Stereocard of Soldier's Cemetery, Washhington, DC

This is another nice item being offered, it is a late 19^th century Stereocard. It is the typical size of 7” x 3 ½” and is copyrighted 1891 by B.W. Kilburn. It is titled “Cemetery, Soldier’s Home, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.”

The Soldiers' Home was established in 1851, as an "asylum for old and disabled veterans.” During the Civil War, President Lincoln lived at the Soldiers' Home in what is now called Anderson Cottage. Not only was it a break from the hot, humid city, but also from the intense political pressures of being president. In fact, Lincoln spent one-fourth of his presidency at Soldiers' Home, and it was here that he wrote the last draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865, Lincoln's wife, Mary, wrote to her friend Elizabeth Blair Lee, "How dearly I loved the Soldiers' Home."

The view is very clear, showing hundreds of tombstones of soldiers. The back is marked with “Photographed and Published by B.W. Kilburn, - Littleton, N.H.”