They went there, did they? One reason I wanted to watch this was because I figured if they brought this up it would surely leak. So I figured they gave this stupid theory the respect it deserved and left it out. The buttsex loves draft dead soldiers who can't defend themselves to lend legitimacy to they perverted lifestyle. There is no reason whatsoever to indicate that Lincoln was gay.
Well, there is that story that, when Mary was out of town, he'd go to the Soldier's Home and sleep in the same bed as the captain of his bodyguards. And that he shared a bed with Joshua Speed back in Illinois for a lot longer than he needed to, given his income.
I'm not saying I buy it. I'm from central Illinois. My hometown was on Lincoln's circuit when he was a young lawyer. I'm steeped in Lincoln. But those are the two facts that the "Lincoln was gay" people use.
The syphilis argument does rest on some more solid ground. He is known to have eaten "Blue Mass", a mercury compound that, among other things, was used to control syphilis. Herndon alludes to a fairly wild period in Lincoln's life and the perceived subtext is that he was probably frequenting prostitutes while riding the circuit. The accepted story is that Blue Mass was prescribed for his "melancholy", but it's at least possible that it was controlling his syphilis and the melancholy was a side effect of the mercury. This theory also links Mary's love-hate relationship with Lincoln, her later insanity, the early deaths (and in one case, possible mild mental retardation) of three of their four sons
Again, not saying it's true. Just saying these are the the arguments for the theory.