Broadside, "President Lincoln's Farewell Address to His Old Neighbors, Springfield, February 12, 1861"

One of the most memorable and emotional of Abraham Lincoln's speeches was his extemporaneous farewell to the citizens of Springfield, Illinois on his departure to Washington. The speech was made on the train platform during a driving rain storm. Three variations exist, one quickly penned by the President-elect as the train pulled out of the station, this version, published in Harper's Weekly on February 23, 1861 and printed as a memorial broadside in 1865, and a longer version published in the Illinois State Journal on February 12, 1861.