Lincoln's Pre-Inaugural Trip (Tindall, 1999)

[Lincoln] stayed in Springfield until mid-February 1861, biding his time. He then boarded a train for a long, roundabout trip, and began to drop some hints to audiences along the way. To the New Jersey Legislature, which responded with prolonged cheering, he said: "The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am...But it may be necessary to put the foot down." At the end of the journey, reluctantly yielding to rumors of plots against his life, he passed unnoticed on a night train through Baltimore and slipped into Washington before daybreak on February 23.