The Mary Lincoln Polka

The Mary Lincoln Polka premiered at the White House ball on February 5, 1862. The song was composed by bandmaster Francis Scala and performed by the Marine Band. After the death of Willie Lincoln on February 20, Mary Lincoln requested that the Marine Band refrain from playing in the White House, and even asked them to not play in Lafayette Square since the sound would travel and “harass” the Lincoln family in their time of grief. The Mary Lincoln Polka was not played again for 150 years. Copy and paste the URL below into your browser to listen to the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra's 2013 performance. http://cdm16089.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15155coll1/id/2343/rec/1