The Odd Items Found in Abraham Lincoln's Pockets On the Night of His Assassination

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated US President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, an event that would forever etch the 16th president in history. This dreadful act happened mere days after the end of the American Civil War, a chaotic era for the country. Interestingly, at the time of his assassination, Lincoln had several odd items in his pockets.

The assassination that shook the United States

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most critical events in American history. The president had recently navigated the nation through the turbulent Civil War , a time of unparalleled difficulty, and was well loved, especially by the African-American community for his large role in the abolition of slavery .

While attending Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC with his wife Mary to watch a play, Lincoln, engrossed in the performance, was unaware of the approach of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth . Booth, a relatively popular figure at the time thanks to his successful stage career, managed to gain entry to the president's box.

Seizing the moment, Booth approached Lincoln from behind, catching him off guard, and fired a single shot into the back of the president's head with a .44-caliber Derringer pistol. The assassin then made a dramatic escape, fighting his way out of the theater and fleeing on horseback. By the next morning, Lincoln was declared dead, marking the tragic end of one of America's most revered presidents at the age of 56.

While Lincoln's assassination had profound consequences for American history, an intriguing, yet mundane detail lies in the contents of the president's pockets at the time.

The contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets

When he was assassinated, Abraham Lincoln had a small pocket knife, two pairs of glasses and a pocket watch fob in his pockets. He was also carrying a leather wallet and a linen handkerchief with "A. Lincoln" inscribed in red letters. Remarkably, one of the pairs of spectacles showed evidence of a small repair done by the president himself.

Beyond the ordinary belongings, Lincoln possessed a collection of newspaper clippings containing commendations about himself. Perhaps the most intriguing item in his possession that night, however, was a $5.00 Confederate bill that was found in his wallet.

The presence of enemy currency raises questions as to why the president would carry such an item. While the exact answer is unknown, researchers at the Library of Congress propose a theory .

Clark Evans, the head of Reference Services in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, suggests, "We don't know with one hundred percent certainty but just a few days earlier, Richmond had fallen, and Lincoln did actually travel to Richmond and this was likely passed onto him as a souvenir."

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The remarkable preservation of the possessions carried by Lincoln on the night of his assassination is extraordinary. Following his death, the items were entrusted to his eldest son, Robert, and remained in the family's possession for the next seven decades. Presently, these invaluable artifacts can be viewed at the Library of Congress.