Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

The Sculptured Panels

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Lincoln City, Indiana

By: Jamie Pryor; educator from Litchfield, IL

Lincoln on the Tri-State Heritage Trail Summer Geography Institute; June, 2009

Greeting visitors upon arrival at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial are five detailed panels adorning the exterior of the building, forming what is known as the Memorial Court. They were each sculpted by Elmer H. Daniels, and depict Lincoln’s life from birth in the Kentucky wilderness to President of the United States.

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Above each of the panels are nine inscriptions taken from the writings of Abraham Lincoln. Each was chosen to illustrate some of the beliefs that he held.

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The Kentucky Panel showcases Lincoln’s boyhood years, 1809-1816. The woodlands features pay homage to the Sinking Spring and Knob Creek Farms, where Lincoln spent these formative years. Each of the people shown was influential to Lincoln as he grew into a young boy. On the far left is Jesse LaFollette, a neighbor of the Lincolns at Knob Creek Farm. Next to him stands Thomas Lincoln, father of the President. Dr. Christopher Columbus Graham, a doctor and visitor to the Lincoln home is shown seated. His stories kept young Abraham entertained and were perhaps the beginning of Lincoln’s love of storytelling. Abraham is pictured at the age of seven. Behind Lincoln is his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln and Sarah, his only sibling, stands at the churn. Zachariah Riney, the first schoolmaster Lincoln had, is shown on the far right. Above the panel are words taken from Lincoln’s Message to Congress on July 4, 1861, “And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God.”

DSCN0597 JPGMoving to the years 1816-1830, the Indiana Panel shows the boyhood days of Abraham Lincoln. Most prominent is Lincoln’s size; although depicted as a young man, he is fully grown with notable strength and able to work with men several years older than him. At the far left is David Turnham, the owner of the first law book that Lincoln would ever borrow. Pictured next is Allen Gentry, Lincoln’s companion on a flatboat trip to New Orleans. Thomas Lincoln, his father, holding a hewn log, and Nathaniel Grigsby, a childhood friend, are behind Lincoln. The hewn log recalls Lincoln’s nickname, The Rail-splitter, because of his ability to split nearly 240 rails in a single day. Dennis Hanks, Lincoln’s cousin, is shown next. Hanks moved into the Lincoln cabin after Nancy Hanks Lincoln passed away. He and Abraham developed a close friendship, despite a ten year age difference. At the far right side of the panel is Lincoln’s step-mother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, whom Abraham dearly loved. “Labor is the great source from which nearly all, if not all, human comforts and necessities are drawn,” read the words above the panel, taken from Lincoln’s Cincinnati Address, September 17, 1859.

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“It will then have been proved that among free men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet.” These words, taken from Lincoln’s August 26, 1863 letter to James C. Conkling, are inscribed above the Illinois Panel, profiling Lincoln’s political rise during the years of 1830-1861. Lincoln is shown receiving the well wishes of his friends and associates after his election to the United States House of Representatives. On the left is John Stuart, Lincoln’s first law partner. A later law partner, Stephen T. Logan, is shown next. Shaking Lincoln’s hand is Joshua Speed, Lincoln’s best friend. Standing behind the embraced hand is William Herndon, Lincoln’s longtime law partner. To the right of Lincoln is editor Simon Francis and the woman behind him is Mary Todd Lincoln. The final figure is Orville H. Browning, Lincoln’s friend, who served as a United States Senator and as the Secretary of the Interior under Andrew Johnson.

Abraham Lincoln’s prominence as President of the United States is profiled in the Washington Panel, showcasing the years 1861-1865. The Civil War is the primary focus of the scene. Pictured with Lincoln is Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the close of the war in Petersburg, Virginia, at Grant’s headquarters. Surrounding both men are several soldiers, clearly influential upon Lincoln during these tumultuous years.

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Written above this panel are words from Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1861, “I hold that, in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual.”

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The Central Panel pays homage to the heritage Lincoln left for the generations to come. Inscribed within the panel are the familiar words of Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, spoken at the President’s death, “And now he belongs to the ages.” The figures in the panel are symbolic of the people Lincoln would touch even after his death—the Laborer representing labor and industry, the Sower, representing our country’s strong agricultural ties, Mother and child, symbolizing the family and home, and Freedman representing freedom and hope. To Lincoln’s right stand Cleo, Muse of History, holding a scroll on which the deeds of Lincoln, the Emancipator, are written. Next to her is Columbia offering the wreath of laurel, the tribute of a nation to its leader. A cabin and the White House in the background are symbols of American opportunity. “And that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Taken from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, this inscription is a tribute to Lincoln’s democratic ideals.