A number of people helped in my pursuit of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis:
My splendid editor, Henry Ferris, recognized from the start how pairing the final journeys of the two presidents could enhance the power of each story. Our countless conversations and late night editing sessions in his New York office improved the book in immeasurable ways. Henry’s assistants, Peter Hubbard, now an editor in his own right, and Danny Goldstein, brought diligence and enthusiasm to the project.
I am also grateful to the rest of my HarperCollins team: Michael Morrison and Liate Stehlik for supporting this book with energy and personal interest, Lynn Grady and Jean Marie Kelly for bringing it to its audience, and miracle-worker Sharyn Rosenblum, the best publicist in the business.
At the Museum of the Confederacy, President S. Waite Rawls III and historian John Coski provided valuable information about Jefferson Davis. Thanks also to Waite for a moving, late afternoon private tour of the Confederate White House.
At the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library at Beauvoir, Mississippi, Chairman Richard V. Forte Sr. and curator Richard R. Flowers answered questions about Davis’s last sanctuary and provided the surprising photo of Oscar Wilde. Lynda Lasswell Crist, editor of the Papers of Jefferson Davis at Rice University, was a superb guide to the writings of the lost man of American history. Lynda answered questions with good cheer, and supplied numerous documents and transcripts. With the impressive papers project, a model for future historians, she has made a major contribution to the study of American history.
At the Library of Congress, John Sellers is a living treasure who shared his vast expertise on the Lincoln and Civil War manuscript collection. His retirement is a loss to all those who pursue the Lincoln story. In the rare book division, Clark Evans, with his usual effusive charm, made available a number of treasures documenting the final days of Lincoln and Davis. W. Ralph Eubanks, director of publishing and a fine author in his own right, helped me obtain a number of superb photographs and illustrations, as did Helena Zinkham and Barbara Orbach Natanson in the prints and photographs division. I must also thank John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book and author impresario of the National Book Festival, for his support and efforts to spread Lincoln scholarship to a wide popular audience at the best book event in America.
At the Surratt Society, Joan Chaconas, Laurie Verge, and Sandra Walia rendered the same generous assistance that they gave to Manhunt. Their expertise and good humor make Mary Surratt’s country tavern and the James O. Hall Research Center two of the most interesting and informative sites on the Lincoln assassination trail.
Many thanks to my “first readers” Michael Burlingame, Ronald K. L. Collins, and Edward Steers Jr. for reading the manuscript with keen eyes, and making valuable suggestions.
At Ford’s Theatre, my friend Paul Tetreault offered good counsel, a public venue to share my research, and the opportunity to participate in the preservation of an American landmark. Paul is a remarkable catalyst and visionary who understands the potential of Ford’s as both a working playhouse and a museum that tells the story of Lincoln’s life and death. At the National Park Service, Kym Elder, Rae Emerson, and Gloria Swift were always ready to provide assistance, advice, and encouragement.
At the Heritage Foundation, Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Todd Gaziano, director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, provided me with a collegial home during the time I wrote this book. Jessica Kline gave valuable assistance with all computer mysteries. Interns Laura Clauser and Andrew O’Dell helped track down a number of hard-to-find documents and articles.
My friend and literary agent, Richard Abate, grasped the dramatic possibilities of this story about the end days of the two Civil War presidents and made a number of invaluable suggestions on how to think about and tell this tale. He critiqued the manuscript, provided his usual telling insights, and in a number of ways above and beyond the call of an agent, gave this book his “last measure of devotion.”
I also thank my television agent at WME Entertainment, Julie Weitz, for her tireless efforts in translating my work into another medium.
My wife, Andrea E. Mays, occupied with her own book on the hunt for Shakespeare’s First Folio, read the manuscript several times, made countless editorial improvements, helped sift through the abundance of art works to select the images, and, whenever I got bogged down in the trees, cut me a path to clarity. Andrea lived with this book for more than two years and helped me bring alive the saga of Lincoln and Davis. Our boys, Cameron and Harrison, ages thirteen and eleven, were our companions on visits to historic sites, my assistants at book signings, and coaches on storytelling. “Readers want blood,” said Cameron. “And knives,” added Harrison.
Finally, my father, Lennart J. Swanson, traveled with me for much of this journey. In a way, he began this book by taking me on an unforgettable trip to Gettysburg when I was ten years old. We have been traveling on that path ever since.
James L. Swanson
Washington, D.C.
July 7, 2010