Abraham Lincoln and the Speeds: The Untold Story of a Devoted and Enduring Friendship. The book is a dual biography of Joshua and James Speed and tells the story of how closely the friendship between Joshua Speed and Abraham Lincoln continued to affect not only Joshua Speed s life, but also the life of his brother James Speed. Both Joshua and James were dedicated to the Union, even though they followed different paths. James was a Unionist, emancipationist, abolitionist, and Radical Republican. He entered politics, becoming a state representative and later Attorney-General under Abraham Lincoln and later Andrew Johnson.  

 

With the 200th anniversary of Lincoln s birth, the story of Joshua and James Speed can give the reader another window into his friendships. The story of Joshua and James Speed can also reveal information about Kentucky politics during the Civil War; the struggle between Union loyalists and Confederate sympathizers, and the struggle for emancipation, abolition, and those who opposed equal rights for blacks in Kentucky.

One of the most vilified and hated men during the Civil War in Kentucky had to be Kentucky born Union (brevet) Major General Stephen Gano Burbridge, but why have Kentuckian historians continued to cast him negatively?  Burbridge had a meteoric rise as a military commander, starting out as a colonel of the 26th Kentucky Union infantry and becoming a Major General by 1863.  He had fought well at Arkansas Post and Champion's Hill during the Vicksburg Campaign and received the praise of Union General William T. Sherman.  Burbridge also received the thanks of President Abraham Lincoln for his victory over Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's forces at Cynthiana, Kentucky