The Lincoln Conspiracy

Mr. Lincoln's Getaway

It's hard to imagine the president of the United States traveling freely around Washington.  But Abraham Lincoln did, even though he knew he was a target for any Confederate sympathizer in the city.  And he didn't think twice about traveling to the outer reaches of the Federal District, often ditching his unit of cavalry bodyguards along the way.

The Lincolns' cottage at the Soldier's Home

During the brutal summer months, Lincoln usually stayed in a cottage on the grounds of the Soldier's Home.  The elegant mansion in the far northeast part of D.C. had been donated as a retreat for retired soldiers before the Civil War.  The Lincolns -- especially the First Lady -- enjoyed its atmosphere of wide open spaces as a getaway from the choking squalor of the capital city during wartime.  And they weren't the only ones.  Secretary of War Edwin Stanton also moved his family to a nearby cottage during summertime.

The president would then commute to the White House.  If Mary was with him, they'd ride in a buggy.  If he was alone, he'd usually just hop on a horse and ride into town.  During those months, Lincoln kept bankers' hours.  He'd arrive at the Executive Mansion at nine or ten in the morning and head back to the Soldier's Home by 4:00 PM.  He followed that routine for weeks at a time, traveling -- unprotected, for the most part -- across Washington.

The Lincolns also made it a habit to visit the military hospitals that sprouted all around Washington during the war.  The First Lady was a regular visitor to the three dozen facilities caring for the war wounded.  She would read to the patients, pass out fresh fruit and flowers.  And the president frequently popped in, unannounced, to spend time with the casualties, the nurses, the doctors and the staffs.  The Lincolns would often plan their afternoon rides around the city so they could stop at one or more hospitals along the way.

Campbell General Hospital, Harper's Weekly, 1861

When the Campbell General Hospital invited the president to attend the play Still Waters Run Deep, which was being staged for the patients on March 17, 1865, Lincoln readily accepted.  The president was an ardent fan of the theater.  And Campbell was less than two miles from his "country White House" at the Soldier's Home.  When the day arrived, alas, duty called.  Lincoln was reviewing a unit of Indiana soldiers just back from the battlefield at the time of the play.

John Wilkes Booth didn't know that, however.  He and his co-conspirators laid in wait on 7th Street, not far from the hospital.  They planned to abduct Lincoln and spirit him off to Richmond.  But the president didn't show up.