Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was a fiery abolitionist, a minister, and a celebrated speaker. Mark Twain went to see Beecher preach and described him as "sawing his arms in the air, howling sarcasams this way and that, discharging rockets of poetry, and exploding mines of eloquence." While Beecher was on a speaking tour in England to argue against the Southern cause, a man in a London audience confronted him.
The Londoner asked, "If your cause is so righteous with your great Northern strength, why can't you put down the rebellion?"
Beecher answered, "Because we are fighting Americans and not Englishmen."
Photo from the Brady-Handy Collection, Library of Congress. Published between 1855 & 1865.
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