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rather than let the nation survive,
and the other
would accept war rather than let it perish,
and the war came.
Abraham Lincoln, 4 March 1865
one of histories most admired men: Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Hardin county Kentucky. The first 23 years of his life were that of the quintessential "Back-Woodsman". His father was completely uneducated but could "fumblingly" sign his name, as Lincoln said it. He had a sister who passed away in her early 20's, and a younger brother who died when still an infant. On November 11th, 1842, Lincoln married 
Mary Todd.
 In Lincoln's second autobiogrphy, he tells the story of the man who hired him for one of his first jobs, which was to transport live hogs on a flat bottom boat. The man was kicking up a fuss about not being able to herd his hogs down to the river for transport. Without thinking it through, Lincoln's new employer got the wild idea to sew the hogs eyes close, of which task Lincoln participated, perhaps believing they would then blindly go anywhere he directed them. However, sewing the hogs eyes closed had just the opposite effect, Now completely blind they wouldn't budge, leaving the situation even worse than when they started. Lincoln was a pretty big guy, in his own words this is how he described himself: "If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes-no other marks or brands recollected." From Abraham Lincoln's Short Autobiography (he wrote a long and a short version),
In May of 1849, while spending several years away
from politics to practice law in Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln is
granted
|
Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky,
on June 3, 1808, growing up in Mississippi as the youngest of 10 children.
After boarding school he attended Transylvania University. He was accepted
to West Point in 1824, graduating in 1828. While there he accumulated 327
demerits on his record. In 1835 things seem to have
gotten rather difficult for Davis. Although he was married in that year, he
also got malaria, then, 3 months later his wife passed away. Davis married again in 1845 and by the next year he was given
command of a group of volunteers to fight in the Mexican War. After the war,
in 1847, he was elected as a Democrat to a seat in the Senate.
Deeply interested in the military aspects of government, Davis also
kept close friends in in high office, even though there was proof that
some were negligent and unqualified
Home
in Richmond, Virginia, hoping to continue the war from the deep south, or west of the Mississippi, or from abroad. On May 10th he was captured by Federal Cavalrymen in southern Georgia. Imprisoned for 2 years he gained the affection of the southern people and was martyrd for his sufferings while behind bars. Although indicted, Davis was never tried for treason and was released on bond in 1867. Believing he had done nothing wrong, Davis refused to seek a pardon. Records indicate all his business ventures after the war were unsuccessful. A generous family friend donated an estate to Davis where he retired. His book, "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Goverment" was published in 1881. He died in New Orleans in 1889. |
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