BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Lincoln Cottage -- Exhibit @ Visitor Center: Not An American Practice: Lincoln's Life at Risk

DC -- Lincoln Cottage -- Exhibit @ Visitor Center: Not An American Practice: Lincoln's Life at Risk:

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Description of Pictures: Not an American Practice: Lincoln’s Life at Risk
January 2015 through September 2015

Abraham Lincoln risked his and his family’s safety to live at the Cottage for more than a quarter of his presidency. However, for much of this time, Lincoln rode to and from the White House alone and unguarded, making him an easy target for would-be assassins and kidnappers. That the President of the United States traveled anywhere without a security detail is unfathomable today. Yet the lack of precedent for a presidential assassination created a sense of security that faded as the Civil War waged on.

The new exhibit “‘Not an American Practice’: Lincoln’s Life at Risk,” open January 2015-September 2015 in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center at President Lincoln’s Cottage, investigates the various efforts to protect Lincoln at the Soldiers’ Home and beyond, and encourage visitors to contemplate how Lincoln’s assassination forever changed presidential security. Prints and objects from the collection are on display as part of the exhibit.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] LINCRI_150418_001.JPG	[2] LINCRI_150418_003.JPG
[3] LINCRI_150418_009.JPG	[4] LINCRI_150418_013.JPG
[5] LINCRI_150418_014.JPG	[6] LINCRI_150418_027.JPG
[7] LINCRI_150418_035.JPG	[8] LINCRI_150418_038.JPG
[9] LINCRI_150418_041.JPG	[10] LINCRI_150418_048.JPG
[11] LINCRI_150418_049.JPG	[12] LINCRI_150418_054.JPG
[13] LINCRI_150418_060.JPG	[14] LINCRI_150418_066.JPG
[15] LINCRI_150418_071.JPG	[16] LINCRI_150418_080.JPG
[17] LINCRI_150418_085.JPG	[18] LINCRI_150418_101.JPG
[19] LINCRI_150418_104.JPG	[20] LINCRI_150418_110.JPG
[21] LINCRI_150418_122.JPG	[22] LINCRI_150418_128.JPG
[23] LINCRI_150418_136.JPG	[24] LINCRI_150418_143.JPG
[25] LINCRI_150418_146.JPG	[26] LINCRI_150418_148.JPG
[27] LINCRI_150418_152.JPG	[28] LINCRI_150418_156.JPG
[29] LINCRI_150418_160.JPG	[30] LINCRI_150418_164.JPG
[31] LINCRI_150418_168.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. LINCRI_150418_001.JPG: "Not An American Practice" Lincoln's Life at Risk: The idea of a President of the United States traveling anywhere without a security detail is unfathomable today. Attacks on elected officials were not unheard of in antebellum America, and yet there was no practice of providing a security detail for U.S. Presidents. From the beginning of his Presidency, Abraham Lincoln was aware of enemy threats on his life. But, as Lincoln's secretary John Nicolay noted in 1861, he had "so sane a mind, and a heart so kindly, even to his enemies, that it was hard for him to believe in political hatred so deadly as to lead to murder."
2. LINCRI_150418_003.JPG: William H. Seward R. Van Dien, 1853 Amid rising tension and growing concerns over the President's safety, Secretary of State William Seward touted Lincoln's daily three-mile journey from the Soldiers' Home to the White House as confirmation of the inconceivable nature of presidential assassination, writing:
  "Assassination is not an American practice or habit, and one so vicious and so desperate cannot be engrafted into our political system. This conviction of mine has steadily gained strength since the Civil War began. Every day's experience confirms it. The President, during the heated season, occupies a county house near the Soldiers' Home, two or three miles from the city. He goes to and... from that place on horseback, night and morning, unguarded. I go there unattended at all hours, by daylight and moonlight, by starlight and without any light."
3. LINCRI_150418_013.JPG: Abraham Lincoln J.C. Buttre, 1865 Despite threats on his life, President Lincoln also dismissed the idea of assassination, saying to his friend and journalist, Noah Brooks, "I long ago made up my mind that if anybody wants to kill me, he will do it. If I wore a shirt of mail and kept myself surrounded by a bodyguard, it would be all the same. There are a thousand ways of getting at a man if it is desirable that he should be killed. Besides, in this case, it seems to me, the man who would come after me would be just as objectionable to my enemies -- if I have any."
4. LINCRI_150418_014.JPG: The President's House, Washington J. Andrews, ca 1830 At the beginning of the Civil War, the Frontier Guard from Kansas guarded the White House to protect against an attack on Washington and prevent a conspiracy to kidnap the President. They were discharged after only a few months due to inactivity. In 1863, a company from Ohio was deployed to guard the front entrance of the executive mansion. But it was not until the following year that the government provided around the clock protection for the President. While Lincoln often shrugged off concern for his safety, Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln's friend and self-appointed bodyguard, insisted to the President, "you know and ought to know that your life is sought after, and will be taken, unless you and your friends are cautious." In spite of this concern from others, Abraham Lincoln risked his and his family's safety by living at the Cottage for over a quarter of his presidency. For the entire first summer in residence, Lincoln commuted to and from the White House alone and unguarded.
5. LINCRI_150418_027.JPG: Soldier's [sic] Home, Washington, DC Charles Magnus, ca 1863 While Lincoln's commute allowed him to engage directly with wounded soldiers and self-emancipated men, women, and children, it also made him a target for potential assassins and kidnappers. For example, just outside the gates of the Soldiers' Home, a "foolish gunner" knocked Lincoln's signature stovepipe hat from his head. When sentinels later recovered the hat, they found a bullet hole through the center. When pressed about the lack of security around the Cottage, President Lincoln responded, "I cannot be shut in an iron cage... if to kill me is within the purposes of this rebellion, no precaution can prevent it." Lincoln reluctantly accepted a cavalry escort to accompany him on his daily commute. As Walt Whitman described, "He always has a company of twenty-five or thirty cavalry, with sabres drawn and held upright over their soldiers." Whitman went on to say, "They say this guard was not his personal wish, but he left his counselors have their way."
6. LINCRI_150418_035.JPG: Topographical Map of the Original District of Columbia and Environs: Showing the Fortifications around the City of Washington E.G. Arnold, 1862 Like President Lincoln, Washington, DC was relatively vulnerable and unprotected at the outset of the Civil War. As tensions rose, the Union Army built an extensive network of fortifications around the capital city to thwart potential attack. In 1862, Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, ordered a review of Washington's defense system, which revealed Fort Stevens -- located less than 2 miles from the Soldiers' Home -- as the weakest link in the chain of fortifications. The review called for an increase in troops and supplies to strengthen Fort Stevens and other Washington, DC forts.
7. LINCRI_150418_041.JPG: Fort Massachusetts was the original name. It was enlarged by the Union Army and renamed "Fort Stevens" after Brig. Gen. Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, Virginia, on September 1, 1862.
8. LINCRI_150418_048.JPG: Major General George B. McClellan Currier & Ices, ca 1863 As the Civil War continued into the fall of 1862, General George B. McClellan was ordered to carry out Stanton's review. McClellan ordered supplies for weak forts, relocated troops, and assigned the cavalry escort for President Lincoln's daily commute. Despite these efforts, long periods of inactivity diminished the city's readiness against enemy troops.
9. LINCRI_150418_049.JPG: Diary of A.N. See Book A few months after the cavalry established themselves as part of Lincoln's daily routine, Company K the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers arrived at the Soldiers' Home to protect the President and his family. Company K, also known as the "Bucktails" because of a distinctive deer tail they wore on their caps, served as Abraham Lincoln's Presidential Guard from 1862 until the end of the Civil War. Throughout 1864, Albert Nelson ("A.N.") See, a member of Company K, kept a diary detailing his observations of wartime Washington. These pages recount the Julu 1864 attack on Washington.
10. LINCRI_150418_060.JPG: Edwin M. Stanton Photograph In July 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early and his troops attacked the city at Fort Stevens. Due to the proximity of the fort to the Soldiers' Home, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton feared for the First Family's safety and wrote a hasty message urging President Lincoln to return to the White House. Later that same night, Stanton rode out to the Soldier's Home to impress upon the President the severity of the situation. William Cutter, a soldier stationed at the Soldiers' Home, noted, "Well, Abe didn't think he was in any danger but he went along."
11. LINCRI_150418_066.JPG: Soldiers' Home Stereo View Card Photograph During the Battle of Fort Stevens, Union troops used the Soldiers' Home tower to observe the movements of Jubal Early's troops. The viewpoint afforded by the tower helped to defend the capital city from a full-fledged attack. As Early later recalled, "We could not move to the right or left without... being discovered from a signal station on the top of the Soldiers' Home."
12. LINCRI_150418_071.JPG: Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States in front of The Capitol, Washington March 4, 1865 Frank Leslie's Illustrated News, March 18, 1865 Several months following the attack on Washington, Abraham Lincoln won reelection. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln called for the country to reunite and to look ahead to the future. Famed actor and Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, attended Lincoln's second inauguration and later remarked to a friend, "What an excellent chance I had to kill the President, if I had wished, on inauguration-day."
13. LINCRI_150418_080.JPG: Assassination of President Lincoln E.B. & E.C. Kellogg, 1865 From the beginning of the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth was outspoken in his support of the South and the institution of slavery, as well as his deep hatred of President Lincoln. During the war, Booth actively participated in a conspiracy that originally included different plans to kidnap the President, at least one of which involved kidnapping Lincoln on his daily commute to the Soldiers' Home. A few days after Lincoln's second inauguration, Booth attended a brief speech Lincoln gave to crowds assembled in front of the White House. It was the first time the President publicly spoke in support of granting African Americans the right to vote. Hearing these remarks, Booth commented to fellow conspirator David Herold, "Now, by God, I'll put him through. That's the last speech he'll ever make." For Booth and his co-conspirators, kidnapping was no longer a viable option -- assassination was their only course of action.
14. LINCRI_150418_085.JPG: The Assassination of President Lincoln Currier & Ives, 1865 On April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln, who was attending a performance of Our American Cousin. Lincoln died the next day at a boardinghouse across the street from the theater.
15. LINCRI_150418_101.JPG: The Body of the Martyr President, Abraham Lincoln Currier & Ives, 1865 The Nation mourned the President by retracing the route Lincoln traveled to Washington DC, for his first inauguration. The train made many stops, including New York City. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered Brigadier General Edward D. Townsend to accompany the train. In a telegram, Townsend told Stanton, "We start for New York at 4 o'clock [am]. No accident so far. Nothing can exceed the demonstration of affection for Mr. Lincoln. Arrangements most perfect."
16. LINCRI_150418_104.JPG: Abraham Lincoln, The Nation's Martyr Currier & Ives, 1865 Abraham Lincoln's assassination sent shock waves through the country, and thousands gathered to mourn the "Martyr President" as his funeral train made its way from Washington, DC to Springfield, Illinois. What was previously perceived as antithetical to American practice set a new precedent that forever changed the nation. Since Lincoln's assassination, three other presidents -- James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy -- have been assassinated, while five others have survived assassination attempts in American history.
17. LINCRI_150418_110.JPG: In Memoriam, Abraham Lincoln Fayette County Newspaper, 1865 In the aftermath of a bitter Civil War, the nation was ready to heal its wounds. Thus, the shock of Lincoln's assassination was doubly tragic. Newspapers -- previously divisive and confrontational -- came together in mourning for the fallen President. Headlines, such as, "Our Loss. The Great National Calamity" or "Party Differences Forgotten in Public Grief" reflected the unifying catharsis of public mourning.
18. LINCRI_150418_146.JPG: Fort Massachusetts is where Fort Stevens is. The major road to the right of it is 16th Street today but it was Brookville turnpike during the war. Further down, you'll see Fort Totten and to the left of that is where the Soldiers Home, where the Lincoln Cottage is, is located. Rock Creek Church, just above, is still there but that area is mostly known for Rock Creek Cemetery which surrounds the church. The Union cemetery is not marked. The Blair houses at the top of the map were Montgomery Blair's house and his relatives. One was burned to the ground during the positioning toward the battle of Fort Stevens.
19. LINCRI_150418_148.JPG: Shuter's Hill is where the George Washington Masonic Temple was built
20. LINCRI_150418_152.JPG: Further south, you see Greenleafs Point. That's where Fort McNair is now but it was the arsenal and penitentiary, where the Booth conspirators were hung, during the war.
21. LINCRI_150418_156.JPG: Note how the Potomac River, before it was dredged, used to go through the current Mall area. The Washington Monument, currently a mile from the water, was right there. To the upper left of the White House is Western Market, long gone. Northern Market is to the upper right -- Massachusetts and New York Avenue. That's also gone. You'll see Centre Market near the Mall -- gone. There's only one Smithsonian building at this time -- the newly built castle. The railroad crosses the Mall after it crosses the Tiber Creek. At a train station here, President Garfield would be assassinated in 1881. The location of that station is where the National Gallery of Art is today. The last of the railroad tracks would be ripped up during Boss Shepard's time. The Jail/Infirmary/City Hall are where Judiciary Square is now.
22. LINCRI_150418_164.JPG: The Georgetown reservoir is there. Note the Washington Aqueduct, coming from the C&O Canal, which feeds into it.
23. LINCRI_150418_168.JPG: Chain Bridge crosses the Potomac at Little Falls
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