Lincoln's Secretary of State who Purchased Alaska almost died with Lincoln that night

[Ichingcarpenter]

On April 14, 1865, Lewis Powell, an associate of John Wilkes Booth, attempted to assassinate Seward, the same night and at the same moment Abraham Lincoln was shot. Powell gained access to Seward's home by telling a servant, William Bell, that he was delivering medicine for Seward, who was recovering from a recent near-fatal carriage accident on April 5, 1865. Powell started up the stairs when then confronted by one of Seward's sons, Frederick. He told the intruder that his father was asleep and Powell began to start down the stairs, but suddenly swung around and pointed a gun at Frederick's head. After the gun misfired, Powell panicked, then repeatedly struck Frederick over the head with the pistol, leaving Frederick in critical condition on the floor.

Powell then burst into William Seward's bedroom with a bowie knife and stabbed him several times in the face and neck. Powell also attacked and injured another son (Augustus), a soldier (Private George Robinson), who had been assigned to stay with Seward, and a messenger (Emerick Hansell), who arrived just as Powell was escaping.<8>

During the attack Seward was wearing a jaw splint (often incorrectly reported as a "neck brace") as a result of the carriage accident, and it is said that this saved his life. However, he carried the facial scars from the attack for the remainder of his life. The events of that night took their toll on his wife, Frances, who died June 1865

Seward's most famous achievement as Secretary of State was his successful acquisition of Alaska from Russia. On March 30, 1867, he completed negotiations for the territory, which involved the purchase of 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km²) of territory (more than twice the size of Texas) for $7,200,000, or approximately 2 cents per acre. The purchase of this frontier land was alternately mocked by the public as "Seward's Folly", "Seward's Icebox", and Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden". Currently, Alaska celebrates the purchase on Seward's Day, the last Monday of March.

[democrat2thecore]

1. Ripley's Believe It Or Not! -nt

[Arctic Dave]

2. Looks like someone got an A in their Alaska Studies class.

Good story.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Seward was a favorite of my professor's upper level history class on diplomacy

I was thinking about how Lincoln, who really gave birth to the republican party
and without his pick of Seward, who might have died that night, Alaska might never had happened. Now, I think we
are witnessing the beginning of the end of the republican party and it comes back
full circle to Alaska, Lincoln and presidential politics.

[Arctic Dave]

4. That would definitely make one interesting life cycle.