In 1865, Charles Leale, a young but apparently competent surgeon, attended a play at Ford's Theater. The play was called "Our American Cousin". Among those in attendance that night were Major Henry Reed Rathbone, Miss Clara Harris, daughter of United States Senator Ira Harris, and, of course, President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Leale was seemingly not going to attend the play that night (April 14, 1865), but upon hearing that the President was going to attend, he changed his mind.
Upon the assassination of President Lincoln, Dr. Leale was the first one to attend him. In 1865, he wrote an account of the events that night and into the morning, culminating in the death of the President. In 1867, his statement was longer and filled with many more details, even to the point of seeming fanciful. After reading his 1865 statement, I am left with questions concerning Dr. Leale's role in the events of that night, up to and including the possibility that he was part of the plot to kill President Lincoln.
Dr. Leale stated in his report that he was seated in the Dress Circle (may be called the mezzanine today) about 40 ft. from the President's Box. This was before President Lincoln arrived. Around 8:30 PM, President and Mrs. Lincoln arrived, along with Major Rathbone and Miss Harris, and proceeded to their seats. According to Dr. Leale, the President's party was preceded by an attendant, identified in 1867 as Charles Forbes, the personal valet and messenger of President Lincoln. It must be noted that John Wilkes Booth was not part of President Lincoln's group.
At approximately 10:30 PM, Dr. Leale stated he distinctly heard the sound of a pistol that had been fired. After about one minute, he saw a man "of low stature (short) with black hair and eyes" leap to the stage below. The man, later identified as John Wilkes Booth, got his leg tangled in the American flag which hung from the box seats which housed President Lincoln and his party, and fell. Mr. Booth got up in a "single bound" and proceeded to exit Ford's theater on the other side of the stage. He was seen carrying a dagger at this time. It was after this that Dr. Leale heard cries of "the President had been murdered." These were followed by "Kill the murderer," "Shoot him," etc., which came from different parts of the audience.
Question #1: John Wilkes Booth stuck around for a period of about one minute after shooting President Lincoln. This makes no sense. No one who shoots someone in the head in a closed room full of witnesses is going to stick around for a full minute before escaping, especially if a soldier such as Major Rathbone is in the same room. Why the delay?
Answer: John Wilkes Booth did not shoot President Lincoln; someone else did. This means there were two people in President Lincoln's booth at the time of his assassination that knew about what was supposed to happen. Since Mr. Booth had to gain entrance to President Lincoln's booth after the President had arrived, this suggests that President Lincoln's killer entered the booth with him, indicating that he knew the identity of his murderer and did not suspect him. This indicates that the killer was a member of President Lincoln's party.
Question #2: If John Wilkes Booth did shoot President Lincoln as history books say he did, why did he, after leaping over the balcony, rush across the stage brandishing a dagger? More than likely, he would have brandished a gun.
Answer: Mr. Booth would have brandished a gun instead of a knife if a gun had been the murder weapon. It would make more sense since he is credited with using the phrase, "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Thus Always to Tyrants). That Mr. Booth presented a knife instead of a gun indicates not only that he was not the killer but that he stopped President Lincoln's assassin the first time, wrestling away the knife that was to be used.
Question #3: History tells us that John Wilkes Booth broke his leg during the fall from the balcony. If this is so, how was he able to run across the stage and escape?
Answer: John Wilkes Booth would not have been able to run across the stage with a broken leg. This indicates that any broken leg story is either false or happened after he escaped Ford's Theatre.
Question #4: Why were no calls of "the President has been murdered" ringing out until after Mr. Booth "disappeared behind the scene"? Surely, seeing a man leap/fall from the President's balcony would cause many to turn their heads in the direction of the President.
Answer: This is because the real assassin was still in the viewing box with President Lincoln. A struggle commenced between Mr. Booth and the assassin and Mr. Booth was able to wrestle the knife away from the killer. Unbeknownst to Mr. Booth, the killer had a pistol and, after seeing Mr. Booth exit the stage, fired the fatal shot into President Lincoln's head, then hollered out, "The President has been murdered."
Question #5: If John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln, then waited a full minute to escape, where did the pistol shot come from? It is not reasonable to think that he would wait a full minute before escaping.
Answer: The pistol shot did come from the viewing box that contained President Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth did not shoot the President.
Question #6: If Dr. Leale stated he immediately rushed to where President Lincoln and his party were sitting, why did he, in 1867, state that he remained in his seat, not believing the cries until someone opened the door calling for a surgeon? The natural reaction of any surgeon would be to at least raise themselves up out of their seats upon hearing that the President had been murdered, unless they were aware beforehand that President Lincoln was going to be murdered.
Answer: Dr. Leale did remain in his seat, not believing what was said until a surgeon was asked for. Later evidence will show that Dr. Leale was told to go to Ford's Theatre because President Lincoln was going to be there. This means that Dr. Leale was going to verify the assassination took place. This also suggests that he knew the assassin; at the least they worked for the same people.
Question #7: If the report from the pistol was clearly heard by Dr. Leale as he stated, who was 40 ft away from President Lincoln's theater box, why was there no reaction to the report in the box sooner than a minute later?
Answer: Dr. Leale did hear the report from the shot that killed President Lincoln. He was about 40 ft away, as he stated. The pistol shot did not take place a minute before John Wilkes Booth jumped over the balcony of the viewing box. It took place after, by the real killer, who most probably was the person that called out, "The President has been murdered."
Question #8: Dr. Leale's account of the events of the evening in the 1867 retelling begins with a different paragraph as this one from 1865. It reads: "On the evening of the 14th April 1865 while engaged with the executive duties of the United States Army General Hospital Armory Square Washington I was requested to visit Ford's Theatre, being told that President Lincoln, General Grant and staff were to be there." Why the change? It makes him look even more guilty than he already does.
Answer: Dr. Leale was part of the assassination team that was going to kill President Lincoln.
Question #9: Who contacted Dr. Leale and told him to visit Ford's Theater?
Answer: It can only be someone that was aware of the assassination plot against President Lincoln and party.
Question #10: Why did Dr. Leale add a second sentence to his 1867 report?
Answer: The double use of the phrases "40 feet" and "President's box" suggest that the reason for the addition is because Dr. Leale felt this 1865 statement incriminated him in the assassination plot somehow so he added the extra sentence to try and brush aside any accusations that might come his way. In addition, that Dr. Leale would make extra effort to establish his distance from President Lincoln at 40 ft suggests that Dr. Leale was closer than 40 ft which would indicate active participation in the plot to kill the President.
Question #11: This 1865 statement suggests that Dr. Leale directly tried getting a seat in the dress circle, about 40 ft behind President Lincoln and party. In his 1867 report, it suggests that he tried getting a different seat before proceeding to the dress circle. Why the extra information?
Answer: Since we already know that he was there to monitor President Lincoln's assassination, it stands to reason that Dr. Leale changed his testimony in an effort to avoid incriminating himself in the assassination plot.
Question #12: If John Wilkes Booth cut Major Rathbone's arm during a struggle after shooting President Lincoln, why then did Mr. Booth hold up the dagger in front of the audience?
Answer: This is because Major Rathbone was the assassin and he intended to stab President Lincoln at the first, possibly to avoid making noise. The dagger belonged to him, not John Wilkes Booth.
Question #13: If John Wilkes Booth cut Major Rathbone's arm after shooting President Lincoln, why did Major Rathbone wait so long before saying the "President was murdered?"
Answer: He didn't. Major Rathbone shot President Lincoln after losing his knife to John Willkes Booth during which he apparently suffered a cut on his arm. Major Rathbone fired the shot after Mr. Booth ran off stage, then quickly proclaimed, "The President has been murdered." The blame was swiftly put on John Booth because he was seen leaving the soon-to-be-scene of the crime and it provided Major Rathbone an alibi.
Question #14: According to Dr. Leale's 1867 report, John Wilkes Booth tried to enter President Lincoln's box about five minutes past 10 PM local time. If it was the intention of Mr. Booth to kill President Lincoln, why was there a 25 minute delay between Mr. Booth entering President Lincoln's viewing box and killing the President?
Answer: There was no delay. John Wilkes Booth did not go there to kill President Lincoln. He went there to save him.
Question #15: In this 1865 report Dr. Leale states that he heard cries of "the President had been murdered" followed by "Kill the murderer", "Shoot him", etc., which came from different parts of the audience. Why was there no mention of where the "President had been murdered" cries originated?
Answer: The two most likely answers are: 1) It came from President Lincoln's assassin; 2) It came from Dr. Leale himself. In any case, the cry had to have come from someone that could clearly see the President.
Question #16: If President Lincoln had been murdered at about 10:30 PM as stated why then was there no reaction from the First Lady, Mrs. Lincoln, until a minute later?
Answer: This is because the murder of her husband did not occur until after John Wilkes Booth had left the stage.
Question #17: In this 1865 report, Dr. Leale stated upon hearing the cries of people in the audience he immediately went to the President's box. In his 1867 report, it states he remained in his seat not believing the President had been shot until someone opened the box door and called for a surgeon. Why the change?
Answer: Dr. Leale remained in his seat, but believing the reports that President Lincoln had been murdered. By his own words, he sat in a position where he could clearly see him.
Question #18: In this 1865 report, Dr. Leale mentioned the position of President, Mrs. Lincoln, and Miss Harris, but no mention of the position of Major Rathbone. In his 1867 report, Dr. Leale stated that he was positioned by the door. Why the change?
Answer: It seems likely that revealing Major Rathbone's position too early could incriminate him, so it was left out until a couple of years later, where it could be dismissed as a simple oversight.
Question #19: If he was by the door, why was Major Rathbone not with his fiancé?
Answer: The natural reaction of a man in love is to protect the one he loves. Being a trained soldier, Major Rathbone could have overridden this instinct to attend to the President or secure the scene of the crime. Even so, there is no mention of where he was or what he was doing in this 1865 report. This leads us to conclude that either Dr. Leale did not know where Major Rathbone was, or he did but deliberately chose not to mention him. The latter seems most likely.
The following link will give you a copy of the letter I used.
Dr. Charles A. Leale’s Report on the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
