Lincoln’s Final Days in Springfield

On the morning of February 11, 1861, Abraham Lincoln looked out upon many of his rain- soaked Springfield friends and neighbors from the back of a train car. He gave a brief, emotional speech and then departed for Washington DC. He would not live to see Springfield again. The story of the days leading up to that final Springfield speech has been told many times over the years. Yet, even with all that has been written, there are still interesting details about that time period that may be clarified or explored to a greater degree. This talk is based on a forthcoming scholarly article and will look at and reexamine some incidents related to Lincoln’s last days in Springfield.
Scott T. Schroeder is a professional healthcare practitioner and an independent historian focusing on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era. He speaks regularly on those topics and is actively involved in research and manuscript preparation for article and book projects. He has led tours for Lincoln related sites and is involved in the development and/or co-development of various multimedia projects related to the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. As an example of one of those projects, he, and project collaborator David Wiegers, created a freely accessible online map featuring the locations and descriptions of over 500 Lincoln sculptures around the world. Schroeder serves on the Board of Directors for the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Board of Advisors for the Lincoln Forum, the Board of Directors for the Abraham Lincoln Institute, and the Board of Directors for the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia.