Tad Lincoln : A True Story

[Gene C]

Written by Wayne Whipple , a short story of about 60 pages, copyright 1926.
No footnotes or page notes
I meant to post this under Children's Books

From the introduction, "During many years of research in order to reproduce the life, "of the people, by the people, for the people" Lincoln so tenderly loved, it has been the writer's rare fortune to stumble upon three true stories of which even his brother Robert was not aware.

The adventure of the boy's revenge on the Secretary of War was vividly described by the White House guard who afterwards
became a well-known physician in Cleveland, Ohio.

The story of Tad and his mother in Germany, and the love of the little princess who became the last of the Czarinas was related by the son of the American dentist to whose daughter Tad gave his youthful affection in preference to Alix of Hesse, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria."

I was looking foreword to reading this since I have another book by the same author, but was disappointed with this one.
The title says 'a true story', but three significant parts of the story I was unable to verify and find supporting statements that they were true.

One incident involves Tad getting revenge on the Secretary of War was vividly described by the White House guard (possibly a Captain Gannnon ?)who afterword became a will known physician in Cleveland, Ohio. It seems Tad was annoyed by the tone of voice Stanton used on several occasions when talking with President Lincoln, and Tad sprayed him and soaked him good with the garden hose. I did a little checking, I'm not sure but it seems the garden hose and sprayer as we know it was not around in the 1860's.

The next incident is Tad making a vow to his father that he will never drink alcohol after he sees the grief a soldier sentenced to death for drinking and sleeping on guard duty causes he father. Years later when the local water supply in Germany becomes tainted, Tad refuses to drink anything but water, even when everyone else in the village drinks beer or light wine instead. As a result of his promise made years earlier to his father, Tad becomes sick and eventually dies of Typhoid fever. (Roger's site mentions it was most likely tuberculosis)

And the last one is "The story of Tad and his mother in Germany, and the love of the little princess who became the last of the Czarinas was related by the son of the American dentist to whose daughter Tad gave his youthful affection in preference to Alix of Hesse, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria" . It seems Alexandra (Alix), the future doomed wife of Nicholas II of Russia, had a crush on a young Tad Lincoln in Germany. The problem with this story is Alexandra was born the year after Tad died in Chicago.

Available on Amazon and Internet Archives, it is a quick and interesting read. Unfortunately, I was unable to verify the authenticity of these three tales.
Maybe you will have better luck.
https://archive.org/details/tadlincolnstory00whip