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In December 1862, President of the United States
A Common Bond of Grief
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Close Reading - Letter to Fanny McCulloughLecture by Megan VanGorder
on the letter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanny McCullough, Letter to Works by Abraham Lincoln Presidency of Abraham Lincoln Letters (message) 1862 documents December 1862 events
In December 1862, President of the United States Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
sent a brief consoling letter to Fanny McCullough, the daughter of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
William McCullough, following his death in the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Background
Lincoln had met William McCullough years before when Lincoln was a circuit lawyer in Illinois and McCullough was a Circuit Clerk in McLean County. Lincoln would sometimes stay with the McCullough family when he reached theBloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
area of the circuit. McCullough became an ardent supporter of Lincoln beginning with Lincoln's successful run for Congress in 1846. With the start of the Civil War, McCullough petitioned Lincoln to allow him to enlist despite his health problems and age. McCullough's request was granted, and he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the 4th Illinois Cavalry.
After McCullough was killed December 5, 1862 in an engagement near Coffeeville, Mississippi
Coffeeville is a town in and one of two county seats of Yalobusha County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 905 at the 2010 census. It is named after John Coffee (1772 – 1833), a planter and military leader. The minor American Ci ...
, his daughter Mary Frances ("Fanny") was inconsolable and locked herself in her room. At the request of David Davis, a mutual friend of Lincoln and the McCullough family, Lincoln wrote to Fanny on December 23.
Text
See also
* * Bixby letterReferences
External links
A Common Bond of Grief
- ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' articleClose Reading - Letter to Fanny McCullough
on the letter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanny McCullough, Letter to Works by Abraham Lincoln Presidency of Abraham Lincoln Letters (message) 1862 documents December 1862 events