Don't forget Lincoln's good friend and confidant General of the Army Winfield Scott, who else would be able to place the "right" people in the right places.

Winfield Scott, Jessie Grant, Elisha Washburne, Abraham Lincoln and Henry Halleck were ALL a part of the Gelena, Illinois Political Cabal during the 1850's. But I'm just a nut case. There were only two men you had detailed information about Lincoln's travel plans to get to Washington for his swearing in. Winfield Scott and Elisha Washburne. Major Robert Anderson himself was an aide to WHO? Wasn't it Winfield Scott.

And don't tell me Winfield Scott wasn't politically minded. He ran for President of the United States in 1852 under the Whig Party label. Wasn't it the defunct Whig party that became the new Republican party?