Lincoln's Cottage Offers Rare Glimpse Into President's Life

President Lincoln in 1862 - one of Washington's first commuters

There’s a house on a hill only three miles from the White House that can bring people closer to feeling what it must have been like to be the 16^th President of the United States as he struggled with decisions to preserve the Union, mourned the death of a son and attempted to escape the heat and pressure of war time Washington.

There are places to visit where important things happened; where actions of great men and women changed the world; and where what people of destiny felt, saw and endured at pivotal moments in history can be mentally conjured merely my occupying the same space that they once did.  President Lincoln’s Cottage is one of those special places.

I have been a frequent visitor to our Nation’s Capital for more than 30 years and I once lived there for the biggest part of a decade where I played softball in the shadow of the Washington Monument, walked the Halls of the US Capitol and explored the obvious sites throughout the historic city. In all that time and wandering, I was never aware that a green tranquil place known as President Lincoln’s Cottage existed on the grounds of a beautiful enclave that, since the early 18^th Century, served as a home for America’s retired soldiers.

I became aware of the site when I read a wonderful book by David Von Drehle  called Rise to Greatness, Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year. The author focused on the year 1862 and the truly nightmarish events that befell both Lincoln and the country in the darkest hours of the Civil War. Key battlefield losses, the threat of foreign intervention, a Native American uprising in the West, the loss of his son Willie to typhoid fever, skittish military leaders who lacked the aggressiveness to win, strained politics with traditional opponents and abolitionists alike, and the borderline nefarious spending and flaky behavior of the First Lady were just a few of the issues that worked on Lincoln in that difficult year. 

As Drehle explained, Lincoln found relief from the stifling heat of Washington and the constant stream of visitors seeking his help in a Gothic Revival house built in 1851 on the grounds of a facility established by the government to house retired and disabled veterans.  In that house, Lincoln, his wife Nancy Todd Lincoln and young son Tad lived for about one third of his presidency. 

At the cottage, he read the Bible and Shakespeare, played checkers with soldiers on cottage’s front porch, enjoyed the cool breezes that the site provided and devoted time giving thought to the problems of preserving the Union.  It was at the cottage that he did the lion’s share of work on the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln still worked at the White House. Every morning he would mount his horse and make the three-mile journey to the seat of power, often alone. The ride provided him with first-hand observations of the war’s impact on the multitudes that crammed into Washington City during the conflict.

                  The Cottage

He last visited the cottage the day before he was assassinated. After that, the cottage was used for a variety of purposes like offices and even a tavern at one point.  In 2000 the National Trust for Historic Places and the Armed Services Retirement Home joined to reopen the house and stripped away years of abuse and neglect to bring it back to the way it was in Lincoln’s day.

Except for a reproduction of a desk, a few period chairs scattered about the rooms and a dark wood paneled meeting room with a massive dark conference table and chairs, there is little in the cottage today. But, that’s okay.  The sparse furnishings give you an enhanced feeling for the house and its occupants of 150 years ago. You ascend to the second floor using the same handrail that Lincoln used and stand in his massive bedroom where he is said to have worked on the Emancipation Proclamation.

The tour guide was smooth and personable and used a remote controlled audio program to play talks by a Lincoln by an impersonator who sounded just as described in Von Drehle’s book.  In a separate building, there is a gift shop, a display room with more details about Lincoln and his time at the cottage and a room with computers where visitors can access touch screen presentations about the President, his “team of rivals” and his tumultuous times.

              The Grounds

A huge marble-like structure that has a castle-like quality stands next to the cottage and was there in Lincoln’s time. It housed retired soldiers, many of whom were invited to share evening chats with the President on the cottage’s front porch.  There is a veterans cemetery in the foreground of the view of Washington from the cottage grounds. It was there 150 years ago and its rapid expansion was a frequent reminder to Lincoln of the cost of the war.

Outside, at a location where, no doubt, Lincoln mounted his horse for his daily commute is a bronze statue of the President and his horse.  The guides explain that it is an accurate portrayal because Lincoln’s own clothing was measured and used by the sculptor to create the image.

The admission fee is nominal, the grounds are beautiful and the history lessons are invaluable. You will need help from Siri, Google Maps or some other source to help you find the cottage but it is worth the trip for folks looking for something a little different from the standard memorials, museums and sites that Washington has to offer.

If you are lucky and have an appreciation for history and a vivid imagination you may feel the burdens Lincoln felt as the guide talks you through this obscure but striking site.  And, don’t forget to check out Von Drehl’s book.

Knoxville - UT, Women's BBall Hall of Fame and an old World's Fair site

I spent a rainy afternoon in an empty Knoxville movie theater watching “Man of Steel.”  It seemed prudent since I had no rain gear and there were very few people out and about on the slick narrow downtown streets that are lined with coffee shops, restaurants, throwback general stores and an occasional professional office.

Fortunately, by the time Superman prevailed the weather cleared enough for me to resume a driving tour of the interesting city that hosted a World’s Fair, Peyton Manning’s upward football trajectory and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

For the most part, Knoxville has a low profile skyline with a great many Victorian era buildings, old warehouses and a vibrant downtown pedestrian only market square.  It was refreshing to be in a franchise-free zone.  I didn’t see a McDonalds, TGI Fridays or other generic brand establishment during my entire visit downtown.

Knoxville is, of course, a college town.  The University of Tennessee covered about half of the territory I covered during my drive-through.  The campus is perched on a range of hillsides with narrow road accesses to its buildings that curved and weaved through massive groves of tall old shady trees.  A four-lane congestion-free highway, Neyland Drive, boarders the University along the Tennessee River side and provided a formal brick main entrance to the campus.

Like other campuses I visited this summer – Ohio State and Virginia Tech – the University of Tennessee is under constant construction with closed access roads, heavy equipment and scaffolding in ample evidence. Unlike Ohio State, the campus is architecturally consistent featuring matching red brick exteriors at home with the Victorian nature of the rest of the city I saw.

I hoped to get a good look at the 102,000 seat Tennessee Volunteers’ NeylandStadium where Peyton Manning worked his collegiate magic, but my limited knowledge of the terrain, the construction, narrow roads and geography conspired to offer only a view of the beige colored lower rear exterior. The stadium site reminded me of old Mountaineer Field at West Virginia University – wedged between hills and not many parking options. Perhaps I missed the parking lots with my haphazard self-guided exploration. Pictures of the main exterior and interior make the facility look spectacular.

Heading north of the campus, I stumbled upon the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in an empty appearing segment of the downtown.  I didn’t investigate but I did see the world’s largest basketball lodged in what must logically be the world’s largest basketball rim and net outside the building.

I backed into a very interesting site known as the Worlds’ Fair Park – site of the 1982 World’s Fair that drew 11 million visitors in its day for an exposition officially known as Knoxville International Energy Exposition featuring the theme, “Energy Turns the World.”  The park is located in a kind of valley between downtown Knoxville and the hillsides occupied by the University of Tennessee.

The most obvious remaining facility from the event is Sunsphere that once featured a full service restaurant and an observation deck.  After the fair, the Sunsphere fell into disrepair but has been brought back to its former glory. After being opened and closed numerous times over the past 30 years, the observation deck is now reopened and offices now occupy some of the other levels. One level again houses a restaurant and a bar called the Icon Ultra Lounge. Another level is available to rent for special events.

The Sunsphere has become an iconic symbol of Knoxville and it appears as the background photo for local television newscasts and other venues.

The rest of the remaining World Fair Park is in kind of a state of flux.  All the other original buildings are gone. Some green space remains along with some fountains. A convention center that appeared empty sits on one side of the green space. City planners are embarking on plans for redevelopment of the park as outlined in this newspaper article that appeared the day I visited in the Knoxville News.

There are classy museums around Knoxville like the American Museum of Science and Energy, the Mabry-Hazen House, the Museum of Appalachia and others.

And, let’s not forget the famous folks Knoxville gave us like: Alex Haley,

James Agee, Chet Atkins, Polly Bergen, Kid Curry (of Butch Cassidy Wild Bunch fame), the Everly Brothers, Patricia Neal and a host of NFL/UT football players.

Knoxville doesn’t have a lot of stuff to keep kids engaged but it is worth a stop for adults.

An enlightening visit to Chattanooga 

      

Before I visited there this week, all I really knew about Chattanooga, TN was that Glen Miller did a song about its Choo Choo in the 1940s and Union and Confederate forces had a few intense dust-ups over its control in the 1860s.

My Chattanooga ignorance was wide ranging:

•  I didn’t know that one of its nicknames is Gig City because it has the fastest Internet connection in the Western Hemisphere.

•  I didn’t know it had a significant and beautiful monument to a Native American abuse called the Trail of Tears Water Steps

•  I didn’t know that it converted its massive and beautiful 1908 train station into a hotel/resort where visitors can stay in authentic restored Victorian era train cars and take a free electric shuttle ride downtown, and

•  I didn’t know that the grand old city gave us Samuel L. Jackson, Bessie Smith, Jim Nabors and Hugh Beaumont (the guy who played Beaver Cleaver’s even keeled dad on Leave it to Beaver) along with a host of athletes, country singers and politicians like former Senator/former White House Chief of Staff/Watergate investigator Howard Baker.

I learned all these things and more when I set out to merely visit the Civil War battlefield I had always heard about called “Lookout Mountain.” I followed Siri’s instructions and began an ascent up a winding two-lane road to the top of Lookout Mountain passing a tourist stop called Ruby Falls.  I didn’t visit although I since learned that it is a truly beautiful subterranean spot on the mountainside.

Passing through what appears as a typical residential neighborhood on the mountaintop, I ended up at the tip of the mountain where the US Army corps of Engineers had erected a castle-like stonewall around the grounds of the major battle site.  A National Park Service Ranger gave a rousing talk explaining the significance of the city in the Union’s drive to quash the Confederates on their home ground and how the cannon atop Lookout Mountain helped enforce a confederate siege of the city after it became occupied by the Union. He explained a series of Chattanooga battles.

Then he explained how wacky personality conflicts on both sides influenced the eventual outcome of the follow up battle on Missionary Ridge.  The Union won both encounters and effectively opened the door for Sherman’s March to the Sea that broke the back of the Confederacy.  So, the battles around Chattanooga spelled the real beginning of the end of the war.

After the descent from Lookout Mountain, I did a quick drive around downtown Chattanooga.  It’s a very modern city with newer buildings dominating the skyline.  There were a few older buildings and converted warehouses preserving the look of the past along with the earlier mentioned train station.  I also found an unusual building that now houses a funky brew pub.

The city also features the huge Tennessee Aquarium, a collection of art and history museums and some institutions of higher education. It was a quick but enlightening visit to the city.  I’m glad I did it and I would recommend a visit for anyone interested in history, oceanography, natural beauty and trains.