Chapter 3 of civilwarscholars.com focuses on the friendship and creative bond between Henry Bedinger and Alec Boteler, two congressmen from the area. Henry was a lawyer with a passion for poetry, while Alec had a talent for drawing and painting, likely due to his great-grandfather, Charles Willson Peale, who painted General Washington. Alec’s love of art was not supported by his father, who threatened to whip him if he ever saw him painting. Despite this, Alec continued to pursue his passion and even attended Princeton, where he drew a sketch of a beautiful girl, Helen Stockton, who would later become his wife.
After serving in Congress for four years, Henry left with his family for Denmark, where he became the first US ambassador there for most of the 1850s. Alec, on the other hand, had a business calamity in 1852 that cost him nearly twenty thousand dollars, leading him to pursue elected office with a steady salary. He served in Bedinger’s old congressional seat from early 1859 until just before the war broke out. During this time, he also created a cartoon of Charles Harper’s home and apothecary shop, still looking much the same adjacent to McMurran Hall.
In November 1858, Ambassador Henry Bedinger finally returned home to Carrie and their three children who had come back from Denmark two years earlier. Carrie disliked the card-playing of even the Episcopalian priest in Denmark, but the family had brought back a widespread Christmas custom – a decorated tree – that was new to Long Island and Shepherdstown. Henry had become a favorite of King Frederick VII, and Hans Christian Anderson, the famed children’s writer, would often seek him out for a chess game.
Overall, the story highlights the bond between two creative and talented individuals who pursued their passions despite adversity and ultimately found success in different ways.
Posted by Jim Surkamp on 2015-03-26 12:48:52