Existing comment:
William Wallace Lincoln: December 21, 1850 - February 20, 1862:
The Lincoln's most memorable social event was also their most painful. Five hundred guests thronged the White House on the night of February 5, 1862. Many stayed until three the next morning. They found their host and hostess distracted, however, and with good reason.
Throughout the evening, as the Marine Band played the Mary Lincoln Polka and guests dined on terrapin and turkey, the Lincolns took turns sitting with their eleven-year-old son, Willie, who was ill with typhoid. Two weeks later, on the afternoon of Sunday, February 20, Willie died.
"Well, Nicolay," a devastated Lincoln said to his secretary, "My boy is gone -- he is actually gone!" The president grieved in private, interrupting work to shed tears behind closed doors. Mary, distraught, barely functioned for months. Never again would she set foot in the Green Room where Willie's body was embalmed. |