Ford’s Theatre

We have been to most of the Abraham Lincoln sites (his birthplace, where he grew up, Springfield) but never where he was shot.  This trip we had a chance to visit this site.  The tour of Ford’s Theatre consists of four sections, a museum, the theater, the Petersen House and the bookstore.

The museum displays tell of his time in office with a recap of the generals who led the Northern army and of the outcome of the battles.  It also tells a bit about life in the White House, including Mary Todd Lincoln’s remodeling of the neglected house.  The small hand gun that changed the world is on display in a side room.

After viewing the museum, visitors enter the theater where an excellent ranger told of the activities of both Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth on that fateful April 14, 1865.

  Lincoln’s days during the war seem split between military matters and fending off job seekers who met with him hoping to find federal positions from lighthouse keepers to judges. 

With the surrender of General Lee on April 9th and the war ended,, Lincoln spent his last day relaxing day over breakfast with his son Robert and a carriage ride with Mary.  He had made a reservation to spend the evening watching Our American Cousin at the theater.  His box is to the right of the stage.

Booth, a staunch pro-slavery advocate and supporter of the Confederacy, had planned to kidnap Lincoln.  But with the war over, he changed his goal and spent his day working with fellow conspirators to kill Lincoln, Vice-President Andrew Johnson and members of the Cabinet.  He also planned out his “performance” in the theater.

The ranger told of how the events of the day brought these two men together and then of Major Henry Reed Rathbone, who shared box seats with the Lincolns.  This is the view that Booth had as he entered the box.

 Rathbone attempted to stop Booth after the shot and that attempt caused Booth to break his leg in the leap from the box seats to the stage.

We then went to the Petersen House where Lincoln was taken for treatment and where he died the next day.  It was a boarding house and after the assassination, few boarders wanted to stay there.  The family sold the home.  It was later acquired by the National Park Service.  All the furnishings are from the mid 19th century.

Thousands of books have been written about Lincoln as attested to by this four-story stack that leads down to the bookstore.