We often hear how Southerners promoted "Lost Cause mythology"
after the war in defending their history (which all Nations
involved in war do to one extent or another). But how often do
we hear those same critics discuss "Holy Cause mythology" and
how many Northerners embellished Lincoln's record and glorified
his persona in defense of their history. The correct answer
would be "not very often"; though we're beginning to see it
more. Case in point: a watch that belonged to the 16th President
was in the hands of a watchmaker when Fort Sumter was fired
upon. The watchmaker marked the historic event by secretly
inscribing something on the inside of the watch. After Lincoln
was assassinated, he told family and friends that he had
inscribed the following words: "The first gun is fired. Slavery
is dead. Thank God we have a president who at least will try."
Recently, the watchmaker's descendant had the watch opened to
see if this was truth or legend and it was then revealed that
the watchmaker had actually written th