I had not planned on writing about this topic. In fact, I am actually doing some reading and investigation about the life of John Speed, the patriarch of Farmington who will be my topic in the future. Sometimes, though, a person goes in unanticipated directions; attention is diverted. At least, that is true for me.
So it is that after searching for a considerable amount of time I finally found a copy of Gary Lee Williams’ Ph.D. dissertation entitled James and Joshua Speed, Lincoln’s Kentucky Friends. I decided to write a posting about this while it was still fresh in my mind. I am sure that in the future I will make other references to the book-length dissertation.
I will say here that I do not intend to make this a blog about books. There are plenty of postings about books already. I do, however, enjoy reading and there is no doubt that many of the topics I address in this blog will come from those sources.
Dr Williams wrote his dissertation in 1971. Fifty-plus years of historical investigation and writing have enhanced some of the information he had to work with. For example, Williams’ descriptions of the use of certain rooms in the house at Farmington have been brought into question by more recent findings.
That being said, Dr. Williams does provide a lot of information and insight into the relationship among Joshua Speed, James Speed, and Abraham Lincoln. I have had an interest in the decades surrounding the American Civil War since my youth. I have also had a pretty keen interest in Kentucky’s place in all of the events, debates, and people that were part of that era. I feel disappointed that I am just learning about the efforts Joshua and James made to prevent secessionist influences from gaining control of Kentucky’s military and political leadership.
One short story from Lincoln’s Kentucky Friends may illustrate the significance of the Speed brothers in maintaining Kentucky’s loyalty to the United States government. Early in the Civil War, General William T. Sherman was commander of the Union forces in Kentucky. In a meeting with Secretary of War Simon Cameron Sherman famously claimed that he needed 200,000 soldiers to defeat the Rebels. This request found its way into the newspapers and led people to begin wondering about Sherman’s sanity.
What is less well known is that in the same meeting, Sherman asked for a large amount of supplies. The request seems to have been largely ignored by Secretary Cameron. Apparently, Sherman mentioned this to Joshua Speed. Joshua then went to Washington and met with Lincoln who allocated $100,000 dollars worth of supplies to Sherman’s forces. When Joshua returned with the funds and provisions Sherman was shocked and jokingly stated that Joshua should be in command of the Union forces in Kentucky. Joshua’s response was that General Sherman’s biggest mistake was not asking for more. Obviously, Joshua Speed had a great deal of influence with Abraham Lincoln.
One idea that stood out in reading Dr. Williams’ analysis was the “interconnectedness” among the people that I have read about my entire life. I don’t normally think of General Sherman and General Anderson (of Fort Sumter fame) in the same instance. Yet here they were at the beginning of the Civil War working with Joshua and James Speed to preserve Kentucky’s place in the Union. Nor do I think about people hopping on trains and making trips in the 1860s like we do air-travel today. Yet, Joshua and James both did that. Hopefully, one of the benefits of this blog will be to make those connections a little clearer.
I want to spend a little more time with Dr. Williams’ dissertation and look at James Speed in the next posting. Then I will move on to information about John Speed.
My best to all of yours,
David