Abraham Lincoln to Henry E. Dummer, 7 February 18581
Springfield, Feb. 7. 1858H. E. Dummer2, Esq[Esquire]My dear SirThe Court affirmed our county-bond & Railroad case– I presented, your brief, but pointed agument to the court; to which I subjoined as good a one of my own as I could; but, as it
has resulted, all to no purpose– As yet no opinion is filed; so that we do not know
whether it is decided on the merits, or on some colateral point–3
Yours as everA. Lincoln<Page 2>
2An unknown person added a “t” to the end of Lincoln’s first letter “m” and changed
Lincoln’s “r” to either the letter “n” or “s,” making the name read “Duntmen” or “Duntmers.”
The editors did not transcribe these additions.
3Lincoln is discussing the case Sprague v. Illinois River RR et al. In August 1857, Charles Sprague, a resident of Cass County, Illinois, retained Lincoln and Dummer and sued for an injunction to prevent the county from
paying the Illinois River Railroad Company $50,000 in stock subscriptions approved by the voters. The Illinois General Assembly chartered the railroad in 1853 to build a road from Jacksonville, Illinois, through Cass County to La Salle, Illinois. In 1854, however, the General Assembly amended the charter to allow the railroad
to build a road from Virginia, Illinois to Pekin, Illinois. The railroad also held the option of extending the route north from Pekin to La
Salle. Sprague, who also was president of the Rock Island and Alton Railroad Company,
claimed that he had consulted engineers who stated that part of the railroad’s route
was an “absurd proposition” due to rough terrain and the presence of three other railroads.
Sprague also believed that the alteration of the railroad’s charter constituted a
breach of contract and voided the county stock subscription. The Cass County Circuit Court disagreed, and dismissed the injunction. Sprague appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which, in January 1858, affirmed the lower court’s ruling. Chief Justice John D. Caton declared that the Illinois General Assembly’s 1854 amendment of the railroad’s charter
was “in the highest degree promotive of the interests of the company” and not a major
deviation from the charter's original intent. Lincoln charged Sprague $50.00 for his
legal services.
Lincoln and Dummer exchanged at least three more letters related to this case.
Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Cass County, ed. by Charles Æ. Martin (Chicago: Munsell, 1915), 2:767; “An Act to Construct a
Railroad from Jacksonville, in Morgan County, to La Salle, in La Salle County,” 11
February 1853, Private Laws of Illinois (1853), 53-58; “An Act to Amend an Act Entitled ‘An Act to Construct a Railroad
from Jacksonville, in Morgan County, to La Salle, in La Salle County’”, 1 March 1854,
Laws of Illinois (1854), 207-9; Abraham Lincoln to Henry E. Dummer; Henry E. Dummer to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Henry E. Dummer; Bill for Injunction, Document ID: 20515; Decree, Document ID: 20505, Sprague v. Illinois River RR et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137976; Judgment, Document ID: 73422, Sprague v. Illinois River RR et al., Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=137977.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).