The Secret in Abraham Lincoln's Pocket Watch
President Lincoln never knew the hidden message he carried with him every day.
Chris Wild
1861
In the 1850s Abraham Lincoln, then a successful lawyer, purchased a fine pocket watch from George Chatterton, a jeweler in Springfield, Illinois. The mechanism itself was manufactured in Liverpool, England, but the 18-carat case was of the best quality manufactured in America.Aside from its make, there was nothing special about this particular watch ... until later on, when someone else got his hands on it.
In November 1860 Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States. In January 1861, South Carolina seceded from the Union, followed by six more states before Lincoln's inauguration. On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began with shots fired at Fort Sumter. At that time Lincoln's watch was at M.W. Galt and Co. in Washington, D.C., for repair. In the heat of the moment, watchmaker Jonathan Dillon unscrewed the dial from Lincoln's watch and engraved a message with a sharp tool. In 1906 at the age of 84, he recalled the message to the New York Times:
The first gun is fired.<br>Slavery is dead. <br>Thank God we have a President<br>who at least will try.
Dillon then signed and dated the inscription and closed the dial.
In 2009 Jonathan Dillon's great-great-grandson contacted the Smithsonian museum, which holds the watch, with the story. They agreed to open the watch. Inside they found the inscription, below:
Jonathan Dillon<br>April 13-1861<br>Fort Sumpter was attacked<br>by the rebels on the above<br>date J Dillon<br>April 13-1861<br>Washington<br>thank God we have a government<br>Jonth Dillon
The inscription was slightly different from Dillon's recollection.First, Fort Sumter was misspelled as "Sumpter." Then in 1864 a second watchmaker, L. E. Gross, had signed his name. Also, at some point someone had etched "Jeff Davis," either as a joke or a statement of support for the Confederacy. It was common practice for watch repairers to engrave or mark the inside of watches with their details, albeit more discreetly than Dillon.
Lincoln never knew of the message<br>he carried in his pocket. - BRENT D. GLASS, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
The Secret Message in Abraham Lincoln's Pocket Watch
Chris Wild
1861