On a morning of cloud and drizzle, Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois for a slow eleven-day journey to Washington DC and his new life as president. Boarding the special three-car train at around eight a.m., he gave his now-famous "farewell speech" to his friends and neighbors gathered at the station. In the next days he would visit Indianapolis, Columbus, New York City, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg. He would not return to Springfield again during his lifetime. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Harold Holzer, Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008), 298-301.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Campaigns/Elections
