History is Gay

Joshua Speed: Lincoln’s First Love?

Before we get to Lincoln’s most scandalous wartime crush, we must acknowledge the well-documented bed-sharing, letter-writing, and probably hand-holding relationship between Abe and his longtime companion Joshua Speed.

For four years, the two men lived together, slept together, and wrote letters that can only be described as the 19th-century equivalent of heart-eyes emojis. While some historians insist this was simply a “deep and platonic friendship,” others point out that Lincoln never wrote Mary Todd the kinds of letters he wrote to Speed—letters that included phrases like, "You know my desire to be near you."

“It’s pretty clear Lincoln and Speed had a thing going,” says historian Dr. Franklin Whittaker. “If you read between the lines, Lincoln was basically sending him ‘U up?’ messages before telegrams were even invented.”

Captain Derickson: The White House’s Nightshirt Enthusiast

Lincoln’s second rumored male companion was Captain David Derickson, his personal bodyguard, who reportedly took protective duties to a whole new level by sharing the president’s bed and wearing his nightshirt.

According to 19th-century sources (a.k.a. White House staff who were definitely side-eyeing the situation), Derickson spent many nights with Lincoln while Mary Todd was away.

“It was common for men to share beds back then due to space constraints,” says historian Rachel Vanderfield, “but the nightshirt-wearing? That’s a different level of intimacy. That’s like borrowing your partner’s hoodie in modern times.”

A Secret Yearning for the General of the Confederacy?

And now, we arrive at the most scandalous revelation yet: Lincoln’s secret, tormented attraction to Robert E. Lee.

Recently uncovered diary entries reveal that Lincoln not only respected Lee as a military strategist but also harbored an unsettling fascination with the bearded, horseback-riding Southern general.

One particularly cryptic passage in Lincoln’s private writings reads:

"He stands upon his steed, firm and unyielding, his gray eyes piercing as the rifles of his men. How cruel it is that duty should make enemies of those who, in another life, might have walked side by side."

“He was totally thirsting over Lee,” said Dr. Elaine Porter, an expert in presidential diaries. “This isn’t just admiration—this is Shakespearean levels of ‘Oh no, I’m at war with the man of my dreams.’”

Lincoln reportedly struggled with his feelings, particularly as the war dragged on. While he publicly referred to Lee as a traitor to the Union, in private he wrote mysteriously poetic reflections about the general’s “stoic features” and “the commanding grace of his posture.”

The Final Battle: Unresolved Tension

While history records that Lincoln and Lee never officially met in person, some scholars now theorize that Lincoln’s insistence on granting Lee generous surrender terms at Appomattox wasn’t just about reunifying the country—it was a deeply personal farewell.

“Lincoln could have had Lee arrested, imprisoned, or exiled,” said historian Dr. Morgan Phelps. “Instead, he lets him keep his sword, his dignity, and his horse. That’s not just a surrender—it’s a soft breakup.”

Could Lincoln’s private longing for Lee have influenced the outcome of the war? Could this have been the 1860s version of an enemies-to-lovers storyline that history cruelly denied us? We may never know.