How We Elected Lincoln; Personal Recollections of Lincoln and Men of His Time

Dittenhoefer as a young man campaigned for Lincoln in 1860 and was an elector for Lincoln in the presidential election of 1864. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, of German immigrant parents, he moved with his parents to New York City. He had a distinguished career as a lawyer and judge. He was instrumental in establishing the principle that newspapers were protected from disclosing the source of confidential information. When he died in 1919 he was the last surviving presidential elector for Abraham Lincoln. This 1916 memoir “…offers my personal recollections of the immortal Emancipator, and of the memorable campaigns of 1860 and 1864, in which, as a young man, I was actively engaged.” - Summary by Book Preface and David Wales (2 hr 21 min)