A bit of (macabre) Lincolnia
Little story here about the display of a rather gruesome bit of American history: the 36 star flag used to mop up the blood from Lincoln's wound on the evening of his assassination.
I wasn't aware myself that this particular artifact had been preserved. The above story is rather short on the details. Who preserved this, and where is it kept permanently?
The story also mentions that this was used to mop up Libcoln's blood "at Ford's Theater." I was always under the impression that Lincoln's wound actually bled very little; the small hole in his head quickly clotted, and in fact doctors had to continually remove the clot to relieve pressure on the president's brain.
Are the flag's keepers so sure in fact that this was Lincoln's blood? During the attack on Lincoln, Booth drew a knife and stabbed Lincoln's guest, Major Henry R. Rathbone. That wound was said to have bled profusely, and some people on the scene, I have read, thought that Rathbone's blood was actually Lincoln's, and searched the president's body for a knife wound.
So color me just a bit skeptical on this one. I'm the first to admit I have no expertise at all in artifacts of this sort, but I'm still somewhat curious. I wonder if they could do (or perhaps already have done) a DNA test on the flag's blood to decisively determine its origin. Seems to me there is room for doubt on this matter.
posted by brdirck at 7:17 AM
3 Comments:
The East Bloomfield Historical Society web page says that the flag is on loan from the Pike County (Pennsylvania) Historical Museum
http://ebhs1838events.org/lincolnexhibits.html
Pike County provides background on the flag. It is a plausible series of events that would suggest it is not Rathbone's blood.
http://www.pikehistory.org/lincoln.htm
Rathbone had red hair. (Lincoln, of course, did not.) This could provide one way to distinguish their blood, although I do not know if it would be straightforward. It is possible that several red-hair genes exist and would need to be tested.
I saw that article today. I have been wondering about how much blood there was on the scene. I've heard the stories about blood on his clothes and chair, as well as Mary's dress, Clara Harris' dress, and even Laura Keene's dress.
I also need a copy of The Physical Lincoln. Call me strange, but I have always wondered what his teeth looked like....
Lincoln had some harrowing encounters with dentists, but actual first-hand descriptions of his teeth are rare. I found only two: "two rows of large white teeth" and "white teeth." But there is lots of other cool stuff in The Physical Lincoln and the Sourcebook. :-)
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