East Coast Trip: Ford’s Theater

10-11 September 1985
Washington DC

After grabbing lunch at the Old Post Office Building, we topped off the parking meter with quarters and headed to our next stop — Ford’s Theater where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on 14 April 1865.  We arrived just in time to hear a Lincoln-look-alike narrate the events that led to that fateful evening.

As fans of President Lincoln, we found the visit to Ford’s Theater to be a moving experience.  After the presentation, we were given a chance to peek into the presidential box (now sealed with glass) where a single gun shot to the back of the head led to the president’s demise.

We also saw the actual flag that draped the box on the night of the assassination.  The tear created by Booth’s spur when he jumped out of the box and back onto the stage after he shot Lincoln was clearly evident.  Too bad Booth didn’t break his neck during the jump.  (He later claimed to have broken his leg during the jump, but there is some doubt as to the veracity of the statement.)

The tear from Booths spur is just to the left of the sign on the wall.

The emotional impact of a presidential assassination was compounded the next day when we visited the Petersen House.  After he was shot, Lincoln was rushed to this brick rowhouse, which is located across the street from the theater.  He was attended to by physicians — to no avail — and died here the next day.  It was here that Secretary of War Stanton uttered the now-famous words: “Now, he belongs to the ages.”

The blood-stained pillowcase is encased in plastic.

Following the shooting, Booth fled on horseback to southern Maryland, eventually making his way to a farm in rural northern Virginia 12 days later.  He was tracked down and shot there by a Union soldier who was acting against orders.  Eight others were tried and convicted, and four were hanged shortly thereafter.  Over the years, various authors have suggested that Booth escaped his pursuers and subsequently died many years later under a pseudonym.