A towering man faced the townspeople in the morning rain and chill. His parting words from a train made the throng of one thousand weep. He was near tears. The journey ahead would be long, hard and bloody. The date: February 11, 1861. The town: Springfield, Illinois. The man: Presidentelect Abraham Lincoln. The next day: his 52nd birthday. He, his wife, Mary, and their sons were Washingtonbound…