William Styple talked about his book Tell Me of Lincoln: Memories of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and Life in Old New York (Belle Grove Publishing Company; October 1, 2009) and told stories of Lincoln found in the Kelly papers. James Kelly was an artist and sculptor of public monuments who had a life long fascination with the Civil War. Determined to create a realistic statue of President Lincoln, the artist set out to interview everyone he could find who had known the 16th president. Mr. Kelly also interviewed many Civil War generals for various public art projects. Though Mr. Kelly never completed his Lincoln sculpture, he kept thousands of pages of notes which were discovered in the New York Historical Society by Mr. Styple. Mr. Styple responded to questions from members of the audeince after his remarks.

Mr. Kelly was preceded by Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice (Ret.) Frank Williams, a Lincoln scholar. He discussed the history of books about Lincoln and why new things can be learned about the 16th president.

This was part of a dinner program held at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., by the Lincoln at the Crossroads Alliance to raise funds to commemorate in November 2011 the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln's Grand Review at Bailey's Crossroads in Northern Virginia.