Jerry Maxwell shows a knife from the Civil War era as part of his presentation at the Stein Haus. Lincoln's Cronies - A Motley Group, 71 lb. Tom Thumb to 350 lb. Judge Davis
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Judge David Davis weighed 350 pounds and had a violent temper.
"General" Tom Thumb (Charles Sherwood Stratton) was 3 foot 3, weighed about 70 pounds and was placid as a lamb.
These were two of six of Abraham Lincoln's cronies whose personal traits, flaws and good qualities, were explored by Jerry Maxwell for the 7th Michigan Cavalry Civil War Round Table's recent meeting.
Mr. Maxwell has written a a book on Confederate artillerymen John Pelham that is in production at the University of Alabama Press.
On Dec. 8 the Bay City CWRT will have a "show and tell" of Civil War books, guns, swords, maps and other artifacts owned by members. January 12 Bob Bouquette (Sailor Bob) and Paul Davis, local re-enactors, will have a presentation on a unique area of history; on February 9 Tim Younkman will talk on newspapers of the Civil War; and March 9 Gary Batzlaff will present on Lincoln's security.
Mr. Maxwell, a Detroit area former teacher and SO to be author, is active as a speaker to Civil War groups.
The rotund Judge Davis, who had traveled the Illinois court circuit with Lincoln, served as his campaign manager in 1860.
At the Republican National Convention, according to Maxwell, Davis promised at least 24 cabinet posts to key GOP figures even though only seven were available if Lincoln won the election.
Described as "shrewd" and "brilliant," Davis hired a gaggle of drunks at the convention in Chicago's Wigwam for $5 each to shout from the balcony "We want Lincoln!"
Another crony, Simon Cameron, described as "a crook" from Pennsylvania who wanted the post of Secretary of the Treasury, instead got the war department. After his sins like arranging the purchase of $11 rifles for $22, lining pockets of friends, Lincoln exiled Cameron to Russia as ambassador.
Another crony was Alan Pinkerton, "spymaster" charged with estimating enemy numbers, was tricked by a Confederate general who marched 5,000 men over and around a hill, causing the detective to arrive at more than 180,000 rebel soldiers. Trouble was, Major General William McLellan believed him.
Pinkerton left his legacy in a worldwide detective agency that today is in 200 countries and employs about 50,000.
Elmer Ellsworth, a close friend of the Lincolns, died at age 24 when he hauled down the rebel flag at the Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia. Hotelier James Jackson shot him in the chest with a shotgun and in turn was gunned down by Private Francis Brownell, who stabbed the assassin 24 times for good measure.
Said to be Lincoln's "best friend," Edward Baker was an Englishman and a great orator but a poor commander. Lincoln cried after Baker's death at Ball's Bluff.
No crony topped Dan Sickles, a Democratic Tammany Hall Congressman who endeared himself to Lincoln in their first meeting on the floor of the House by cheering "hurray for Lincoln."
Sickles had murdered his wife's lover, Philip Barton Key, in 1859. Edwin Stanton was his lawyer and got a jury to free the slayer on a plea of "temporary insanity."
Appointed a major general, Sickles bungled troop placement at Gettysburg, earning him the wrath of Maj. Gen. George Meade. Sickles lost a leg to a 12-pound cannon ball, both of which are on display at the Walter Reed Army Pathological Hospital in Washington.
We won't talk much about Sickles' cavorting with prostitutes or his theft of $8,000 to travel to Europe for an affair with the promiscuous Queen Isabella of Spain.
When Stratton (aka Tom Thumb) married tiny Lavinia Warren, the press commented that the wedding cake weighed more than the bride and groom combined. The couple was welcomed by Lincoln to the White House after the ceremony. They became showman P.T. Barnum's leading attraction.
Any interested person is welcome to attend the CWRT meetings at the Stein Haus. Membership is $25 annually and attendance at a single meeting is $5. Founder and president of the group is Dee Dee Wacksman; Keith Markstrom is treasurer. ###
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