Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, began just after the Civil War ended and shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Historians have noted that as the President’s funeral train traversed the country from Washington, DC to Springfield, IL copious amounts of flowers lined the route.

Lloyd Lewis’ book “Myths After Lincoln” illustrates,  “…flowers, flowers, flowers. The service had been both profane and beautiful…” “From the windows of the creeping train the funeral party could see heaps of flowers besides mock graves on hillsides where people staged tableaus of grief as the black train went by.”

Three Miles from Providence: A Tale of Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home is a collectable book which sheds light on the life and legacy of the president through the eyes of 7 generations who watched over the families at Lincoln’s Cottage, the Presidential retreat in Washington, DC. Today the restored cottage echoes the footsteps of the president and reminds us of all the soldiers and veterans we honor on the last Monday in May.

Three Miles can be purchased at the following bookstores and historic sites as well as online.

• President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home, Washington, DC
• Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Museum, Springfield, IL
• Chestertown Old Book Co., Chestertown, MD
• Second Chapter Books, Middleburg, VA
• Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
• George Washington University Bookstore, Washington, DC