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Connection Between Abraham Lincoln and James G. Birney and Sons Explored
Roots of Lincoln's Abolitionist Philosophy Traced to New Orleans Trips
October 01, 2005
By Dave Rogers
Bay City pioneer and prominent abolitionist James G. Birney, who in 1844 was the first Michiganian to seek the Presidency, had a little-known connection with the man who was to end slavery, Abraham Lincoln.
Besides their shared abolitionist philosophy, the main connection between Abraham Lincoln and James G. Birney was through a common relative: Governor Ninian Edwards (1775-1833) of Illinois.
Edwards was a cousin of Birney's by marriage and was Lincoln's brother-in-law by virtue of their marriage to the Todd sisters of Kentucky. Edwards was married to Elizabeth Todd while Lincoln's wife was her younger sister Mary Todd.
A sympathetic connection between Lincoln and Birney no doubt developed because of philosophy. Birney was an open and forceful advocate of the abolition of Negro chattel slavery, while Lincoln was more politically cautious about his opinions but clearly was no less an abolitionist at heart.
Lincoln in fact may have been converted to the abolitionist viewpoint when at age 19 he began a short career as a crewmember of a flatboat transporting goods from Illinois to New Orleans. Theyear of his first trip was 1828 and slavery was in full flower. Surely, the impressionable young Lincoln witnessed the spectacle of the slave markets in New Orleans.
Lincoln certainly reacted with open aversion to slavery three years later when he remarked to his cousin, Dennis Hanks, after seeing an octoroon girl on the block subjected to ribald comments from lecherous onlookers: "If I ever get a chance at that thing, (slavery) I'll hit it hard." It was an uncommonly prophetic comment by a 22-year-old who had little prospect of becoming anything but a laborer.
In 1824, Birney had spoken out against then U.S. Senator Edwards' failure to oppose slavery in the Illinois constitutional convention. Lincoln could scarcely have been aware of either Birney or his criticism of Edwards since the future President was only 15 years old and was living in the sparsely populated community of Pigeon Creek in southern Indiana.
However, a decade and a half later Lincoln was to face off against Edwards' son, Ninian W. Edwards, (1809-1899) under the same philosophical differences over slavery that had pitted Birney against the governor.
Lincoln and Edwards were members of the "Long Nine," a group of tall Whig legislators from Sangamon County in Illinois in the 1830s. While Lincoln became a member of the Republican Party, which had an anti-slavery platform, Edwards became a Democrat, a mostly pro-slavery party in those days.
Mrs. Edwards introduced Lincoln and her sister, Mary Todd. Ninian W. Edwards, then an Illinois state senator, opposed the marriage. Finally, under pressure from both Elizabeth and Mary Todd, Edwards not only consented but also insisted that his home in Springfield be used for the ceremony in 1842.
Ninian W. Edwards has been described as vain, egotistical, highly opinionated and hot-tempered. He was also hypocritical to the core. Even though he opposed Lincoln's candidacies for the U.S. Senate and the Presidency, he often sought Lincoln's help.
Lincoln's attempts to help Edwards led to some of the most embarrassing incidents in his Presidency. Edwards and his family were often in financial difficulty, states the Lincoln Institute. Despite the fact that Edwards was a Democrat, Lincoln appointed him an Army paymaster. The appointment led to charges of corruption and personal enrichment, resulting in Edwards' resignation in 1863.
Despite his antipathy to Lincoln politically, Edwards agreed to take in his wife's sister, the mentally ill Mary Todd, after Lincoln's death. Mary Todd Lincoln died in 1882 and Ninian W. Edwards died in 1889.
Anotherpossible Lincoln-Birney connection was the fact that Fitzhugh Birney was at Harvard College at the same time as Robert Todd Lincoln. Young Birney, who was born in Saginaw in 1842, left Harvard to enlist in 1862. He was and was a major on the staff of Gen. George McLellan, was involved with the signal corps as a balloonist, served at several battles including Cold Harbor and died of pneumonia in 1864.
Robert Todd Lincoln graduated from Harvard in 1864 and was appointed a captain on the staff of Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant. "My son wishes to see something of the war before it ends," Lincoln wrote to Grant.
More than 1,500 Harvard students and alumni enlisted, 1,311 Union and 257 Confederates. Fitzhugh Birney was among 136 Harvard men on theUnion side who died.
Another indication of the Lincoln-Birney friendship was the fact that Brig. Gen. David Bell Birney called on Lincoln at the White House in 1863, to pay his respects and obliquely also sought the President's support for appointment to major general that had been delayed by the Army staff.
Obviously, such a call with such a request would have been unlikely had Gen. Birney not had at least a passing acquaintance with Lincoln. Lincoln reportedly said: "Birney, why do your friends remind me of the newsboys about Washington?" Birney replied: Indeed sir, I cannot tell." "Why," joked Abe, "they are always crying out ‘Extra Star.'" Lincoln was referring jocularly to Birney's candidacy for major general in relation to the newspaper, The Washington Evening Star, whose newsboys were selling the "Extra Star" whenever there was hot news.
Birney got his extra star as major general, on May 5, 1863, after a sterling performance at Chancellorsville and the death of Maj. Gen. H.G. Berry, of Maine, created an opening.
Maj. Gen. Birney commanded the Third Corps at Gettysburg after the wounding of Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles, and headed the Tenth Corps at New Market. He rode with Grant at Deep Bottom in the drive toward Richmond. Birney was taken ill with malaria but continued bravely in action despite being ravaged by the disease.
Gen. Birney was ordered home by Gen. Benjamin Butler and died in Philadelphia Oct. 18, 1864. His last words were: "Keep your eyes on that flag, boys!" He is buried in Livingston County, New York, near his father, who died in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1857, never having seen the fulfillment of his longtime dream of freedom for the slaves.
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