide range of readers interested in American history.

Author / Editor information

Hoch Bradley R. :

Bradley R. Hoch is founding partner of Gettysburg Pediatrics. Lincoln and the Civil War are deeply ingrained in his family's past: two of his great grandfathers fought as volunteers in Pennsylvania regiments during the Civil War.

Reviews

“What a ride for the Lincoln buff. . . . Philadelphia, Harrisburg, York, Hanover, Gettysburg, Pittsburgh, and Erie also figure in the 210-page book, which will appeal to those with an interest in Pennsylvania and Civil War history.”
—Caroline Abels, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“In considerable detail . . . Bradley Hoch tells the story of Lincoln’s several visits to Pennsylvania and his varied associations with Pennsylvanians.”
—Jack Brubaker, Lancaster New Era

“Hoch’s book features some rare photographs, engravings, and maps of Lincoln’s visits to Pennsylvania.
The Lincoln Trail in Pennsylvania chronicles where Lincoln went, what he did, and what he said in the state.”
—Ann Diviney, Sun Style

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Lincoln in Pennsylvania Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Foreword Gabor S. Boritt Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	xvii
1. “An Omen of What Is to Come”: Washington’s Birthday 1861 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. “Mystic Chords of Memory”: Lincoln Ancestors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
3. “Struck Blind”: Lincoln in Congress Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
4. “Dare to Do Our Duty”: Lincoln and the Pennsylvania Politicians Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
5. “To See and Be Seen”: The Inaugural Train Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
6. “Looked at Through a Fog”: Lincoln and the Railroads Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	76
7. “Unfinished Work”: The Gettysburg Address Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
8. “Comfort and Relief ”: The Great Central Sanitary Fair Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
9. “The Heavens Are Hung in Black”: The Funeral Train Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
10. Postscript: The Literal Trail—Sites to Visit Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Appendix A: Springfield to Washington, D.C., 1847 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
Appendix B: Lincoln and Pennsylvania’s Railroads Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 232
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 23
- Images: 74
- Other: 74 illustrations/23 maps
Keywords: Lincoln Trail; Pennsylvania; history; guide; Hoch; Abraham Lincoln; Keystone State; politics; America; United States; president; photographs; engravings; maps; images; us; united states; usa

eBook

Published: July 25, 2001
ISBN: 9780271072227