Event Info: |
“HERE MY CHILDREN HAVE BEEN BORN” A CURRICULUM BASED REENACTMENT EVENT
OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S FAREWELL TO SPRINGFIELD FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN
FEBRUARY 11, 2009
BACKGROUND
On February 11, 1861, President-Elect Lincoln bade farewell to the citizens of Springfield and his friends of nearly 25 years as he embarked for Washington, D.C. and the presidency that would be dominated by four years of bloody Civil War. On the day of his departure Lincoln and his family were staying at the Chenery House Hotel at Fourth and Washington Streets, having already rented out their home. Early in the morning of February 11, Lincoln’s neighbor, African American Jameson Jenkins, was waiting in front of the Chenery House to drive Lincoln to the Great Western Railroad Station at Tenth and Monroe Streets in time for his 8:00 a.m. departure. Upon his arrival at the station, Lincoln was greeted by friends, neighbors, and well wishers, numbering up to 1,000 people. Lincoln had not intended to speak to the crowd, but was so overtaken with emotion that he spoke to them from the back of the railroad car. Lincoln’s brief remarks would ultimately be considered one of his best speeches.
PROGRAM
The goal of this project is to recreate the excitement of February 11, 1861, on February 11, 2009, with school children, perhaps focusing on fifth graders, from Springfield and surrounding communities. The students would gather at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center during the morning of February 11, bringing with them banners, flags, etc. they had previously made in school as part of a curriculum based education program on Lincoln and the Civil War. The group would also include a local school band playing Civil War era songs that they had learned. The students would be joined by “President-Elect Lincoln” who would be riding in a carriage driven by an African American representing Jameson Jenkins. The site of Jenkins’ home has recently been included as a site in the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. On a stage in the Convention Center, there will be a representation of the Great Western Depot where Lincoln will recite his Farewell Address. Other actors in period dress would portray Lincoln’s neighbors and Mrs. Lincoln would reflect on her departure from Springfield and why she did not travel with Mr. Lincoln on February 11. The Lincoln children would also talk about their feelings of leaving their home for Washington, D.C. A local theatre director has been selected to produce a program designed to provide historically accurate information in a dramatic and exciting way that should appeal to school children of this age. The dramatization will be based on first-person historical reminiscences and the script will be vetted by historians with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. For more information, visit: www.lincoln200.net |
