Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

It seems fitting that on the subject of Lincoln’s assassination, we ought to let the President himself have the last word. We take it from Lincoln’s Own Yarns and Stories, compiled by his close friend Alexander K. McClure.

A soldier tells the following story of an attempt upon the life of Mr. Lincoln:

"One night I was doing sentinel duty at the entrance to the Soldiers’ Home. [Lincoln’s beloved "Summer White House," located about 3 miles from the Capitol, where the family lived from June to November.] This was about the middle of August, 1864. About eleven o’clock I heard a rifle shot, in the direction of the city, and shortly afterwards I heard approaching hoof-beats. In two or three minutes a horse came dashing up. I recognized the belated President. The President was bare-headed. The President simply thought that his horse had taken fright at the discharge of the firearms.

"On going back to the place where the shot had been heard, we found the President’s hat. It was a plain silk hat, and upon examination we discovered a bullet hole through the crown.

"The next day, upon receiving the hat, the President remarked that it was made by some foolish marksman, it was not intended for him; but added that he wished nothing said about the matter.

"The President said, philosophically: ‘I long ago made up my mind that if anybody wants to kill me, he will do it. Besides, in this case, it seems to me, that the man who would succeed me would be just as objectionable to my enemies - if I have any.’

"One dark night, as he was going out with a friend, he took along a heavy cane, remarking, good-naturedly:

"‘Mother [Mary Lincoln] has got a notion into her head that I shall be assassinated, and to please her I take a cane when I go over to the War Department at night - when I don’t forget it.’"  (Yarns and Stories, 147-48)

Abraham Lincoln continues to top the list of most historians when asked, "Who is the greatest American President?" His courage, humility and leadership are part of America’s national fabric. It was his assassination that turned his death into a continuing source of curiosity. But it was his life - and the role he played in holding the country together - that has made him a legend.

NOTE: Many web sites feature primary material on Abraham Lincoln. The National Archives and the Library of Congress have digitized thousands of Lincoln documents. We provide links to many primary resources in this story. But we encourage you to visit Professor Douglas Linder’s account of the conspiracy trial and Roger Norton’s web sites about the President and his assassination.