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Lincoln in stone
Sculptured panels of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Among the more outstanding features of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Spencer County, Ind., are the five sculptured panels of the Memorial Building. They are the works of Elmer H. Daniels, who also designed the bust of Lincoln located in the Nancy Hanks Memorial Hall of the building. The bas-relief panels illustrate the steps in Lincoln’s life that progressively brought him from a log cabin to the White House.
Daniels completed the works, made of Bedford limestone, in 1943. They were dedicated on May, 20, 1944. Each of the relief panels is approximatedly 8-feet tall by 13-feet wide by 5-inches deep. Each weighs about 10 tons.
Here are the panels you’ll see when you visit the National Park Service site, and the interpretation of each.
KENTUCKY PANEL: 1809—1816. The Childhood Years of Lincoln.
 The Kentucky panel illustrates the years of Lincoln’s life spent on the Sinking Spring and Knob Creek farms. On the far left dressed in the style of the frontier is Jesse LaFollette, grandfather of Wisconsin Senator Robert M. LaFollette and neighbor of the Lincolns at Knob Creek. Beside him stands Thomas Lincoln, father of the President. Seated is Dr. Christopher Columbus Graham, doctor, scientist, and visitor at the Lincoln home. His stories fascinated Abe, who is pictured here at the age of seven. Behind the boy is his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Sarah, his only sister, stands at the churn. On the far right is Caleb Hazel, Lincoln’s second schoolteacher.
INDIANA PANEL: 1816—1830. The Boyhood Days of Lincoln.
 This panel depicts Lincoln as a youth, but fully grown and capable of doing a man’s job. At the extreme left is James Gentry, wealthy farmer and merchant. Abe was a frequent visitor in his home. Next to him is Josiah Crawford. Lincoln worked for him three days to pay for a book he borrowed which was damaged by rain. Behind Abe, “The Railsplitter,” holding a hewn log are Aaron Grigsby, husband of Lincoln’s sister, and Dennis Hanks, his mother’s cousin. To the right is James Gentry’s son, Allen, who was Lincoln’s companion on a trip down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Beside him is Thomas Lincoln's second wife, Sarah Bush Lincoln.
ILLINOIS PANEL: 1830—1861. The Years of Political Ascendancy.
 Here Lincoln is shown receiving congratulations from his friends and associates on his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1846. John Stuart, his first law partner, is on the left. Next is Stephen T. Logan, a later law partner. Grasping Lincoln’s hand is his close friend, Joshua Speed, the merchant. Between Lincoln and Speed is William Herndon. To the right and behind the beardless Lincoln sits editor Simon Francis. The woman behind him is Mary Todd Lincoln, and the last figure is Lincoln's friend, Orville H. Browning, who served as United States Senator and in the cabinet of Andrew Johnson as Secretary of the Interior.
WASHINGTON PANEL: 1861—1865. The Years of Command.
 In the Washington panel the sculptor has chosen Lincoln’s career as Civil War President for his subject. The President is pictured with General Ulysses S. Grant at Grant’s headquarters in Petersburg, Virginia, near the close of the war. The other figures are soldiers symbolic of the many brave men who made victory possible.
CENTRAL PANEL: “And Now He Belongs to the Ages.”
 These historic words of the President’s Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, are a reminder of the heritage left to the men and women of all time to come. The figures in the panel represent some of the people to whom Lincoln will forever belong—the farmer, the laborer, the family, the freedman. At the right of Lincoln stands Cleo, Muse of History, holding a scroll on which the deeds of the Emancipator are recorded. Beside her is Columbia offering the wreath of laurel, tribute of a nation to its leader. In the background a cabin and the White House serve as symbols of American opportunity.
Inscriptions
Nine inscriptions are above the sculptured panels on the wall forming the Memorial Court. These were selected from Lincoln’s writings and speeches to illustrate some of his beliefs. They are:
No. 1. A SUPREME BEING
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God. — Message to Congress, July 4, 1861
No. 2. PEACE
To do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations. — Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
No. 3. LABOR
Labor is the great source from which nearly all, if not all, human comforts and necessities are drawn. — Cincinnati Address, September 17, 1859
No. 4. LIBERTY
Surely each man has as strong a motive now, to preserve our liberties, as each had then, to establish them. — Message to Congress, July 4, 1861
No. 5. DEMOCRACY
And that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. — Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
No. 6. FRIENDSHIP
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
No. 7. LAW AND ORDER
It will then have been proved that among free men there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet. — Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863
No. 8. RIGHT AND DUTY
Have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. — Cooper Institute Address, February 27, 1860
No. 9. THE UNION
I hold that, in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual. — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial information:
Address: 2916 E. South St., Lincoln City, IN 47552
Phone: 812-937-4541
Web site: www.nps.gov/libo
Daily Hours: 8 am-4:30 pm, December-February;
8 am-5 pm, March-November
Admission: $5 per person for age 17 and older, maximum charge of $10 per family.
For a complete history on the development and history of the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, “There I Grew Up …” by Jill York O’Bright, go to: http://www.nps.gov/archive/libo/adhi/adhi.htm.
Go back to previous Lincoln Bicentennial story
Go to the Lincoln Bicentennial table of contents
Go to the February 2008 issue table of contents
Written By: eceditor
Date Posted: 1/29/2008
Number of Views: 251
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