Borne by Loving Hands

[RJNorton]

I'll just give my opinion. I think the total number of people in the box was somewhat similar to the total number of men who carried President Lincoln to the Petersen House --> embellished. Over 20 men claimed to have helped carry the President across the street, and we know that is not realistic. I think the same is true for the total of people who were in the State Box after the shot. I noticed that Dr. Leale does not even mention Laura Keene's presence in his initial 1865 account. He says "As two gentlemen now arrived" and "The brandy and water now arrived" and "Dr. C. F. Taft and Dr. A. F. A. King now arrived and after a moments consultation we agreed to have him removed to the nearest house, which we immediately did, the above named with others assisting."

I have heard the box itself described as quite small by people who have seen it closeup, and I don't think there was room for too many extra people, especially women wearing hoop skirts. Leale's account keeps the "extras" at less than 10 in the box, and that seems about right to me. Even that seems a pretty large number given the tight space available.