Chicago Historical Society Northwestern University Wet With Blood

Borne by Loving Hands, by eyewitness Carl Bersch, 1865. Courtesy of the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.

But see! They are bringing him out. A score of strong arms bear Lincoln's loved form along... On the stairs we stop aghast and with shuddering lips - 'Yes, see, it is our President's blood' all down the stairs and out upon the pavement. It seemed sacrilege to step near. (GOOD 56)

Dr. Leale was afraid the President would die if he traveled by carriage to the White House, but he wanted to remove him from the crowded theatre box. Bystanders helped carry the President down the steps to the street, while Major Rathbone and a fellow army officer escorted Mary and Clara out of the building. They hesitated when they reached the street, asking aloud: "Where can we take him?" A young man at Petersen's boarding house across 10th Street called out, "Bring him in here!" [RECK 128]

Borne by Loving Hands, by eyewitness Carl Bersch, 1865. Courtesy of the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.

An Evening at Ford's Theatre