Lincoln assassination flags

The presidential box at Ford's Theatre, adorned with the American and Treasury Guard flags, two days after Booth's shooting of Lincoln.


The Lincoln assassination flags were the five flags which decorated the presidential box of Ford's Theatre, and which were present during John Wilkes Booth's assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, were in this box watching a production of Our American Cousin. Booth's spur was allegedly caught by one of the flags when he began his escape from the theatre and broke his leg; this part of the story, however, is disputed.[1] Three of the flags were American flags and the other two were Treasury Guard flags. According to Civil War historians, three of these five original flags are currently accounted for.[2]

  1. ^ Gary, Ralph (2001). Following in Lincoln's Footsteps: A Complete Annotated Reference to Hundreds of Historical Sites Visited by Abraham Lincoln. New York: Carroll & Graf. pp. 360–361. ISBN 978-0-7867-1068-3. Most historians feel that Booth broke his leg at this point, although there is some evidence and argument that it may have been broken when his horse fell crossing into Maryland.
  2. ^ Zielbauer, Paul. "Found in Clutter, A Relic of Lincoln's Death", The New York Times, July 5, 2001. Accessed September 2, 2011.

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