The University of Nebraska Press continues their outstanding
series of reprinted Lincoln books with Inside the White House
in Wartime: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln's Secretary, by
William O. Stoddard. The publisher again turned to Michael Burlingame
to edit and introduce the work. And as in the past, Burlingame
adds valuable material to supplement the original text.
William O. Stoddard was a newspaper editor from Champaign Illinois,
who came to know Lincoln after the latter's famous 1858 debates
with Stephen A. Douglas. An early supporter of Lincoln's bid for
the presidency, Stoddard stumped Champaign County for the Republican
candidate in 1860.
After Lincoln's victory, Stoddard applied to Lincoln for an appointment
as a personal secretary. Having already employed John Nicolay
and John Hay, Lincoln did not immediately to hire Stoddard. After
are arriving in Washington, Lincoln found that Nicolay and Hay
were both overworked, so the President did send for Stoddard,
ostensibly to perform the repetitive clerical task of signing
land patents. As the war progressed and fewer land grants were
filed, Stoddard's responsibilities were expanded to include dealing
with the daily mail received by the White House.
Another of the tasks that devolved upon Stoddard was to act as
an informal liaison between the President's staff and Mary Lincoln.
Stoddard and the First Lady developed a particularly amicable
relationship, which was in sharp contrast to the adversarial association
between Mrs. Lincoln and secretaries Nicolay and Hay, who often
referred to the President's wife as the "Hellcat."
Stoddard stayed with the White House until September 1864. After
surviving a dangerous bout of typhoid Stoddard decided to leave
the unhealthy climate of Washington and seek his fortunes elsewhere.
Lincoln appointed Stoddard a U.S. Marshal for the eastern district
of Arkansas. He served in that post until May 1866, when he moved
to New York, where he would spend the rest of his life.
Stoddard wrote a number of books in his lifetime, most of them
intended for children. A few titles concerned his career in the
White House, the most popular being Inside the White House
in Wartime, published in 1890 by Charles J.L. Webster &
Co. of New York. In this book Stoddard's prose is typical of the
late 19th century. Formal and a bit verbose, he writes in the
first person plural style. After at time this technique becomes
a bit tiring.
In addition, Stoddard was not above overemphasizing his importance
and responsibilities that devolved upon him in the White House,
which Burlingame acknowledges in his fine introduction. While
Stoddard was a regular employee and surely had daily contact with
the inner workings of the President's office, he was probably
not included in Lincoln's innermost circle of trusted confidants
and advisors. At least not to the extent Stoddard would have his
readers believe.
Also complicating Stoddard's book, is the fact that it was written
nearly 30 years after his service in the White House. As we have
seen with many such reminiscences, time has a way of affecting
how individuals perceive their importance and participation in
historical events. However, the text does have considerable historical
value as it does relate a number of Lincoln stories and incidents
to be found nowhere else. And as a regular White House employee,
he did have a remarkable insider's view of the momentous events
that transpired there.
Just as he did with his last book done for the University of Nebraska
Press (A Reporter's Lincoln), Burlingame adds supplementary
material to Inside The White House In Wartime that gives
the work far greater value beyond being merely another reprint.
In 1866, Stoddard agreed to write a series of short sketches for
publication in the New York Citizen detailing some reminiscences
of his service to Lincoln. These sketches appeared as letters
written to Citizen editor Charles G. Halpine, and they
appear in their entirety as a supplement to the reprint of the
present book.
Written over a span of three months in the fall of 1866, the 13
sketches offer detailed glimpses of the inner workings of the
Lincoln White House and Stoddard's role on the staff. Burlingame
points out that these sketches offer a more true-to-life insight
into Stoddard's perceptions of the inner workings of the White
House. Having been written a mere two years after leaving government
service, the memories and impressions were surely fresher. And
having been written in a more narrative form, the recollections
appear more spontaneous and true to life.
Stoddard covers such diverse topics the daily operation of the
President's office, protocol and customs in greeting foreign and
domestic dignitaries, the social responsibilities of the first
couple, and the trials faced by Lincoln and his staff during four
long years of war. The sketches convey Stoddard's unique point
of view from within the Executive Department, and reveal a wry
sense of humor that is missing from the more pretentious memoir.
This latter quality is best demonstrated by what is, without a
doubt, my favorite passage in the whole book. Stoddard's narrative
reveals that while the affairs of government have changed remarkably
in the past 140 years, much has remained the same. In discussing
the relationship between the President and Congress, Stoddard
makes the following observation:
The character of some of our Congressmen has been such as to destroy any social prestige that might otherwise have appeared to the position as such. A man may be able to carry the hundred and first ward of Babylon by an overwhelming majority, and yet not be just the person you would like to see dancing with your wife. (p. 154)
Such quips and the relaxed style of writing utilized by Stoddard
makes this supplementary material a joy to read.
Inside the White House in Wartime: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln's
Secretary is an important book documenting the every day workings
of the Lincoln presidency. Forgiving the author for the verbosity
and pretentiousness of the memoir, and relishing the sketches
written for the New York Citizen, the volume is an essential
addition to any Lincoln scholar's bookshelf.
