Existing comment:
Harriet Lane, 1830-1903
Born Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
After James Buchanan won the presidential election of 1856, his orphaned niece and ward, Harriet Lane, assumed the role of First Lady. Though only twenty-six, Lane was already accustomed to moving in exalted circles. In 1854, while accompanying her uncle during his first year as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, she mingled easily with members of the royal family. Later, as President Buchanan's official hostess, Lane brought a heightened level of sophistication to White House functions. She also took a lively interest in cultural pursuits and supported nascent efforts to found a national gallery in Washington, D.C. Following Harriet Lane's White House tenure, her name remained in the news. In April 1861, a U.S. Navy ship christened in her honor fired across the bow of the Nashville near Charleston, South Carolina, three days before the U.S. surrender of Fort Sumter that signaled the start of the Civil War.
Mathew Brady Studio, print from 1860 wet collodion negative |