Abraham Lincoln’s White House

Donn Piatt (1819-1891)

Donn Piatt (1819-1891) Ohio Lawyer turned army officer who had repeated interactions with President Lincoln in his role as an aide to a prominent general operating in Maryland. Piatt angered President Lincoln by promoting policies that agitated… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Anna E. Dickinson (1842-1932)

Anna E. Dickinson (1842-1932) Born a Quaker and raised an abolitionist, Dickinson became an outspoken champion of the Union cause in the Civil War. Historian Lisa Tendrich Frank wrote: “Dickinson’s extraordinary Civil War career unfolded in three overlapping stages. At the outset she was a…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Old Capitol Prison

Old Capitol Prison Bed-bug and vermin-invested jail for Confederate spies and others suspected of Confederate sympathies during the Civil War. Located at 1st and A Streets just east of the U.S. Capitol, the building received its name because for four years… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Tad’s Bedroom

Tad’s Bedroom Relatively little is known about the bedroom of Abraham Lincoln’s youngest son. It was tucked into the northwest corner of the second floor next to the main stairway to the second floor and accessible only from… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Thomas Cross

Thomas Cross Tom Cross is variously identified as a furnace man and a doorkeeper at the White House. White House records on the Lincoln’s staff are often confusing. In late June 1864, President Lincoln telegraphed his wife: “All well. Tom is…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Anna Dickinson (1842-1932)

Anna Dickinson (1842-1932) Noted abolitionist and novelist who earned a living giving speeches against slavery. Her 1863 campaign speeches in favor of Republican candidates made her a Republican celebrity; she was invited to speak before Congress in… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

John A. Logan (1826-1886)

John A. Logan (1826-1886) Congressman John A Logan so strongly supported compromise with the South in the winter of 1860-1861 that he was thought to be secessionist. His Union sentiments went unspoken until he showed up in… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Lorenzo Thomas (1804 – 1879)

Lorenzo Thomas (1804 – 1879) One reason that Thomas was selected to lead black recruitment was that Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had little use for him. “Certainly Lorenzo Thomas and Edwin Stanton were extremely unlike in habit, temperament, and training. Thomas seems to have been infatuated with…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

John J. Crittenden (1787-1863)

John J. Crittenden (1787-1863) After Clay’s death in 1852, Crittenden took over Clay’s role an the chief old-line Whig advocate of compromise between the North and South. Historian Douglas R. Egerton noted that Crittenden was the leading candidate in the… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Peter H. Watson (? -1855)

Peter H. Watson (? -1855) Lawyer in partnership with Edwin M. Stanton who in 1862 joined the War Department as an assistant secretary shortly after Stanton was named secretary of war. Watson’s presence in the War Department diminished the… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >