If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.
— A. Lincoln, 1863James M. Buchanan
(presidential term 1857-1861)
The first president invited to use the Soldiers’ Home as a seasonal retreat, James Buchanan presumably resided in Quarters 1, which is located in the Home’s historic core. The Soldiers’ Home Board Meeting Minutes indicate Buchanan resided at the Home in July of 1858.
While staying at the Soldiers ’ Home or US Military Asylum as it was also called, Buchanan reportedly informed his niece, First Lady Harriet Lane, that he “slept much better at the Asylum than at the White House.”
The Secretary of the Board at the Soldiers’ Home invited Buchanan to return the following summer.
“...he should consider the vacant House and grounds at the Home, occupied by him last summer, at his disposal, whenever he shall see fit to reoccupy them."
— Board Meeting Minutes, Soldiers’ Home, May 30, 1859.
Buchanan accepted the invitation to return and began staying at the cottage as early as June that year, thus beginning the tradition of presidents using the Soldiers’ Home as a seasonal retreat to escape the heat of downtown Washington.
Documentary evidence suggests Buchanan used the Soldiers’ Home to relax and entertain, while he continued to conduct business exclusively at the White House when in Washington, D.C.