Why was Booth admitted into the presidential box?

[L Verge]

(04-16-2015 05:26 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Kees, I agree Mary never blamed Forbes. My memory may be faulty, but I think I read somewhere that she actually kept in touch with Forbes after the assassination.

The coachman, Francis Burke, made a statement that doesn't prove where Forbes was seated but does seem to indicate his presence in the area that night (although no names are specially mentioned in his statement). His statement, dated April 25, 1865, said that during the play he had a drink with "the special police officer and the footman of the President." Like Forbes, Burke was not called at the conspiracy trial.

Kees, I agree that Forbes' activities that night are elusive and tough to nail down.

I agree with both Kees and Roger about the unanswered questions regarding Forbes. I don't remember ever hearing about Charles Forbes until the Lincoln Group of D.C. erected the marker for him at Congressional Cemetery in the 1980s. I wish that Ed Steers would chime in on this because I believe that he was part of the committee that worked on that marker.

And talk about coincidence, I received a call today from a gentleman who has a small, but impressive, collection - one item of which is a letter that Mary wrote regarding Forbes and the draft. Maybe more will be revealed...