The video and post talk about the lives of two Congressmen from the Civil War era – Henry Bedinger and Alexander “Alec” Boteler. Both men were friends with a strong passion for the arts. Bedinger was a poet, while Boteler was a painter and drawer, descending from a family of painters, including Charles Willson Peale, who painted General Washington. Bedinger met and fell in love with Caroline (“Carrie”) Lawrence, daughter of a fellow Congressman, and the two were married before moving to Denmark, where Bedinger became the first American ambassador there for most of the 1850s. Boteler, on the other hand, inherited Fountain Rock and married Helen Stockton Rock, with whom he had four children – Helen (“Tippie”), Charlotte (“Lottie”), Elizabeth (“Lizzie”), and Alec Junior.
Boteler’s passion for drawing surfaced during his time as a college student at Princeton, where he sketched the profile of an attractive girl he saw reading in a large brick house. The girl turned out to be Helen Stockton, whom Boteler eventually married. The two families remained close even after Bedinger left for Denmark, and Boteler entered politics, serving in Bedinger’s old Congressional seat from early 1859 until just before war broke out.
Boteler’s drawing passion continued even during his political tenure, as he created a cartoon of Charles Harper’s home and apothecary shop, adding the ominous words from Shakespeare’s Henry VI as its caption. Sensing dark times ahead, Boteler’s cartoon was a warning of things to come.
After serving as an ambassador in Denmark for most of the 1850s, Bedinger finally returned home to Carrie and their three children, bringing back the Christmas custom of a decorated tree, which they had picked up during their time in Europe. Bedinger also became a favorite of King Frederick VII and became friends with Hans Christian Andersen.
Overall, the lives of Bedinger and Boteler demonstrate the combination of politics and arts during the Civil War era, showcasing the creative minds of these two Congressmen.
Posted by Jim Surkamp on 2015-03-26 12:49:02