(03-22-2015 09:18 PM)missrita Wrote:  My great aunt's father, Smith Stimmel, was a member of the delegation which presented bust of Lincoln to the Norwegians. He penned a book, "Personal Remembrances of Lincoln," complete with a photo from the presentation ceremony. Smith Stimmel is buried in Fargo. The book is rare and seems to have gotten rather expensive on the secondary market. If I can find my copy, I will scan this photo and share it with you.

(03-24-2015 04:39 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  As folks on the forum know I am an (near insane) animal lover, and the tragic White House stable fire has been of particular interest to me. It happened on the night of February 10, 1864. Sgt. Stimmel was at the White House that terrible night and wrote as follows:

"An incident which brought out an expression of the President's tender feeling for his children was the burning of the White House stables. One evening in the month of February, 1864, while on duty at the front door of the White House, I heard an alarm of fire. I looked around in different directions to see if I could discover any indication of fire in that vicinity. In a moment or two I saw a flicker of light around to the east and south of the building. It seemed to come from somewhere between the south end of the Treasury Building and the White House, where the White House stable was located at that time. I was debating in my mind for the moment as to whether or not I ought to go and try to render some assistance (there was nothing in my instructions as to my duties that would forbid my doing so, if I thought best), but about the time I located the fire, I heard the fire department coming, and I concluded they could fight a fire better than I could, and that I had
better stay where I was.

Just then the front door of the White House flew open with a jerk, and out came the President buttoning his coat around him, and said to me, "Where's the fire, what's burning?" I said, "It seems to be around in the vicinity of the stable." With that he started off on a dog-trot down the steps and along the way leading to the stable. When he started to go to the fire, I thought to myself, "Old fellow, you are the man we are guarding, guess I'll go along." So I struck out on the double-quick and went with him, keeping close to his side; but he took such long strikes that his dog-trot was almost a dead run for me.

As soon as we got around where we could see what was burning, we saw that, sure enough, the White House stable was on fire. Quite a crowd had gathered by the time we got there, and the fire department was at work. Mr. Lincoln asked hastily if the horses had been taken out, and when told they had not, he rushed through the crowd and began to break open one of the large doors with his own hands; but the building was full of fire, and none of the horses could be saved. The ponies belonging to the little boys and the goats were all lost in the fire. It was a brick stable, and evidently had been burning for some time before it was discovered."