How is Abraham Lincoln important to the story, A Distant Trumpet?

The figure and myth of Abraham Lincoln, references to whom appear at both beginning and end of this novel, and the values of kindly strength, fatherliness and patriotism associated with him in American history, loom large here. As a child growing up in Indiana, Matthew Hazard races after a campaign train with Lincoln aboard, and for his efforts is given a nearby captain's blue kepi, along with the presidential suggestion that he attend West Point when he grows up. These serve as the motivations for the destiny Hazard pursues.