Lincoln's Men: The President and His Private Secretaries

Get to know the real Lincoln from the men who were closest to him. It is a very interesting book, and gives a great insight to our greatest president.

The closeness of the working relationship between Lincoln and his primary staff, composed of just Nicolay and Hay, is best exemplified by a passage in the book where Hay describes Lincoln padding down the hall in the middle of the night in just a night shirt with candle in hand, to stop by Hay's bed room to read him a distinguished paragraph from literature or a humorous line from a book that amused him. Nicolay and Hay are Lincoln's constants throughout his election and during the war till death. These men, who used the affectionate nickname "Tycoon" in referring to Lincoln in his absence and "hellcat" for Mary, virtually handled all the Whitehouse affairs, correspondence and as the war grew longer, special missions for the President dealing with western Indians, checking on John Fremont in Missouri, Rosecrans in Tennessee and for Hay a unique opportunity to go to South Carolina. Nicolay is all consuming and relatively young while Hay gets his start in his very early 20s. Hay appears to be Lincoln's favorite when it comes to literature as Hay is well educated and is a poet. Epstein takes special delight and attention in describing Hay primarily because he wrote quite a lot and also rendered his own poetry, the latter something in common with the author. Hay also has something of a miracle happen when the woman he adores on stage comes into his life at the Whitehouse and then becomes a widow and a secret relationship appears to occur between the youth and the more mature widow. Among this trio is another secretary named Stoddard who had the uncanny appreciated ability to run interference with Mary Todd that the other secretaries relish. Stoddard is a bit tainted in insider trading and personal gain and is less within Lincoln's confidence. What one appreciates from the book, aside from the great dedication of these two men (Hay later becomes a highly successful Secretary of State for President Theodore Roosevelt) is how drained these men were from their long days and nights at the Whitehouse, each needing and taking long breaks when the opportunity arose. As these two men observe, Lincoln in contrast never leaves the Whitehouse except for military business and the strain shows on his face over the course of the war years. The picture on the cover of the book is fitting as it shows Lincoln with his trusted Nicolay and Hay. Nicolay looking serious into the camera, Lincoln looking relaxed while Hay stands casually with a loose fitting coat with one arm extended on and behind Lincoln's chair. The picture of the three exemplifies their close working relationship and the family they became.

Like all of Daniel Mark Epstein's Lincoln books, this not only is a smooth read but manages to pump blood and fresh interest into events that many Lincoln fans know from their general reading. He also fleshes out the interpersonal dynamics that underlie and often contribute to the events he describes. For example, I knew that Hay and Nicolay feared and disliked the Old Hellcat (Mary Lincoln), but I was unaware that she favored Stoddard and that H and S attempted to use that to theri advantage in placating her. Fascinating stuff.

John George Nicolay and John Hay and William Stoddard were Lincoln's secretaries, and their duties covered everything from handling the President's huge mail to herding the masses that had free access to the White House to handling the tempermental and infuriating Mrs. Lincoln to arranging the protocol at White House functions. Incredibly, Nicolay was 27 years old when Lincoln took office, Hay was 23. and Stoddard was 26. The youth of these three men so close to the seat of power is mind-boggling to a modern reader. Nicolay was Bavarian-born and spoke with a Teutonic accent, not formally educated, but smart, and utterly loyal to the President. Hay went to Brown University, was a poet, and commanded respect even though he was just 5 feet 4 inches tall. Handsome, wily Stoddard was a journalist before he undertook his White House duties. Part of Lincoln's genius was seeing into a man's character correctly. He sized up these three young men and entrusted them with enormous responsibilities. Although Stoddard was not above self-aggrandisement, he was invaluable to Lincoln as a sounding board for his speeches, and he was usually able to get along with the intensely volatile Mrs. Lincoln, a help to the beleaguered President. In contrast, Nicolay and Hay both detested Mary Lincoln, calling her the "Hellcat." Nicolay and Hay did not like Stoddard. But Lincoln was genuinely fond of all three men who were more his friends than employees, and it's evident that they gave him emotional ballast. Because Abraham Lincoln has become larger than life, "Lincoln's Men" is refreshing in that the biography is written from the standpoint of the three young men. They revered Lincoln, all right, calling him affectionately "The Tycoon" but in this book we come back to earth and see the development of the Civil War through the secretaries' eyes, a much, much humbler and earthier level than that of the President. We learn of their love affairs, their seemingly endless illnesses, their concern for the President's health, their skirmishes with Mrs. Lincoln, their contempt for the totally inept and cowardly General McClellan. We see Washington as it was in those days- fetid, dank, pestilent. Mr. Epstein writes beautifully, and he will take you there with the young men so that you're present right there right at that fragile time in history. The constant drama within the White House is vividly portrayed as are the battle scenes North and South, the sheer horror and carnage of this war. Conflicts, conflicts between individual men and between armies, no peace, no equanimity anywhere, except perhaps in the mind of Abraham Lincoln. Interestingly, Mr. Epstein tells us that a large portion of John Hay's diary, the part including the death of the Lincolns' favorite son, Willie, of typhoid, has been ripped out. Perhaps the extreme grief of Lincoln, who nevertheless was in emotional control in contrast to the total collapse of Mary Lincoln, who was not- appeared too volatile an

A pleasantly written, intelligent book about the three principal personal secretaries to President Lincoln. Mr. Epstein tells of the White House service of Nicolay, Hay and Stoddard and its effects on their respective private lives. While avoiding the overly academic, the author still provided this Lincoln reader with new insights on several important events, such as the change in vice-president for the second term. However, the focus, rightfully, is kept on the secretaries and their lives as influenced by the Civil War and their Tycoon. John Hay is clearly the author's favorite, and for good reason. I suggest a future book by the accomplished Mr. Epstein be a new life biography of Mr. Hay, a young office secretary to President Lincoln who ended his own fascinating life as Secretary of State for President Theodore Roosevelt.