Groomed for President?

[L Verge]

After what he had gone through as President, I can't imagine that he would want Robert to follow in his footsteps. Even without a Civil War to face, Lincoln would certainly understand the stress.

As a personal aside: My father was career military and served during WWII and Korea. I am an only child. He never wanted a son because he knew that a son would likely be drafted into a war. Even though the draft had been suspended by the time my daughter was born in the 1970s, he was delighted that she was a girl for the same reason. He did not live long enough to see that women are now an integral part of all military forces.