"Lincoln's Joan of Arc" Anna E. Carroll's Reply to Hon. J.C. Breckinridge

"Reply to the Speech of Hon. J. C. Breckinridge" by Anna Ella Carroll of Maryland. Washington: Henry Polkinhorn, 1861. Octavo, 15pp. With a bookplate on the front pastedown. Someone has written on the title page that Carroll was "Grand Daughter of C. Carroll of Carrollton" - although this is not factually accurate, Anna was a direct descendent of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Orange paper wraps with a handwritten title on the front cover. The booklet has soiling, toning, and dampstaining throughout, with wear and chipping to the covers. Slightly loose binding. Overall good condition.

Breckinridge's speech was delivered to the U.S. Senate on July 16, 1861, criticizing President Lincoln's actions in the early days of the Civil War, highlighting Lincoln's enlistment and arming of men for a war Congress had not officially declared, his expending funds for the war that had not been allocated by Congress, and his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Anna Carroll's reply came on August 8, 1861, in which she defended the president's war measures. She stated that as the Commander in Chief of the nation, Lincoln could use all his powers to enforce Federal law in the Southern states, writing, “There can be no equivocal position in this crisis; and he who is not with the Government is against it, and an enemy to his country.” 

Anna Ella Carroll (1815 –1894) was a political activist, lobbyist, constitutional theorist, and significant adviser to President Lincoln and his Cabinet. Born into the prominent Carroll family she was highly educated (studying law, philosophy, and history) and eventually became her father's secretary. She became deeply involved in Maryland politics and used her own funds to distribute pro-Union and anti-slavery pamphlets. Her strong reply to Breckenridge's speech caught the eye of Lincoln, who demanded government funding to publish 50,000 copies of the manuscript and invited Anna to the White House for a confidential interview. He asked her to become an unofficial member of the Cabinet, acting as a top adviser to him, and she enthusiastically accepted the offer. Her influence over Maryland's wartime Governor Thomas Hicks and her connections to the State Legislature is credited with playing a vital role in preventing Maryland's secession from the Union. And as a woman, she was able to slip behind enemy lines to study Southern defenses along the Mississippi River and report back to the president. She looked into using the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers for Union invasion and sent her plans of attack to Assistant Secretary of War Thomas A. Scott and Attorney General Edward Bates in late November 1861. Throughout the remainder of the war, Anna Carroll worked directly with Lincoln on issues pertaining to the emancipation and colonization of American slaves. Years later, Secretary of War Scott and Sen. Benjamin Wade testified to her critical role in the war before Congress. Although her legacy has been somewhat lost to time, she was known as "Lincoln's Joan of Arc" and "the great, unrecognized member of Lincoln's Cabinet."

John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky (1821-1875) served as Vice President under James Buchanan and as a United States senator from March 4, 1861, to December 4, 1861 (following his expulsion from the Senate for supporting the South). Breckinridge promptly joined the Confederate Army, where he attained the rank of major general and led the 1st Kentucky Brigade in several key battles in the Western Theater. At the end of the war, he escaped to Great Britain and then to Canada.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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