New President Lincoln Exhibit at the National Civil War Museum

Hello,

While traveling to Pennsylvania, I received an email from Mr. Kelly Lewis who is the President and CEO for the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania. Mr. Lewis invited me to come to a reception at the National Civil War Museum to meet President Lincoln and to see a new exhibit about him.

According to Mr. Lewis, the main feature of this new exhibit is what is called a synthetic interview. What this means is that you can walk up to the exhibit, ask President Lincoln a question and a video of the President will answer you. How cool is that!! I can't wait to see it.

If you are in the Harrisburg, Pa area, join me and my friend Sarah on Wednesday, May 12th at the opening reception from 4-6pm. Read more about it on the museum's website

Until next time...

Merry Christmas

Hello,

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all. Here is an image of the Lincoln family from abelincoln.com. Here you can see Tad, who is on the chair, opening presents. You can also see President Lincoln and his wife.

Busy! Busy! Busy at the Surratt House!

The last couple of days at the Surratt House have been extremely busy, but have been educational and fun! Yesterday I officially became a volunteer docent (a person who gives tours of a site or museum) of the Surratt House! I was very excited, because then I knew I was going to give tours of the museum, and I was ready to meet new people from around the country!

Yesterday, I decided I needed to do some research about the Surratt House Museum, so I was ready for my tours today. I learned soo much.

• Mary was born in 1823
• She has 3 Children, Isaac Douglas, Elizabeth Susannah (Anna), and John Surratt Jr.
• The Surratt House was built by her husband, John Surratt, Sr. in 1852.
• The house was to serve as a tavern and a family home.
• The house was also a post office, for the people who lived in the area!

The Surratts were Confederate Sympathizers during the Civil War, that means they support the South. Many people in Maryland supported the south because many people grew tobacco and relied on slaves to farm the tobacco. Slaves are people who work for no money, and do not have any rights, and are considered property of someone else.

Mary's husband John, Sr. dies in 1862, and leaves Mary in a lot of debt (about $70,000 in today's money!)

Mary brings her son John Surratt, Jr. Home from seminary school to run the business for her, and at that time he was a SPY for the Confederate Underground. The Confederate Underground was a spy network that traded weapons, supplies, and messages to help the Confederate Army. Eventually, John Jr. is caught and he loses his post office.

Mary needed to make more money, so she rents the Surratt Tavern to aman named John Lloyd and she moves to her boarding house in Washington D.C. (it is now a Chinese food restaurant called the "Wok and Roll".) A boarding house is like a hotel, where people pay money to stay the night, sometimes a week, sometimes months!

Mary's son John Jr. met a famous actor named John Wilkes Booth, who had this plan to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln!! John Surratt, Jr. wanted to help, so they start planning at Mary Surratt's boarding house for months! Then in March of 1865 they try to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, but the plot failed!

Not only did the plot fail, but a man named David Herold, was holding weapons, in a tavern near Surratt House, to use while escaping with the captured president. But, since the plot failed they needed to hide the weapons, so they bring them to the Surratt House!!

About a month later John Wilkes Booth discovers that Abraham Lincoln is going to see a play at Ford's Theater, so he has a secret meeting with all of the remaining men from the failed kidnapping. He tells one man to kill the Vice President Andrew Johnson, another man to kill the Secretary of State William Seward, and John Wilkes Booth was going to kill President Abraham Lincoln.

After the meeting he goes to Mary's boarding house, and he asks her to deliver a package to John Lloyd at the Surratt Tavern. So, Mary rides down to the house...And she gives the package to John Lloyd, and apparently delivers a message, "Get the shooting irons ready, they will be picked up tonight!"

Later that evening John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. He will break his leg, but meets up with David Herold, and rides to the Surratt House.

The two men grab 1 of the 2 rifles hiding in the house, and then they go on a 12 day journey.

Eventually John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed.

Federal Troops (Like police during the Civil War) will arrest Mary Surratt, because they found evidence of secret meetings between men involved with the assassination, and other evidence (you will have to visit to find out the rest!).

Mary Surratt was put on trial and hanged for conspiring to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.

It is QUITE THE STORY! I already told too much!! But, I was just sooo excited about what I learned!! The interesting thing about the museum is they let you decide whether you think Mary Surratt is guilty or innocent. Hmmm....not sure what I think!

The Gettysburg Train Station

During one of my recent visits to Gettysburg, I had an opportunity to visit the Gettysburg Train Station. This is the train station where President Lincoln arrived prior to giving his famous speech.

Here I am just outside of the station with a bust of President Lincoln and near a plaque describing the building.

According to a nice volunteer at the station, I learned that the station was built between 1858 and 1859 because in 1857 the first passenger trains came into Gettysburg. The original passenger station had two-stories with waiting rooms on both floors. The rooms were separated so that women and children would use one and men would use the other. There is also a spiral staircase in the center of one of the rooms. Here are some photos of a model of the original train station. You can see how the outside looked and also the two waiting rooms.

During the battle, the train station was used as a field hospital and the cupola was used as an observation point so commanders could see what was happening during the fighting.

On November 18, 1863 around 6pm, President Lincoln arrived at this train station from Washington. From here, he would walk a block up the street to the home of David Wills. Here is a photo looking down onto the original loading platform where President Lincoln would have walked.

So, the next time you are in Gettysburg, be sure to stop by the train station.

Ford's Theatre

Hello! Sallie here.

I just came back from a busy few days at the National Education Computing Conference in Washington D.C.

While there, me, my friend Sarah, and her family went t0 Ford's Theatre and we listened to Liz Hogan a volunteer who talked about the theater and President Lincoln.

Here is what I learned during Ms. Hogan's speech.

I learned that a lot of the buildings in Washington D.C. were used as hospitals during the war. There were times when Washington D.C. looked like it was on fire because of all the candles in the windows. John Wilkes Booth, who was from Maryland, attended President Lincoln's 2nd Inauguration speech and decided that he was going to capture President Lincoln and exchange him for Confederate prisoners of war.

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln's son Tad did not go to the play with his parents because he was at a different play called "Aladdin" or "His Wonderful Lamp" at Grover's Theatre. On that night, President Lincoln arrived at Ford's Theatre around 8:30 and the play had already started. When President Lincoln arrived, the play stopped and band played Hail to the Chief and the people in the theater gave him a standing ovation.

President and Mrs. Lincoln were accompanied that night by Major Rathbone and Miss Clara Harris. Booth arrived at Ford's Theatre around 9pm but then left to get a few drinks of whiskey. Booth then returned to the theater and walked toward the Presidential Box. Booth did not need a ticket to get in because he was a actor at the theater and according to Ms. Hogan he was the most handsome man on the stag. Booth snuck into the box where the President sat and waited till the funniest line in the play to shoot him. He chose that line because the laughing, hooting, and hollering would cover up a gun shot.

It was 10:15pm when Booth shot the President. After shooting the president, Booth jumped 12 feet to the stage and raised bloody knife (from stabbing Major Rathbone) and shouted Sic Semper Tyrannis (which means Thus Ever to Tyrants). When Booth jumped from the box to the stage, Major Rathbone shouted "Stop that man".

Mrs. Lincoln was screaming that her husband was dead. Miss. Laura Keene rushed up to the box with a pitcher of water and she held the the President Lincoln's head and her sleeve became stained with the blood from the Presidents wounded head. Soldiers that were in the theatre carried Lincoln across the street to the Petersen House. President Lincoln arrived at the Peterson House around 10:30 and he lived 9 hours in that house.

Booth had rented a horse and kept it outside the back stage door. This was not his personal "one eyed horse" from Dr. Mudd but another one. From there he rode out of town and was finally captured and shot at Garrett farm in Virginia and was paralized from the neck down. He lived for two hours his last words were "Useless" referring to his hands.

As part of my visit, I got go up in the booth that Lincoln sat in and get my picture taken. My friend, Sarah came up with me and got to look in the booth too.

Here I am with Miss Allison walking toward the famous box.

What a great view of the stage. I have chills from being in this historic spot.

This is Miss Allison who was kind enough to give me the tour talking about the contents of the famous box.

Be sure to follow Ford's Theater on Twitter they are @fordstheatre

Emancipation Proclamation - Part 2

Here's the artifact I mentioned . . .

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was a powerful document - written in stages . . .did you know that? I watched a short film in the Center's exhibit, In the Cause of Liberty, where I learned more than I ever knew about the "EP." Then, I had the chance to view a version of it in an artifact case nearby!

Jordan on Secession

Jordan P. on Lincoln

Flags, Shawls, & Assorted Reproductions

Mrs. Barford’s class had a wide array of Civil War paraphernalia. I don’t look as good with a beard as President Lincoln did.

The David Wills House in Gettysburg

Hello Everyone,

On President's Day 2008, I took a trip to my favorite town of Gettysburg and visited the newly opened David Wills House.  In November 1863, this was the home of David Wills and is where President Abraham Lincoln stayed prior to giving his famous Gettysburg Address.

President Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg on November 18, 1863 at the local train station and went to the Wills home.  President Lincoln was invited to Gettysburg to provide "a few appropriate remarks" as part of the ceremony dedicating the National Cemetery.  While at the Wills house, President Lincoln meet with Pennsylvania Governor Curtin, said a few words on the public and then completed his now famous Gettysburg Address. 

Here are a few photos from the museum:

Here is a pocket hymn book that soldiers would have carried with them.

Check out the prices for things like corn and flour on this sign!

This is the key to the bedroom where President Lincoln slept

Here is a chair in the bedroom where President Lincoln slept.

Here I am checking out the actual bed that President Lincoln slept on.  Did you know that they took the headboard off of the bed in the summer time so it would be cooler when sleeping?

This is the saddle that on the horse President Lincoln rode to the cemetery on November 19, 1863.

I hope you enjoyed this post on my visit to the David Wills house.  I hope to go back soon and visit the train station where President Lincoln arrived so stay tuned for that post.  

Do you have somewhere near you that played a role in the Civil War?  If so, I would love to come visit you.  Check out my wiki at http://civilwarsallie.wikispaces.com