lincolns second inaugural

[Danzig]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slate...on_in_his.html

150 years ago today. of course we know how it all ended...but when he gave this second inaugural, war still raged, and no one knew for how long. sherman had marched to atlanta and the sea, had presented savannah as a christmas present...i'm figuring when this was given, he was probably somewhere in north georgia, or south carolina by now.. moving north to join with grant.
meanwhile, grant was pressuring lee, who only a few weeks later would yield at appamatox. lincoln would visit a wrecked richmond, no doubt seeing that the end was in sight.
i would like to think he knew he'd fought the good fight, held to his course, and had kept the faith. that he'd accomplished keeping the union.
i hate that he didn't get to survive to see it thru to the end of reconstruction.

some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them. we are lucky that he was president at that time-his ability to handle all the differing segments, the differing goals, to keep neutral states neutral...to stay the course no matter what-he was uniquely suited to that task.