I listened to part of Dennis Prager this morning, there was an author of of a book about Lincoln’s assassination and about the manhunt. He said Booth gave the guard a business card and because he was a well known author, the guard let him pass.
Lincoln eschewed guards. I think there were only two, which included a guard seated outside of his box There had been many celebrations since the war had ended. He was exhausted. That night, he was doing what he wanted: to be alone but with a lot of people around. When they played Hail to the Chief, he was nearly in tears.
He told his advisers he had a dream, that something big (meaning good would happen.It huge ship that symbolized him, would be going into battle alone. He believed his dreams had portent.
The advisers remarked that every time he had that dream, something disastrous happened.
The day before was one of the happiest in his life. He was in a buggy ride with his wife Mary. There marriage had been deeply strained because of the war and because of the death of their son Willie. Lincoln said that when his presidency was over, they would move back to Chicago, and he would simply practice law.
His vice president who succeeded him, which many thought was needed on the ticket for votes, was a racist, and did not like the changes to the status of the blacks, e.g. citizenship, equal protection etc.
God Bless you President Lincoln. I wish we still had your birthday as a national holiday.
Excellent post.
I agree that we should have a separate Lincoln and Washington birthday.
From what I remember, Booth was in and out all day at Ford’s theater - one of his ne’er do well conspirators, Ned Spangler, was there that day. He would eventually hold Booth’s horse after the assassination. I do remember, though, that the guard at Lincoln’s box had slipped away. I think Booth had fooled with the lock of the box that afternoon - or created a peephole. He was very well-known in the theater community, lived in a hotel in Washington and would get his Dutch courage from the bar next door to Ford’s.
Lincoln also had a terrible dream that he had died and was lying in state.
I recommend to anyone who loves Lincoln to read Gore Vidal’s wonderful novel “Lincoln.”