At the Cusp of Greatness: A Signed Invitation by Abraham Lincoln to Ride on His Inaugural Train to Washington, the Most Important Inaugural Journey in American History

He also arranges his own security; This has been in a noted private collection for a generation

Abraham Lincoln was a virtual unknown when he was elected president. His very legitimacy as President was in question, and South Carolina seceded from the Union rather than acknowledge it. Moreover, Lincoln’s life was in grave danger, as enraged opponents sent him credible death threats that increased as his Inauguration approached.

Now Lincoln and his family had to reach Washington from Springfield. The railroad would provide an efficient mode of travel. The challenge was not the distance, but two issues. First, he must solidify support in the North. What Lincoln determined to do was a stunning departure from precedent. His train would carry him on a speaking tour, where he would go state after state and let the people see and hear him. It proved to be he most consequential pre-inauguration journey in American history, as he traveled through 93 cities and towns, giving speeches in many locations along the way.

The second task was security. Lincoln thought it best to have experienced military men travel with him. Anti-slavery Major David Hunter was concerned with his safety and volunteered to be one of his escorts. Lincoln agreed. Lincoln also lined up Col. Edwin V. Sumner, who had written advising him to carry a weapon at all times. Then there was his bodyguard Ward H. Lamon, and the young militia organizer, Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth. Eleven campaign officials and his two secretaries also accompanied him.

There was much fanfare around the progression to Washington, and Lincoln was exposed to hundreds of thousands of people. We can see how badly he was in need of security by looking at the some details. In Indiana Gov. Oliver Morton welcomed him with a 34-gun salute, and Lincoln then joined a procession of 20,000 state legislators, public employees, soldiers, firemen and others. A crowd of 60,000 greeted Lincoln in Columbus, Ohio, where he was escorted by members of the Ohio legislature, and spoke to the public from the steps of the state capitol. Lincoln was awestruck by the size and strength of the crowds greeting him on the streets of Pittsburgh. In Buffalo Lincoln was greeted by former president Millard Fillmore and 10,000 supporters. In New York City, an estimated 250,000 people watched Lincoln’s 11-car procession to the Astor House, where me met with William Cullen Bryant, editor of the New York Evening Post. That evening Mrs. Lincoln and her children visited P.T. Barnum’s museum. In Philadelphia, Lincoln rode to the Continental Hotel and spoke to 100,000 supporters. That evening, Frederick W. Seward delivered a letter from his father, Sen. William Seward, that discussed a plot uncovered to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore. The railroad company’s detectives supported this intelligence. Lincoln pledged to consider altering his schedule, but insisted on fulfilling his engagements in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. In the latter city, he spoke before the state legislature. From there on, he would travel incognito because of security concerns.

This is Major Hunter’s original invitation to join Lincoln on the inaugural train and become part of his security detail. Letter signed, dated January 26, 1861, to Hunter. “I have determined to leave here for Washington on February 11th. subject to be changed for any extraordinary cause. I find the journey will have to be a circuitous and rather tedious one. I expect the pleasure of your company.”

This is the only item we have ever seen on the market, in all of our decades in the field, directly related to Lincoln’s Inaugural train and his security measures. As such, it is an American treasure.