Old Soldiers’ Home

Civil War President Lincoln’s Summer Home

/ sandramervillehart

George Riggs, a wealthy banker, sold his 256-acre summer retreat known as “Corn Rigs” in 1851 to the U.S. government. The Gothic Revival country cottage was used as a Soldiers’ Home.

Retired soldiers moved to a larger building. President Buchanan, after receiving an invitation from the Old Soldiers’ Home, used the location three miles from the White House as a summer home.

President Lincoln and his family lived in a cottage on the property from June to November from 1862-64. The family enjoyed the peaceful beauty away from the populated capital.

Lincoln didn’t shirk his presidential duties. Cavalry troops with drawn swords accompanied his daily rides to and from the White House. This commute took him past hospitals. Past camps for former slaves. Past cemeteries. No, Lincoln could not forget his duty.

Lincoln’s family was evacuated back to the White House from the Old Soldiers’ Home in July of 1864 when Confederate General Jubal Early attacked Fort Stevens. The battle was about a mile from the Old Soldiers’ Home. President Lincoln went out to observe the battle on July 12th, a risky decision. He is the only sitting president to come under hostile fire.

Even his daily commute to his summer residence placed him in danger when a sniper tried to shoot him.

President Hayes and President Arthur also stayed at the cottage while in office.

The Soldiers’ Home is now the Washington Unit of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. President Lincoln’s Cottage is open for tours, but buy tickets in advance to reserve a spot.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home,” NPS.gov, 2017/07/04  https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/lincoln_cottage.html.

“The Soldiers’ Home,” President Lincoln’s Cottage, 2017/07/04 http://www.lincolncottage.org/the-soldiers-home/.

 

Civil War Confederate Soldiers’ Homes

/ sandramervillehart

Soldiers’ Homes were established for Civil War veterans who could no longer care for themselves. A few states provided separate homes for Union and Confederate veterans. The federal government didn’t provide funds for the Confederate soldiers. This obligation fell on the states.

Confederate veteran Jefferson Manly Falkner founded what became known as the Alabama Confederate Soldiers Home in 1901. Falkner wanted to provide a home for veterans and their wives. Widows were allowed to live there after 1915.

Falkner donated 80 acres in the summer resort area of Mountain Creek where between 650 to 800 people found a home. The home’s last veteran died in 1934. Five widows remained until October of 1939 when the home closed.

Atlanta’s Confederate Soldiers’ Home, built in 1890, was also known as the Old Soldiers’ Home. Henry W. Grady raised funds for the home at 410 East Confederate Avenue through subscriptions until it finally opened in 1900. Fire destroyed the building in 1901, but it was rebuilt on the same location a year later. The home’s last veteran died in 1941.

The old Kentucky Confederate Home was the former Villa Ridge Inn just outside the Pewee Valley Confederate Cemetery. There was a hospital, entertainment, and religious services. There was housing for 350 veterans and a total of 700 former Confederate soldiers eventually called it home.

There were a few prerequisites to living at the Kentucky home. Besides being a former Confederate soldier, residents had to be mentally stable, a resident of the state for at least 6 months, and not an alcoholic.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Alabama Confederate Soldiers Home,” Wikipedia, 2017/07/04 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Confederate_Soldiers_Home.

“Confederate Soldiers’ Home,” Wikipedia, 2017/07/04 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Soldiers%27_Home.

“Old Soldiers’ Home,” Wikipedia, 2017/07/04 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_soldiers%27_home.

“Peewee Valley Confederate Cemetery,” Wikipedia, 2017/07/04 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pewee_Valley_Confederate_Cemetery.