@Abraham @Lincoln is one of the United States' best-known presidents. We know a great deal about him, both as a man and as a leader. He grew up in a log cabin. He was very honest. He was president during the Civil War, and he helped end slavery at that time. What's more interesting, though, are some of the stories told about him. Many of these are true. Others have become tall tales or legends. They give us more a sense of the man than simple facts can. The following are just a few:
This was reported by @A.B. @Chandler, who worked for the War Department during the Civil War. He also handled the mail.
On New Year's morning, 1864, President Lincoln entered the War Department building. He was always a bit jumpy. Now, though, he had become very tense. He was upset by a crying woman holding a child. @Major @Eckert asked her what was wrong. The answer was not surprising. She was the wife of a soldier. She had come to Washington with her baby, hoping to get a pass to see her husband. She learned that this was not true. If she were the wife of an officer, she could easily get such a pass. Her husband, though, was a private. It would not be so simple. She had little money, and @Washington was an expensive city. She couldn't afford to wait.
"Come, Eckert," Lincoln demanded. "Let's send the woman down there!"
It wasn't that easy. He was told that the war office had orders not to let women into camp.
"Hmm!" replied Lincoln, glaring at the man. "Let us whip the devil around the stump since he will not step right over! Send the woman's husband a leave of absence. He will report here to see his wife and baby!"
The officer on duty wrote the order, and the couple were soon together.
Another story goes as follows:
Creditors treated the struggling Lincoln with the utmost patience. They often quoted the moral that patience is not pardon. Lincoln was given the chance to show his own patience when his turn came. Before he became president, Lincoln was a lawyer. One of his clients was long overdue in paying his bill. He ran into the man by chance on the steps of the @Springfield court house.
He greeted him politely and commented about the man's accident. @Cogdale had lost a hand in a gunpowder accident.
