The Bixby Letter

[Steve]

(07-23-2017 03:16 PM)Cliff Roberts Wrote:  The case of Mrs. Bixby was first brought to Lincoln's attention through an article in a Boston newspaper by Massachusetts Adjutant General William Schouler, appealing for assistance for families of soldiers serving in the war. The article, dated Nov. 21, 1863, referred only to "a most worthy widow lady" who lost 5 sons in the war. Whether Lincoln himself discovered the article or someone brought it to him is immaterial. That day or the next, either Lincoln himself or Hay drafted a handwritten note of condolence, addressed simply to "Dear Madam," and mailed it to Adj. Gen. Schouler with a request to forward it to the lady in question. On Nov. 25, 1863, the Boston Evening Traveller printed an article dealing exclusively with Mrs. Bixby and naming her five sons. At its conclusion, the following appears:

"Gov. Gen. Schouler’s letter, it seems, attracted the attention of President Lincoln who, by some means unknown to the General, ascertained the name of the mother, and this morning’s mail brought the following letter to the Adjutant General for Mrs. Bixby"

There follows a faithful reproduction of the complete letter from Lincoln with “Mrs Bixby” written at the bottom left, opposite Lincoln’s signature on the same line.

The fact that Lincoln’s letter is dated Nov. 21, the same day the article by Schouler appeared in print, suggests the President (or Hay) had little time to identify the “worthy widow lady” mentioned by Schouler. More likely the President mailed his “Dear Madam” letter to Schouler with a request that he forward it to the proper person. Schouler probably added the name “Mrs. Bixby” to the bottom of the letter before copying it and delivering the original to Mrs. Bixby.

As to who actually wrote the “Bixby Letter,” there’s no doubt in my mind Lincoln would have done so if he’d had time, but with the war on and other important matters demanding his attention, he may well have asked Hay to do it. Once the letter became public and associated with Lincoln’s name, it’s almost certain Hay would not step on his idol's image by claiming authorship.

The letter says "I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts", which I'm assuming is referring to Schouler's letter to Gov. Andrew which the governor forwarded to the War Department. According to Bullard's book the last action in War Department records was in October:

https://archive.org/stream/abrahamlincol...0/mode/2up

Thanksgiving was on November 24, 1864 that year, the day before the letter arrived at Schouler's office. So I guess they were intending for it to reach her then. Cliff's suggestion about Schouler's Thanksgiving appeal in the Traveller, is interesting. I'm a little skeptical that a Boston newspaper article could've reached Washington prompting the letter to be written all in the same day, but then again it's a little coincidental that no action seems to have been taken on the request for a month then all of a sudden it's written on the same day as the article is printed.

In regards to the "Mrs. Bixby." at the bottom of the letter, sometimes the addressee's name was written on the bottom left of 19th century letters instead of the top. Lincoln sometimes did that with his letters; notice "Miss Fanny McCullough." written at the bottom left of his 1862 letter:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:...Letter.jpg

Bixby's name might have been written on the bottom just in case Schouler needed to write down her address below to ensure delivery.