Robert Lincoln and the military

[STS Lincolnite]

(11-06-2014 03:36 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 11:40 AM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  So it seems his wish did not only root in the increasing pressure he felt from his classmates.

Eva, I found what Mrs. Keckly wrote about this:

"Robert would come home every few months, bringing new joy to the family circle. He was very anxious to quit school and enter the army, but the move was sternly opposed by his mother.

'We have lost one son, and his loss is as much as I can bear, without being called to make another sacrifice,' she would say, when the subject was under discussion.

'But many a poor mother has given up all her sons,' mildly suggested Mr. Lincoln,' and our son is not more dear to us than the sons of other people are to their mothers.'

'That may be; but I cannot bear to have Robert exposed to danger. His services are not required in the field, and the sacrifice would be a needless one.'

'The services of every man who loves his country are required in this war. You should take a liberal instead of a selfish view of the question, mother."

I haven't watched the Lincoln movie for a while, but I think that it presented a scene based almost verbatim on Keckly's account.

I had long been under the impression that Robert wanted to join the army early on but had been deterred by MTL (and/or others). I'm sure I read something to fuel that impression, but don't know where - it was not directly from Keckly's account, I do know that. I probably read from a secondary source that referenced Keckley. The language used in her account is very familiar.