This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in May of 2025. It was penned by Wendy Allen of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
I often wonder what meal was served to Abraham Lincoln and his entourage at the David Wills House in Gettysburg, on the evening of November 18th, 1863, the night before he dedicated the new national cemetery with his Gettysburg Address. To investigate, I bought a really fun and interesting book, Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincoln’s Life and Times by Rae Katherine Eighmey (Smithsonian, 2014).
Even though Lincoln-related meal menus have apparently been lost to history, Eighmey suggests there are "hints" as to what the Lincolns might have eaten. For example, young Mary Todd attended a French boarding school in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in a home where her family entertained leading politicians and businessmen. Fancy foods and elegant meals for guests had "a Frenchified repast rich with choices and sauces.” As Eighmey states, “these are just hints at the sophisticated foods and beverages the Lincolns left behind in Kentucky and Illinois."
Apparently this style of food was not uncommon across America. By the 1850s. French-inspired dishes had already made their way to the Westernmost edges of settlement. Eighmey says she has seen menus from those early years—when people had cows in their backyards and Native Americans walked the streets in tribal dress. A menu she found in St. Paul, Minnesota featured the same kinds of lavish dishes that the chefs at the Astor House had prepared for the Lincolns in New York City in 1860.
According to Eighmey, seventeen people joined the Lincolns for their first meal in the executive mansion. It was arranged by Elizabeth Todd Grimsley, one of Mary Todd’s cousins. Grimsley then reported how former President Buchanan escorted President Lincoln to the vestibule of the executive mansion, “where, after courteous words of welcome, he left him.”
Grimsley said that the White House was “in a perfect state of readiness for the incomers—A competent chef with efficient butler and waiters under the direction of Miss Harriet Lane," the niece and official hostess of the outgoing president, James Buchanan. "She had an elegant dinner prepared.”(Unfortunately, Mrs. Grimsley failed to record the night’s menu.)
But what was food to Lincoln? In stark contrast to him eating fancy state meals is this homey observation from Alexander Williamson, the Lincoln boys’ White House tutor. He wrote of Lincoln "scarcely having time, even for his meals. I have found him in the office squatting on the rug in front of the fire trying to heat his cup of coffee, which, owing to early visitors, had been allowed to cool."
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in April of 2025. It was penned by John Tuskan of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
This May the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania enters its ninth year of presenting the 100 Nights of Taps, Gettysburg program.
Six years ago, we began a tradition of each evening honoring one specific soldier buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery. This year, we will honor 1st Sergeant Philip Rice Hamlin, Co. F, 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. His image appears on the 100 nights of Taps, Gettysburg 2025 commemorative coin, which will be presented to our buglers and other program participants.
Sgt. Hamlin was born on May 24, 1839, in Warren County, Pennsylvania. He had three younger brothers and a sister. In 1855 his family moved to Minnesota, where farmland was plentiful and affordable.
Hamlin held deep religious convictions and believed that the outbreak of war was God’s will. He enlisted in the 1st Minnesota in April,1861 and wrote that having “entered the service of my country from a sense of duty, and trusting in the All Merciful, I go forward without fear.”
He first entered combat on July 21, 1861 at the 1st Battle of Bull Run. Ending in a rout of Union forces, he wondered that “perhaps God designed by this defeat to touch us the necessity of trusting Him.” Through other major battles, Hamlin began to struggle with his faith, but he stayed adamant that whatever his fate, it would be God’s will.
The 1st Minnesota arrived in Gettysburg early on July 2nd 1863 and was initially held in reserve. But as the Union Third Corps collapsed in full retreat, General Hancock gave the famous order to the 1st Minnesota to “charge those lines!” Of the 262 soldiers who charged, 215 (82%) were killed, wounded, or missing – one of the most severe losses suffered by a Union regiment in a single engagement during the Civil War.
Although not directly involved in the charge, Sergeant Hamlin was dispatched down the line to assess what happened. As nighttime descended and the roar of gunfire gave way to the cries from the wounded on the field, Hamlin completed his assignment.
The next day while repulsing Pickett’s Charge, the 1st Minnesota suffered 55 more casualties. While charging near the color bearer, Sgt. Hamlin was struck in the neck, leg, and chest, and died instantly. He was 24 years old.
The survivors of the 1st Minnesota first buried Hamlin near Taneytown Road. Later that fall, Hamlin’s remains were reinterred in the Soldiers National Cemetery, Minnesota Plot, Section A, Grave #10.
A fellow soldier said of him: “Deprecating war, loving and praying for peace, he was fighting for his government as the performance of a sacred duty he owed to it and to God.”
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania cordially invites you to attend 100 Nights of Taps, Gettysburg 2025 to hear the sounding of “Taps” and honor Sergeant Hamlin, and others buried in the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
The program starts at 7 PM every evening, beginning on May 26th and ending on September 1st. This year the program will be presented in Gettysburg National Military Park, on Cemetery Ridge, at the Pennsylvania Monument.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in March of 2025. It was penned by Wendy Allen of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
This April 15th will mark the 160th anniversary of President Lincoln’s death.
On April 21, 1865, the train carrying the coffin of President Abraham Lincoln departed Washington, D.C. on its way to Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried on May 4.
According to our friends at the Lincoln Collection in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the railroad coach that carried Lincoln’s body was originally built for a very different purpose. The War Department had ordered it to be specially constructed by the United States Military Railroad in Alexandria, Virginia, as a private railroad car, named The United States, for the use of the president and his cabinet. When the car was completed in early 1865, with its upholstered walls, wood paneling, decorative painted panels, and etched-glass windows, it was one of the most lavishly appointed railroad cars ever built. Its 16 broad-tread wheels were intended to ensure it could travel over nearly all gauge railroads, and its sides were ironclad, with armor-plating between the outer and inner walls. It contained a stateroom, a sitting room, and a sleeping apartment. In the stateroom was a 7-foot 6-inch sofa built to accommodate Lincoln’s 6-foot 4-inch frame. The coach was said to have cost $10,000, more than three times the cost of a standard passenger car. It was indeed a “presidential coach.”
Perhaps thinking The United States too ostentatious, Lincoln never used it.
After Lincoln’s death and burial, the funeral car returned to the Military Car Shops. However, the shop quickly was soon discovered that the storage and protection of the car was too costly. So, in 1866 the shop sold the funeral car to T.C. Durant of the Union Pacific Railroad. He moved the vehicle to Omaha, Nebraska, and used it as his personal car. In the 1870s the car was stripped of its luxurious fittings.
Then in 1898, the Union Pacific displayed the minimally reconditioned car at the Trans-Mississippi Centennial Exposition in Omaha. Unfortunately, vandals again took their toll after the exposition until showman Frank B. Snow purchased the car from the railroad in 1903. Snow exhibited the dilapidated car in the Lincoln Museum at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
In the fall of 1905, Snow sold the dilapidated car to Thomas Lowry of Minneapolis. Lowry moved the car to Minneapolis and put it on display near his proposed suburban development of Columbia Heights in the hope of attracting potential home buyers.
After Lowry’s death in 1909, the car came into the possession of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs, which planned to restore and exhibit it.
On March 18, 1911, before it could be moved from its storage site in Minneapolis, the Lincoln funeral car was destroyed in a prairie fire. It was reported that souvenir hunters carried off many of the bits of charred wood and twisted metal that remained.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in February of 2025. It was penned by Therese Orr of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
When Abraham Lincoln was about 19 years old, he made his first voyage down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with a load of produce to sell in New Orleans. In the spring of 1831, he was hired to deliver a cargo of merchandise to New Orleans. The boat was set afloat in the Sangamon River at Springfield, IL. The trip was going well until he reached New Salem where, despite the high-water level from the spring floods, his boat got stuck on the mill dam. He managed to manhandle the bow over the dam, then constructed a machine to lift and push the boat over the dam. Lincoln would later patent the machine, although it would not bring him a fortune.
Denton Offutt, who had hired Lincoln, was impressed with Lincoln's handling of the incident and offered him a clerk position in his store in New Salem. The town had been established in 1831 and eventually grew to 23 buildings (including four general stores) and a population of 100 people.
During his six years of association with New Salem, Lincoln held a variety of jobs. For a brief period, he owned one of the general stores with William Berry, although this venture put him in such debt that he did not pay the last penny to his debtors until 1848. In late 1833 he was employed as the deputy to the County Surveyor. From 1833-1836 he served as the Postmaster for New Salem. The Postmaster job was not a confining one and Lincoln supplemented his post office income with odd jobs such as splitting rails, harvesting crops, helping at the mill, and tending store in New Salem.
While a young man in Indiana, he became interested in the law. In 1833, he purchased a book of legal forms and prepared legal documents for his friends at no charge and even argued minor cases. He then began studying the law in earnest, often travelling the 20 miles to Springfield to borrow books from John Stuart's law office. On September 9, 1836, Lincoln was granted a license to practice law. On March 1, 1837, the Illinois Supreme Court awarded him a certificate of admission to the bar. Thus began a career that would last the rest of his life.
While in New Salem, Lincoln also became interested in politics. His first attempt for a seat in the state legislature in 1832 was unsuccessful. In 1834 he was elected to the first of four terms in the Illinois legislature before deciding to set his sights on Congress.
After the state legislature adjourned on March 6, 1837, Lincoln returned to the now fading village of New Salem. On April 15, 1837, upon seeing no future there for either legal work or wider political opportunities, Lincoln mounted a borrowed horse with everything he owned in two saddlebags and moved to Springfield, the place he would call home for the next 24 years of his life.
If you visit Springfield, travel the extra twenty miles to explore New Salem. You won’t regret it.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in January of 2025. It was penned by Wendy Allen of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
Lincoln was so ill here on November 19th that there is a good chance that if the illness has set in just a few days earlier, he might have declined coming to Gettysburg.
During the train trip from Washington City to Gettysburg on November 18th, Lincoln remarked that he felt weak. The next morning Lincoln was dizzy but later rode a horse to the site of the dedication ceremony.
Edward Everett began his two-hour keynote address. After its conclusion and a short musical interlude, Lincoln stood to give his address. John Hay, Lincoln’s assistant secretary, noted that Lincoln’s face had ‘a ghastly color’ and he appeared ‘sad, mournful, almost haggard’. Scarcely glancing at his notes, he delivered the Address with a strong voice to a quiet audience.
After the ceremony he looked ‘gloomy and listless’. When Lincoln boarded train for home, he was feverish and weak, suffering from a severe headache. At the White House, he had fever, malaise, exhaustion and pains in the head and back. Information was not released to the press, but rumors circulated that the President was very ill and perhaps dying. There is evidence that those near Lincoln feared that he would die. Hay recorded in his diary on November 26, “The President quite unwell.” William Stoddard wrote that he, Hay, and John Nicolay, Lincoln’s secretary, engaged in “mournful consultations over the idea that all the country would go to ruin if Abraham Lincoln should die.”
The high fever, profound weakness, general malaise, severe headaches and back pains continued. A scarlet rash appeared over his body on the fourth day of the illness. Lincoln’s physician, Dr Stone, diagnosed the illness as a cold, later as ‘bilious fever’ and then as scarlatina (scarlet fever). Small widely scattered blisters appeared after five days. Dr. Washington Chew Van Bibber from Baltimore was asked by Dr. Stone to see the President. Van Bibber changed the diagnosis to a mild form of smallpox.
So, did Lincoln have a mild form of small pox? Researchers point out that what became known as mild smallpox or Variola Minor, did not appear in the U.S. until late in the 19th century, so this could not have been the disease that Lincoln had. Could he have had a weakened case of the deadly form of smallpox from either receiving a vaccination or if he already had the disease? It is not known if Lincoln had ever been immunized against smallpox, but with Lincoln’s recorded symptoms and the duration of the disease, today’s medical researchers assert that his illness was full-fledged smallpox.
By mid-December, some 25 days after the onset of the illness, he felt well enough to work for several hours. By mid-January, 1864, he was under-weight but had recovered much of his normal stamina. This is one of those historical outcomes that had a profound effect on the course of the United States.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, in December of 2024. It was penned by Wendy Allen of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
Christmas itself didn’t become a national holiday until President Ulysses S. Grant signed a congressional bill into law in 1870. But it became a national holiday because of its growing popularity in the 1850’s and 60’s.
According to Lincoln historian David Kent, the brutality of the Civil War also played a role in the resurgence of Christmas in American life. Ironically, it was the non-religious aspects of Christmas that saw the biggest growth during this period. Not the least of which was the popularization of Santa Claus.
Kent continues, while Santa may have had some origins in St. Nicholas and other regional folklore, he evolved into the jolly old elf we know today thanks in large part to Thomas Nast, a prolific illustrator and cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly magazine. It was Nast who first introduced Santa Claus (aka, Father Christmas) – surprisingly, as a recruiting tool for the Union army. One interesting illustration appears in the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper’s, depicting Santa “on a sleigh handing out packages to Union soldiers in Civil War camp.”
To us now, having state legislator Abraham Lincoln vote against making Christmas a state holiday in 1834 seems unthinkable. However, throughout his life, Christmas was a normal day at the office and that was not unusual. Up until the mid 1800s, Christmas was celebrated with church services, not parties and presents, which were seen as unchristian.
According to the National Park Service at the Springfield, Illinois Lincoln Home, “the Christmas tree was first represented in popular print in a woman's magazine, Godey's Lady's Book, in 1850. The image was an Americanized version of a very popular image of Queen Victoria and her family from the Illustrated London News. America's fondness for Queen Victoria helped popularize the idea of having a Christmas tree inside the home. While we have no evidence that the Lincolns had a Christmas tree, the family may have visited the Christmas tree exhibited at the First Presbyterian Church located a few blocks away.”
The NPS continues to suggest evidence that the Lincoln family participated in the Christmas tradition of stuffing stockings with small gifts. Lincoln family biographer Ruth Painter Randall's 1955 work, Lincoln's Sons, tells of the Lincolns hanging Christmas stockings. The eldest son, Robert, "was careful not to disturb the illusions of Willie and Tad as to the one who had filled those stockings.”
The Christmas season also called for special menus. Typical food for the holiday season may have included boned turkey, oysters, venison, chicken salad, biscuits, bullion, glazed fruit, fruit cake, ice cream, cake, candy, macaroon pyramids, citrus fruit, preserves, wine, eggnog, and hot coffee. It is believed that Abraham Lincoln was the first president to pardon a turkey. As the story from 1863 relates, Lincoln and his family, after feeding and fattening the bird, couldn’t bring themselves to kill and eat it. This animal was a Christmas turkey, not a Thanksgiving turkey. Still, it was “pardoned.”
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania wishes everyone a warm and safe holiday season and a most wonderful New Year!
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, November of 2024. It was penned by Therese Orr of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
Tuesday, November 19, marked the 161st anniversary of the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Despite a forecast of cloudy skies, the sun shone through scattered clouds and temperatures in the 50’s made for a very pleasant day for an outdoor activity. The day began with a carriage ride for our rostrum participants (speakers, ministers, special guests) from the David Wills house to the Baltimore Street gate of the cemetery. In 1863 the procession to the cemetery travelled from the Wills House, south on Baltimore Street, until turning onto today’s Steinwehr Avenue and Taneytown Road. The Lincoln Fellowship carriage ride began in 2023 and may become a yearly tradition. The cemetery program began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soldiers National Monument. Bugler Jari Villanueva sounded “Assembly”; National Park Service (NPS) Ranger Chris Gwinn provided a historical interpretation; wreaths were presented; participants were awarded One Hundred Nights of Taps 2024 commemorative coins; Lincoln Fellowship historian John Tuskan spoke of 2LT Edmund Dascomb (the soldier honored on the coin); and Bugler Brian Poffenberger sounded “Taps”.
As the Rostrum participants took their seats the “One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg Fanfare” was played. This special piece was composed by Jari Villanueva in honor of our summertime Taps program. Following the singing of the National Anthem by the Gettysburg Choral Society and the Invocation by Rev. Dr. Theresa Smallwood of the United Lutheran Seminary, brief remarks were given by Superintendent Kristina Heister, Gettysburg National Military Park; Gene Barr, Vice Chair, Gettysburg Foundation; Robert Iuliano, President, Gettysburg College; and Wendy Allen, President, Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania. Music was also provided by the Gettysburg High School Ceremonial Band and baritone Wayne Hill.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Craig Symonds, Professor Emeritus of History at the United States Naval Academy, where he taught for thirty years. He focused his remarks on his introduction to the Gettysburg battlefield as a youth and the story of a New York soldier who died in the battle, SGT Amos Humiston.
Each year a special ceremony takes place as part of our Dedication Day program: the naturalization of 16 new citizens of the United States. As one listens to the oath of allegiance they take, one realizes the enormity of what they are leaving behind and the promises they make to be citizens of our great country. Following their oath, they were greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd. Representatives of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented our new citizens with flags and copies of the U.S. Constitution.
Two long-time supporters of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania were presented with honorary memberships in our organization by our president, Wendy Allen. Plaques made from pieces of the witness Sycamore from Baltimore Street were given to Lincoln scholars Harold Holzer and Dr. Gabor Boritt. Following this presentation Harold Holzer delivered the Gettysburg Address.
Mrs. Beth Carmichael, widow of Dr. Peter Carmichael, was presented a flag flown at the cemetery on November 19. Dr. Carmichael was the Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College and a beloved member of our Gettysburg community and the Civil War community.
Rev. Stephen Herr, Christ Lutheran Church, provided the Benediction.
Members of the Lincoln Fellowship concluded our day with our annual meeting and luncheon at Beyond the Battle Museum.
We hope to see you not only in 2025, but also in 2026 where we will recreate the original Dedication Day ceremony as part of the nationwide America 250 celebration.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, October of 2024. It was penned by Susan Paddock of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
What happened in Gettysburg in 1863 is more than history. The Battle and the way President Abraham Lincoln defined it in the Gettysburg Address is a lesson as relevant today as it was then.
Lincoln said we were testing whether any nation based on the idea that “all men are created equal”, can “long endure.” In some ways, the question is still being asked in 2024. Hopefully today we will echo Lincoln’s resolve that “these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
This timeless message of our national intention to defend equal rights, our union and our democracy must be passed on perpetually to every new generation.
That’s what Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has been doing since 1938 through our public presence. Every November 19th, hundreds of onlookers help commemorate the Gettysburg Address and re-dedicate the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Every Dedication Day program offers distinguished speakers, ceremonial wreath laying, music, and a new citizens naturalization ceremony.
We commissioned and care for the most photographed monument in Gettysburg, the “Return Visit” statue on Gettysburg’s historic Lincoln Square. Numerous families and friends cluster around the figures of “Modern Man” and President Lincoln, while Lincoln gestures with his hat toward the Wills House.
Each summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day, The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg National Military Park co-sponsor One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg, in partnership with Taps for Veterans, Gettysburg’s Licensed Battlefield Guides, and Eisenhower National Historic Site. The program features new material every night, and the buglers come from all over the United States. This year it is estimated that we had over 10,000 visitors watching this educational and moving program. In 2025 we’ll be going into our 9th year, and we have inspired Taps programs in other towns.
All of our programs are educational. The Traveling Trunk, offered in partnership with the Gettysburg National Park Service, brings Lincoln information and memorabilia to classrooms. Each February we bring delighted preschoolers to the statue for Lincoln’s Birthday Party. We’ve also hosted historian conversations on YouTube and various other events. Except for the Annual Membership Luncheon, every program is free of cost.
Our all-volunteer Board and membership have been doing all this for 86 years from our kitchen tables. As our programs grow, we realize that the need for our program is larger than volunteers can manage. We are participating in the Giving Spree (ACCFGivingSpree.org) with a goal of getting the help of paid staff and a dedicated office. This year we request “forever fund” donations to Giving Spree to help us continue far into the future because we will always need Lincoln’s voice.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, September of 2024. It was penned by Wendy Allen of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg, 2024
Gettysburg National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg, PA, 2024
To these most gifted musicians Brian Poffenberger, Kaitlynn Gaff, Doug Rudisill, Robert Hawke, Mark Young, Graham Bentley, Jeff Stockham, Mitchell Mummert, Jeff Miller, Alan Ashley, John Charow, Howard Billig, Albert Lilly, Robert Roll, Lou Dileo, David Bufalini, Kevin McCarty, Steve Snyder, Thomas Sneeringer, Shirley Ann Walker, Jim McDevitt, Kevin Paul, Nathaniel Bauder, Jamie Cope, Kevin Czarnik, John Baker, Greg Murphy, Ron Glazer, Robert Beaver, Amy Gabriele, Evan Frantz, Ryan Bowden, Andrew Bisnett, Priscilla King, Jocelyn Hammond,Thomas Herman, Ron Ciasullo, Mitchell Hourt, Vince Pettinelli, Ken Bair, Ralph Brodt, Howard Billig, Katie Gaff, Brian Wilkie, Cameron Sands, Damon Morris, Stephen Bottom, Keith Lippincott, Liam Gallagher, George Boyd, Neil King, Judy Shellenberger, Anthony Nunes, David Apple, Randall McGuire, Warren Prender, Ian Monaghan, Michael Krauss, Scotty Clark, Robert Slamp, Joseph Dupesko, Drew Podnar, Brooks Brady, Brig. General Jeffrey Newton, John R. Thomas, Joshua Cooper, Landon Rosekrans, Aaron Robertson, Peter Sharrock, Jim Shufelt, Henry Dillon, Benjamin McClelland, Albert Trapani, Tom Hehman, John Lupp, Anthony June, Keith DeFontes, Nicholas Brown-Cáceres, Max Osborn and Lucas Fleming,Wes Snyder, Ryan Fox, David Beier, Erin Bannon, Debra Skripkunis, Tom Beaver, Michael Wood, Chris Myers, Donald Roeder, Russ Ebersole, Rick Barnes, Jim Steele, Jari Villanueva, Harold Collins, Jay Copenhaver, Jim Steele, Robert Balmer, and Jay Copenhaver,
and the most talented and dedicated program volunteers John Tuskan, Sandy Tuskan, and Scott Burkett,
and our special co-sponsor, Gettysburg National Military Park and our gifted program partners, Taps for Veterans, Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, and Eisenhower National Historic Site,
the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania extends its profound praise and gratitude for making One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg, 2024 a great and meaningful success.
Join us next summer when the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania will present, One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg, 2025. For the ninth year, beginning on Memorial Day (Monday, May 26, 2025) and running through Labor Day (Monday, September 1, 2025), the notes of “Taps” will once more fill the air every evening as the famous 24-note call is sounded in Gettysburg National Cemetery.
Each evening will feature two educational components. Beginning at 5:30 P. M. each evening representatives from Gettysburg’s Licensed Battlefield Guides will offer a free interpretive program exploring the aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg and the creation of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, concluding at the Soldiers’ National Monument. During the formal Taps program beginning at 7 P. M. representatives from the Lincoln Fellowship, guest National Park Service Rangers, and Licensed Battlefield Guides will again offer brief historical vignettes. Called Enduring Pathways, these focus on Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address, the history of Taps, and the Soldiers’ National Monument, with topics changing nightly.
And, of course, we will welcome the volunteer buglers that include active-duty military musicians, military veterans, Civil War living historians and musicians, community band members, high school and college students, and music teachers, to sound Taps.
This article originally appeared in the pages of the Gettysburg Times, August of 2024. It was penned by Scott Burkett of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, in the hopes of sharing the work the Fellowship does.
President Abraham Lincoln spent time with many soldiers during the Civil War. Few, if any, received the attention and kindness the boy bugler experienced.
Gustav Albert “Gus” Schurmann was just 12 when he volunteered on June 26, 1861, as a musician with the 40th New York Infantry. A chance meeting with Abraham’s son, Thomas “Tad” Lincoln in April 1863, brought him to the White House
Gus was serving as Dan Sickles’ bugler and aide when the president’s son saw the boy, just two years older than young Tad. The younger Lincoln implored his father to bring the boy bugler to Washington, but the president said, “he’s a soldier, he must do his duty here.” However, General Sickles responded, “Mr. President, if you desire, the bugler may accompany you. I will give him a two-week furlough.
During their fortnight at the White House, the two boys “had the run of the town” and White House, where they had free rein to play and, in some cases, create quite a bit of mischief. Taking a hand axe, thought at the time to be the one George Washington used to chop down a cherry tree, Tad and Gus hacked at furniture and sawed away the banisters of the main stairway in the White House.
When the boys were taken to Lincoln for the misadventure, the president didn't rebuke them. Instead, he told them tales of his time as a Captain in the Black Hawk War of 1832.
Later, the boys knocked loudly on the door of the Executive Office and burst in where the president was meeting with Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of War Edward M. Stanton.
Tad hugged his father and then ran from the room. Gus saluted and followed Tad out into the hallway.
Secretary Seward asked, “Mr. Lincoln, are you not annoyed by those boys?”
The president smiled and said, “Oh, never mind. It’s a diversion, and we need diversion at the White House.”
Mary Todd Lincoln would later say their child-rearing philosophy was that children should be “free, happy and unrestrained by parental tyranny. Love is the chain whereby to bind a child to his parents.”
On a second visit to the White House, Tad and Gus rode horses throughout Washington and attended several plays. At one, the boys went backstage to meet the cast and were greeted and each given a rose by actor John Wilkes Booth.
Gus Schurmann would survive ten major battles and serve four Major Generals, including Dan Sickles at Gettysburg, and lived until 1905. He was 56 when he died.
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania’s “One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg” program features buglers of all ages – including several the age of the boy bugler – from across the country.
Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania is a 501(c)3 OrganizationP. O. Box 3372, Gettysburg, PA 17325Email: lincolnfellowshipofpa@gmail.com
