Radio Smart Talk for Friday, February 19: President-elect Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois on February 11, 1861, bound for Washington D.C. and his Inauguration three weeks later. Lincoln traveled by train and planned a tour of northern cities.

On February 21, the president-elect spent the night in Philadelphia. It was there that he learned of at least one assassination plot in Baltimore, where the train was scheduled to travel on February 23. Those around Lincoln wanted him to leave Philadelphia early to get to Washington immediately. Lincoln refused, saying he had promised to address the Pennsylvania General Assembly the next day in Harrisburg.

President-elect Lincoln did go on to Harrisburg (with a stop in Lancaster), but what happened next is like something out of a spy novel...

Friday's Radio Smart Talk will feature two historians discussing Lincoln in Harrisburg and Pennsylvania and how he avoided the plot to kill or kidnap him.

In 2011, the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Cities along Lincoln's Inauguration Train route will mark the occasion.

In Harrisburg, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg will hold its annual Community Free Day on Saturday, February 19 when all visitors can tour the museum free of charge. Then, on Tuesday, February 22, a Lincoln interpreter will greet the public at the National Civil War Museum at 1 p.m.

Listen to the program: