The Bixby Letter

[Steve]

Thanks, this is the first I've heard about the new paper. It's the first real paper to examine the authorship issue by examining the language of the letter since Nickell's 1989 article. And that article was written before computer analysis of texts existed. Hopefully, the paper will be available for examination. If it is I'll try and give my thoughts on it when it comes out next week.

To the study authors... Please... Please... Please... make sure you have the text of the letter right! It's often slightly mangled. If there's an error it could skew the analysis.

This is the article that first published the letter in the November 25, 1864 issue of the Boston Evening Traveller:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...veller.jpg

Quote:

Executive Mansion,
Washington, 21st November, 1864.

Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln.

Mrs. Bixby.

The letter was reprinted in the Boston Evening Transcript on the same day. (Although some sources incorrectly list the Transcript as first.)

Google Newspapers has an image of the 3rd edition of Nov. 25th issue of the Transcript in column 5 of page 2, with more information on Bixby and her sons at the end of column 2 of page 3 (5 P.M. Extra!):

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=s...page&hl=en

The text of the letter is the same as the Traveller, except the date is written as "Nov. 21, 1864" instead of "21st November, 1864"