Lincoln's Cottage: a Country House for the President

Lincoln's Cottage is a small house near the White House in Washington D C It is About five kilometers away.

President Abraham Lincoln spent a lot of his time there. He was in the house about one fourth of his time, when he was president. He made big decisions at this house In summer it can be very hot in Washington.

Lincoln used the cottage to escape the heat He traveled back, and forth by horse The trip took about 30 minutes. The big house he went to was at the soldiers home. It was on higher land than the White House This made it cooler, and more comfortable.

It was also quiet because it was away from the city.

Lincoln used the house to think and write He wrote early copies of the Emancipation Proclamation there The Emancipation Proclamation was an important paper. It said that slaves in the rebellious states were free.

This paper came during the Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865.

Troops stayed at the soldiers home to keep Lincoln safe.

At first Lincoln did not like having soldiers around He thought he did not need their help, But he soon liked talking to them. Many stories about Lincoln's time at the house come from these soldiers.

One night in 1864 someone shot at Lincoln from his horse near the house. His tall hat flew off The soldiers found the hat, and saw a bullet had gone through it. Lincoln was not hurt

After this the government gave Lincoln more protection, but they could not keep him safe from everything.

Lincoln visited his house for the last time on April 13 1865. The next day he would was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth.

Booth was an actor and did not like Lincoln

Lincoln's Cottage was open to visitors in 2008.