If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.
— A. Lincoln, 1863Presidential Work at the Cottage
In this section...
Lincoln and his cabinet
While life at the Soldiers' Home offered some degree of privacy and relief from the pressure of running a country at war, President Lincoln bore the burden of his leadership constantly. The captain of the company assigned to guard the President at the Cottage reported that Lincoln carried work with him to and from the Soldiers’ Home.
I usually went down to the city at 4 o'clock and returned with the President at 5. . . He often carried a small portfolio, containing papers relating to the business of the day, and spent many hours on them in the evening . . . Frequently, on our way home, he discussed points that seemed to trouble him.
— Captain David V. Derickson 1
As the Civil War raged, Lincoln worked day and night to lead the country through the crisis. On a daily basis, he simultaneously was involved in planning military strategy, domestic policy, and foreign relations. The President's determination to issue the Emancipation Proclamation remains the best known of his many decisions during this period, but other events that took place at the Cottage also reveal Lincoln's leadership style during this turbulent time.
1David V. Derickson, The President's Guard. Typescript recollection courtesy of Jane Westenfeld. Ida M. Tarbell Papers, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. Cited in “Lincoln's Wartime Retreat” (Draft). Matthew Pinsker. National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2001. p34.