Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

William H. L. Wallace to Abraham Lincoln, 19 August 18581
Ottawa Aug 19/58

Hon A. Lincoln }

Peoria 2

Dear Sir:–
I wrote you yesterday to ascertain whether you & Judge Douglass would probably arrive here together on the 21^st–3 We have since ascertained that it is the purpose of Mr. Douglas’s partisan friends, to land him at Buffalo Rock about 4 miles below town and escort him into town with carriages &c–[etc]4 We also learn that they are averse to a joint reception– It has occurred to our committee that if you can make it

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convenient to be at Joliet on saturday morning & take the special train which will probably pass there about 9 o’clk[o'clock], that you would then meet the Chicago delegation and arrive in company with them about 11 o’clk We will meet you at the depot here & escort you to the residence of J. O. Glover Esq:[Esquire] where quarter will be provided for you.5

It is in contemplation to have Douglas speak also in the evening– If so, it might be desirable for you to speak also–6

The Bearer Mr Campbell will confer with you

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and you may write or send word by him–7
Yours RespectfullyW H L Wallace
in behalf of Rep. com– [committee]

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[Envelope]

Hon. A Lincoln Esqr[Esquire]Havanna Mason Co Ills 8
Present

[ docketing ]
Lincoln, Abraham (President)

W H S. Wallace 9

1William H. L. Wallace wrote and signed this letter, including the address on the envelope.

2Abraham Lincoln arrived in Peoria on August 18, 1858 and gave a speech at the Republican Congressional Convention of the Fourth Congressional District of Illinois the following day.
The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 18 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-18; 19 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-19; Summary of Speech at the Congressional Convention of the Fourth District, Peoria, Illinois; Summary of Speech at Peoria, Illinois.

3At this time Lincoln was running against incumbent senator Stephen A. Douglas to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. The two candidates were scheduled to meet in the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Ottawa on August 21, 1858. Wallace had written Lincoln on August 9, 1858 and then wrote again on August 18 to inquire as to his plans for arriving in Ottawa for the debate. See 1858 Illinois Republican Convention; 1858 Federal Election.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:457-58; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 21 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-21; First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois; First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois; First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois.

4Douglas, who had given a speech in Lacon on August 19, was apparently in Peru on the morning of August 21, and presumably traveled on the Illinois River to Buffalo Rock. From there, he was escorted in a carriage by a Democratic committee towards Ottawa and was met by a procession en route, which accompanied to the Geiger House hotel in that town.
Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 17 August 1858, 2:1; 24 August 1858, 2:2; The Ottawa Free Trader (IL), 21 August 1858, 2:1.

5The special train was placed on the line of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad on August 21, 1858 to transport passengers from Chicago and intervening stops round trip to Ottawa in a single day for the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate. The train was to leave Chicago at 7:00 am, stop at Joliet about 9:00 am, and at Morris about 10:00 am. The return journey was to depart Ottawa at 6:00 pm. Passengers were to be charged a half fare for the journey. The special train ultimately included seventeen cars.
Instead of traveling to Joliet to catch the special train, Lincoln went by train from Peoria to Morris on Friday, August 20, 1858. After spending the night in Morris, he caught the special train on August 21 as it passed through Morris and journeyed with the crowds on board to attend the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, arriving in Ottawa shortly after noon, then was conveyed by carriage in a procession to Joseph O. Glover’s house.
The Ottawa Free Trader (IL), 14 August 1858, 2:1; The Daily Chicago Times (IL), 22 August 1858, 1:1; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 23 August 1858, 1:2; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 19 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-19; 20 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-20; 21 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-21.

6Douglas did not speak in Ottawa on the evening of August 21 following the debate, but instead took the train back to Chicago. The Democrats held no further meeting or speeches in Ottawa that evening. Lincoln remained in Ottawa as a guest of Glover’s. Rather than speaking himself, Lincoln joined a large deputation of Republicans and attended a speech by Owen Lovejoy at the Ottawa Court House after supper on August 21, which was followed by a torchlight parade.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 24 August 1858, 2:3.

7Mr. Campbell may have been Alexander Campbell, who was nominated soon after the date of this letter as a Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in the Forty-Third Illinois House District, which included La Salle County. Campbell was elected in November 1858 and served one term.
No response to this letter by Lincoln has been located.
The Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 8 September 1858, 1:1; History of La Salle County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1886), 1:281; John Clayton, comp., The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 220, 222, 223.

8The external address on this letter may differ from the internal address of Peoria because Wallace was uncertain where Campbell would find Lincoln. Lincoln’s published campaign schedule listed no appearances between his August 14, 1858 speech in Havana and his August 19 speech in Peoria. Lincoln did deliver speeches at Bath and Lewistown during this interval.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 18 August 1858, 2:1; The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, 16 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-16; 17 August 1858, https://www.thelincolnlog.org/Results.aspx?type=CalendarDay&day=1858-08-17.

9Lincoln wrote this docketing.