
The room where Lincoln died
The room where Lincoln died
Resource Typeimage
TitleThe room where Lincoln died
Coverage / YearApril 14, 1865;
DescriptionThe Petersen rooming house was across the street from Ford's Theater. Lincoln was carried there after he was shot. He lived through the night and died early the next morning.
InterpretationAlthough Major Rathbone was severely wounded in the arm, having been stabbed by the assassin, he was able to remove the barrier John Wilkes Booth had placed to the corridor in order to admit Dr. Charles Leale, an Army surgeon who was in the theater. The doctor had some soldiers lay the President on the floor so that he could examine him. Then they carried him out into the street. A border at the Petersen rooming house across the street directed them to carry the President into a bedroom at the back of the house on the first floor. (This information was supplied by the Henry Ford Museum.) The bed where Lincoln was laid is now in the collection of the Chicago Historical Society.
Lesson Plans / ThemesAntebellum Society and the Civil War;
Learning Standards16 History; 14 Political systems
Author or CreatorIllinois Heritage Association;
Subject / KeywordsLincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865; Petersen House; Ford's Theater;
Collection PublisherIllinois Heritage Association;
Resource IdentifierIHA00165
CONTENTdm file name43749102542002_IHA00165.jpg