A Short history of the Andaman Islands
The Andamans are a chain of 184 odd islands in the Andaman sea at approx 1100 Kms to the south of Kolkata. The largest among them, The Andaman Island is 355 Kms long and 60 Kms wide. There was a time when ancient tribes lived here. Some of the natives it is said bore a remarkable resemblance to the aboriginal tribes of Australia. Today some tribes have receded into the deep forest while others have been resettled. Port Blair, it's principal port, is a picturesque and bustling town, full of greenery. It is well connected to the main land by regular passage of ships and scheduled flights from KolKata and Madras. Different communities are living in harmony and use hindi as their language.
Port Blair was named after the East India Companies' Lt. Archibald Blair who occupied the Andamans in 1789 to keep his ships safe and protected in the rains as a safe harbour and as a penal settlement for prisoners. But because of the unhygienic climate and outbreak of diseases and the expenses in maintaining the harbour he had to abandon the Andamans in 1796. Early in the first decade of the 19th century the roots of the East India Co. were firmly entrenched in India. The British were subjecting Indians to a lot of abject atrocities, snatching away land from peasants, destroying the livelihood of craftsmen, increasing taxes, usurping the states from the Nawabs and native kings. Ordinary people, soldiers, nawabs and kings were all being terrified and harassed. Generally everywhere there was resentment and revolt. People were determined to do away with the East India Co.
Recapture of Andaman Islands to keep Political Prisoners:
The Andamans reminds us of those freedom fighters who on 10th May 1857, gave the clarion call to rise against the British rule. This was our First War of Independence, what the British in their history books refer to as the Sepoy Mutiny. To totally stomp out the uprising the British sent thousands to the gallows and even hung them up from trees, tied them to cannons and blew them up, destroyed them with guns and swords as if they had gone mad and were out to get revenge.
The revolutionaries, who survived, were exiled for life to the Andamans so that their connection with their families and their country would be severed and their countrymen would forget them forever. For this reason, in January 1858, the British reoccupied Port Blair, Andamans. For the first time on 10th March 1858, Supdt. J.B. Walker arrived with a batch of 200 freedom fighters. The second batch of 733 freedom fighter prisoners arrived in April 1868 from Karachi. They had been sentenced for life imprisonment. After this however it is not known how many thousands of freedom fighters were sent to the Andamans from the harbours of Bombay, Kolkata and Madras. Their numbers, names and addresses are not known.
It is said that all records were burnt when the Japanese occupied the Andamans. Some preliminary research was done by our organisation in the India Office Library, London, but no light could be shed. This worried us because whatever else the British might have been they were excellent record keepers. The truth is still not known and it needs to be. It is the responsibility of our present Indian Government to have a thorough research done to fill these gaps and to put forward in front of our countrymen, the true history of our freedom struggle and the different streams and revolts involved. The Cellular Jail was inalienably linked to the long and glorious struggle of our revolutionary freedom movement fought on the mainland and it had deep political significance. Leading figures from revolutionary upsurges on the mainland were invariably banished to languish and suffer in the Andamans.
In almost perennial rainy weather, with heavy bar fetters and shackles on their feet, surrounded by snakes, leeches and scorpions the freedom fighters were expected, in deep primeval forests to clear a path for roads through marshy land. They were punished and faced hard labour if they slowed down. In March 1868, 238 prisoners tried to escape. By April they were all caught. One committed suicide and of the remainder Supdt. Walker ordered 87 to be hanged.
Lord Mayo murder case
Lord Mayo
Shere Ali in shackles after his attack on Lord Mayo
(photograph reproduced from Satadru Sen, Disciplining Punishment - Colonialism and Convict Society in the Andaman Islands, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2000; original in the India Office Library, British Library, London, no. 125/5-46)
murdered site at andaman
Lord Mayo (1822-1872) was the Viceroy and Governor General of India from 1869 to 1872. Son of the Fifth Earl of Mayo, he was born on 21 February 1822, christened Richard Southwell Bourke and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. He had held the office of chief secretary for Ireland before Disraeli appointed him to succeed Lord Lawrence.
lord mayo went andaman for suryeying possibilities for sanitarium
Lord Mayo walked about briskly and carefully surveyed the possibilities of erecting a large sanitarium. "Plenty of room here," he cried looking about on all sides, "to settle two million men." Having completed his official programme he sat down facing the west and looked across the sea at the setting sun. As he gazed ardently for some time at the beautiful picture before him, perhaps his thoughts carried him back in spirit beyond the sunset to his dear home, Ireland. He seemed fascinated by the beauties of nature and finally said quietly "How beautiful!"Again he said, "Ah, how beautiful!" After a few moments he turned around to take a drink of water and again his eyes eagerly sought the sun which was now sinking down rapidly in the west. Lord Mayo, not satisfied with enjoying the glorious sight himself summoned his Private Secretary and said, "It is the loveliest thing I think I ever saw."
The sun had set and the party came down. The eyes of the Viceroy had beheld their last sunset.
Some torch-bearers who had been sent from Hope Town Jetty met the party a short distance from the foot of the hill. They walked quickly and came to the jetty. The "Glasgow" was moving gently to and fro, a little away from the jetty, in the midwater, with her long line of lights. Lady Mayo had been standing on the deck for some time watching for her beloved husband. As darkness set in, her anxiety increased. At a short distance from the "Glasgow" the other two steamers "Dacca" and "Scotia" were anchored and the guests on board were also eagerly awaiting the Viceroy's return. It was now quite dark, the clock had just struck seven. Lady Mayo was feeling terribly anxious for the safety of her husband: peering intently through the darkness she saw the party nearing the shore. Now! only a minute's walk to the jetty &emdash; he will get into the boat that will take him to his beloved wife and the guests waiting on board the steamer. Lo! her keen eyes perceived him through the dim torch-lights walking briskly ahead. She ran in and asked the bandsmen to strike up "Rule Brittannia" . The launch was gently whizzing on the shore and the sweet music was humming in his ears. Lord Mayo stepped quickly forward to descend the jetty stairs and board the launch. The next moment a noise as of the rush of an animal was heard behind the loose stones. He turned round, and lo! a man was seen "fastened like a tiger" on the back of the Viceroy.
In a second, twelve men were on the assailant: an English officer was pulling them off, and with his sword hilt kept back the guards, who would have killed the ma on the spot. The torches had gone out, but the Viceroy, who had staggered over the pier side, could be dimly seen rising up in the knee-deep water, and clearing the hair off his brow with his hand as if to recover himself. His Private Secretary was instantly at his side helping him up the bank. "Byrne ", he said quietly, "they've hit me." Then in a louder voice, which was heard on the pier, "It's all right, I don't think I am much hurt." In another minute he was sitting under the smoky glare of the re-lit torches, in a rude native cart at the side of the jetty, his legs hanging loosely down. As they-lifted him bodily on to the cart they saw a great dark patch on the back of his coat. The blood came streaming out, and men tried to staunch it with their handkerchiefs. For a moment or two he sat up in the cart, then fell heavily backwards. "Lift up my head," he said finally. Those were his last words.
The Constuction of the Cellular Jail:
History
Though the actual prison was started only in 1896, the history of using the Andaman island as a prison dates back to the Indian rebellion of 1857.
Shortly after the rebellion was crushed, the British sent thousands to the gallows, hung them up from trees, or tied them to cannons and blew them up. Those who survived were exiled for life to the Andamans to sever their connections with their families and their country. 200 Sepoy Mutineers were transported to the islands under the custody of Major James Pattison Walker, a military doctor who had been warden of the prison at Agra. Another 733 from Karachi arrived in April, 1868.[2] More prisoners arrived from India and Burma as the settlement grew.[3]
Port Blair - Viper New Jails under construction
The remote islands were considered to be a suitable place to punish the mutineers. Not only were they isolated from the mainland, they could also be used in chain gangs to construct prisons, buildings and harbor facilities. Many died in this enterprise. They served to colonise the island for the British.
By the late 19th century the independence movement had picked up momentum. As a result, the number of prisoners being sent to the Andamans started growing and the need for a high-security prison was felt.
Architecture
fully constructed
The construction of the prison started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The original building was a puce-colored brick building. The bricks used to build the building were brought from Burma, known today as Myanmar.
A wing of the Cellular Jail. Also shown is the central tower with conical roof.
The building had seven wings, at the centre of which a central tower served as the fulcrum and was used by guards to keep watch on the inmates. The wings forked out of the tower in straight lines, much like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. A large bell was kept in the tower to raise an alarm in any eventuality.
Each of the seven wings had three stories upon completion. There were no dormitories and a total of 698 cells. Each cell was 4.5 metres x 2.7 metres in size with a ventilator located at a height of three metres. The name, cellular jail, was derived due to this solitary formation of the cells that prevented any prisoner from communicating with any other.
Freedom Fighters of the National Revolutionary Movements:
National movements were flaring up against the British rule all over India and the freedom fighters related to these movements were sent to Andamans or the "Kala Pani" with long sentences. Prominent among these were those from The Wahabi Movement (1830 - 1869), Mopla Rebellion (1792 - 1947), First Rampa Rebellion (1878 - 1879), Second Rampa Rebellion (1922 - 1924), Tharawadi Peasant Rebellion, Burma (1930). Etc.
The National Revolutionary Movement had prominent among them in Punjab, the Heroes of The Gadar party, The Hinduthan Republican Association in U.P. formed by Sachin Sanyal, in Maharashtra with the Savarkar brothers and of course with the partition of Bengal in 1905, secret societies and lots of underground groups were beginning to form. Lots of conspiracy cases started in the courts and the number of revolutionary freedom fighters in the jails began to swell. Most of the leaders of these movements if not hanged outright were deported to the Andaman Cellular Jail. Several died due to inhuman treatment and torture.
Alipore Conspiracy Case
The bombing
Khudiram_Bose
Sri_aurobindo
When Bengal was partitioned, it sparked an outburst of public anger against the British. The anger led to civil unrest and a nationalist campaign was carried out by groups of revolutionaries, led by Aurobindo Ghosh, Rasbihari Bose and Bagha Jatin and organized into groups like Jugantar. The British cracked down hard on the activists and the conflict came to a head on April 30, 1908 when Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to kill Magistrate Kingsford, a judge known for handing down particularly harsh sentences against nationalists. However, the bomb thrown at his horse carriage missed its target and instead landed in a carriage carrying two British women, killing them.
Nasik Conspiracy Case
Vinayak deshpande
collector jackson
kanhere
For the assassination of Collector Jackson of Nasik District in the Nasik Conspiracy Case Veer Vinayak deshpande was convicted and sent to the Cellular jail on 7th April, 1911. According to deshpande Freedom Fighters were made to do hard labour. They had to peel coconuts and take out oil from them. They were forced to go around like bullocks to take out oil from mustard seeds. Outside they were forced to clear the jungles and trees on hillside levelling marshy land. They were flogged on refusal. On top of this they did not even get a full meal every day.
Gadar Party Revolutionaries in Cellular Jail (1914):
The Gadar Party whose president was Baba Sohan Singh and the secretary was Lala Har Dayal was formed in America to get our country free from the British. In 1914, with arms and ammunition, Gadar Party members, travelling by the ship KamoGata Maru travelled to cnada there at port canada people not allowed to land there again they send back to culcutta the ship consists of 200 sikhs,24 muslims,and some hindus arrived in Calcutta. They were arrested by the British.
Bomb in the Assembly(1929
In the face of actions by the revolutionaries, the British government enacted the Defence of India Act to give more power to the police. The purpose of the Act was to combat revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. The Act was defeated in the council by one vote. However, the Act was then passed under the ordinance that claimed that it was in the best interest of the public. In response to this act, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association planned to explode a bomb in the assembly where the ordinance was going to be passed.
at age of 11
Originally, Azad attempted to stop Bhagat Singh from carrying out the bombing, however, the remainder of the party forced him to succumb to Singh's wishes. It was decided that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, another revolutionary, would throw the bombs in the assembly.
at 20s
On April 8, 1929, Singh and Dutt threw bombs onto the corridors of the assembly and shouted "Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Long Live the Revolution!"). This was followed by a shower of leaflets stating that it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear.
at age 21 punjab ka sher bhagat singh
The bomb neither killed nor injured anyone; Singh and Dutt claimed that this was deliberate on their part, a claim substantiated both by British forensics investigators who found that the bomb was not powerful enough to cause injury, and by the fact that the bomb was thrown away from people. Singh and Dutt gave themselves up for arrest after the bomb. He and Dutt were sentenced to 'Transportation for Life' for the bombing on June 12, 1929.
http://www.shahidbhagatsingh.org/index.asp?linkid=3
The Second Lahore Conspiracy Case
The British government filed the second Lahore Conspiracy Case against Bhagat Singh and 16 of his colleagues. In 1930, Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Rajguru were hanged. Shri Yatendra Nath died because of hunger strike. Bhagat Singh's other friends Batukeshwar Dutt, Bejoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Verma, Jaidev kapoor, Dr. Gaya Prasad, Kamal Nath Tiwari, Mahabir Singh were given life imprisonment and were sent to Andaman Cellular Jail.
The Chittagong Revolt (1930)
On the night of 18th April 1930 revolutionaries occupied Chittagong Armoury. For many days they battled with British army on the hills of Jalalabad. Many died a heroic death and many were arrested on 1st March 1932., 12 out of 32 people were given life imprisonment. Revolutionary leader (Master Da Surya Sen) was arrested and hanged on 12th Jan 1934. Ambika Chakraborty, Ganesh Ghosh, Anant Singh, Lok Nath Bal, Anand Gupta, Randhir Dass Gupta, Fakir Sen and other compatriots were sent to Cellular Jail.
The Reopening of the Andaman Cellular Jail (1932)
All around the country there were revolts against the British. In Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab a chain of revolutionary conspiracies started. On a large scale there were arrests and long sentences were given. National revolutionary movement leaders and active participants started being sent to the Cellular Jail in Andamans.
Inhuman treatment in Jail (1932)
The food that was given was not fit for human consumption. There were worms when you opened the bread and wild grass was boiled and served in lieu of vegetables. Rain drinking water was full of insects and worms. The 13' X 6' cells were dark and damp and dingy thickly coated with moss.
There were no toilets. There were no lights, no reading material. Prisoners were not allowed to meet with each other. The guards carried out physical torture and flogging. Their behaviour was insulting. Things had become unbearable.
The first mass hunger strike:
12 May 1933 The only alternative before the freedom fighters was to resort to a hunger strike against these atrocities. On 12 May 1933 they started a fast undo death. Mahavir Singh, Mohan Kishore Namo Das and Mohit Moitra died during this hunger strike. Their bodies were quietly ferreted away and thrown out to sea. Punjab's jail inspector Barker was called to break the hunger strike. He issued orders to stop the issuing of drinking water. The freedom fighters were resolute. There was a huge outcry throughout India because of this hunger strike. After 46 days the British Raj had to bow and the demands of the freedom fighters had to be accepted. The hunger strike ended on 26 June 1933.
Facilities obtained after the hunger strike
After the death of three colleagues the facilities won from jail authorities proved beneficial for the future. There was light in the cells. The prisoners started getting newspapers, books and periodicals. They were allowed to meet. The facility to read individually or on a collective basis was allowed. The opportunity to play sports and organise cultural events was given. The jail work was reduced to minimal. Above all there was respect for the freedom fighters from the prison officials and a marked improvement in their behaviour. A new environment was created as the freedom fighters met to discuss and read. A thirst for books and knowledge began. There were students, doctors, lawyers, peasants, and workers all together. They discussed politics, economics, history and philosophy.
There were classes in biology and physiology given by the doctors amongst them. Others gave classes in historical and dialectical materialism. Knowledge, experience and books were hungrily shared. A jail library was started. A veritable university of freedom fighters had begun where revolutionaries were learning about Marxist and socialist ideas and how to disseminate these amongst the people whose freedom they were fighting for. A Communist consolidation was formed of 39 prisoners on 26 April 1935. This number later swelled to 200. The freedom fighters started feeling that the atmosphere for a world war was gathering and that before the war starts we should get back to our country to be with our people and take active part in the upheaval that was imminent. A petition was sent to the Viceroy on 9 July 1937 by the freedom fighters that all political prisoners should be repatriated to the mainland and released An ultimatum was given that if these demands were not met a hunger strike would begin.
The second hunger strike for the repatriation of freedom fighters began on 25 July 1937
A country wide movement on the mainland in support of the demands of the Andaman freedom fighters began as other political prisoners in other jails on the mainland also started hunger strikes in support. There was a mass demonstration of working people, intellectuals and students. This upsurge clearly showed that their people on the mainland did not forget them. After four weeks telegrams from Bengal's chief minister, leaders of the nation Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sharad Chandra Bose, Rabindra Nath Tagore etc poured in imploring the freedom fighters to end their hunger strike.
On 28 August 1937, Gandhiji, poet Rabindra Nath Tagore and the Congress Working Committee sent a telegram…"the whole nation appeals to you to end the hunger strike… and assures you to take up your demands and to see them fulfilled…" After a lot of deliberation and discussion this historic 36-day hunger strike of 200 revolutionary freedom fighters ended. The process of repatriation started in September 1937. There were a total of 385 freedom fighters in jail at the time. 339 from Bengal, 19 from Bihar, 11 from Uttar Pradesh, 5 from Assam, 3 from Punjab, 2 from Delhi and 2 from Madras.
netaji in jail
The Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind 
Netaji inspecting the Cellular Jail in early February 1944
On December 29, 1943, political control of the islands was theoretically passed to the Azad Hind government of Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose visited Port Blair to raise the tricolour flag of the Indian National Army. During this, his only visit to the Andamans, he was kept carefully screened from the local population by the Japanese authorities. Various attempts were made to inform him of the sufferings of the people of the Andamans, and the fact that many local Indian Nationalists were at that time being tortured in the Cellular Jail. Bose does not seem to have been aware of this, and the judgment of some is that he "failed his people" . After Bose's departure the Japanese remained in effective control of the Andamans, and the sovereignty of the Arzi Hukumat-e Hind was largely fictional . The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose placed the islands under the governorship of one General Loganathan, and had limited involvement with the administration of the territory. During his interrogation after the war Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained control over the police force, and in protest he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the worst Japanese atrocity of the occupation, the Homfreyganj massacre of the 30th January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the Indian Independence League . Notionally this government continued to administer the islands, which were almost the only territory it ever acquired, until the British retook them in 1945, but in practice little had changed.
The Demolition of the Cellular Jail
We do not know on whose initiative the demolition of the Cellular Jail was begun. We revolutionaries who were incarcerated in the Cellular Jail intervened. We felt strongly that this symbol of tyranny needed to be preserved as a National Memorial to remind our future generations of the tremendous cost that was paid in Indian blood for the freedom of our country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_Jail
LIST OF EX-ANDAMAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS
As On 5th August 2001
http://www.andamancellularjail.org/ContactUs.htm
http://www.andamancellularjail.org/A1.htm
Freedom Fighters Deported to Andamans
http://www.andamancellularjail.org/ListOfRevolutionaries.htm
andaman tour guides
http://www.exploreindiatours.com/andaman-nicobar.htm
http://tourism.andaman.nic.in/history_british.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands
Thursday, 5 July 2007
CELLULAR JAIL-TERRIBLE WORD FROM ANDAMAN DURING BRITISH
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
jokes of the day
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Once there was a millionaire, who collected live alligators. He kept them in the pool in back of his mansion. The millionaire also had a beautiful daughter who was single. One day he decides to throw a huge party, and during the party he announces, "My dear guests . . . I have a proposition to every man here. I will give one million dollars or my daughter to the man who can swim across this pool full of alligators and emerge alive!"
As soon as he finished his last word, there was the sound of a large splash!! There was one guy in the pool swimming with all he could and screaming out of fear. The crowd cheered him on as he kept stroking as though he was running for his life. Finally, he made it to the other side with only a torn shirt and some minor injuries. The millionaire was impressed.
He said, "My boy that was incredible! Fantastic! I didn't think it could be done! Well I must keep my end of the bargain. Do you want my daughter or the one million dollars?"
The guy says, "Listen, I don't want your money, nor do I want your daughter! I want the person who pushed me in that water!"
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An evil Atheist explorer in the deepest Amazon suddenly finds himself surrounded by a bloodthirsty group of natives. Upon surveying the situation, he says quietly to himself "Oh God, I'm screwed!!!!!."
There is a ray of light from heaven and a voice booms out: "No, you are NOT screwed. Pick up that stone at your feet and bash in the head of the chief standing in front of you."
So the explorer picks up the stone and proceeds to bash the living heck out of the chief.
As he stands above the lifeless body, breathing heavily and surrounded by 100 natives with a look of shock on their faces, Gods voice booms out again: "Okay ..... NOW you're screwed."
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A little boy came down for breakfast one morning and asked his grandma, "Where's Mom and dad?" and she replied, "they're up in bed."
The little boy started to giggle and ate his breakfast and went out to play. Then he came back in for lunch and asked his grandma "where's Mom and Dad?" and she replied "they're still up in bed."
Again the little boy started to giggle and he ate his lunch and went out to play. Then the little boy came in for dinner and once again he asked his grandma "where's Mom and dad?" and his grandmother replied "they're still up in bed."
The little boy started to laugh and his grandmother asked, "what gives? Every time I tell you they're still up in bed you start to laugh! what is going on here?" The little boy replied, "well last night daddy came into my bedroom and asked me for the Vaseline and I gave him super glue."
Monday, 2 July 2007
Abraham Lincoln-THE 16th PRESIDENT OF AMERICA
Honourable president Abraham Lincoln
1637 - Samuel Lincoln from Hingham, England settles in Hingham, Massachusetts.
THOMAS LINCOLN
1778 - Thomas Lincoln (Abraham's father), descendant of Samuel, is born in Virginia.
1782 - Thomas and family move to Kentucky.
1786 - Thomas' father is killed by Native Americans.
NANCY LINCOLN (MOTHER)
1806 - Thomas marries Nancy Hanks. A daughter, Sarah is born eight months later.
1808 - Thomas buys a farm called Sinking Spring near Hodgenville, Kentucky.
Feb. 12, 1809 - Abraham Lincoln is born in a one room log cabin on Nolin Creek in Kentucky.
BIRTH PLACE
1811 - In Spring, the Lincoln family moves to a 230 acre farm on Knob Creek ten miles from Sinking Spring.
1812 - A brother, Thomas, is born but dies in infancy.
1815 - Young Abraham attends a log school house.
1816 - Briefly attends school. In December, the Lincoln family crosses the Ohio River and settles in the backwoods of Indiana.
1817 - In February, Abraham, age 7, shoots a wild turkey but suffers great remorse and never hunts game again.
1818 - Young Abraham is kicked in the head by a horse and for a brief time is thought to be dead. Oct. 5, Nancy Hanks Lincoln (his mother) dies of "milk sickness."
SARAH
1819 - On Dec. 2, Abraham's father, Thomas, marries a widow, Sarah Bush Johnston, and becomes stepfather to her three children. Abraham develops much affection for his stepmother.
1820 - Briefly attends school.
1822 - Attends school for a few months.
1824 - Does plowing and planting and work for hire for neighbors. Attends school in the fall and winter. Borrows books and reads whenever possible.
1828 - On Jan. 20, his married sister Sarah dies while giving birth. In April, Abraham, now 19, and Allen Gentry take a flatboat of cargo of farm produce to New Orleans. During the trip they fight off an robbery attack by seven black men. At New Orleans Abe observes a slave auction.
1830 - In March, Abe and his family begin a 200 mile journey to move to Illinois where they settle on uncleared land along the Sangamon River, near Decatur. Abe makes his first political speech in favor of improving navigation on the Sangamon River.
1831 - Abe makes a second flatboat trip to New Orleans. His father moves again, but Abe doesn't go and instead settles in New Salem, Illinois, where he works as a clerk in the village store and sleeps in the back. Wrestles a man named Jack Armstrong to a draw. Learns basic math, reads Shakespeare and Robert Burns and participates in a local debating society.
1832 - In March, becomes a candidate for Illinois General Assembly. The Black Hawk War breaks out. In April, Abe enlists and is elected Captain of his rifle company. Re-enlists as a private after company is disbanded. He serves a total of three months but does not fight in a battle. August 6, loses the election. The village store he worked in goes out of business. Lincoln and partner, William Berry, purchase another village store in New Salem.
1833 - The store fails, leaving him badly in debt. Lincoln is appointed Postmaster of New Salem. In Autumn, Lincoln is appointed Deputy County Surveyor.
YOUNG LINCOLN
1834 - On August 4, Lincoln, age 24, is elected to the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig party. Begins to study law. In December, meets Stephen A. Douglas, 21, a Democrat.
1835 - In January, former store partner William Berry dies, increasing Lincoln's debt to $1000. On August 25, Ann Rutledge, Lincoln's love interest, dies from fever at age 22.
1836 - August 1, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly and by now is a leader of the Whig party. September 9, Lincoln receives his law license. Begins courtship of Mary Owens, 28. Has an episode of severe depression in December.
1837 - Helps to get the Illinois state capital moved from Vandalia to Springfield. April 15, leaves New Salem and settles in Springfield. Becomes a law partner of John T. Stuart. In Summer, proposes marriage to Mary Owens, is turned down and the courtship ends.
1838 - Helps to successfully defend Henry Truett in a famous murder case. August 6, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly, becoming Whig floor leader.
1839 - Travels through nine counties in central and eastern Illinois as a lawyer on the 8th Judicial Circuit. December 3, admitted to practice in United States Circuit Court. Meets Mary Todd, 21, at a dance.
Mary Todd
1840 - In June, Lincoln argues his first case before the Illinois Supreme Court. August 3, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly. In Fall, becomes engaged to Mary Todd.
1841 - January 1, breaks off engagement with Mary Todd. Has episode of depression. March 1, forms new law partnership with Stephen T. Logan. In August, makes a trip by steamboat to Kentucky and sees twelve slaves chained together.
1842 - Does not seek re-election to the legislature. In Summer, resumes courtship with Mary Todd. In September, accepts a challenge to a duel by Democratic state auditor James Shields over published letters making fun of Shields. September 22, duel with swords is averted by an explanation of letters. November 4, marries Mary Todd in Springfield.
1843 - Lincoln is unsuccessful in try for the Whig nomination for U.S. Congress. August 1, first child, Robert Todd Lincoln, is born.
1844 - May, the Lincoln family moves into a house in Springfield, bought for $1500. Campaigns for Henry Clay in the presidential election. In December, dissolves law partnership with Logan, then sets up his own practice.
1846 - March 10, a son, Edward Baker Lincoln is born. May 1, nominated to be the Whig candidate for U.S. Congress.
FIRST PHOTO IN1846
August 3, elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1847 - Moves into a boarding house in Washington, D.C. with his wife and sons. December 6, takes his seat when Thirtieth Congress convenes. December 22, presents resolutions questioning President Polk about U.S. hostilities with Mexico.
1848 - January 22, gives a speech on floor of the House against President Polk's war policy regarding Mexico. In June, attends the national Whig convention supporting General Zachary Taylor as the nominee for president. Campaigns for Taylor in Maryland and in Boston, Mass., then in Illinois.
1849 - March 7 and 8, makes an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Illinois statute of limitations, but is unsuccessful. March 31, returns to Springfield and leaves politics to practice law. On May 22, Abraham Lincoln is granted U.S. Patent No. 6,469 (the only president ever granted a patent).
http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/patent.htm
PATENT OF LINCOLN
1850 - February 1, his son Edward dies after a two month illness. Lincoln resumes his travels in the 8th Judicial Circuit covering over 400 miles in 14 counties in Illinois. 'Honest Abe' gains a reputation as an outstanding lawyer. December 21, his third son, William Wallace Lincoln (Willie) is born.
1851 - January 17, Lincoln's father dies.
1853 - April 4, his fourth son, Thomas (Tad) is born.
1854 - Re-enters politics opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Elected to Illinois legislature but declines the seat in order to try to become U.S. Senator.
1855 - Does not get chosen by the Illinois legislature to be U.S. Senator.
1856 - May 29, helps organize the new Republican party of Illinois. At the first Republican convention Lincoln gets 110 votes for the vice-presidential nomination, bringing him national attention. Campaigns in Illinois for Republican presidential candidate, John C. Frémont.
1857 - June 26, in Springfield, Lincoln speaks against the Dred Scott decision.
1858 - In May, wins acquittal in a murder trial by using an almanac regarding the height of the moon to discredit a witness. June 16, nominated to be the Republican senator from Illinois, opposing Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. Gives "House Divided" speech at the state convention in Springfield. Also engages Douglas in a series of seven debates with big audiences.
1859 - Illinois legislature chooses Douglas for the U.S. Senate over Lincoln by a vote of 54 to 46. In the Fall, Lincoln makes his last trip through the 8th Judicial Circuit. December 20, writes a short autobiography.
1860 - March 6, delivers an impassioned political speech on slavery in New Haven, Connecticut. Also in March, the 'Lincoln-Douglas Debates' published.
NOMINATION
May 18, 1860 - Nominated to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Opposes Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas and Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge. In June, writes a longer autobiography.
FIRST PHOTO AS PRESIDENT
November 6, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln is elected as 16th U.S. president and the first Republican. Receives 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote.
Dec 20, 1860 - South Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.
Feb 11, 1861 - Lincoln gives a brief farewell to friends and supporters at Springfield and leaves by train for Washington. Receives a warning during the trip about a possible assassination attemp
AFTER ELECTED
March 4, 1861 - Inauguration ceremonies in Washington. President Lincoln delivers his First Inaugural Address.
April 12, 1861
- At 4:30 a.m. Confederates open fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston. The Civil War begins.
A Nation Divided - U.S. Civil War Timeline and Photos
April 15, 1861 - President Lincoln issues a Proclamation Calling Militia and Convening Congress.
April 17, 1861 - Virginia secedes from the Union. Followed within five weeks by North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy.
April 19, 1861 - The president issues a Proclaimation of Blockade against Southern ports.
April 27, 1861 - The president authorizes the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
June 3, 1861 - Political rival Stephen A. Douglas dies unexpectedly of acute rheumatism.
July 21, 1861 - The Union suffers a defeat at Bull Run in northern Virginia. Union troops fall back to Washington. The president realizes the war will be long.
George B. McClellan
July 27, 1861 - Appoints George B. McClellan as commander of the Department of the Potomac.
Aug 6, 1861 - Signs a law freeing slaves being used by the Confederates in their war effort.
Aug 12, 1861 - The president issues a Proclamation of a National Day of Fasting.
Sept 11, 1861 - Revokes Gen. John C. Frémont's unauthorized military proclamation of emancipation in Missouri.
Oct 24, 1861 - Relieves Gen. Frémont of his command and replaces him with Gen. David Hunter.
Nov 1, 1861 - Appoints McClellan as commander of the Union army after the resignation of Winfield Scott.
Jan 27, 1862 - Issues General War Order No. 1 calling for a Union advance to begin Feb 22.
http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/order-1.htm
General War Order
Feb 3, 1862 - Writes a message to McClellan on a difference of opinion regarding military plans.
Feb 20, 1862 - The president's son Willie dies at age 11. The president's wife is emotionally devastated and never fully recovers.
March 11, 1862 - President Lincoln relieves McClellan as general-in-chief and takes direct command of the Union armies.
April 6, 1862 - Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates. The president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists.
April 9, 1862 - Writes a message to McClellan urging him to attack.
April 16, 1862 - Signs an Act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia.
May 20, 1862 - Approves the Federal Homestead Law giving 160 acres of publicly owned land to anyone who will claim and then work the property for 5 years. Thousands then cross the Mississippi to tame the 'Wild West.'
June 19, 1862 - Approves a Law prohibiting slavery in the territories.
Aug 29/30, 1862 - Union defeat at the second Battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. The Union Army retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Union commander Gen. John Pope.
Sept 17, 1862 - General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall, 26,000 men are dead, wounded or missing - the bloodiest day in U.S. military history.
Sept 22, 1862 - The president issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves.
Visiting Gen. George McClellan, Antietam, Maryland - 1862
In Gen. McClellan's tent - Oct 3, 1862
With Allan Pinkerton and Maj. Gen. McClernand - Oct 1862
Ambrose E. Burnside
Nov 5, 1862 - The president names Ambrose E. Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing McClellan.
Dec 13, 1862 - Army of the Potomac suffers a costly defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men. Confederate losses are 5,309.
Dec 22, 1862 - The president writes a brief message to the Army of the Potomac.
Dec 31, 1862 - The president signs a bill admitting West Virginia to the Union.
Jan 1, 1863 - President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates. Page one of the Document
HOOKER
Jan 25, 1863
- The president appoints Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.
Jan 26, 1863 - Writes a message to Hooker.
Jan 29, 1863 - Gen. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the West, with orders to capture Vicksburg.
Feb 25, 1863 - Signs a Bill creating a national banking system.
March 3, 1863 - Signs an Act introducing military conscription.
May 1-4, 1863 - A Union defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing. The Confederates, 13, 000.
Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson
June 28, 1863 - The president appoints George G. Meade as commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Hooker.
July 3, 1863 - Confederate defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg.
http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/battle.htm
See photographs taken just after the Battle
The gatehouse at the entrance to Evergreen Cemetery. The cemetery was at the northern part of a series of hills and slopes extending southward from Gettysburg called Cemetery Ridge.
Meade's wrecked headquarters located at the center of Cemetery Ridge, showing damage from the Rebel cannon barrage that preceded Pickett's charge.
Near McPherson's Woods, dead Union solders. Retreating Rebels sometimes took needed gear from fallen Federals, including their shoes. The first skirmish leading to the Battle of Gettysburg began when Rebels searching for shoes encountered Union cavalry.
July 4, 1863 - Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi, is captured by the Gen. Grant and the Army of the West.
Open field surgery as an amputation is performed at a Union hospital tent.
Wide view of the dedication ceremony, November 19, 1863, four months after the battle making the battlefield a National Cemetery. President Lincoln spoke for just two minutes delivering the Gettysburg Address
July 13, 1863 - Writes a message to Grant.
July 14, 1863 - Writes an undelivered letter to Meade complaining about his failure to capture Lee.
July 30, 1863 - Issues an Order of Retaliation.
Aug 8, 1863 - Writes a letter to his wife regarding Tad's lost goat.
Aug 10, 1863 - The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union 'Negro troops.'
Sept 19/20, 1863 - Union defeat at Chickamauga in Georgia leaves Chattanooga in Tennessee under Confederate siege. The president appoints Gen. Grant to command all operations in the western theater.
Oct 3, 1863 - Issues a Proclamation of Thanksgiving.
Nov 19, 1863 - President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a national cemetery.
Lincoln among the crowd at Gettysburg - Nov 19, 1863
OWN HAND WRITING ADDRESSING LETTER
Dec 8, 1863 - The president issues a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for restoration of the Union.
A Brady portrait - Jan, 1864
Feb, 1864 - Portrait used as basis for the Five Dollar Bill
The President and son Thomas (Tad) - Feb, 1864
March 12, 1864 - President Lincoln appoints Grant as general-in-chief of all the Federal armies. William T. Sherman succeeds Grant as commander in the West.
June 3, 1864 - A costly mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against entrenched Rebels at Cold Harbor, Virginia.
June 8, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln is nominated for president by a coalition of Republicans and War Democrats.
July 18, 1864 - Issues a call for 500,000 Volunteers for military service.
Aug 31, 1864 - Makes a speech to 148th Ohio Regiment.
Sherman's
Sept 2, 1864 - Atlanta is captured by Sherman's army. Later, the president on advice from Grant approves Sherman's march to the sea.
Gen. Philip H. Sheridan
Oct 19, 1864 - A decisive Union victory by Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.
Nov 8, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln gets 212 of 233 electoral votes and 55 percent of the popular vote.
Dec 20, 1864 - Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta.
March 4, 1865 - Inauguration ceremonies in Washington. President Lincoln delivers his second Inaugural Address.
Lincoln speaking at his second inauguration - March 4, 1865
March 17, 1865 - A kidnap plot by John Wilkes Booth fails when Lincoln fails to arrive as expected at the Soldiers' Home.
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
April 9, 1865 - Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
April 10, 1865 - Celebrations break out in Washington.
The President's son Tad poses - April 10, 1865
Taken by Gardner - The last portrait - April 10, 1865
April 11, 1865 - President Lincoln makes his last public speech, which focuses on the problems of reconstruction. The United States flag 'Stars and Stripes' is raised over Fort Sumter.
http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/reconst.htm
LAST SPEECH
April 14, 1865 - Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater.
Ford's Theater.
THE MURDERER-John Wilkes Booth
About 10:13 p.m., during the third act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head.
PISTOL USED BY BOOTH
Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house across the street. He never regains consciousness.
HOUSE LINCOLN DIED
DEATH BED
April 15, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the morning.
The president's box at Ford's Theater - 1865
Funeral Procession on Pennsylvania Ave. - April 19, 1865
April 26, 1865 - John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
May 4, 1865 - Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery, outside Springfield, Illinois.
A victory parade is held in Washington along Pennsylvania Ave. to help boost the Nation's morale - May 23-24, 1865.
Dec 6, 1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally ratified. Slavery is abolished.
PRESIDENT LINCOLNS GRAVE
ABRAHAM LINCOLN QUOTES
http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln78.html
http://
www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Abraham_Lincoln/
Mary Todd Lincolns CONDITION AFTER LINCOLNS DEATH
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ml16.html
DREAM OF DEATH
http://www.click2history.com/stories/abraham_lincoln/abraham_lincoln_ch4.htm
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Presidential_Library_and_Museum
Sexuality of Abraham Lincoln
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_of_Abraham_Lincoln
List of assassinated American politicians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assassinated_American_politicians
COMPLEATE HISTORY
http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln80.html
WHITE HOUSE VIRTUAL TOURS
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/360index.html
Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
