A new work on Emilie Todd Helm's visit to Lincoln's White House

[STS Lincolnite]

I just picked up an e-mail from Stuart Sanders regarding a new long-form essay he has published. Stuart is a great guy and has published several other books focusing on Civil War Kentucky. I will certainly be picking this up as I am interested in the topic, and you can hardly beat the purchase price! Below is info regarding this publication.

***My new longform essay, "Lincoln's Confederate 'Little Sister:' Emilie Todd Helm" is now available for purchase on Amazon.com for the Kindle and related platforms (Kindle app for iPhones, iPads, and computers, 50 pages, $2.99).

As the wife of a Confederate general and the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln, Emilie was torn between two worlds. Having lost several brothers in the Civil War, she suffered another blow when her husband was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga. In December 1863, she traveled to the White House and mourned with Mary Lincoln. Although politicians condemned the Union commander-in-chief for hosting this rebel widow, to President Lincoln she was simply “Little Sister,” a grieving family member who brought comfort to his wife. Sadly, a year later, Emilie ended contact with Mary after she blamed Lincoln for their family woes. Their relationship—fractured like their family—was another casualty of the war.

"Lincoln’s Confederate 'Little Sister:' Emilie Todd Helm" describes Emilie’s life, her controversial 1863 visit to the White House, and her unique role in postwar reconciliation, when she revered her husband’s Confederate legacy while commemorating Lincoln’s memory.

For more information or to purchase the publication, the Amazon.com link is here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lincolns-Confedera...bc?ie=UTF8

Thank you! Please forward to anyone who might be interested.

Sincerely,
Stuart W. Sanders

Stuart W. Sanders is the former executive director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association. He is the author of Perryville Under Fire: The Aftermath of Kentucky’s Largest Civil War Battle, The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky, and Maney’s Confederate Brigade at the Battle of Perryville. He has also contributed to multiple Civil War anthologies and has written for several magazines, including Civil War Times Illustrated, America’s Civil War, Military History Quarterly, Hallowed Ground, Blue and Gray Civil War Quarterly, and several other publications. ***

[BettyO]

Looks fascinating, Scott! I've always had an interest in Emilie - this is a must-buy!

[STS Lincolnite]

I just finished reading this work. It was a quick, easy read and very well done. I definitely learned things I didn't know before. I also couldn't help but notice one of the first people mentioned in Stuart's acknowledgements was a member of this discussion group, Donna McCreary!

[Susan Higginbotham]

Ordered! Hope to read it tonight. Did Emile and Mary remain estranged for the rest of Mary's life, then? Eager to see what the book has to say.

[RJNorton]

(01-25-2015 12:43 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  I also couldn't help but notice one of the first people mentioned in Stuart's acknowledgements was a member of this discussion group, Donna McCreary!

Which makes me think of Donna's book entitled The Kentucky Todds in Lexington Cemetery. Emilie is buried there. It's an excellent little book which contains some very rare photos.

[Gene C]

(01-25-2015 12:54 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  Did Emile and Mary remain estranged for the rest of Mary's life, then?

I believe they did, but mainly because of Emilie.
This article is from today's Central Kentucky News
http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews/life...b072b.html

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-25-2015 05:03 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(01-25-2015 12:54 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  Did Emile and Mary remain estranged for the rest of Mary's life, then?

I believe they did, but mainly because of Emilie.
This article is from today's Central Kentucky News
http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews/life...b072b.html

They did remain estranged. Emilie wrote a letter to President Lincoln on October 30, 1864 and that is the last known communication between Abraham/Mary and Emilie. It was a scathing letter, from what I can gather, in which she more or less blamed Lincoln for all the misfortunes that she had suffered. She did however see and speak to RTL in March 1865. She kept up a cordial relationship with him until he died in 1926. Yes she outlived him. She died at age 93 in 1930.

[RJNorton]

(01-25-2015 05:27 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  They did remain estranged. Emilie wrote a letter to President Lincoln on October 30, 1864 and that is the last known communication between Abraham/Mary and Emilie.

I am not 100% certain this is the entire letter, but I think it is at least most of it:

October 30, 1864

Mr. Lincoln

"Upon arriving at Lexington, after my long tedious unproductive and sorrowful visit to you, I found my Mother streched upon a sick bed, made sick by the harrowing and shocking death of your Brother in law, and my half Brother Levi Todd — He died from utter want and destitution as a letter sent to Sister Mary by Kitty gives particulars, another sad victim to the powers of more favored relations– With such a sad, such a dreadful lesson, I again beg and plead attention & consideration to my petition to be permitted to ship my cotton & be allowed a pass to go South to attend to it– My necessities are such that I am compelled to urge it– The last money I have in the world I used to make the unfruitful Appeal to you. You cannot urge that you do not know them for I have told you of them. I have been a quiet citizen and request only the right which humanity and Justice always give to Widows and Orphans. I also would remind you that your Minnie bullets have made us what we are & I feel I have that additional claim upon you–

Did you receive a letter from the Arch Bishop Purcell dated 18th Oct.4 He desired for Kitty an Answer as he would use his influence for you on the 8th of Oct. Will you reply to this– If you think I give way to excess of feeling, I beg you will make some excuse for a woman almost crazed with misfortune–"


Ruth Painter Randall includes part of the letter in her book entitled Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage. The author has some of the words/phrases italicized such as "know them," "the right," and "minnie bullets."

[Donna McCreary]

(01-25-2015 05:27 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  

(01-25-2015 05:03 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(01-25-2015 12:54 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  Did Emile and Mary remain estranged for the rest of Mary's life, then?

I believe they did, but mainly because of Emilie.
This article is from today's Central Kentucky News
http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews/life...b072b.html

They did remain estranged. Emilie wrote a letter to President Lincoln on October 30, 1864 and that is the last known communication between Abraham/Mary and Emilie. It was a scathing letter, from what I can gather, in which she more or less blamed Lincoln for all the misfortunes that she had suffered. She did however see and speak to RTL in March 1865. She kept up a cordial relationship with him until he died in 1926. Yes she outlived him. She died at age 93 in 1930.

Emilie told a a friend of hers (who in later years became a friend to me) that both Elizabeth Edwards and Frances Wallace had tried to bring the two estranged sisters together. Mary refuses. Emilie wrote a few years to Mary, and Mary returned them unopened.

I understand Mary's feelings on this. There was an 18-year age difference between the two women. Mary had taken Emilie into her Springfield home for an extended visited. She defended Emilie's presence in the White House. Mary and Abraham loved Emilie like a daughter. Lincoln had offered Ben a position of high rank in the military during the War. Instead, Emilie and Ben supported the Confederacy -- something Mary took personally. Mary defended Emilie's presence in the White House after Ben's death. The accusation that it was Lincoln's fault that Levi had died, and the reference to the "minnie ball" was too much for Mary. Emilie never took an oath of allegiance to the United States - she lived the rest of life rallying around the Confederate cause. To welcome Emilie with open arms was an unthinkable act for Mary.

One of these days, I am going to write something about Emilie and her relationship with Robert Lincoln. Most people do not know how deep their connection was -- or how deep Emilie and her children were in Robert's pockets.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Donna, Harold Holzer (editor) in "The Lincoln Mailbag", p. 117, claims that on December 8, 1863, Emily took the following oath of allegiance:
"'I, Emily T. Helm, do solemnly swear in presence of Almighty God that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, made during the existing rebellion, having reference to slaves so long and so far as not modified, or declared void by the Supreme Court. So help me God.'
In return for signing this affidavit - which Lincoln wrote out himself, and then rewrote in order to keep a copy in his files -...Emily was given the following presidental pass:..."

Please go here: https://books.google.de/books?id=mKH2hDb...CBYQ6AEwBA

Donna, so you are sure this is wrong?

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-26-2015 02:06 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Donna, Harold Holzer (editor) in "The Lincoln Mailbag", p. 117, claims that on December 8, 1863, Emily took the following oath of allegiance:
"'I, Emily T. Helm, do solemnly swear in presence of Almighty God that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, made during the existing rebellion, having reference to slaves so long and so far as not modified, or declared void by the Supreme Court. So help me God.'
In return for signing this affidavit - which Lincoln wrote out himself, and then rewrote in order to keep a copy in his files -...Emily was given the following presidental pass:..."

Please go here: https://books.google.de/books?id=mKH2hDb...CBYQ6AEwBA

Donna, so you are sure this is wrong?

Eva, in the accounts that I have read, Lincoln did write out the oath of allegiance for her as above and gave it to her along with the pass...but she never signed it. In one account I read, it stated that Lincoln signed her name for her (because he knew she would never sign it herself). It is thought he did this so as to be supportive of her and provide means for her to go home to her family while trying to keep minimal the political consequences of giving (preferential?) travel passes to family members (Confederates at that). When giving her these papers allowing her to travel back to KY, he supposedly asked her not to cause any trouble for him. Prior to this, she had been given an oath of allegiance to sign when she crossed the lines on her way to the White House...this was required of all people crossing the lines. She refused to sign at that time. Word of this got back to Lincoln and he was asked how to handle the situation. He replyed with a note that said simply "send her to me." The ebook mentioned in the initial post gives a good account of both of these events.

I too would like to hear Donna's take.

[Donna McCreary]

(01-26-2015 02:55 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote:  

(01-26-2015 02:06 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Donna, Harold Holzer (editor) in "The Lincoln Mailbag", p. 117, claims that on December 8, 1863, Emily took the following oath of allegiance:
"'I, Emily T. Helm, do solemnly swear in presence of Almighty God that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by, and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, made during the existing rebellion, having reference to slaves so long and so far as not modified, or declared void by the Supreme Court. So help me God.'
In return for signing this affidavit - which Lincoln wrote out himself, and then rewrote in order to keep a copy in his files -...Emily was given the following presidental pass:..."

Please go here: https://books.google.de/books?id=mKH2hDb...CBYQ6AEwBA

Donna, so you are sure this is wrong?

Eva, in the accounts that I have read, Lincoln did write out the oath of allegiance for her as above and gave it to her along with the pass...but she never signed it. In one account I read, it stated that Lincoln signed her name for her (because he knew she would never sign it herself). It is thought he did this so as to be supportive of her and provide means for her to go home to her family while trying to keep minimal the political consequences of giving (preferential?) travel passes to family members (Confederates at that). When giving her these papers allowing her to travel back to KY, he supposedly asked her not to cause any trouble for him. Prior to this, she had been given an oath of allegiance to sign when she crossed the lines on her way to the White House...this was required of all people crossing the lines. She refused to sign at that time. Word of this got back to Lincoln and he was asked how to handle the situation. He replyed with a note that said simply "send her to me." The ebook mentioned in the initial post gives a good account of both of these events.

I too would like to hear Donna's take.

I have also read that Lincoln wrote the oath, but Emilie refused to sign it. Somewhere, (perhaps the Helm book?) I read that Emilie refused to sign because she had just buried her husband and to do so would have been disrespectful to his memory.
I love Emilie on many levels - do not like her on others - and in one of my lectures about Lincoln and his in-laws, I refer to Emilie as "the little twit." It always gets a good laugh.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for your replies and input, Scott and Donna!

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-26-2015 05:59 PM)Donna McCreary Wrote:  I read that Emilie refused to sign because she had just buried her husband and to do so would have been disrespectful to his memory.

Sanders mentions this in the e-book. Discussing her refusal to sign an the oath while at Fort Monroe (prior to going to the white house), Emilie later wrote: "a United States officer came on the boat and told me he had orders to require an oath of allegiance to the United States from everyone who landed. I had just left the friends in arms of my husband and brothers with tears in their eyes and hearts for me in my great bereavement, and they would have felt, if I had taken the oath, that I had deserted them and had not been true to the cause for which my husband had given up his life. My refusal was therefore not bravado." I have no doubt she still felt the same way when Lincoln gave her the oath, an amnesty document and a letter to help her move through Union lines when she left a few short weeks later in December.

[LincolnToddFan]

The rupture of the relationship between MTL and AL and Emilie Todd Helm is poignant and heartbreaking. The Lincolns doted on Emilie and treated her as the daughter they never had. When Emilie came to visit the couple in Springfield there are stories of Mary purchasing pretty bonnets and clothes for her pretty younger sister and proudly giving parties in her honor. When she married Ben Hardin Helm AL took him under his wing. Hardin Helm loved and admired his brother-in-law and the feeling was mutual.

But the Civil War changed everything. AL pleaded with young Helm to join him in Washington, but Helm was a loyal son of the South and despite his feelings of gratitude and fondness for his brother-in-law he turned him down. When Helm was killed at Chickamauga, Lincoln lamented that he felt like the biblical David weeping over Absalom("The House of Abraham" by Stephen Berry). When his widow refused to take the loyalty oath AL directed Union officers to "send her to me" rather than take punitive measures against her and that is how she came to be in the WH, which was a politically risky thing for the president to have done. He even tried to persuade Emilie to spend the summer with them at the Soldier's Home. But after a brief, sad and strained visit with her sister and brother-in-law she returned to Kentucky and never saw either of them again.

The fatal breach came when Emilie wrote a bitter letter excoriating AL for refusing to allow her to sell her cotton without taking the loyalty oath. She told the president that "your minie balls have made us what we are". Mary never, ever forgave anyone who attacked her husband. This is why I have always felt any attempt to paint her as disloyal to AL or the Union cause patently absurd and dishonest. The relationship with Emilie might have been mended after the assassination. After all, both sisters were now widowed as a direct result of the war. But MTL had hardened her attitude, perhaps made even more bitter after the tragic murder of her husband.

Emilie later corroborated with her daughter Katherine Helm in the writing of "The True Story of Mary, Wife of Lincoln". Her reminisces of her sister and famous brother-in-law are decidedly flattering and affectionate, with no bitterness whatsoever. And she was extremely close to Robert Todd Lincoln until the end of his life. He assisted her financially and visited her often. They were close in age, and had played together as children.

[I love Emilie on many levels - do not like her on others - and in one of my lectures about Lincoln and his in-laws, I refer to Emilie as "the little twit." It always gets a good laugh]// quote

Donna,

It gave ME a good laugh too! I liked Emilie until I read her final letter to Lincoln. And even though I understand the grief and anger that produced those hard words, it still made me flinch when I remember how desperately Lincoln attempted to comfort and accommodate "Little Sister" in the WH...at considerable political risk to himself.

She was certainly a very pretty young woman-no doubt about that!