I held Lincoln : a union sailor's journey home

Author/Creator:

Quest, Richard E., author

Publication/Creation:

Lincoln : Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, [2018]

Format:

Book

Edition:

1st ed.

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

I held Lincoln : a union sailor's journey home / Richard E. Quest

Subjects/Genre

Subjects:

Loring, Benjamin,1824-1902
Lincoln, Abraham,1809-1865--Assassination
United States.Navy--Officers--Biography
Prisoners of war--United States--Biography
Prisoners of war--Confederate States of America--Biography
Escaped prisoners of war--United States--Biography
Ship captains--United States--Biography
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons
Louisiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns
Calcasieu River (La.)--History, Military--19th century

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Getting in the fight -- The Wave -- A seasick Wave -- No coal -- The enemy is close by -- A precious rose -- Chicken feed -- Prison -- Escape! -- Through the wall -- On the outside -- Plantations -- Dog ranch -- De Doe is dead?! -- The hunter -- Interrogation -- A night drive -- A Confederate bastille -- Anderson Grimes County Jail -- The Old Pen again -- Deadliest killer -- Making the best of it -- The swamp -- Tied up -- The power of the pen(cil) -- Navigating by the wind -- Parched corn -- Over the river and through the woods -- Bear Swamp -- Confederate potatoes -- Goodbye Texas -- Home Guard and Yankee prisoners -- Old friends? -- Your passes or your life! -- Where is my penknife? -- The last toenail -- A burned bridge -- Chimneys on the horizon -- Lincoln coffee and a civilized bed -- The surprise -- Washington Navy Yard -- I held Lincoln.

Summary:

Lt. Benjamin Loring (1824-1902) lived the life of an everyman Civil War sailor. He commanded no armies and devised no grand strategies. Loring was a sailor who just wanted to return home, where the biggest story of his life awaited him. Covering almost a year of Loring's service, I Held Lincoln describes the lieutenant's command of the gunboat USS Wave , the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, the surrender of his ship, and his capture by the Confederates. He was incarcerated in Camp Groce, a deadly Confederate prison where he endured horrific conditions and abuse. Loring attempted to escape, evading capture for ten days behind enemy lines, only to be recaptured just a few miles from freedom. After an arduous second escape, he finally reached the safety of Union lines and gained his freedom. On the night of April 14, 1865, Loring attended Ford's Theater and witnessed one of the single most tragic events in American history: the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. After the shot rang out, Loring climbed into the presidential box and assisted the dying president, helping to carry him across the street to the Peterson House. Using Loring's recently discovered private journal, Richard E. Quest tells this astonishing now-recovered story, giving insight into a little-known Confederate prison camp during the last days of the Civil War and providing much-deserved recognition to a man whose journey was nearly lost to American history.  

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

1 online resource

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9936995219502486

ISBN:

1-64012-056-4
1-64012-054-8

OCLC Number:

1029352870