Benjamin Brown French Journal, 1828-1870

University Press of New England 

Online Resource: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001545245

Published as Witness to the Young Republic, A Yankee's Journal, 1828-1870. Benjamin Brown French (1800-1870) was a political officeholder who became personally acquainted with every president from John Quincy Adams through Ulysses S. Grant, as well as witnessing events in the nation's capital from 1833 to 1870. French was appointed and served as Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives (1845-1847), oversaw the expansion of national telegraphic communications from 1847-1850). French also served as Commissioner of Public Buildings in Washington, DC, under President Franklin Pierce and later under President Abraham Lincoln. Included are personal accounts of Jackson, Webster, and Douglas, and French, who observed Lincoln on a regular basis, was present at the Gettysburg Address and in the room as Lincoln lay dying; afterwards, he was in charge of the President's funeral arrangements.