General Dan Sickles (1819-1914) Sickles was seriously wounded and his leg was later amputated. He was moved to a private house in Washington to recuperate. On July 5, President Lincoln visited him. Sickles later claimed that during this visit, Mr. Lincoln… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Isaac Newton Commissioner of Agriculture, horticulturalist, and political ally of Attorney General Edward Bates, Isaac Newton was first appointed chief clerk in the Patent Office’s Bureau of Agriculture in 1861.   In May 1862, Congress authorized the appointment of a commissioner of agriculture to oversee the dissemination of information about agriculture and samples for planting. […]

Oliver ‘Pet’ Spencer Halsted (1819-1871) A shady lawyer-businessmen who promoted arms purchases during the Civil War, Oliver ‘Pet’ Spencer Halsted was an unsuccessful politician who was more successful behind the political scenes. He was described by the New York Tribune’s reporter as… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Charles J. Colchester “Lord” Charles J. Colchester was a medium whose spiritual gifts were as fake as his noble pedigree. He conducted seances for Mrs. Lincoln – including at least one at the Soldier’s Home. His shenanigans were exposed by journalist Noah Brooks, who was one Mrs. Lincoln’s benign male favorites. Brooks not only exposed […]

Lafayette Park Lafayette Park constituted seven acres of beautiful landscaping across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, surrounded by some of the city’s most elite homes. “The houses round it are few in number–not exceeding three or four on each side, but they are among the best in Washington, and the…” Abraham Lincoln’s White House […]

The Ellipse and Treasury Park The area south of the White House, now known as the Ellipse, frequently was the site of Union Army encampments. The area even further south around the unfinished Washington Monument was used to graze cattle for… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue was the main paved thoroughfare in Washington, extending four miles, all the way from Rock Creek Park on the northwest to the Anacostia River on the east. It was interrupted in its path from the Capitol to the White House only by the… Abraham Lincoln’s White House >

Salmon Chase’s Home The home of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase was a three-story brick townhouse at the corner of E and Sixth Streets. At the outset of the war, Chase rented the building for $100 a month and later bought it from the estate of Silas Holman Hill, a businessman and… Abraham […]

The Capitol President-elect Lincoln had not visited the Capitol since 1849 when he left the city at the end of his single term in the U.S. Congress. His subsequent failure to be appointed by President Taylor as U.S. Land Commissioner had precluded any need to return. When he arrived again in… Abraham Lincoln’s White House […]

General Post Office Building The General Post Office Building was located on E Street between 7th and 8th Streets NW. “The Post-office is certainly a very graceful building. It is square, and hardly can be said to have any settled front or any grand entrance,” wrote British novelist Anthony Trollope in 1861. “It is not […]