Lincoln Caricature: Abraham Lincoln in Scotch Cap and Kilt

This illustration is one of several depicting Abraham Lincoln, and the Baltimore Plot (the supposed attempt to assassinate him before being inaugurated in 1861). Rumors ran across the country that Lincoln snuck into the capitol city under cover of darkness, disguised in a Scotch cap and cloak.

According to Lincoln's friend and bodyguard, Ward H. Lamon,

“Mr. Lincoln soon learned to regret the midnight ride. His friends reproached him, his enemies taunted him…He was convinced that he had committed a grave mistake in yielding to the solicitations of a professional spy [Pinkerton] and of friends to easily alarmed. He saw that he had fled from a danger that was purely imaginary.”

The cartoon pictured in this article was originally published in the March 9, 1861 issue of Vanity Fair.