He Served in Place of Abraham Lincoln

[Joe Di Cola]

Gene,

The only biography I have encountered that had the Staples story was in Sandburg's 6-volume biography, in volume 3 of "The War Years." And, as much as I am fond of the lyric prose of Carl Sandburg in his Lincoln bio, we do not have a full picture of where that author got his sources. As reported by Sandburg, the whole incident appears to be more symbolic than anything--sort of like an 1861 photo-op since Lincoln, as C-in-C would actually not be considered part of the quota of recruits from his ward in Washington, D.C.
The pseudo-/micro-research that occupies some on the symposium is disheartening and sometimes produces posts that have less merit than other posts. C'est la vie!