Team of Rivals (183 page)

Lincoln’s office in the White House
(38)
doubled as the cabinet’s meeting room. Late at night, he liked to relax and share stories with his two secretaries, John Nicolay
(39)
and John Hay
(40)
, who became almost like sons to him.

Seventy-five-year-old General Winfield Scott
(42)
, veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, commanded the U.S. Army when Lincoln took office. Shown here with the cabinet
(41)
, Scott suffered from a variety of ailments that limited his active role in military planning.

Even during the Civil War, ordinary people had nearly unlimited access to the White House. Volunteer troops bivouacked in the East Room in May 1861
(43)
, while large public receptions
(44)
attracted a “living tide of humanity” who poured in to shake hands with the president and first lady.

In February 1862, while Mary Lincoln
(45)
hosted a triumphant reception downstairs, her twelve-year-old son, Willie, lay dying upstairs. After Mary fell into a depression
(46)
, Lincoln was left to care for their youngest son, Tad
(47)
, who was equally devastated by Willie’s death.

When Seward became secretary of state
(48)
, he installed his son Fred as his second in command
(49)
and settled his close-knit family, including Augustus
(50)
, Fred
(left)
, Fanny
(right)
, and Fred’s wife, Anna
(foreground)
, into an elegant mansion on Lafayette Square.