Evening star., 1924-02-10
Men in Congress Whose
Lives Touched Lincoln S

by the light of the bivouac fires.
There were only seven votes against
Abraham Lincoln in the whole regi-
ment"
Vividiy. as though IL were yester-
day, instead of nearly three score
years ago. Gen. Sherwood recalls how
he came to Washington after fight
ing the battle Of Franklin and Nash
vile. arriving on the eve Of Lincoln's 5
inauguration
Il was looking for a war horse. as
my last horse was shot at the battle
OF Franklin" says Gen. Sherwood
Lincoln was inaugurated the next
morning OH the east front OF the
Capitol. had never seen Abraham
Lincoln. ] was bound to see that in
ausuration. as Lincoln was the idol
Of our Army.
Il reached the Capitol just as the
lnaugIlra ton had started. There was
no general platform. There were no
Reserved seats for the congressman or
anybody else. We were all standing
up. There must have been 10000
People in front of the Capitol,
Lincoln stood there on the east
front. on little platform that did
not cost $500. with a little stand and
a glass Of water. He had wbi,a
pocket handk errhief around his neck
Il worked my way I'D ,hrou~b
'hat crowd and stood within ten feet
OF Abraham Lincoln and heard him
denver his last inaugural address
his last official declaration. our
Army was to take the ocean trans
ports that night for Fort Anderson
ana to meet Gen. Sherman's army
coming up from Savannah.
While very few Of our BOYS h.-
hind the guns knew Lincoln per-
sonally. they all knew him by intu.
i'ion. His master intellect, his great
moral force. his universal sympat thy
Tor his fellows made him the out
standing figure. ThrouRhout the
tour-year conflict the leading hand.
the guiding spirit in the camps and
courts and Capital Of the nation was
Abraham Lincoln. the President and
commander in chief
THE morning of April 16 I rode
from our camp in the environs of
Raleigh into the capital to make
observations. / noticed unusual quiet
in the camps. As all the boys behind
the guns had been anticipating an
enthusiastic welcome home, the
camps had been jolly and full of
noise. some singing the popular war
songs. I met a mounted officer of
Gen. Slocum's staff and saluted him
with this inquiry: why this stiffness
in the Army?' He replied, Lon't you
know President Lincoln has been
assassinated?'
During the war I saw hundreds OF
brave soldiers die on the battlefields.
saw many popular idols in their
death aGonies surrounded by devoted
comrades. in grief too great for
tears. but l never witnessed such
| universal regret and sorrow over the
death Of great soldier as wit
| messed that day over the death of
Lincoln"
Representative Yates tells simply
! his boyhood memory Of Lincoln ard
narrates how he met and talked with
! the President nearly fifty-nine years
ago:
I'm this city of Washington, on a
street corner, on . bright morning
of day which must have been not
later than April IA, 1866. the fatal day
and not earlier than March 4 OF that
year, a very tiny boy stood on tiptoe
toying with his tiny stature to look
up into the face Of the tallest man he
had ever seen--a very tall,man-very
dark as to hair and beard
"There was doubt when the little
fellow went home to his parents
boarding house and reported that
President Lincoln had stopped him
and pulled his ears and tousled his
hair, but the little boy never doubted,
and today, after the lapse Of fifty
eight years, I am satisfied that on
that one occasion I saw and talked
Ho< 49, =,