Precisely 202 years ago today, Anna Ella Carroll, was born on the Eastern Shore. This event is of particular note to history scholars and even some hometown fans in Dorchester County since it reminds them once again how Anna’s life and extraordinary contributions in winning the Civil War for the Union continue has been lost in the history of the country’s greatest conflict.
As Time Magazine noted last year, Abraham Lincoln “was so enthusiastic about her writing that he secured government funding for a 50,000-run printing of one of her most influential pamphlets and invited her to the White House for a confidential interview. He was impressed and enlisted her as an unofficial adviser.”
And while there is some historical debate on how much she contributed to the success of individual battles, including the famous Tennessee River Campaign, the evidence was clear enough to some Dorchester County natives to enlist Eastern Shore painter Laura Era to repaint Francis Bicknell Carpenter’s iconic “Lincoln Cabinet” to allow Anna Ella to take her proper seat at the table.
The Spy talked to Laura this week about the project and her hopes to find the appropriate home for this dramatic, and some would say a far more accurate, profile of Lincoln and his advisors.
This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Laura Era’s work please go here
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