Lincoln's 1861 and 1865 appearances in Westchester serve as bookends for the county's war years. Lincoln's first Westchester visit came on February 19, 1861, when he made a brief stop in Peekskill en route to his inauguration. William Nelson, former U.S. Congressman and friend from Lincoln's days in Congress, was then a lawyer in Peekskill, and Lincoln's brief speech at the Peekskill train station was given as a favor to Nelson.

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