Lincoln's Cottage: a Country House for the President

About five kilometers from the White House in Washington, DC there stands a historic building closely tied to one of America's best known presidents. Abraham Lincoln The building called President Lincoln's Cottage was where Lincoln spent about one quarter of his time while in office, and he made several important decisions there.

During the summer Washington can be very hot, so Lincoln used this country house to escape the worst of the heat.

Each morning and evening he rode between the two houses on horseback unguarded. The journey took about 30 minutes The larger house stood on the grounds of the soldiers home on higher ground than the White House, which kept it cooler in the wind.

It was also quiet a good place to think Lincoln spent much of his time there writing.

Among his work were early versions of what would become a landmark document the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation came during the Civil War

It declared that people held as slaves in the rebellious states were free. The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865

Troops remained at the soldiers home to protect Lincoln during the war.

At first Lincoln did not welcome the soldiers, and did not think he needed their protection, but he soon began to enjoy talking with them. Much of what historians know about his time at the house comes from stories told by those soldiers.

One night in 1864 Lincoln survived a murder attempt

He was alone, and on horseback near the country house, when someone shot at him. His tall hat flew off his head

Soldiers found the hat, and saw that a bullet had torn through it. The president was not injured

After the incident the War Department increased protection for Lincoln, but it was not enough to save his life.

Records show that he visited his country house for the last time on April 13 1865.

The next day John Wilkes Booth an actor, and supporter of the defeated Confederacy shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington.

President Lincoln's cottage opened to the public in 2008 I'm John Russell.