Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln to Hezekiah G. Wells, 21 August 18561
Springfield, Ills. Aug^t 21. 1856 Hon: H. G. Wells,Dear Sir:
At last I am able to say, no accident preventing, I will be with you on the 27^th I suppose I can reach in time, leaving Chicago the same morning– I shall go to the Matteson House, Chicago, on the evening of the 26^th2
Yours trulyA. Lincoln

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SPRINGFIELD Ill[Illinois].
AUG[August] 21Hon: H. G. WellsKalamazooMichigan–

1Abraham Lincoln wrote and signed this letter. He also wrote the name and address on the envelope shown in the second image.

2Lincoln is discussing plans to deliver a stump speech in Kalamazoo, Michigan on August 27, 1856. In July, Hezekiah G. Wells had invited him to speak at a mass meeting in Kalamazoo in support of the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, John C. Fremont. During the 1856 Federal Election campaign, Lincoln delivered more than fifty speeches throughout Illinois as he canvassed on behalf of Republican candidates. Although he had declined other requests to speak beyond Illinois’ border during the campaign, he delivered his speech in Kalamazoo on August 27. Lincoln was the only person from outside Michigan to speak at the event.
Ultimately, Democrat James Buchanan won the presidency. See the 1856 Federal Election.
Abraham Lincoln to Hezekiah G. Wells; Abraham Lincoln to James W. Grimes; Abraham Lincoln to Joel B. McFarland; Tom M. George, “'Mechem’ or ‘Mack’: How a One-Word Correction in the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln Reveals the Truth about an 1856 Political Event,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 33 (Summer 2012): 21; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:425.