Test-fire

Abraham Lincoln was a very good commander-in-chief and had a passion for gadgetry. He was keenly interested in the artillery used by his Union troops during the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln attended artillery and cannon tests and met at the White House with inventors demonstrating military prototypes. 

Although there was a standing order against firing weapons in the District of Columbia, Lincoln even test-fired muskets and repeating rifles on the grassy expanses around the White House, now known as the Ellipse and the National Mall!