Many are the stories that abound about President Lincoln. Some of them are true and some are not and we’ll leave it up to other websites to decide; but among the stories told are the ones that tell the tale of a Lincoln who had dreams of foreboding, dreams that came to him in the night and told of his own demise:
“Gradually she drove him into telling of his dream.”
“‘About ten days ago I retired late. I soon began to dream. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs…I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse, wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards, and there was a throng of people, some gazing mournfully…others weeping pitifully.’
“‘Who is dead in the White House?‘ I demanded of one of the soldiers. ‘The President,’ was his answer. ‘He was killed by an assassin.’ Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd which awoke me from my from my dream.'”
The war contributed mightily to Lincoln’s rapidly aging appearance. Look at this photo-essay examining his facial decay year by hear: click here.
Click here to read the back-story concerning the Star-Spangled Banner…
