DAVID M WARREN / Staff Photographer
Christian Johnson, of Cherry Hill, a semi-retired actor who has portrayed Lincoln for 21 years.
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Celebratory year winds down for Lincoln reenactor
He was expecting to give the same speech President-elect Abraham Lincoln gave at Independence Hall in 1861.
As a Lincoln reenactor, Christian Johnson of Cherry Hill had delivered the 16th president's words hundreds of times.
But at this year's observance of Lincoln's visit and birthday, he was happily surprised to find that National Park officials had given the honor to a 16-year-old African American who gave a thumbs-up as he stepped forward to speak.
"I never said a word," said Johnson. "I was just in tears - and not of disappointment.
"It was very emotional," he said. "Everyone was in tears. We've come a long, long way."
Johnson's appearance Feb. 12 was one of the most memorable of more than 100 this year - at least twice the number he normally makes.
The 71-year-old semi-retired actor has found that he - or really Abraham Lincoln - is in great demand on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.
While his visits have been mostly in Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the last year, he has also traveled to Washington and many states, including Maryland, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Florida. He has even been to Paris for an art exhibition on U.S. presidents attended by 35 U.N. ambassadors.
And along the way, there has been one memorable encounter after another, topping everything he has experienced during 21 years of portraying Lincoln.
In Washington, Johnson appeared at the 200th birthday celebration in February at the National Portrait Gallery, where there was an exhibit on Lincoln.
"Everybody wanted their picture taken with me," he said. "A lady had baked 1,000 cupcakes, each with a different colored icing to create mosaic images of [President Barack] Obama and Lincoln - two skinny lawyers from Illinois. It was magic."
During visits to Southern states, Johnson ran into some playful ribbing at commemorative events.
"Someone would say, 'Don't go to the theater on Friday, Mr. Lincoln' " - a clear reference to Ford's Theatre, where the president was shot, he said. "You just have to win them over. I like to have a sense of humor all the time.
"I'll say, 'That reminds me of a story,' then tell a bad joke."
This month, at a dinner in Gettysburg, where Lincoln's famous 1863 address was commemorated, Johnson again portrayed the Civil War president, but was not the only celebrity.
He sat at a table with other reenactors - Confederate President Jefferson Davis and three others taking the part of Southern Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg.
"Jefferson Davis looked good - but he kept glowering at me," said Johnson.
In Mount Holly, the actor had another great encounter in front of the historic courthouse there. "There was an art contest where students were asked to produce pictures of Lincoln," he said.
"An African American girl won the third prize of $100, and she looked up at me, and I said, 'What were you thinking when you painted that?' " said Johnson.
"She said, 'Mr. President, you freed the slaves. Thank you.' "
