The Higher Mercy - Production & Contact Info (original) (raw)

No matter how absorbed with affairs of state, Abraham Lincoln was always ready to give audience to his little son Tad. Little Tad, playing at the boat landing of the White House lake, falls into the water and is saved from drowning by a ...See moreNo matter how absorbed with affairs of state, Abraham Lincoln was always ready to give audience to his little son Tad. Little Tad, playing at the boat landing of the White House lake, falls into the water and is saved from drowning by a young fellow named Jasper Brinton. When young Brinton carries Tad into the White House, the president is very grateful to him and says if there is anything that he can do for him at any time he will be glad to do it. Young Brinton's mother is an enthusiastic supporter of the Federal cause, and when the war breaks out, she urges her son to join the Union army. He has an inherent dread of danger and naturally hesitates. He finally enlists. On the battlefield his natural fear takes possession of him. He trembles in every limb and flees in terror when he hears the cannon's roar and sees the shot and shell falling about him. He rushes into the colonel's headquarters. The colonel tells him to carry a message to the commanding officer, who is in the front ranks of the fighting regiment. The poor fellow starts out with it to the battlefield. As he sees the dead about him, the bombs bursting and hears the bullets whistle, he determines to desert. He changes his uniform for a dead Confederate's and continues his flight, dropping his message as he goes. Some Union soldiers see him, pursue and capture him. He tells them that he is a Union soldier and confesses the reason for his disguise. He is tried for desertion and sentenced to be shot. His mother intercedes for him with the president, and reminds him that her boy saved little Tad from drowning. The president is in great stress of mind. The poor boy's offense is so evident that the president feels, aside from his personal feeling and gratitude, that he can make no plea in behalf of the offender. While he is meditating over the matter, an officer enters the room and tells him that young Brinton has died in prison of heart failure. Little Tad, unseen, enters the room, throws his arms around Mrs. Brinton's neck and in his childish way tries to comfort and console her. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less