During the Civil War, the telegraph was a relatively new and high-tech means of communication. Matter of fact, in the vicinity of any battle, it was nearly impossible, even for reporters, to use the telegraph because it was held exclusively for military communication. The Army carried cable with them and strung telegraph lines through the trees or whatever they could find, linking to whatever trunk line was available. And you always knew the enemy was about when the lines were cut.
So Lincon was known to spend considerable time hanging around the telegraph office in Washington, DC, when a battle was on or in the making. He wanted the latest news -- and oftentimes it just wasn't forthcoming. General Grant became somewhat notorious for not keeping in close touch -- at one point Lincoln sent a former New York Tribune reporter out to find out what the heck Grant was doing along the Mississippi River.
And keep in mind, too, that the big battles of the Civil War produced casualties -- dead and wounded -- often in the range of 10,000 to 15,000. Three days at Gettysburg racked up more than 40,000 casualties. Of course, that's counting both sides -- both were Americans.
At any rate, after one such horrendous battle, when Lincoln got the telegram regarding the outcome and the number of casualties... he was standing inside the telegraph office and turned to an aide and asked with grave sorrow, "What will we tell the people?"
In just about every case, Lincoln told the people the truth.
In one sense, Lincoln was compelled to tell the truth. Newspsper correspondents traveled with the armies at the time -- though they were despised by most generals and given little comfort -- Sherman even tried to have one hanged at one time -- and it was the correspondents who initially collected the names and numbers of the casualties. Long lists of casualties would be posted outside newspaper offices so people could see if their sons, brothers, husbands, were among them.
And the press, though it rooted noisily for its own side in the war, was often just as loudly critical of Lincoln. While he was in office, Lincoln was probably one of the most unpopular and reviled presidents the US has ever had. After Lincoln showed up at Gettysburg -- 10 months after the battle -- to open the military cemetary there, the brief speech he delivered was dismissed in one newspaper as "the stupid remarks of the president."
But Lincoln told the truth. And he looked at those casualty numbers every damn day, the burden of that no doubt the heaviest responsibility he had to carry.
1864 was an election year -- the campaign running as the war ground on. Grant was stalled outside Richmond, and Sherman was on the march toward Atlanta, very slowly and meeting resistance all along the way.
The Republicans didn't believe Lincoln had even a remote chance to be re-elected, and his democrat challenger, George McClellan, had been a very poipular, if notably ineffectual, war general.
Lincoln let his party know that he'd step down and let them nominate another candidate. Even he didn't think he could win.
Because Lincoln not only told told the truth, but he looked at it closely and accepted it for what it was. And if he didn't tell the truth, the press of the day would happily rat him out.
OK, so right now, all kinds of reports coming out -- by the hour almost -- about the fiasco in Benghazi. Apparently the two SEALS who were the last Americans standing, had repeatedly requested support. There was military in Tripoli, Libya's capitol city, and also an USAF base in Sigorella, Italy, about two hours away.
The fight went on for seven hours. The two former SEALS, among others, requested aid. Ambassador Chris Stevens had, for weeks, requested greater security measures. The consulate in Benghazi had been attacked twice already.
The State Department and the Department of Defense -- and God knows who else -- denied any help or assistance. Leon Panetta, from DoD, says they didn't know what things were like on the ground (despite having access to real-time video of the attack via a hovering drone), and refused to send any assistance. Senator John McCain told Fox News that though there were troops in Tripoli and elsewhere, they had no plan for deployment. They wouldn't know how to assemble themselves to take quick action and were never given any order to do so.
At the White House, the president apparently was sharpening up his blackjack skills in anticipation of his trip to Las Vegas for a fundraiser, the sickening images from the drone playing in the background, emails coming in right and left about the attack.
Stevens and an aide died of asphixiatioin in the "safe haven" of the consulate, which the terrorists had set on fire. The two former SEALS died fighting from rooftops at another "safe house" about a mile from the consulate. All alone. No back-up. No support.
And wht did the Comrade tell the people?
This makes me truly sick and depressed.
And by the way, General W.T. Sherman finally occupied Atlanta in September, 1864, and news of the victory was one key factor in Lincoln's re-nomination and re-election.
Thankfully, it kinda looks like the Comrade is going to get exactly the kind of support and concern he's given to others. He's dropping in the polls and doesn't look like he's going to recover.
Huzzah!
Save the Republic.
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