The Changing Face of Lincoln

by | Feb 17, 2015 | Archive, Southern Partisan | 0 comments

Abraham Lincoln’s physical appearance changed dramatically during his tenure as President of the United States. The magnitude of his apparent aging is often demonstrated by showing a photograph from the start of his first term compared to one taken a few months before his death. But a simple comparison of two extreme photographs does not show the evolution of the change nor the stressful events that likely induced the striking transformation. The following photographic series with accompanying timeline of notable events from 1860-1865 may be more illustrative of the aging process experienced by Lincoln. In particular, note the significant change in the brief interval from November 1863 to February 1864, a part of which may have resulted from his smallpox infection during that period.  

Lincoln-Age

 

 

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1860

February      Delivers Cooper Union Address

May                Nominated for President of the United States

October         Receives suggestion from a young girl that he should grow a beard

November    Elected President of the United States

December     South Carolina secedes from the Union

 

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1861

February       Confederate States of America is formed

March             Inaugurated as 16th President of the United States

April                Attack on Fort Sumter, SC

May                  Family friend Elmer Ellsworth killed in Alexandria, VA

July                  Battle of First Bull Run (Manassas)

November      Trent Affair with Great Britain

 

1862

February        Battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson

February        Son William (Willie) dies from typhoid fever

April                Battle of Shiloh

May                  Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley

June                 Battle of Seven Days’

August             Battle of Second Bull Run (Manassas)

September      Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)

September      Issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

December       Battle of Fredericksburg

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1863

January           Issues Final Emancipation Proclamation

May                   Battle of Chancellorsville

July                   Battle of Gettysburg

July                   Surrender of Vicksburg, MS

September      Battle of Chickamauga

November       Delivers Gettysburg Address

November       Contracts mild case of smallpox

November       Battle of Chattanooga

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1864

March             Appoints U.S. Grant Commander-in-Chief of Union Army

May                 Battle of the Wilderness

June                Battle of Cold Harbor

June                 Siege of Petersburg, VA begins

September     Battle of Atlanta

November      Re-elected President of the United States

December      Battle of Nashville

December      Capture of Savannah, GA

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1865

January           Congress Passes 13th Amendment to the Constitution

March              Delivers Second Inaugural Address

April                 Robert E. Lee Surrenders to U. S. Grant

April                 Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth

 

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