There would be several attempts to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body following the Civil War—until, at Robert Lincoln’s request, the casket was covered with cement in 1901, never to be seen again. None of the would-be grave robbers had had much success. In fact, none had even managed to pry the president’s heavy casket lid open.
If they had, they would have been shocked by what they found.
III
On August 28th, 1963, Henry Sturges stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial, his clothing and hair in keeping with the times, a black umbrella protecting his skin and dark glasses covering his eyes. He was accompanied by an uncommonly tall friend, his eyes behind a pair of Ray-Bans; his shoulder-length brown hair beneath a floppy brimmed hat. A bushy beard obscured his angular face, the same one staring down at him from its marble throne (and causing him no shortage of discomfort). Both listened intently, proudly, as a young black preacher looked out on more than 250,000 faces.
“Five score years ago,” the preacher began, “a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.”
Abe and Henry had come to help finish the work begun a century before. They’d been there during Reconstruction, driving out the vampires who continued to terrorize emancipated slaves….
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.”
They’d been there in Mississippi, dragging white-hooded devils to their deaths by the light of burning crosses….
“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
And they’d been there in Europe, where millions gave their lives defeating the second vampire uprising between 1939 and 1945.
But there was still work to be done.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
The crowd cheered wildly, and the preacher took his seat. It was a perfect late-summer day. A defining day in man’s struggle for freedom. Not unlike the day Abraham Lincoln was laid to rest, ninety-eight years before.
The day Henry made a choice…
… that some men are just too interesting to die.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks go to Ben Greenberg, Jamie Raab, and all my new friends at Grand Central for being excited by the idea and seeing it through brilliantly; to Claudia Ballard for making it all happen, Alicia Gordon for making more things happen, and everyone at William Morris Endeavor; to the wonderfully terrifying Gregg Gellman; to the Internet (without which this book would not have been possible), particularly Google, Wikipedia, and the Lincoln Log—invaluable resources, all; to Starbucks—you complete me; to Stephanie Isaacson for her Photoshop genius; to David and everyone at MTV for bearing with me as I bit off more than I could chew; and to my fearless research assistant, Sam.
A special thanks to Erin and Josh for letting me sit out most of 2009.
And finally, to Abe—for living a life that hardly needed vampires to make it incredible—and to Henry Sturges —wherever you are….
*Not the name he went by at the time. For the sake of consistency, I refer to him by his actual name throughout the book, including here.
*It was common for early settlers to build their homes around forts, or “stations.” In the event of an Indian attack, these forts offered a place to retreat. They were kept manned by a small detachment of volunteers.
*A sixteenth-century song by Richard Edwards, referenced in Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene 5.
*Many farmers ran distilleries as a way to make extra money off their crop. Here, Abe is referring to the fact that Thomas often traded his carpentry for corn whiskey—much to the consternation of his new wife.
*It’s not known how Barts killed Nancy Lincoln and the Sparrows, but based on information elsewhere in the journals, he likely administered a “fool’s dose” of his own blood. Pricking a finger and squeezing a few drops into a sleeping victim’s mouth is the most common method. Such an amount is merely enough to produce the side effects of transformation (sickness, death) without any of its lasting benefits.
*It’s interesting to note the repeated use of the words “kill” and “killing” in these early entries. Abe would later use the more accurate verbs “destroy” and “slaughter.”
*Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3.
*Abe was amazed that passengers were willing to fork over a dollar apiece to have themselves ferried a distance of (in some cases) thirty feet. As in his days on the Old Cumberland Trail in Kentucky, he also reveled in meeting travelers and hearing their stories, many of which he would retell for the rest of his life.
*A tarlike resin.
**A rudder with a long handle so it could be controlled from the roof of the shelter.
*Abe is referring to what is today called St. Louis Cemetery #1.
*An understanding Poe seemed to have forgotten by 1843, when de Vere was used as a character in Poe’s “Lenore.”
*A healthy man in his prime could fetch as much as $1,100 (an impossible amount for a slave to bank), while an older woman or those with any sort of impediment might net $100 or less.
*The town would be renamed Springfield the following year.
*John Walker’s matches (which he called congreves) were made with a mixture of stibnite, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch. They were incredibly unstable, odiferous items.
*The name given to a group of some five hundred warriors and one thousand women and children from five different tribes, all under the command of Black Hawk. It was so named because Black Hawk had been told he would receive assistance from the British in any conflict with the Americans (it never materialized).
*William F. Berry, son of a local minister, and a former corporal in Lincoln’s outfit.
*Vandalia was the state capital until 1839, when it was moved to Springfield.
*Abe is either misquoting or paraphrasing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I, Scene 2.
