Courage and Country

Chapter 4
Showdown in the Shadows
Springfield and Alton

Through the purple dusk on this pathless heath
Wanders a horse with its rider, Death.
The steed like its master is old and grim,
And the flame in his eye is burning dim.
The crown of the rider is red with gold
For he is lord of the lea and the wold,
A-tween his ribs, against the sky
Glimmers the stars as he rideth by.
A hungry scythe, o’er his shoulder bare
Glints afar through the darkening air--.
The Heath by Thomas Boyd. (1867 - 1927)

To all appearances, James Shields was striding tall in the Summer of 1842, since, as State Auditor of Public Accounts, he moved in circles of power and carried considerable clout.  He was well paid, single, and could come and go as he pleased.  On the surface, he should not have had a care in the world but, in the turbulent world of prairie politics where windstorms could level a house in a few seconds, there was stormy weather ahead.  It would involve the temperamental Miss Mary Todd and, her husband to be, Abraham Lincoln, the redoubtable Whig leader.  Before the dust finally settled in late September, a chain of events had culminated into a situation where not only was Shields’ political life imperiled but his mortality as well.  By the same token, Lincoln’s survival was in jeopardy too and, in retrospect, had the scenario played out differently, someone else would have been the sixteenth President of the United States;  there might not have been a civil war, and the whole map of America might be different. 

As Shields settled into Springfield, the asset side of his ledger had shown him to be strong willed, capable and confident, with an impressive record of legal and political success.  His liabilities encompassed similar features, but to a fault; he could be cocky, vain and hot headed, and he had an Irish pride that could be pricked.  Though he had not acquired much wealth, he had accumulated a large reservoir of political capital, that could be drawn on as needed.  He was obviously a man to be reckoned with, and had standing socially, and in the affairs of state.

Shields played his part well, blending in easily with the Springfield social and political elite, and doing nothing to jeopardize his position.  He did not emphasize his immigrant origins, and ensured his position in the mainstream by joining the influential Freemasons.  Frequenting lodge meetings, he moved rapidly through the ranks, and became the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Illinois.¹  He addressed the state convention of Masons in October 1842, and maintained his ties through the next decade, attending the Grand Lodge in Chicago in 1849.²  Shields did not associate with Roman Catholics at that time and, as far as his law partner Gustave Koerner knew, never attended church.  He was socially active and, like Abraham Lincoln, became a regular at Elizabeth Todd Edward’s dinner parties.

Elizabeth, a leader of the Springfield smart set, was married to Ninian W. Edwards of a politically well-pedigreed family; Elizabeth’s father-in-law had been territorial Governor of Illinois and her husband was a lawyer and legislator.  Though Governor Edwards had died in the Belleville cholera outbreak of 1833, the family dynasty continued to flourish.   Elizabeth enjoyed hosting soirees for young Turks from the Legislature, men such as the cosmopolitan Shields, and the gawky Abraham Lincoln, whose social skills were considered suspect by Springfield high society.  Elizabeth introduced them all to her nubile sister, Mary Todd, then 21.  

Mary lived with the Edwards, having moved to Springfield in 1839, from Lexington, Kentucky, where she and her sister had both been born and raised in well-to-do circumstances.  If Elizabeth reveled in socializing with the legislators, the prospect was even more to Mary’s taste; she loved bantering and exchanging pleasantries with them.  No shrinking violet, she was their intellectual equal, and was delighted both to debate and coquette as circumstances permitted.

In Elizabeth’s gatherings, Shields was sought as a highly desirable dinner guest, since he was a wit and a bachelor to boot.  Mary Todd acknowledged that she found Shields attractive and, in describing her “little coterie” of Lincoln, Douglas, Trumbull, and Shields stated, “Such choice spirits were the habitués of our drawing room.  Gen. Shields, a kind hearted, impulsive Irishman was always creating a sensation and mirth, by his drolleries.” ^3,4 

Shields and Mary socialized frequently, and had ample opportunity to vet each other as potential marriage partners, but at the end of the night, the free spirited Shields would scarcely have cared for Mary’s Patrician temperament and tart tongue.  He demonstrated repeatedly,