Mystic Chords of Memory
The Lost Journal of William Wallace Lincoln
by
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Preface
“Willie has rare lights…rare lights.”
- Abraham Lincoln to John Hay, Nov. 4th, 1861 after the publication of Willie’s poem “Lines on the Death of Colonel Baker” in the Washington newspaper National Republican.
“The short life of William Lincoln has been given little attention in the biographies of his father, or in other writings on the
- from “Willie Lincoln as Boy of Letters” by Charlotte A. Dubois in a magazine entitled “The Power of the Written Word”, Illinois State Register (
Of course, since that article was published in 1922 by Charlotte Dubois whose family were neighbors and friends of the Lincolns in Springfield, Ruth Painter Randall and Julia (Taft) Bayne have published books that do give some attention to Willie but still do not give Willie his due as a remarkably gifted boy, the favorite of his father and indeed most like him in temperament, intelligence, empathy and wit. Tad, who only lived nine years longer than Willie has had at least four books written about him in addition to children’s books.
Willie’s life would seem too short to many, but to those who were touched by him understood that quality of existence far exceeds the quantity of time in which you live it.
It is time that Willie’s life is honored in a full-length book.
- Donald Motier
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About the Book
My father died in 1990 and in the process of going through his belongings I discovered an old wooden weather-beaten trunk in the attic that aroused my curiosity. Considering the layers of dust covering the lid, it appeared that it had not been opened in many years. The lid seemed to creak and strain with the weight of the ages as I lifted the heavy oak. A neatly-folded Union Civil War uniform, complete with cap, stared up at me from the lost past. Although obviously worn, great care had been taken in its preservation. I gingerly lifted up the jacket and immediately noticed the three sergeant stripes on the upper arm. I knew then who had worn it.
My great-grandfather, Sergeant Charles Powers, had served two tours of duty during the Civil War and in 1861-62 had been stationed in Washington with the thousands of other troops guarding the city from what many thought was an imminent invasion from the South. During that period of 1861-62 he was at various times assigned to guarding the White House, Capitol and Arsenal.
Sgt. Powers lived till 1918 and my father, born in 1908, used to travel with his parents from
About the Author
Donald Motier was born in 1943. He graduated from college in 1970 with a B.A. in Philosophy and minor in English. He is the author of eleven other books including four novels, a novella/short story collection, five collections of poetry, and a work of biography/literary criticism. He resides in
The author, who describes himself as primarily a novelist, poet and incurable romantic, states that Mystic Chords of Memory: The Lost Journal of William Wallace Lincoln is a work of “creative,” “factional” predominantly historical nonfiction, with a few fantasy/sci-fi elements that are close to the author’s heart. The book is based on the Civil War service of his great-grandfather, a sergeant in the Pennsylvania Volunteers, and the life of Willie Lincoln, perfect clone of his father, who died tragically of multiple diseases on February 20, 1862 at age eleven.
All historical writing, be it primary source or contemporary, is colored through the lens of the author.
–Anonymous