April 15, 1865, Death of President Abraham Lincoln; Robt. Todd Lincoln Met Edwin Booth, Actor
Last edited Sun Apr 16, 2023, 06:09 PM - Edit history (2)
Lincoln Shot at Ford’s Theater, Library of Congress. ~ Lincoln died at 7:22 am, April 15, 1865.
Shortly after 10:00 p.m. on April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln. As Lincoln slumped forward in his seat, Booth leapt onto the stage and escaped out the back door. The paralyzed president was immediately examined by a doctor in the audience and then carried across the street to the Petersen House where he died early the next morning.
~ "[D]ying as he did die, by the red hand of violence, killed, assassinated, taken off without warning, not because of personal hate…but because of his fidelity to union and liberty, he is doubly dear to us, and his memory will be precious forever.~ Oration by Frederick Douglass, delivered on the occasion of the unveiling of the freedmen’s monument in memory of Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln Park, Washington, D. C., April 14th, 1876… Washington, D. C.
- The Assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC, April 14, 1865. Currier & Ives print, 1865.
Lincoln’s assassination was the first presidential assassination in U.S. history. Booth carried out the attack five days after General Robert E. Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. He thought that his action would aid the South. The suspicion that Booth had acted as part of a conspiracy of Southern sympathizers increased Northern rancor. Whether Lincoln would have been able to temper the Reconstruction policies enacted by the Radical Republicans in Congress is left to historical speculation because of his untimely death as the United States transitioned from civil war to reunification and peace.
Within days of the assassination, the War Department issued wanted posters for the arrest of Booth and his accomplices John Surratt and David Herold. Booth and Herold eluded capture until April 26, when federal troops discovered them hiding in a tobacco barn near Bowling Green, Virginia. Herold surrendered, but Booth stayed under cover and was shot as the barn burned to the ground. He died later that day. Booth’s co-conspirators Lewis Powell (alias Payne)—who had attempted to murder Secretary of State William H. Seward—George Atzerodt, David Herold, and Mary Surratt, all were executed for their part in the assassination conspiracy. Several other conspirators were sentenced to imprisonment.
The death of President Lincoln resulted in an outpouring of grief nationwide. After a funeral at the White House and lying in state at the U.S. Capitol, Lincoln’s body was transported to the railway station where it began a 1,700-mile journey back to the president’s native Springfield, Illinois. On May 4, Lincoln was finally laid to rest in a tomb at the Oak Ridge Cemetery. Many monuments were built to honor Abraham Lincoln over the years, across the nation and around the world. On April 14, 1876, Frederick Douglass delivered an oration at the unveiling of a monument to Lincoln located in Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Park. Better known to the nation is another memorial to Lincoln, also located in Washington, D.C. Featuring a monumental sculpture by Daniel Chester French, the Lincoln Memorial stands at the foot of the nation’s Mall and was dedicated on May 30, 1922. https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/april-14/
- Music of the Lincoln Assassination, Tributes, Walt Whitman, * Photo of Mourners, (Ford's Theatre),
https://fords.org/music-of-the-lincoln-assassination/
- Lincoln artifacts, 1865.
- War department, Washington. April 20, 1865. $100,000 reward! The murder of our late beloved president, Abraham Lincoln, is still at large. New York, 1865.
------------------
- Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's Brother Saved The Life Of Robert Todd Lincoln On A Train Platform,' The Vintage News, 2017.
- Robert Todd Lincoln, c. 1860-1870.
In early 1865, Robert Lincoln was just getting off from a train which was just stopping by Jersey City. He needed to catch another train to Philadelphia, as the commute was from New York to Washington. Robert was just a Harvard student, taking a well-deserved break for the semester. He felt that the Union Army needed him more than the Harvard College while the Civil War was at its peak. Later, he ended up enrolling in General Ulysses S. Grant’s staff as a captain. Patiently waiting for his Philadelphia ticket, he was in a rather awkward position, backed up against a train door as the dense crowds of people were hastily purchasing their sleeping car places. The train suddenly began to move, moving Robert off his feet and he fell into the narrow gap between the two cars and the platform.
A gentleman saw through the orderly stampede and swiftly caught the young Robert Lincoln by his collar, pulling him up to safety. The train was just beginning to move and if it wasn’t for the gentleman’s quick thinking, Robert would have been seriously injured or worse. He saw the brave man’s face and immediately recognized him as the actor from the theater- Edwin Booth, the man who played Hamlet better than anyone else. Booth failed to grasp the fact that he had just managed to save the life of the president’s son whom he voted for. “That was a narrow escape, Mr. Booth,”- the young man expressed his endless gratitude, undoubtedly distressed from the heart-stopping incident and starstruck at the same time.
The news of the incident were delivered by Robert (since he joined the army) to Colonel Adam Badeau who was an officer among General Ulysses S. Grant’s ranks. He immediately wrote a letter of gratitude to the oblivious actor, offering service to him as he had done a deed of patriotic proportions, to which Booth replied with a friendly offering of invitations when he was to play in the local theaters. The credibility and details of the incident were put into question because of the sheer coincidence of the whole event, being contemporaneous with Lincoln’s assassination. Nevertheless, Robert Lincoln shed light onto the story in a letter written to Richard Gilder, an editor from Century Magazine, disclosing the details in 1909.
In contrast to his brother John’s secessionist ideology, Edwin Thomas Booth was a Unionist and a strong Lincoln supporter. The illegitimate son of prominent actor, Junius Brutus Booth, was pretty famous for his brilliant portrayal of Hamlet. Many historians agree that Edwin was the greatest Shakespearean tragic hero. A highly successful actor, he founded the “Booth’s Theater” in New York, 1869, which was a very modernized theater for its time, and he toured in America and Europe....
More, https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/01/23/edwin-booth-john-wilkes-booths-brother-saved-the-life-of-robert-lincoln-on-a-train-platform/
Edwin Booth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Booth
*Wiki, Edwin Booth saved Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert, from serious injury or even death. The incident occurred on a train platform in Jersey City, New Jersey. The exact date of the incident is uncertain, but it is believed to have taken place in late 1864 or early 1865.
- Robert Lincoln recalled the incident in a 1909 letter to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine:
"The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name. "
- President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, Edwin Booth who voted to re-elect Lincoln in 1864.
- Edwin Booth with daughter Edwina, c. 1865.
= new reply since forum marked as read
