Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln

200 years ago today in a one room log cabin in Kentucky Abraham Lincoln was born. 51 years later he would be elected as the 16th President of the United States of America. He did a few other things too... he won the Civil War (not personally of course, but he was Commander in Chief of all US armed forces), restored the Union, and put an end to the darkest chapter in the history of our nation by ending slavery. Sadly he was also the first President assassinated. Some believe that had he lived to finish his second term in office the reintegration of the Southern states into the union may not have turned into the painful experience we call reconstruction, but who knows.

I am a bit of a fan of Civil War ear photography, and Lincoln is always a good subject. There are portraits of him that we're all familiar with, like this one...


...but have you seen this one or a much younger Abe?


Portraits are nice and all, but I prefer the candid shots. Have you ever seen this one?


Proof that he really did dig those tall hats. (another reason I am a Lincoln fan is he was almost as tall as I am. A bit less than two inches shorter, but still the tallest President yet.) Here's another one, but I am not 100% sure that this is a photograph. It looks a little like a painting in spots.


Two more pictures, this time of The President in action. This is a photo of Lincoln's first inauguration, in 1861. I have seen other pictures of this day that show just how unfinished the Capital building was. They were still putting on the dome. This one is closer to the podium than any other I could find with a quick google images search, although you can't make out the President at all.


For the final picture, my favorite of all Lincoln or Civil War shots that I've ever seen. This is Lincoln's second inauguration. I love this shot because when you blow it up you can clearly see John Wilkes Booth standing on the balcony to Lincoln's left. This image isn't a high enough resolution to make it out, but I think I can remember where he was.




On a totally unrelated note, Jen said she was going to be busy at work today and I haven't seen her on google talk at all. I miss her terribly.

I love you Jenny sweetie.