Mary's Carriage Accident

[Donna McCreary]

(11-26-2012 06:49 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I think Roger's theories make a lot of sense. It does seem that loosening the driver's seat was not a surefire way of eliminating someone with the strength of Mr. Lincoln.

Also, Mark: What was the insane asylum (now known as St. Elizabeth's and almost extinct since Homeland Security is taking over the campus) is situated on one of the highest points in D.C. I believe only the National Cathedral is on a higher site, and it wasn't there in the 1860s. The city did not have many tall buildings during the Civil War either, so it was likely that the asylum in southeast Washington could be seen from the White House in northwest Washington.

Laurie, do you have access to period maps of Washington? Years ago, a researcher told me that he could not find any evidence of an asylum which would have been visable from any White House window. If you have a hospital name or address, my research will be greatly enhanced.

[Laurie Verge]

One of my staff members, Joan Chaconas, is a D.C. historian and has tons of books and maps on the subject. Let me tackle her for information. I know that the grounds of St. Elizabeth's (the modern name of the insane asylum) were perfect for viewing the fireworks on the 4th of July when I was a child. Those are held around the Washington Monument, which is just a few blocks from the White House. I have also heard the claim that the hospital was too far away to be seen from the White House. We'll see what we can find.

During Lincoln's time in office, the hospital was known as the Government Hospital for the Insane and opened in 1855. It had been authorized by Congress in 1852, largely due to the efforts of Dorothea Dix. I believe that one of the original buildings still exists on the campus.

During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. There is a small cemetery on the grounds where many of those soldiers (including USCT) are buried, and there have been concerns as to what will become of it when Homeland Security takes over. Right now the eastern campus of the grounds is still a mental institute; the western half is Homeland Security.

It's interesting that the name changed from the Government Hospital for the Insane to St. Elizabeth's Hospital during the Civil War. Soldiers who were recuperating there were reluctant to mention in their letters home that they were in a mental hospital. The original name of the property (plantation) during the colonial era had been St. Elizabeth, so they began using that as the name of the hospital. It was not officially named that, however, until 1916.

During the Civil War, the hospital's grounds housed more than humans. Many exotic animals were being brought back from Smithsonian expeditions for the proposed National Zoo. They were housed at St. Eizabeth's. Some of the more famous in-patients over the years have been Richard Lawrence, who attempted to kill President Jackson, Garfield's assassin, Charles Guiteau (until he was executed) and currently John Hinckley (would-be assassin of President Reagan). Another famous patient there was Ezra Pound.

[Donna McCreary]

(12-05-2012 10:35 AM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  One of my staff members, Joan Chaconas, is a D.C. historian and has tons of books and maps on the subject. Let me tackle her for information. I know that the grounds of St. Elizabeth's (the modern name of the insane asylum) were perfect for viewing the fireworks on the 4th of July when I was a child. Those are held around the Washington Monument, which is just a few blocks from the White House. I have also heard the claim that the hospital was too far away to be seen from the White House. We'll see what we can find.

During Lincoln's time in office, the hospital was known as the Government Hospital for the Insane and opened in 1855. It had been authorized by Congress in 1852, largely due to the efforts of Dorothea Dix. I believe that one of the original buildings still exists on the campus.

During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. There is a small cemetery on the grounds where many of those soldiers (including USCT) are buried, and there have been concerns as to what will become of it when Homeland Security takes over. Right now the eastern campus of the grounds is still a mental institute; the western half is Homeland Security.

It's interesting that the name changed from the Government Hospital for the Insane to St. Elizabeth's Hospital during the Civil War. Soldiers who were recuperating there were reluctant to mention in their letters home that they were in a mental hospital. The original name of the property (plantation) during the colonial era had been St. Elizabeth, so they began using that as the name of the hospital. It was not officially named that, however, until 1916.

During the Civil War, the hospital's grounds housed more than humans. Many exotic animals were being brought back from Smithsonian expeditions for the proposed National Zoo. They were housed at St. Eizabeth's. Some of the more famous in-patients over the years have been Richard Lawrence, who attempted to kill President Jackson, Garfield's assassin, Charles Guiteau (until he was executed) and currently John Hinckley (would-be assassin of President Reagan). Another famous patient there was Ezra Pound.

Thanks Laurie. I have always wondered about the exact location of the hospital. Even though Keckly details this scene, and several historians and film makers have included it in their works, I have always wondered if it were truly possible to see a mental hospital from the White House. I have also always wondered about Lincoln's word choice during this conversation. I can understand him saying something along the line of telling Mary she needs to compose herself, or perhaps saying that if she can not contain her grief, she will need help. However, taking her to a window, pointing to a building, and saying, that is "where we will send you" seems out of character for Lincoln.

[Laurie Verge]

I have not seen the Lincoln movie, but I understand that Lincoln shows his temper to Cabinet members and others in the film. If he did have moments of anger, I suspect that dealing with Mary might have brought on such intemperant moments. As parents, we try not to yell at our children; but at times, we get pushed to that point.

[Linda Anderson]

Lincoln must have been at his wit's end at that point since he was also grieving Willie's death and may have wanted to impress upon Mary the seriousness of her situation.

This is the quote from Behind the Scenes.

"In one of her paroxysms of grief the President kindly bent over his wife, took her by the arm, and gently led her to the window. With a stately, solemn gesture, he pointed to the lunatic asylum.

"'Mother, do you see that large white building on the hill yonder? Try and control your grief or it will drive you mad, and we may have to send you there.'"

It sounds harsh but I don't know what other options Lincoln would have had other than keeping Mary confined in the White House.

[Laurie Verge]

Donna,

On modern maps, the asylum sits at the junction of the Anacostia River (called the Eastern Branch at that time) and the Potomac River. The modern main streets around it are Martin Luther King Avenue (which was Nichols Avenue until the 1970s - named after Dr. Nichols, a leading psychiatrist at the asylum) and Alabama Avenue.

Now comes the HOWEVER: When one crossed the Navy Yard Bridge in 1865, a left-hand turn would take you up Harrison Street (now Good Hope Road, which runs into Alabama) and out a few miles into Southern Maryland. Bearing to the right would put you on the road that led to the asylum. I just can't find the name of that road in 1865.

The whole area was known as Anacostia, but a lot of books on the CW and Booth's escape mention Uniontown. The latter was actually a "subdivision" of the time that was started in Anacostia in 1854 as a settlement for working class people, most of whom worked at the Navy Yard. Interestingly, there were specific covenants to buying in that area that, among other things, prohibited the sale, rent, or lease of property there to anyone of African or Irish descent. Ironically, in 1877, Frederick Douglass bought "Cedar Hill," originally the home of the developer, and lived out his life there, dying in 1898. Douglass was known as the Sage of Anacostia. He broke a lot of barriers -- as well as covenants, evidently!

I know, back to looking for coordinates or something to prove that Lincoln could point to the asylum from the White House....

[Donna McCreary]

(12-05-2012 04:02 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Donna,

On modern maps, the asylum sits at the junction of the Anacostia River (called the Eastern Branch at that time) and the Potomac River. The modern main streets around it are Martin Luther King Avenue (which was Nichols Avenue until the 1970s - named after Dr. Nichols, a leading psychiatrist at the asylum) and Alabama Avenue.

Now comes the HOWEVER: When one crossed the Navy Yard Bridge in 1865, a left-hand turn would take you up Harrison Street (now Good Hope Road, which runs into Alabama) and out a few miles into Southern Maryland. Bearing to the right would put you on the road that led to the asylum. I just can't find the name of that road in 1865.

The whole area was known as Anacostia, but a lot of books on the CW and Booth's escape mention Uniontown. The latter was actually a "subdivision" of the time that was started in Anacostia in 1854 as a settlement for working class people, most of whom worked at the Navy Yard. Interestingly, there were specific covenants to buying in that area that, among other things, prohibited the sale, rent, or lease of property there to anyone of African or Irish descent. Ironically, in 1877, Frederick Douglass bought "Cedar Hill," originally the home of the developer, and lived out his life there, dying in 1898. Douglass was known as the Sage of Anacostia. He broke a lot of barriers -- as well as covenants, evidently!

I know, back to looking for coordinates or something to prove that Lincoln could point to the asylum from the White House....

Laurie,
Thank you so much for this extremely helpful information! Now,the question is . . . may I quote you in my next book?

[Laurie Verge]

Donna,

I knew some of the information about the hospital from growing up in the area and having friends whose father worked there in the mid-1900s, but I have to admit to augmenting some of it via the internet yesterday.

We're still looking for a period map, but my friend/staff member, Joan Chaconas, did have a book on the history of street names in D.C., and she found that the first name of the road that led from the Navy Yard Bridge through Anacostia to the hospital was not very creative -- the name was simply Asylum Avenue.

One source for a map showing the area might be in materials related to the ring of forts around D.C. during the CW. That area had at least several. I know that Harrison Street (now Good Hope Road) had both Forts Baker and Stanton, and Booth and Herold rode right past them because the word had not been sent out yet about the attack on Lincoln.

She did bring in a great engraving of the full frontal view of the hospital complex during the 30th session of Congress (whenever that would be). We're trying to scan it to post here. It is so wide, however, that it might have to come in two parts. I'll send to Roger and let him work his magic. Your first instinct when you see it will be that it looks like a Victorian prison.

BTW: I mentioned the ancient graveyard on the asylum property - I believe the German saboteurs from WWII are buried there also.

[RJNorton]

Here is the scan Laurie sent:

[Donna McCreary]

Is this a hospital Mary would have gone to when visiting her "soldier boys.?"

[JMadonna]

Looks like the more the wounded came the more wings they built.

[L Verge]

We reduced this down to get it to fit in one piece, but at the upper right is script indicating that this was how it appeared during the 30th Congress session. Judging by the style of dress on those promenading on the grounds, this has to date to the Civil War era or a little after, I think. I believe that the center building with the flag still exists - and is called simply Center Building.

The last I heard, many of the buildings are in sad repair; but the architecture was beautiful when I was a child.

In doing a bit more reading today, while waiting for a meeting to begin, I found that, during the CW, there was a shop on the grounds that manufactured artificial limbs for the wounded soldiers free of charge. The amputees would be sent there from other hospitals, fitted with and trained on how to use their prosthetics.

I also found that in the early-1900s, there were over 8000 patients housed there with 4000 employees. All of this dropped steadily after the enactment of legislation in the 1960s that forced many patients out into public clinics for outpatient treatment. The last figure I could find was the one for 2009, when only a little over 400 patients were housed at St. E's.

That is what prompted the Homeland Security move. I believe at one point that developers were salivating over it. However, the Anacostia area has serious blight and crime problems right now. It was a great, middle-class neighborhood when I was a child - went there nearly every Saturday for dancing school and lunch at the Woolworth's counter on seats that let you spin round and round while watching the hot dogs spin slowly around in their little "rotisserie." At Easter, we bought pink, green, and blue chicks there - live ones, who grew up to become Sunday's fried chicken dinner at my house.

I can only guess that Mary might have visited the wounded soldiers housed in separate wings of the main building as well as in hospital tents. The only thing that might make me hesitate is the thought that Lincoln might have forbid anyone from taking her there because of her delicate mental health. Does that sound strange?

---

I just looked up the time of the 30th Session of Congress, and it was from 1847-49. Therefore, either I'm reading the above illustration wrong, or this is an architectural drawing of the proposed asylum. Its construction was not started until 1852.

---

I'm on a roll -- just found a site with mention of Lincoln, himself, visiting the hospital - but nothing pertaining to Mary being there.

Hooker was a patient there after being wounded in the fall of 1862.

[Laurie Verge]

Scratch the 30th Session of Congress! I used a magnifying glass, and it reads 36th Session of Congress. It ran from 1859 to 1861. That makes a lot more sense with the scope of the building and also the style of dress of those promenading in the drawing.

[Jim Page]

(12-06-2012 07:34 PM)L Verge Wrote:  At Easter, we bought pink, green, and blue chicks there - live ones, who grew up to become Sunday's fried chicken dinner at my house.

Laurie, do you remember when your local Sears store sold baby chicks?

--Jim

[L Verge]

I sure do. I also remember the great donuts that you could buy in the back of the one I grew up with. It was on Alabama Avenue and Naylor Road in southeast D.C. In fact, Booth and Herold would have ridden right past it had it been there in 1865.