Lincoln's Cottage: a Country House for the President

About five kilometers from the White House in Washington, D. C., there is an old building linked to a famous American president. Abraham Lincoln This building is called President Lincoln's Cottage Lincoln spent about a quarter of his time there, when he was president.

Many important decisions were made at the cottage In summer it can get very hot in Washington. Lincoln used his country house to escape the heat

Every morning, and evening Lincoln rode on horseback between the White House, and the cottage. He rode alone with no guards The trip took about 30 minutes. The large house where he stayed was on the soldiers home grounds.

This house was on higher ground than the White House, so it was cooler, because of the wind. It was a quiet place good for thinking

Lincoln spent much of his time there writing. He wrote early drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation one of the most important documents in American history. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued during the Civil War

It declared that all slaves in the rebellious states were free.

The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 During the war soldiers stayed at the soldiers home to keep Lincoln safe. At first Lincoln did not want the soldiers help, but he liked talking to them.

Many stories about him come from what soldiers said One night in 1864. Lincoln was almost killed He was alone and on horseback near his country house. Someone shot at him His tall hat was hit, and torn, but Lincoln was not hurt.

Soldiers found his hat and saw the bullet hole After this the government protected Lincoln more. Despite this he was killed a few months later

visited his cottage for the last time on April 13 1865. The next day John Wilkes Booth who supported the defeated Confederacy. Shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater The cottage was opened to visitors in 2008.