Robert Todd Lincoln --The vitals

[L Verge]

Wow! I did not realize that it was our own Donna McCreary who found the Mary Harlan Lincoln letter about burying Robert with his place in the sun... "For 70 years, a number of theories were put forth about why he was not buried with the family. Not until 1997 was the mystery solved, when a letter written by his widow was discovered that said she had been struck "as if by inspiration" to give him burial in Arlington because, "He was his own man, made his own history, and deserves his own ‘place in the sun.’" The letter, then in a private collection, was found by Donna D. McCreary and HistoryNet‘s editor Gerald D. Swick."

That said, I am still at a loss as to what qualified him to be Secretary of War under two Presidents and then the U.S. Minister to the UK -- other than the prestige attached to the name "Lincoln" and the heritage of his father. I keep googling different sites, and it appears that his only real action as Secretary of War was calling out U.S. troops during the Cincinnati riots (after they were almost over). As for his diplomatic position, he was the last U.S. "Minister" to England. After Robert, our men were called Ambassadors to the Court of St. James.

One source went so far as to say that "both periods of [Robert's] public service were largely uneventful." Another flat out said that he made his wealth from being a lawyer in the corporate field. It would be interesting to know who did the work, Robert or his partner Isham.

I really am not anti-Robert; I just think that he made his name by using (selfishly or not) his father's legacy.