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Mary Todd Lincoln House Hosting Special 'Civil War' Tours

Mary Todd Lincoln House Collection

More than 150 years later, people continue to be fascinated by the Civil War period of American History.

The city of Lexington has numerous reminders of the bloody conflict that pitted not only region against region, but brother against brother.  

The Mary Todd Lincoln House, the restored home of the one-time First Lady, is holding a special event entitled Mrs. Lincoln’s Civil War on Thursday. 

Executive Director Gwen Thompson says the tour highlights the complications of having family members fighting on both sides.

“Mary Todd Lincoln was one of fourteen siblings that lived to adulthood and of them, eight of them were Confederates, and that actually included four of her brothers who served in the Confederate Army.  So it’s an intriguing subject, because her family being divided by the war really is a microcosm of what was going on at a national level," Thompson told WUKY.

Thompson says the guided tour of the house will highlight the public and private life of Mrs. Lincoln during the period of the war.

“The tour is not about battles and generals as you may think from the title, but it’s really about Mrs. Lincoln’s experiences during the war and that’s everything from her hosting official White House functions, to visiting soldiers in the hospital, to dealing with the complications caused by her Confederate family members.”

Tours are scheduled for Thursday evening at 5 and 6 p.m.  Thompson says reservations are required and space is limited.  Additional details are available here.