Compelled to Serve, Edward Baker (Article 120)
Edward Dickenson Baker was one of Abraham Lincoln’s true friends and confidants.
He was an experienced trial lawyer and part-time preacher both of which contributed to his development as an excellent public speaker and, over time, he became recognized nationally as a great orator, in demand at fairs, conventions, and political rallies. He lived in Springfield, Illinois and met Abraham Lincoln in 1835, as both men were active in Illinois politics and served in the state legislature. In 1844, Baker and Lincoln both sought the Springfield area’s seat in the U.S, House of Representatives, which Baker won as Lincoln chose to withdraw rather than have a Whig party fight. Despite their competition, the men remained great friends, with Lincoln and Mary naming one of their sons (Eddie) after Baker.
Baker was also a Colonel in the local militia and, in 1844, in a famous display of commitment to the Rule of Law and legal processes (as well as personal courage) he led the pursuit of the mob leaders who had murdered Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saints religious sect. Smith was in the Carthage, Illinois jail, along with a few others, awaiting trial when the attack occurred. Baker was opposed to the fledgling religious movement, but could not tolerate mob action. Although he and his small force were outnumbered, he and his few men crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri and captured the fleeing ringleaders. Interestingly, all were later acquitted of the murder by a stacked jury; however, Baker seemed satisfied with his role in their capture and did not participate in the subsequent trial.
When the war with Mexico broke out in 1846, he resigned his congressional seat to join the U.S. Army and fought in several battles, once cited for his leadership by General Winfield Scott, Commander of U.S. forces. After the war, Baker intended to run again for Congress, but when he learned Abraham Lincoln had already expressed interest, rather than run against his friend again, Baker moved to Galena, Illinois, in another congressional district, and won that seat.
But, by 1850, he had his eye on California and decided to move to the rapidly growing city of San Francisco where he opened a law practice and was soon thriving. Although California had been admitted to the United States in 1850 with a Constitution that prohibited slavery, the state was divided over whether new states should be permitted to choose to accept slavery or not; an issue of state sovereignty. There were even discussions that California might secede; however, Baker was an outspoken supporter of California’s current Constitution and a leader in the movement to keep California in the Union. (And, in some part due to his influence, the state remained in the Union!)
In the mid-1850s, a large contingent of Illinois residents migrated to Oregon, and Baker became acquainted with that group. They encouraged him to relocate, and in 1858, he moved with his family to Salem, Oregon and opened a new law practice there. He was immediately popular and was selected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1859, upon Oregon’s statehood in February of that year.
Despite the distance between them, during his ten years on the west coast, in addition to correspondence, Baker returned several times to Illinois and he and Lincoln continued their friendship.
Throughout 1859 and 1860, there were continuing rumbles in the Southern states about secession, and some dissatisfied citizens in Oregon joined the chorus. In a speech in Salem on the 4th of July 1860, Senator Baker clearly established his position. He said, “If it be reserved for me to lay my unworthy life upon the altar of my country in defending it from internal assailants, I declare here today that I aspire to no higher glory than that the sun of my life may go down beneath the shadow of freedom's temple and baptize the emblem of the nation's greatness, the Stars and Stripes, that float so proudly before us today, in my heart's warmest blood.”
His oratory skills were obviously in full bloom!
Although he was an accomplished, and flowery, public speaker, at the inauguration ceremony of Abraham Lincoln on March 4, 1861, Baker rose to introduce his close friend as the new President and simply said, “Fellow citizens, I introduce to you, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States."
There was some speculation in newspapers and in Congress that Lincoln would appoint Baker to a position in his new cabinet, but those voices must have never spoken to either Lincoln or Baker. Both men knew Baker’s position in the Senate would be important in the first few months of Lincoln’s first term, after all, the President was elected with only about 40% of the vote and the Senate was divided among several factions. If Baker had resigned his senate seat, the Governor of Oregon, a Democrat, would have named a member of his own party as a replacement, possibly even a pro-slavery or secession minded politician. Neither man wanted to take that risk!
On April 12, 1861, the future paths for both men changed when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, and then on April 15th, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to join the Union Army to put down the rebellion. On April 19, Baker travelled to New York City to help raise troops and gave a speech before a crowd of over 50,000 people. He implored the listeners to support the Union cause and said, "The hour for conciliation is past; the gathering for battle is at hand, and the country requires that every man shall do his duty. If Providence shall will it, this feeble hand shall draw a sword, never yet dishonored, not to fight for honor on a foreign field, but for country, for home, for law, for government, for Constitution, for right, for freedom, for humanity."
And, unlike a lot of hawkish politicians then and now, he was personally committed to fight for the cause.
He wanted to join the war effort, but he faced a problem. There was a legal barrier that seemed to prohibit a sitting senator from also holding a commission in the U.S. Army. So, as experienced politicians have always done, he devised a run-around. On April 16th, Baker asked Secretary of War Simon Cameron for permission to form a California Regiment, although he was a resident and Senator of Oregon, with himself designated as a Colonel and commander of the soon to be raised force. Baker then wrote to his friend, Abraham Lincoln, and requested that he be appointed a General, which would require Senate approval; and Lincoln quickly obliged. When it came time for the Senate to review Lincoln’s request that Baker be designated as a General, Baker told the Senate that he would refuse the General rank, if the Senate and Executive branch would agree that he could serve in the lesser rank of Colonel over a California Regiment. He had created a situation in which he would appear to be willing to accept the lower rank in order to serve his country, while remaining in the Senate.
He said, the rank of Colonel would be “Quite sufficient for all my military aspirations."
All sides agreed and, while his new regiment was being raised in California, Baker assumed command of a brigade responsible for protecting an area of the Potomac River outside Washington DC. He had no illusions about the risks of battle, writing, “I am certain I shall not live through this war, and if my troops should show any want of resolution, I shall fall in the first battle. I cannot afford, after my career in Mexico, and as a Senator of the United States, to turn my face from the enemy.”
On October 20, 1861, Baker visited Abraham Lincoln and the two retreated to a large tree on the lawn of the Executive Mansion. Lincoln was observed sitting against the tree as Baker laid out prone on the ground nearby. There is no record of what the two old friends discussed, but Baker and Lincoln finally rose and shook hands before Baker walked away.
It would be the last time they would meet.
The following day, October 21, Baker and his men were directed to check on a reported Confederate encampment across the Potomac and they found a small Union force exchanged in fire with a group of Confederates. Just as Baker was deploying his men, he was struck by several long rifle shots and died instantly.
President Lincoln was in a meeting when he learned of Baker’s death. An observer wrote, “With bowed head, and tears rolling down his furrowed cheeks, his face pale and wan, his heart heaving with emotion, he almost fell as he stepped into the street."
Abraham Lincoln’s dear friend was gone.
A few days after Colonel Baker’s death, Lincoln’s young son Willie, wrote a poem honoring Baker’s courage and commitment to the Union cause and his reputation as a popular orator, but concluded with these two verses:
“No squeamish notions filled his breast,
The Union was his theme.
No surrender and no compromise,
his day thought and night’s dream.
His Country has her part to play,
To’rds those he left behind,
His widow and his children all,
She must always keep in mind.”
An aide wrote that “Mr. Lincoln wept as he read the poem, and then embraced his son.”
After several days of funeral ceremonies in Washington, Edward Baker’s remains were returned to San Francisco, where his family decided to resettle. As the war raged and more young Californians died, the San Francisco National Cemetery was formed and Colonel Baker was one of the first to be laid to rest there.
(Footnote: For the military buffs, there remains a dispute as to Baker’s real rank. The Army has him listed as a Colonel, while the Senate records show appointment approvals as both Brigadier and Major General. I like to think Edward Baker would be satisfied with Colonel.)