In Albuquerque Lincoln is not someone
who gets spoken about much.
Not even on his birthday
which has been compacted into President’s day.
His name is remembered
for the Lincoln County cattle wars
which included Billy the Kid
and sheriff Pat Garret.
It does not matter that the Civil War
was fought as far west as the Rio Grande.
Our big battles of Valverde Ford and Glorieta Pass
are barely skirmishes compared to the fighting
in Virginia and Tennessee
and mostly unknown to the average citizen.
I doubt Lincoln ever sent an official communication
to Edward Canby the Union commander in New Mexico.
I am sure the War department
sent orders and directives from Cameron and Stanton.
Every couple years I make the two day drive
to Springfield Illinois to refresh myself on all things Lincoln.
And then on to Santa Claus Indiana for his boyhood home
and on to Hodgeville Kentucky to visit his birth place.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 