December 13, 1863---A Confederate Widow In The White House

DECEMBER 13, 1863:        

Emilie Todd Helm, the widow of General Benjamin Hardin Helm C.S.A., comes to Washington D.C. under flag of truce to visit her sister, Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States, for Christmas. Ben Helm had been Abraham Lincoln’s favorite brother-in-law, and Emilie is welcomed with open arms, although her visit is kept as secret as possible. Unfortunately, General Benjamin “Beast” Butler, in town for the holidays, belittles Mrs. Helm at a private White House dinner, and the incident is leaked to the Press by the embittered General Dan Sickles, retired, to that point a friend of Mrs. Lincoln’s. An uproar ensues. Demands are made that Emilie Helm swear a loyalty oath or be arrested as a rebel spy. The Lincolns are forced to spirit Emilie out of the North before a lynch mob appears on the White House steps. Emilie and Mary do not see each other again until well after the war ends, and of course, Emilie never sees the President again.