(The following is a guest post by Michelle Krowl, Civil War and Reconstruction Specialist in the Manuscript Division. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, for a limited time [March 4-7, 2015] the Library of Congress will display both the four-page manuscript copy and the reading copy of the address in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building.)
Saturday, March 4, 1865, the day of Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration, “opened rather disagreeably” with a combination of “drenching rain,” drizzling, and “a heavy gale” in the morning. Such were the downpours that The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) even joked “the police were careful to confine all to the sidewalks who could not swim.”
Despite the foul weather, thousands of people assembled on the east front of the United States Capitol to witness the first president since Andrew Jackson being inaugurated for a second term of office. Lincoln’s second inauguration also offered the novelty of being the first inauguration held in the shadow of the Capitol’s newly completed cast-iron dome and witnessed by a substantial number of African Americans, some of whom wore blue uniforms reflecting their status as soldiers in the Union army. What a difference four years had made. In 1861, dust – not mud – was the problem, the dome was under construction, and black men were barred from service in the army.
After Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was sworn in as vice president in the Senate chamber about noon, invited guests then moved outside to the East Portico of the Capitol to witness Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. The president stood behind a small metal table, put on his spectacles and read from a two-columned page of type, which he had cut-and-pasted to guide his reading of his inaugural address. At just over 700 words, Abraham Lincoln’s speech would be the second shortest presidential inaugural address in American history, while also managing to be one of the most profound and memorable. He identified slavery as the cause of the war and looked to God as the arbiter of how long the war would continue. And although the war had not yet ended, Lincoln looked forward to a national reunion by urging “with malice toward none; with charity for all” to achieve “a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” At the conclusion of Lincoln’s address, Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the oath of office, and Abraham Lincoln had once again been inaugurated as president of the United States.
While we tend to remember the stirring words Lincoln spoke in his inaugural address, many who witnessed the event were also struck by the good omens seen in the weather. Accounts vary as to the exact timing of the sun’s appearance, but observers noted that while Lincoln gave his address and took the oath of office, the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly on the ceremony. Lincoln’s secretary John G. Nicolay wrote to his fiancé Therena Bates that “Just at the time when the President appeared on the East portico to be sworn in, the clouds disappeared and the sun shone out beautifully all the rest of the day.” Michael Shiner, an African-American laborer at the Washington Navy Yard recorded in his diary, “Before he came out on the porch to take his [word omitted] the wind blew and it rained with out intermission and as soon as Mr. Lincoln came out the wind ceas[ed] blowing and the rain ceased raining and the Sun came out and it was as clear as it could be….”
Several witnesses to the meteorological change interpreted it as a portent of better days ahead.
Charles Frederick Thomas, superintendent of construction on the Capitol dome, wrote to his family that “on Saturday morning there was a terrible Storm of wind and rain which continued for about an hour and then a few showers until about 11 o’clock. When the President commenced his address the clouds broke away, and by the time he had finished, the sun shone in all its splendor, which I may hope is a good sign for us.” Even Justice Chase, who when secretary of the treasury had not always appreciated Lincoln, wrote to first lady Mary Lincoln that “I most earnestly pray Him, by whose Inspiration it was given, that the beautiful Sunshine which just at the time the oath was taken dispersed the clouds that had previously darkened the sky may prove an auspicious omen of the dispersion of the clouds of war and the restoration of the clear sunlight of prosperous peace under the wise & just administration of him who took it.”
According to Lincoln’s friend, reporter Noah Brooks, even the president had noticed the sun’s appearance, and “went on to say that he was just superstitious enough to consider it a happy omen.” But as Brooks later considered the significance of the sunshine at Lincoln’s second inauguration, he noted that Lincoln, “illumined by the deceptive brilliance of a March sunburst, was already standing in the shadow of death.”
Abraham Lincoln would serve just over a month of his second term. He was assassinated by the actor John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, and died on April 15, 1865.
Lincoln’s words on March 4, 1865, live on, and his Second Inaugural Address is considered one of the finest ever delivered by an American president.
Comments (9)
Bardzo ciekawy artykuł , przeniosłem się w tamte czasy, zapisane w słowach i fotografii.
Jeszcze żeby można było ostrzec prezydenta Lincolna, przed tym co go czeka..
Very interesting article, I moved in those times, written in words and photographs.
Yet to be able to warn President Lincoln, before that what awaits him ..
Thank you for the education!
I have heard that John Wilkes Booth attended this inauguration and can be seen in the photo in the upper middle of the frame. Do you know of any evidence that this is Booth?
Thanks Margaret. According to Michelle Krowl, John Wilkes Booth did attend the inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol on March 4, 1865, having received a pass from Lucy Hale, the daughter of Senator John Parker Hale of New Hampshire. While many people think they see Booth in the crowd above Lincoln, there is no concrete evidence that the man in the photograph is John Wilkes Booth.
This is wonderful account about weather from the word on the street- reading about this observations makes the day’s event seem so much more real.
I decided to check the meteorological observations taken by Naval Observatory in DC for March 4, 1865 http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433069080392;view=1up;seq=639 . The air temp (dry bulb) was in the 40’s all day, except for 3 pm when it reached 60 degrees.
There was also a note that at “6:25 am the winds changed from E to W, with gale gusts lastly 4-5 minutes, accompanied with a heavy shower of .3 inches” However, the table suggests that the wind changed from E to W around the noon time observation. Also it was very cloudy at 6am, cleared up around 9 am, and around 6 pm there were some mighty strong winds. Keep in mind these are observations taken in NW at the observatory. But generally speaking, these are the meteorological observations for DC on March 4, 1865.
Can you tell I love historical weather!
In the photograph of Lincoln delivering his speech, which man is the drunken Andrew Johnson, and which man is Hannibal Hamlin?
I was wondering if these are all the comments about the weather that is known? the miraculous, weather I should say.
The above LOC BLOGS Post. Here Comes the Sun, says,”At the conclusion of Lincoln’s address, Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the oath of office, and Abraham Lincoln had once again been inaugurated as president of the United States.”
Please tell me the source for saying the administration of the presidential oath occurred after Lincoln’s speech.
The 3/16/1865 issue of the N. Y. Times twice says that the oath preceeded Lincoln’s speech, first on pg. 1, col 3, Inaugural Address. Who is right?
Dear Dr. Krowl,
In response to your recent assessment that you erred by writing in this blog that Lincoln took the oath *after* his inaugural speech, I ask you to consider the following. I understand, based on your citation of the inauguration planning publication and some news accounts, why you reversed yourself; but please allow me to offer ten contemporaneous journalistic sources that affirm your original position:
1. New York Herald, March 6, 1865, 5.
“It was read before Mr. Lincoln took the oath.”
2. Worcester National Aegis, March 11, 1865, 2.
“The reading of the inaugural from the printed notes occupied but a very short time. Then the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Chase.”
3. New York Tribune, March 6, 1865, 8
“… just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’ Chief Justice Chase then administered the oath.”
4. Vermont Record, March 11, 1865, 8
“Just as the President concluded his appropriate remarks the sun broke from among the clouds and lit up one of the most imposing scenes ever witnessed… When Chief Justice Chase administered the oath the surrounding assemblage reverently bared their heads.”
5. Connecticut Courant, March 11, 1865, 2
“During the reading of the Inaugural the sun broke out in full splendor, and the remainder of the day was as fine as one could desire. After the oath of office had been administrated by Judge Chase, some admirer, with more zeal than discretion, shouted, ‘three cheers for old Abe,’ which were given with a will, amid the booming of cannon and music by a dozen brass bands.”
6. New York World, March 6, 1865, 1.
“… just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’ The oath was then administered by Chief Justice Chase.”
7. Cincinnati Gazette, March 5, 1865,
“‘So help you, God!’
‘So HELP ME God!’
It is over… The procession to escort the President back to the White House begins to form.”
8. Bradford Reporter, March 9, 1865, 3
“… just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’ Chief Justice Chase then administered the oath.”
9. Norwich Aurora, March 11, 1865, 2
“… just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’ The oath was then administered by Chief Justice Chase.”
10. Sacramento Union, April 10, 1865
“…a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.’ Silence being restored, the President turned toward Chief Justice Chase, who, with his right hand uplifted, directed the Bible to be brought forward by the clerk of the Supreme Court. Then Lincoln, laying his right hand upon the open page, repeated the oath of office administered to him by the Chief Justice.”
I can cite more, but I think ten shows that it wasn’t just a rare “mistake.”
You also recognized that you relied upon the testimony of John G. Nicolay and John Hay (“The Second Inaugural – Five Forks – Appomattox,” The Century 39, no. 1 (November 1889), p. 136.) , as well as that of Noah Brooks, Washington in Lincoln’s Time (p. 240).
Now, given your reference to Arrangements for the Inauguration of the President of the United States, on the Fourth of March 1865 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1865; p. 5), as well as some contemporaneous news accounts, you are inclined to reverse yourself.
I trust you’ll agree that the “Arrangements” publication cannot trump the eyewitness accounts of the ceremony. And since the eyewitnesses are rather divided, don’t you think that responsible scholarship requires us to maintain a degree of skepticism either way?
Isn’t it a bit problematic to categorically reject reputable participants such as Hay, Nicolay, Brooks, and Reid, in addition to other reporters? I realize that it cuts both ways, and it is just as problematic to ignore the evidence to the contrary. I simply trust that it’s not the “official” proclamation of the Library of Congress that it is a settled matter of history that Brooks, et al, wrongly recorded what they saw. As a result, I see no need for you to retract what you wrote in the blog, “Here Comes the Sun.” I hope you might concur.
Richard Gardiner, Ph.D.