Abraham
Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert Todd, was a student at Harvard when hostilities
began. Some Illinois leaders grumbled and complained at his sheltered life, but
he entered law school instead of the army after his 1864 graduation. Under
tremendous public pressure, Abraham Lincoln then arranged for his oldest son to
become a member of McClellan’s staff.
Captain
Lincoln took care of visiting dignitaries, including his father, but he never
“saw the elephant” by engaging in combat. He was U.S. secretary of war and U.S.
minister to Great Britain before heading the Pullman Car Company, then one of
the nation’s largest corporations.
