Museum finds "secret" message in Lincoln’s watch 博物館發現林肯懷錶內的「秘密」訊息

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A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History.

亞伯拉罕．林肯所擁有的金錶帶有一段訊息，記錄了美國南北戰爭（內戰）的開始；但總統從來沒發現的「秘密」銘刻文字週二卻在美國國立歷史博物館公諸於世。

The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part： "Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government."

文字是由錶匠強納森．迪倫所留下，日期是1861年4月13日，部分內容為「桑特堡（應為Sumter）遭到叛軍攻擊」、「感謝主，我們還有政府」。

The museum said it agreed to open the watch to find out if the message really was there after it was contacted by the watchmaker’s great-great-grandson, Doug Stiles of Waukegan, Illinois.

館方表示，錶匠住在伊利諾州沃肯岡的玄孫道格．史提勒斯跟他們聯繫，因此他們同時打開懷錶，看看是否真有這段訊息。

The American Civil War began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.

南北戰爭的開端是，南軍在1861年4月12日攻擊南卡羅來納州查爾斯頓的桑特堡。

Forty-five years later, Dillon the watchmaker told The New York Times that he was repairing Lincoln’s watch when he heard that the first shots of the Civil War had been fired.

45年後，錶匠迪倫告訴紐約時報，當他聽到內戰開打的消息時，他正在修理林肯的錶。

Dillon said he unscrewed the dial of the watch and used a sharp instrument to mark the historic day on the president’s watch.

迪倫說他卸下錶面，用尖銳工具在總統的錶裡記下歷史性的一天。

新聞辭典

the U.S. Civil War：美國內戰，或稱南北戰爭。一般小寫時，civil war是指任何一場內戰。

inscription：名詞，銘刻、銘文、碑文。The inscription on the tombstone is beyond recognition.（墓碑的文字已經難以辨認。）

great-great-grandson：玄孫。英文中一般不會特別區分孫子跟外孫，grandson就包括兩者，great-grandson就是曾孫及曾外孫。