‘In 2009 the Smithsonian found a “secret” message engraved in Abraham Lincoln’s watch by a watchmaker who was repairing it in 1861 when news of the attack on Fort Sumter reached Washington, D.C.
‘In an interview with The New York Times April 30, 1906, 84-year-old Jonathan Dillon recalled he was working for M.W. Galt and Co. on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, where he was repairing Lincoln’s watch. The owner of the shop announced that the first shot of the Civil War had been fired. Dillon reported that he unscrewed the dial of the watch, and with a sharp instrument wrote on the metal beneath:
‘The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try.’
‘He then signed and dated the inscription and closed the dial. Dillon told The New York Times in 1906 that to his knowledge, no one ever saw the inscription.
‘After being contacted by Dillon’s great-great-grandson, the museum agreed to remove the dial to see if the watchmaker’s message was inside. The museum did find a message inscribed on the brass underside of the movement. The wording was slightly different from Dillon’s own recollection. The actual engraving says:
‘Jonathan Dillon
April 13-1861
Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon
April 13-1861
Washington Thank God we have a government
Jonth Dillon
‘“Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket,” said the director of the National Museum of American History. This inscription remained hidden behind the dial for almost 150 years.’
Thank you to the Smithsonian Museum
There seems to be more in the picture than in your article. Starting with the very prominent “Jeff Davis” on the pice over the gear wheel. [Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America, e.g. "The South".]
The Jeff Davis inscription may have been made later as the signature above it looks like L. E. Grofs Sept 1864.
Looks like someone else saw the inscription. The year 1864 also appears to have been scratched into the brass by the central shaft. Above and to the left of the Jeff Davis. There is more to the story, I am sure.