A War Weary President

The photo on the left could be considered the kick-off image for Lincoln's presidential campaign. The photo on the right was taken about two months before his assassination. The presidency ages people, but a war ravages the soul.

The photo on the left was taken by Mathew Brady in his New York studio on February 27, 1860, before Lincoln publicly acknowledged that he was a candidate for the presidency. Lincoln was in New York to deliver an address at Cooper Union. Tradition has it that the Cooper Union Address and the Brady photograph taken on the same day propelled Lincoln into the White House.

The photo on the right was taken by Alexander Gardner on February 5, 1865, which was after Lincoln's reelection but before his inauguration. By this time, Gardner had left Brady to run his own studio. (Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1865; Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865; and Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.)

The contrast between the two photographs is dramatic and telling. At the time of the studio sitting, Lincoln had achieved an improbable reelection, and although the war was not over, Lincoln could see an almost inevitable Union victory and an end to slavery. That could explain the slight upturn of the lips that could almost be called a smile.

The Brady photograph was used for the cover of Maelstrom, A Civil War Novel.

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