Abraham Lincoln to John C. Bagby, 31 July 18581
Springfield, July 31– 1858–John C. Bagby, Esq.[Esquire]Dear SirYours of the 27th is just received– You will see by the papers that Judge Douglas and I have agreed to meet at one place in each congressional district, and the first
comes off at Ottawa on the 21st of August; so that, of course I can not be at Rushville on that day–2 Judge Trumbull ^is^ expected home soon; and I will try to get him to be with you on the 21st; though I have no certain information what the chance will be–3 I have some expectation of being at Beardstown on the 12th and, if so, I should be pleased to see you–4 How stands Dr Adams Dunlap now?
Please write again–5
Your Obt Servt[Obedient Servant]A. Lincoln2John C. Bagby wrote Lincoln on July 27 asking him to speak in Rushville on August 21, 1858, when the
Schuyler County convention gathered to appoint congressional and senatorial delegates to the Republican convention of the Fifth Illinois Congressional District at Augusta in Hancock County on August 25. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, so the outcomes of the party convention in Schuyler County and the Fifth Congressional
District were of interest to him. In the summer and fall of 1858, Lincoln crisscrossed
Illinois delivering speeches and campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates for
the Illinois General Assembly. At this time the Illinois General Assembly elected the state’s representatives in
the U.S. Senate, thus the outcome of races for the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate were of importance to Lincoln’s campaign. He ran against, and lost to, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, the incumbent. See 1858 Federal Election.
As Lincoln notes, he was scheduled to be in Ottawa, Illinois at that time for the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate. However, Lincoln did speak at the August 25 convention. That convention nominated Jackson Grimshaw of Pike County for Congress. Bagby was nominated for the Eleventh Senate District composed of Hancock, Henderson, and Schuyler counties. On September 6, Lincoln wrote to Bagby emphasizing the necessity of a win. Although Bagby won in Henderson County,
receiving 1,005 votes to his Democratic opponent John P. Richmond’s 758 votes, Bagby lost in Hancock County 2,031 to 2,340 and in Schuyler County 1,076
to 1,480 votes. All told, Bagby lost the state senate seat to Richmond 4,112 to 4,578
votes. Richmond voted for Douglas in the U.S. Senate election. In the congressional
race, Grimshaw lost to Isaac N. Morris, the incumbent.
Howard W. Allen and Vincent A. Lacey, eds., Illinois Elections, 1818-1990 (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992), 10, 11,
142; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape
of 1858,” The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 18 August 1858, 3:1; 28 August 1858, 2:3; 5 November 1858, 3:2; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 28 August 1858, 1:2; Oquawka Spectator (IL), 23 September 1858, 2:1; The Weekly Chicago Times (IL), 11 November 1858, 2:6; 18 November 1858, 3:3;
Illinois Senate Journal. 1859. 21st G. A., 30; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-85, 557; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 25 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-25.
4Lincoln gave a speech in Beardstown on August 12 to a reported crowd of 3,000. Beardstown was located in
Cass County, which shared a partial border with Schuyler, the county in which Bagby resided.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 16 August 1858, 2:2; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 12 August 1858, https://thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-12; Allen C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape
of 1858,” 392.
Copy of Autograph Letter Signed, 1 page(s), Abraham Lincoln Association Files, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (Springfield, IL).