[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING ANNA ELLA CARROLL

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, as dean of the Senate Women, I 
rise on this day to bring attention to the life and work of fellow 
Marylander Anna Ella Carroll, 1815-1893. Our recognition of her 
achievements is long overdue.
  Anna Ellen Carroll was born in Somerset County, the daughter of 
Maryland Governor Thomas King Carroll. She was one of President Abraham 
Lincoln's closest advisers and a senior strategist during the Civil 
War. And though she is nearly absent from history books, Anna was one 
of the most influential American women of the 19th century.
  Anna believed in justice and fairness. She was a free thinker and an 
abolitionist. In 1853, she freed the slaves she inherited from her 
father's estate and persuaded her abolitionist friends to accompany the 
newly freed men and women to Canada, ensuring they would remain free.
  Anna's belief in freedom and humanity led her to campaign 
passionately on behalf of the abolitionist movement. In fact, many 
believe that Anna's hard work and strong voice helped motivate 
President Lincoln to end slavery in America.
  Anna formally joined the ranks of President Lincoln's top advisers in 
1861, after writing a political pamphlet that impressed the President 
so much that he requested an interview with its author.
  After the meeting, President Lincoln sent Anna on a reconnaissance 
mission to the secessionist South. When she arrived, Anna immediately 
knew the proposed Union strategy of sending troops down the Mississippi 
would fail. She recommended an alternative--send troops to divide the 
South by using the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The President 
listened, and ultimately, Anna's strategy helped the Union win the war.
  Anna served as a consultant to Lincoln's War Department and, after 
his assassination in 1865, as an advisor to President Ulysses S. Grant. 
She also was a recognized political essayist, an avid writer, and an 
influential member of the Maryland and Washington political circles 
before and after her role in wartime politics.
  During her life, Anna was recognized by her contemporaries as a top 
adviser to President Lincoln. In the 1864 painting of Lincoln and his 
Cabinet by Francis B. Carpenter, a chair sits empty. It is surrounded 
by maps and notes similar to those carried by Anna during her time 
advising Lincoln, implying her place at the table. Still, despite 
multiple petitions, she was never formally acknowledged for her 
contributions.
  Anna Ella Carroll was a woman who had a profound impact on the 
trajectory of our country's reunification, helping make decisions at a 
crossroads that were critical to America's survival. I am proud to 
count her among the ranks of Maryland's most influential women. It is 
time we give her a proper place in our history books.

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