As Lincoln’s train passed through the country, he often stood on a visible platform to let the people see the man they had heard so much about. During stops, Lincoln was frequently asked to give speeches. He usually declined, saying that if he made a speech at every stop, he wouldn’t make it to Washington in time for the inauguration.

Staying for a night in Indianapolis, Lincoln gave a speech to a large crowd in which he abandoned his prior caution. He strongly asserted the federal government’s right to hold onto and even retake its forts from secessionist states, as well as to enforce federal laws in those states. Abolitionists celebrated the speech, while many Southerners condemned it as a declaration of war against them.

Lincoln entrusted his son Robert with keeping track of many copies of his father’s upcoming inaugural address. When Robert casually left the bag containing the drafts with a hotel clerk, Lincoln panicked, worrying that the speech would leak to the newspapers. He personally retrieved the copies and stripped Robert of his responsibility for them. Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, and their two youngest children joined him for the next leg of the journey to Washington.