Abraham Lincoln and the Freed Slaves:
On April 4, 1865,
President Abraham Lincoln entered the city of Richmond Virginia, the capitol
of the Confederate States of America. This was one day after the fall of
Richmond to the Union army. This, one of the most historic events of
Lincoln's presidency, was captured by renowned artist Thomas Nast in this
now famous sketch. This messianic scene showing Lincoln being praised and
almost worshipped by freed slaves and liberated Southerners. The famous Nast
sketch was published in Harper's Weekly shortly thereafter and this is an
original Harper's Weekly leaf of the Nast sketch. This leaf is 137 years
old. In presenting
this illustration, Harper's Weekly correctly predicted the enduring legacy
of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator. Harper's succinctly stated that
"Posterity will see in him a greater man than his contemporaries can
acknowledge" and "Among all the incidents of Lincoln's life, none will be
more fondly prized and remembered than that which Thomas Nast Captured in
this Illustration." |
Original Thomas Nast Drawing of
Freed Slaves Greeting Abraham Lincoln in Richmond Virginia (Click on Image for Enlargement) |
A short ten days after this historic event, President Lincoln lay dying, a
victim of the assassin John Wilkes Booth.
April 4, 1865 started early for Mr. Lincoln. He began the day with quiet
resolve to personally walk the streets of the fallen rebel capitol. He left
Washington on the Ship the "River Queen", and stayed with the ship as far as
Varina. He disembarked the River Queen, and was taken by Army Ambulance to
the outskirts of Richmond Virginia, where he met Union Admiral Porter. At
about 11:00, Mr. Lincoln entered the city of Richmond on foot, accompanied
by Admiral Porter, Captain Bell, and a protective force of about a half
dozen marines. Crowds thronged the streets, and chief and eager among them
were the emancipated, wishing to pay homage, and give thanks to their Great
Emancipator.
The small white boy clutching the President's hand . . . that is Tad
Lincoln, the President's son, whom the President had taken with him to the
fallen Rebel capital. This day, April 4, 1865 was Tad Lincoln's 12th
Birthday. As Mr. Lincoln and his son walked the streets of Richmond, one
group of Newly freed slaves cried "Glory, Hallelujah!" and fell to their
knees before Mr. Lincoln. The President motioned for them to rise. "Don't
kneel to me." he told them. "You must kneel to God only and thank Him for
your freedom." "Liberty is your birthright. God gave it to you as he gave it
to others, and it is a sin that you have been deprived of it for so many
years."
We often think of the last years of Lincoln's life as filled with the
heartache and pain of his heroic efforts to preserve the union and free the
slaves. This illustration is an encouraging reminder that Lincoln did, in
fact, have a brief glimpse before his death of his enduring legacy, a United
Nation, with Freedom and Justice for all. |