What Eating At Lincoln's Inauguration Party Was Like

Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural ball in 1865 featured an array of foods. There were four beef dishes, three veal dishes, four types of poultry, and three different game meats.

There was chicken salad, lobster salad, smoked ham, and foie gras. Appetizers included oysters in two forms — pickled and stewed — in keeping with the 16th president's tastes.

The desserts included about 12 varieties of cakes and tarts, which could be paired with six types of ice cream, three varieties of sorbet, and 10 different jellies and creams.

The menu also listed a series of "Ornamental Pyramides," including coconut, orange, macaroon, and nougat. This spread was furnished by Washington, D.C. confectioner G.A. Balzer.

However, the meal was delayed, not being served until midnight, at which point the roughly 4,000 guests who turned up to celebrate President Lincoln had been drinking for hours.

By the time the buffet was finally served, the guests were starving. They rushed to the 250-foot table, intended to serve about 300 people at a time, with animalistic fervor.

According to a New York Times report, "In less than an hour, the table was a wreck." Unfortunately, the sordid dinner party was an ugly end to an otherwise great inauguration.