‘The Lincoln shiver’: a visit to the Soldiers’ Home, a less-known Washington gem

The house Abraham Lincoln used to escape the White House exerts unusual power, 160 years after the Gettysburg Address

When Joe Biden seeks release from Washington pressures, he goes to his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Donald Trump, of course, had Mar-a-Lago in Florida and even Richard Nixon had the Western White House", in San Clemente, California. Presidents often have places to go to escape.

Abraham Lincoln needed an escape more than anyone but his bolt hole was closer to home: a cottage at the Soldiers' Home, on a hill north of the White House in Washington DC itself. It's still there, a lesser-known historical site in the capital.