THE LINCOLN MUSEUM (continued)

Exhibits Relating to the Assassination

The exhibits on the assassination, the flight of Booth, and the trial of the conspirators are of special interest. Several of the articles seen here were among the exhibits used as evidence in the trial of the conspirators in 1865, and are on indefinite loan from the Judge Advocate General's Office of the War Department.

THE ASSASSINATION. The original door to box 7, with the small hole used by the assassin to peer into the box before entering, was presented to the Lincoln Museum in 1940 by T. Latimer Ford, grandson of the Civil War owner of the theatre. The pine bar used by Booth to secure the vestibule door is also exhibited.

The cases devoted to the story of the assassination contain the single-shot Deringer used by Booth to shoot President Lincoln, the dagger with which he stabbed Major Rathbone, and the original meter for the gaslights at Ford's Theatre, which is on loan from the Washington Gas Light Co.

THE FLIGHT OF BOOTH. The museum has many objects used by Booth in his flight, one of which is the actor's diary containing his melodramatic account of the murder and his flight. Among the other items are Booth's boot showing the 10-inch slit made by Dr. Mudd in removing it from the assassin's leg, Dr. Mudd's medical kit, and Booth's compass, used in crossing the Potomac. There are also two Colt revolvers, a Spencer carbine, a folding pocketknife, and keys, all taken from Booth's person after he was shot in Garrett's barn.

TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS. Perhaps the most interesting object in the museum collection related to the other conspirators is the Whitney Navy revolver carried by Paine in his attempt to assassinate Seward. The break which rendered the gun useless and forced Paine to attempt to stab Seward is plainly visible. There are also three knives belonging to the conspirators; Paine's pick and a coil of rope, used at the trial to implicate Spangler; and the keys to the cells at the Arsenal Penitentiary and at Fort Jefferson, Fla., where the conspirators were confined.