Chautauqua Characters
Anna Ella Carroll (1815 - 1894)
Daughter of a Maryland governor, Anna Ella Carroll was active in Whig politics and was close to a several presidents. It is said that she could scheme, connive, and maneuver as well as any man. Carroll was fervently antislavery and pro-union and ultimately became a supporter of and agent for President Lincoln. She was sent west to report on that battlefront. Her report led to specific strategies that eventually defeated the Confederacy, however, her role in the war was kept secret because she was not only a civilian but a woman. Jefferson Davis (1808 - 1889)
Jefferson Davis was an American statesman who served as President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, 1861- 1865. During his presidency, Davis never developed a strategy that could defeat the more industrialized North. A West Point graduate, Davis served in the Mexican War and as Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Davis was imprisoned after the Civil War, 1865 to 1867. He was indicted for treason in 1866 but in 1868 the federal government dropped the case. Frederick Douglass (1818- 1895)
Born a slave in Maryland, Frederick Douglass escaped from bondage to become one of the most influential figures in 19th century America. He was an abolitionist, editor, author, reformer, and statesman. Douglass served as an adviser to President Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for African Americans. Jesse Benton Frémont (1824- 1902)
Jesse Benton Frémont was an American writer whose literary career arose largely from her writings in connection with her husband's career and adventures. She was the daughter of influential U.S. senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of John Charles Frémont, western explorer and the first Republican candidate for president. When her husband, as military governor of the West, refused to rescind his emancipation proclamation in Missouri, Jesse went to Washington to plead his case. Lincoln responded by revoking the proclamation and relieving Frémont of command in November 1861. General Ulysses S. Grant (1822- 1885)
Ulysses S. Grant was the leading Union general in the Civil War and the eighteenth president of the United States. A West Point graduate, Grant served in the Mexican War, but resigned his commission in 1854. He endured seven years of failed business ventures and depression before reentering the army after the start of the Civil War. After Grant's brilliant victories in the West and the failure of other generals, President Lincoln said, "Grant is my man and I am his the rest of the War." John Hay (1838- 1905)
John Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, and journalist, who, at age 22, became the private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln. Hay was not only Lincoln's secretary, but his friend, confidant and companion. Hay and John Nicolay, another Lincoln secretary, wrote a formal 10-volume biography of the slain president. He had a long career as a public servant ultimately serving as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State. Mary Todd Lincoln (1818- 1882)
Mary Todd Lincoln was the wife of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady from 1861 -1865. Born to a prominent family in Lexington, Kentucky, she moved to Springfield, Illinois where she met the future president. The Lincolns had four sons, but only Robert outlived his mother. Mary Todd Lincoln suffered severe emotional blows including the loss of her son Willie in the White House and the assassination of her husband. She never fully recovered from these losses.
