Lefty Watchmaker Vandalizes Abraham Lincoln’s Watch - 150 Yrs Ago
By bigbrother ~ March 10th, 2009. Filed under: Daily Communique.
Jonathan Dillon, a recent Irish Immigrant and a watchmaker, was repairing Abraham Lincoln’s watch when he heard that the South Carolina Militia had fired on Fort Sumner, sparking the U.S. Civil War, felt compelled to engrave a message on the inside of the watch marking the event. He never told his customer, the 16th President, about what he did and the watch’s current owner, The Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American History, had no idea about the secret inscription. The story only passed down through the watchmaker’s family, who recently brought it to the attention of the museum.
On Tuesday, the writing on the inside of the watch again saw the light of day. It read:
Jonathan Dillon April 13 - 1861
Fort Sumpter (sic) was attacked by the rebels on the above date.
Thank God we have a government.
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March 12th, 2009 at 10:33 am
My gosh, that was Lincoln’s watch,” he said, “and my ancestor put graffiti on it!”