Surratt Courier

[RJNorton]

Kudos to Bill Binzel for the article he edited in the current (January 2015) Surratt Courier. The article is entitled A Trip with Lincoln, Chase, and Stanton by Egbert L. Viele. I won't give away too much away, but I was overjoyed to read that in May 1862 Abraham Lincoln had performed the same feat with an ax that he performed at City Point on April 8, 1865. At City Point Lincoln picked up an ax by the butt and held his arm straight out with the handle parallel to the ground. He held the 7-pound tool motionless for several minutes. I have always believed in that story, and I once email-argued with an author (not a forum member) over its veracity. I wish I had known (at that time) about Lincoln doing the same thing in 1862 to the sheer amazement of all the sailors who watched him do it.

Thanks, Bill, for your work on this article. I loved it.