Robert Todd Lincoln --The vitals

[L Verge]

What is left of St. Elizabeth's (Government Hospital for the Insane during Lincoln's time) is basically on my home turf. In 15-20 minutes, I can get to its grounds. Any of you who have participated in the Surratt Society's bus tours over the escape route of JWB have been within blocks of the property as we cross over the Navy Yard Bridge and turn left to go up through what is now Anacostia (Uniontown in 1865).

In the late-1940s, my father was stationed at Bolling AFB, which is in close proximity to the institution, and before the freeways, we went past the grounds to St. E's when we went to the BX, commissary, and health clinic on base. Before the campus was divided for use by the Department of Homeland Security, a new hospital facility, and future development for the city, it was a sprawling and beautiful complex, with one portion dedicated to a scenic overlook where you could see most of the major buildings in DC. The campus was so spread out, that some people could get permission to get into this area to watch the fireworks around the Monument on July 4th. There is/was a large cemetery there with graves of Civil War soldiers, black and white, as well as other patients.

The oldest building, the Center Building, still stands but has been totally gutted for renovation with only the exterior walls remaining. Those walls date to 1855, and their bricks were actually dug from the clay on property and fired there. I vaguely remember them looking more like a sandy pink color than red bricks. I also suspect that those early buildings (the campus dates to 1852 - a decade before Lincoln would have been threatening his wife with incarceration) have undergone restorations and renovations over the years. The earliest photo that I found of Center Bldg appears to be late-19th century and is very light in color.

It is also important to note that in the Lincolns' time, there was more than just one building that comprised the Government Hospital for the Insane. Center had West Wing, East Wing, but there were also separate "lodges" for black inmates, one for males and one for females. In the C-Span documentary that I am going to lead you to at the end, photos of these lodges clearly show them to be painted white. Perhaps one of those was visible from the White House.

The route that I use to get into the city is via Suitland Parkway (the presidential route from Joint Base Andrews and Air Force One to the city), and part of the hospital's grounds are on my left going in. One of my staff members also pointed out that, as we cross the South Capitol Street Bridge, we can see the White House -- even today with the multitude of buildings. Both the city and the Maryland shore was sparsely developed in 1865. In fact, the site for the hospital was chosen because it was wide-open farmland that was thought to help calm the patients and also be worked as farmland for occupational therapy. The name St. Elizabeth's was actually taken after the Civil War and comes from the original plantation on the property.

My point is that I disagree with Jean Baker as to whether or not one could see the hospital (or any part of it) from the White House. I would love to know her source for claiming that no window in the White House had a view, especially in 1865.

Speaking of Jean Baker, I have heard her speak a number of times and do like her book and thoughts. However, she is just as protective of Mary Lincoln as Jason Emerson is critical of the First Lady. She is a very "stern" and "sobering" speaker, and in the past, I have seen her become almost rude to audience members who have brought up some of the negative points that history traditionally tells us about Mary. I have the inclination to suspect that she would pooh-pooh Mrs. Keckly's observation (if it is true) because it lends more credence to the fact that Mrs. Lincoln was emotionally - and maybe mentally - unstable.

Anyhow, the National Building Museum in the old Pension Building had a large, special exhibit on the history of St. Elizabeth's this past summer. I'm not sure if it is still up, but C-Span did a great program on it. If you have an extra hour, go to: https://www.c-span.org/video/?431999-1/s...s-hospital

Meanwhile, I have a volunteer who works on the campus and has made friends with the historians there. He will now have a homework assignment... He came through for several of us a few years ago when we were able to prove a Lincoln-assassination researcher wrong on something. I also will contact the National Building Museum to see what their thoughts are. Hopefully, more will be revealed!