Book Review: A Great and Good Man: Rare, First-Hand Accounts and Observations of Abraham Lincoln

A Great and Good Man: Rare, First-Hand Accounts and Observations of Abraham Lincoln. Edited By Jonathan W. White and William J. Griffing. St. Louis, Missouri: Reedy Press, 2024. Softcover, 155 pp. $22.50.

Reviewed by Kevin C. Donovan

“It can’t be true, it is too good to be true” (117) rejoiced one Northerner upon hearing that Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. Another sniffed, “if he had been to church instead of a theatre, it might not have been.” (112) But others were distraught. One man compared Lincoln to Moses, as both “got in sight of the promised land but [were] not permitted to enter it.” (116) An army surgeon bemoaned: “We feel that we have lost a father.” (117) A soldier in Tennessee described beating rebel sympathizers who were celebrating the murder before torching their house.

These sentiments, and many more contemporaneous statements about Lincoln, come from accounts found in an unlikely research source–eBay–published in an unusual book. A Great and Good Man: Rare, First-Hand Accounts and Observations of Abraham Lincoln presents Lincoln-related excerpts culled from over 200 letters or journals transcribed by the book’s co-editor William Griffing. Dr. Jonathan W. White of Christopher Newport University adds information about the accounts’ authors and certain events described by them. White also provides some previously unpublished documents to the collection.

Mr. Griffing explains that years ago he was struck by the large number of unpublished Civil War era letters and diaries being circulated for sale on eBay by private collectors without ever being available for viewing by the wider public. He arranged with one of the largest eBay sellers to transcribe the documents and provide background research. This would enhance the sale value. In return, Mr. Griffing won the right to publish, and thus publicize, the documents on his website, Spared and Shared. This led to A Great and Good Man.

The editors present the writings chronologically, primarily covering the period June 1860 through May 1865. Authors’ names, place and date of drafting and where appropriate, military unit, are provided. Endnotes offer brief information on persons or events mentioned in the documents.

The editors make no attempt to analyze the writings they present. Rather, they let the authors of the documents speak for themselves. That is a strength of this book. By editing the documents generally to focus them just on those parts in which the writers discuss Lincoln, the editors have created a valuable Lincoln-centric archive of primary sources.

Many of the writers had personal interaction with Lincoln. They describe his appearance. “[W]hen he begins to speak, his whole face lights up with one of the most pleasant and heartfelt smiles. . . .” (17) A Massachusetts soldier, recounting a visit by “honest old Abe,” commented “at least he is homely enough to be honest.” (33) Another described how Lincoln visited their camp, “lit his cigar” from their fire, then sat down to chat. (35)

Others comment on Lincoln’s policies. A Canadian fears that his administration, stung by military losses, will try to unite the North by starting a war to annex Canada. Many address the Emancipation Proclamation, one cheering it as “Abraham’s war missile.” (63)

There are wonderfully colorful comments throughout. One writer condemns Lincoln’s generals as “prominent Republican politicians who . . . know as much about Military matters as a cat does of his grandfather.” (39) Another dismisses Lincoln and his Cabinet with the old saying that “Pigmies perched on Alps are pigmies still.” (34)

There are useful historical nuggets. One writer discloses that it was he who suggested that Ulysses S. Grant avoid the crush of the crowd at the White House reception introducing him as the new commander-in-chief by mounting a sofa, adding to this otherwise well-known story the detail that the secretaries of State and of War as well as an unnamed woman joined Grant aloft. Another writer was an eyewitness to Lincoln narrowly escaping being shot at Fort Stevens. And remarkably, a Maine soldier reported that Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock made a speech urging them to vote for George McClellan for president.

While not highlighted by the editors, readers can spot changes in writers’ opinions of Lincoln. One New Jersey soldier had bitterly denounced “Abe the Butcher and n—er worshiper” in an August 1864 letter (82), later predicting that the soldier vote would go against Lincoln, “who would like to see us soldiers mary [sic] [blacks].” (84) Yet that same rabid Lincoln-hater was so disgusted by the Democratic Convention (“a regular Secesh concern”) (91) and platform that he became a Lincoln supporter. Other writers reflected such a conversion. One Pennsylvania soldier said that he had been a McClellan man but “he chose bad company.” (106)

Multiple writers praised Lincoln, one calling him “a grate [sic] and good man” (118) but some seemed to feel that Andrew Johnson was better for dealing with the defeated South, precisely because Lincoln was too merciful.

A Great and Good Man is a rich source of contemporaneous commentary about Lincoln. The editors have done a fine service in presenting to the public a treasure trove of interesting and often entertaining historic accounts that one need not bid for on eBay.