Distribution of Some of the Death Clothes

[Laurie Verge]

Under the Trivia topic, I promised to highlight parts of a letter of April 17, 1865, which can be found in the National Park Service files. It was written by Mose Sandford, who was employed (I think) in the War Department's division that handled carpentry work. This letter was found by Joan Chaconas about thirty years ago.

Dear Friend Johnnie
You must excuse Me for Not Writing You befor but as the Old saying says better late than Never, so here goes, I hardly think a letter from this City Especially at this time and from an Old Friend will be apt to be thrown to one side and forgotten. I also send You Enclosed in this letter a piece of the Shirt Bosom worn By the President on the Night of his Murder and remained on him until he died. I wish you to give a piece of it to Billy Denver and Tom Greene. I could sell every inch of it for $5, But prefer dividing it among My Friends and More Especially You Billy and Tom for I know you will keep and appreciate it also remember the donor and while looking upon it recollect that he Never forgets his Old and True Friends, I have his Nec tie and would not take $50 for it have been offered $10 for it several times. I suppose You would like to know how I came by his clothes, Well the Morning he died, Genl Rucker came immediately to Our Shop and had a Common pine box Made to bring him from 10th St to the White House in after they arrived at the House they Cut his Clothes off of him and threw them in the Box we made and Sent the Box back to the Shop for Safe keeping it was placed in my Charge in My Room the Hardware Department, and Just as soon as the Coast was clear I unscrewed the lid and went through the Ward Robe for relics, I found on one of the Sleeves of his Shirt one of his sleeve Buttons Black Enameled trimed with gold and the letter L on the out Side with A.L. underneath that I sent to the Sct. of War the Bosom of his Shirt was the next thing which Met My Eye as it had considerable Blood upon it so I Just confiscated the whole of it the piece I send You and another about the Same size is all I have left. The Nec tie I wouldn't part with under any consideration I have taken all the Screws out of the Box which wer turned down on him from 10th St to his house and have put others in their place, I will give You one when I come Home. the Box he was brought up in is within 5 ft of My Desk where I am Now Writing. don't forget to give Tom and Billy a piece of it the ("Shirt bosom").
The Murder took place Just 25 Minutes to Eleven on last Friday Night at Fords Theatre on 10th St. the play was Our American Cousin. I was at Grovers Theatre Next to Jim Lamberts Just 3 1/2 blocks from Fords. they were playing Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp and had Just commenced the 4th Act I was at the time Sitting between 2 Detectives Friends of Mine and one of them had Just asked me the time which was 20 Minutes to Eleven Miss German had Just finished a Song called Sherman March down to the Sea and was about to repeat it when the door of the Theatre was pushed violently open and a Man rushed in Exclaiming turn Out For Gods Sake the President has been Shot in his private Box at Fords Theatre. he then rushed out Every boddy seemed glued to the spot I for one and I think I was one of the First who attempted to Moove ("it was Either Me or Apple Jack for I was full of that") Every body followed I made straight for Fords and Such another Excited Crowd I Never before whitnessed. I asked who did it and was informed Wilks Booth they were Just Bringing the President out when I arrived on the Spot I will leave the papers to tell You the rest Business is Entirely suspended and the Whole City is draped in Mourning the Excitelent has pretty well died out, they have embalmed the Boddy of the President and it will lay in State tomorrow and Next day and the Funeral takes place on Thursday. We had a Big time last Week in the illumination line but that is all Forgotten the Theatres Stores Every place of Business and the Gin Mills are all closed and perfectly inundated with crepe it dont do for a Man to Open His Mouth unless he talks the right way. $30000 reward has been Offered here for the arrest and conviction of the Murderer and up to date they are still at large, Seward's House is Just 5 1/2 blocks from Fords Theatre. in the rear of Jackson Square and Nearly Opposite the White House on 15 and 1/2 St. he is getting allong finely but his boy is very low indeed Friday Night Was a Night long to be remembered by Me I was on the Streets all Night. its impossible for Me to discribe the scenes as they Occured here the City was in one continual whirl of Excitement crowds on every corner and 10th st was one solid Mass of Excited Men flourishing knives and revolvers and Yelling down with the Traitors instead of hunting for them.

At this point, Mose begins personal messages. The letter was addressed to John Beatty, Esq, Exchange Broker, Jersey City. A copy was made from the original and then transcribed. A piece of the "Bosom" was attached to the letter, but covered the salutation so it is not clear as to whether the spelling is Johnny or Johnnie.

I'm not sure if the original still exists. The transcript was done by Robert P.L. Frick of Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA in 1953, and sent to Mr. Truett of the NPS on Dec. 7, 1953.

My friends on this forum know that I am very picky about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. May I just say that it drove me CRAZY typing this piece as it appears on the original transcription!!! I'm going to have to have a Jack and Ginger to calm my nerves.

[Craig Hipkins]

Laurie,

You are correct about the grammar! It was torture reading that piece, but interesting. I wonder how many pieces of Lincoln's shirt survive out there.

Craig

[Jim Garrett]

Some interesting commonalities between AL and JFK. I believe that both men were completely stripped down (which makes sense for a complete examination and both were eseentially just wrapped up in the sheets they died in and placed in a coffin. JFK's was however the best available from the local Dallas funeral home, and paid for by Jackie's secret service agent Clint Hill. I hope he was re-imbursed. Both men's suits have become iconic relic, however JFK's suit will not be available for display until 2062.

[Claudine]

(09-07-2012 04:31 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  My friends on this forum know that I am very picky about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. May I just say that it drove me CRAZY typing this piece as it appears on the original transcription!!! I'm going to have to have a Jack and Ginger to calm my nerves.

Very interesting. Thank you for typing this long, long text including all mistakes!

[Gene C]

(09-07-2012 04:31 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  My friends on this forum know that I am very picky about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. May I just say that it drove me CRAZY typing this piece as it appears on the original transcription!!! I'm going to have to have a Jack and Ginger to calm my nerves.

I'm not sure what the big deal is here; several of us do this al the time. I'm going to have to have go to "Jack in the Box", to calm my nerves.

[Claudine]

(09-09-2012 06:59 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(09-07-2012 04:31 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  My friends on this forum know that I am very picky about good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. May I just say that it drove me CRAZY typing this piece as it appears on the original transcription!!! I'm going to have to have a Jack and Ginger to calm my nerves.

I'm not sure what the big deal is here; several of us do this al the time. I'm going to have to have go to "Jack in the Box", to calm my nerves.

I hereby announce: I appreciate every single long or short post on this forum! ; )

[Rsmyth]

This is a picture of a Bosom from circa 1912. Is that was Mose is talking about? Is it like a Dickie?

---

Laurie,

You were correct, Mose was an employee of the War Dept.
An eyewitness from Ford’s reached nearby Grover’s Theatre by 10:40 P.M. In the audience was an employee from the War Department hardware shop, Mose Sandford:
I was at Grover’s…They were playing Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp and had just commenced the fourth act…Miss German had just finished a song called “Sherman’s March Down to the Sea” and was about to repeat it when the door of the theatre was pushed violently open and a man rushed in exclaiming “turn out for Gods sake, the President has been shot in his private box at Ford’s Theatre.” He then rushed out. Everybody seemed glued to the spot I for one and I think I was one of the first who attempted to move…Everybody followed. I made straight for Ford’s and such another excited crowd I never before witnessed. I asked who did it and was informed Wilkes Booth. They were just bringing the President out when I arrived on the spot. The city was in one continued whirl of excitement. Crowds on every corner and 10th Street was one solid mass of excited men flourishing knives and revolvers and yelling “down with the traitors” instead of hunting for them.

---

Laurie, you were wondering if the letter still exists:
According to Ed Steers in Blood on the Moon, the letter written on April 17th 1865 is in a private collection. Maybe Ed has the letter.

[BettyO]

Apparently shirt bosoms were worn in the 1860s as well as full shirts:

Here is an ad from the Mobile Daily Register, for January 11, 1860:

"MOBILE DAILY REGISTER, January 11, 1860, p. 3, c. 4
M. S. D. Shirts. Model Shirts, 10 Dauphin Street, Mobile, Ala.
Shirts. Also, a full and complete assortment of Gentlemen's Furnishing Goods, consisting of Stocks, Collars, Ties, Scarfs, Bosoms, Gloves, Cravats, Hosiery, Blankets, Shawls, Handkerchiefs, Under Garments, &c.
All the most Fashionable Styles can be found at the cheapest prices at C. M. Dowd's, Mobile Shirt Depot, 10 Dauphin Street."

One normally thinks of bosoms worn only in the late 1890s to 1900s....

[L Verge]

I thought the Mose's letter was just referring to ripped pieces of Lincoln's shirt front, but maybe it was a detachable thing-a-ma-jig that was a lot easier to take off when stained than having to wash an entire shirt -- sort of like women's undersleeves of the day?

[BettyO]

I've seen references to these detachable shirt bosoms in late Victorian and early to mid Edwardian literature and references - but was not aware that they were being utilized in the 1860s until I saw that ad --

They were mostly of linen - and in the latter half of the 19th Century they could even be paper. In the Edwardian era - there are reports of them also being made of enameled paper, stiff starched cheesecloth and also of celluloid!

[Houmes]

[quote='Laurie Verge' pid='4276' dateline='1347053462']
Under the Trivia topic, I promised to highlight parts of a letter of April 17, 1865, which can be found in the National Park Service files. It was written by Mose Sandford, who was employed (I think) in the War Department's division that handled carpentry work.

The letter by Mose Sandford is interesting, but besides being a tad boastful his statement contradicts the experience of the six soldiers assigned by Major General Daniel Rucker (second in command under Major General Montgomery Meigs of the Quartermaster Department) to remove Lincoln's body and escort it to the White House. In a newspaper interview (circa 1890s) John C. Weaver recalled he was one of those soldiers and that "...General Rucker gave to these six men the white linen shirt taken off Mr. Lincoln as a souvenir..." Weaver is documented as being one of those soldiers, but his memory may have been a little foggy later on, as he also claimed at other times to have been one of the soldiers carrying Mr. Lincoln across the street to the Petersen house. The soldiers taking the president's body to the White House cut up the shirt and each took sections. Lincoln was known to wear a bosom--it's apparent in several of his photographs in the Ostendorf books--and he even joked once about wearing a bosom when belittling an opposing attorney during a trial. Weaver's account doesn't say the shirt his cohorts acquired was whole, but that he obtained his share of the trophy upon returning the wooden coffin to the Quartermaster's office; Sandford's account claims he obtained at least one or part of one sleeve during his scavenger hunt. I know of one individual with part of a sleeve, but have never learned of other shirt or bosom relics. I have to admire Mr. Sandford's restraint in not confiscating the rest of Mr. Lincoln's suit.

[Laurie Verge]

Is this the same John Weaver of the undertaking business who dealt with JWB's body?

[Rsmyth]

I do not believe it is Laurie. Weaver (Undertaker for JWB) is buried in his family vault at Greenmont in Baltimore. Private John C. Weaver who claimed to have assissted in carrying the Pres. from the Petersen house was from Pottsville, PA is buried in Hamburg, PA.

[Laurie Verge]

Rich,

You are phenomenal with your knowledge of who is buried where! When is that book coming out?

[Rsmyth]

laurie, too many other projects but it is always there lurking, begging for some attention.