Author: Mary Raymond Shipman

Mary Raymond Shipman (1860–1936) was an Alabama-born writer who gained considerable acclaim in the early 20th century. Her popularity was largely due to a widely-read short story she authored, “The Perfect Tribute,” first published in 1906. The story, a fictional account of the moments leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address, was adapted for film twice and sold 600,000 copies when first published as a standalone volume. She also wrote The Marshal, a Napoleonic historical novel, A Lost Commander, a biography of Florence Nightingale, and Crosses of War, a collection of World War I poetry. Shipman was married to William Shankland Andrews, judge of the New York Court of Appeals. They had one child, and their estate, called Wolf Hollow, can still be found in Taunton, New York.

The Perfect Tribute

Mary Raymond Shipman
Alabama-born writer Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews (1860–1936) is best known for this short story, which appeared in Collier’s in July 1906. Although less well known today, Shipman’s fiction is largely responsible for the myth that Lincoln hastily dashed off the Gettysburg Address on the train on the way to Pennsylvania.