Masterpiece by Lincoln in Connecticut

Discovered at the Wadsworth Atheneum were pages from American history

On a visit to Hartford Connecticut I stopped in to see an item my family had donated to the Wadsworth Atheneum.   Prior to my visit I emailed a copy of the acknowledgement receipt given to my family by the Wadsworth Atheneum when we made the donation. 

I found the item within the vault. Within the vault there was a safe. From within the safe came the item I had heard so much about all my life---The Greeley Letter.

I was told by my aunt it was a masterpiece, the original three page letter written August 22, 1862 by President Lincoln to New York Tribune newspaper editor, Horace Greeley. Words from these pages are iconic;

My paramount object is to save the Union and is not either to save or destroy slavery...

The historian Phillip Shaw Paludan wrote about the importance of the letter;

 If there is one document that is more often quoted than any other in the argument, debate, or conversation about Lincoln it is the letter that Lincoln wrote on August 22, 1862 to Horace Greeley.

Why is this American treasure at America's oldest art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum? 

Dr. James Clarke Welling, president of George Washington University 1871-1894 was given the letter by President Lincoln and retained the original letter his entire life. In 1880, Welling wrote the Emancipation Proclamation in North American Review stating: 

 This letter appeared for the first time in the National Intelligencer on August 23, 1862 and the letter came into my hands from the fact I was one of the editors.

In his 1880 article James Clarke Welling included a facsimile of the letter 'for editorial curiosity'.  

In 1923, Miss Elizabeth L. Dixon, on behalf of the Welling family and brother in-law, Dr. James Clarke Welling, donated this Lincoln masterpiece to the Wadsworth Atheneum. 

Miss Dixon's father, Sen James Dixon was a life member of this revered institution. Since inception in the 1840s, the Wadsworth Atheneum has served the community as both public art museum, historical society and public library. Philanthropic stewardship by the Dixon-Welling family continued over the years donating family historical treasures to the Hartford Public Library and Connecticut Historical Society. 

August 22, 1862 Lincoln's Letter to Horace Greeley: Editing Mr. Lincoln

On August 22, 1862 President Lincoln wrote a public letter to Horace Greeley and gave it to National Intelligencer editor, James Clarke Welling, to be published the next day in his newspaper.

President Lincoln's private secretary, John  Nicolay recalled;

On August 22, 1862 President Lincoln wrote an open letter to Horace Greeley, editor of New York Tribune. This letter, which has become famous in history, he sent to the National Intelligencer for publication.

Dr. James Clarke Welling was at that time the editor in charge, and he did what few young editors would have ventured upon. He wanted to make a change to Lincoln’s text so he immediately carried the manuscript back to the President, and suggested its omission. President Lincoln good-naturedly complied, not that he was convinced of the alleged imperfection, but because he never stubbornly resisted advice where only trifles were concerned.

Recollections of John Nicolay

Private Secretary to President Lincoln

Princeton College Bulletin
Volume VII; April, 1895

From an early age, James Clarke Welling was passionate about historical accuracy. His college thesis at Princeton was Causes of Historical Discrepancies.

In 1880 Welling made another revision to the Lincoln-Greeley letter, Aug. 22, 1862. He referred to the original letter in his possession and corrected the misprinted word from "this" union to "the" union.