Killing Lincoln - Nat Geo (Reactions)

[RJNorton]

Very possible, Laurie. Dr. Hanchett notes that Crook's account was published in 1907, and that "no reliable source published before 1907 makes reference to Crook's presence on this occasion."

[Laurie Verge]

Harold Holzer just e-mailed me that there is no question about Tad being with his father as they walked through Richmond. Harold says it was Tad's birthday present. Robert did not accompany them.

[Loomings]

Here we go. As reported by eyewitness Charles Carleton Coffin (seen limping behind the President in our film on account of a hatchet accident that severed the Achillles tendon in his left leg) - the CAPS are mine:

"He entered the city unheralded; six sailors, armed with carbines, stepped upon the shore, followed by the President, WHO HELD HIS LITTLE SON BY THE HAND, and Admiral Porter; the officers followed, and six more sailors brought up the rear. The writer of this article was there upon the spot, and, joining the party, became an observer of the memorable event.

There were forty or fifty freedmen, who had been sole possessors of themselves for twenty-four hours, at work on the bank of the canal, securing some floating timber, under the direction of a Lieutenant. Somehow they obtained the information that the man who was head and shoulders taller than all others around him, with features large and irregular, with a mild eye and pleasant countenance, was President Lincoln.

“God bless you, Sah !” said one, taking off his cap and bowing very low.

“Hurrah! hurrah! President Linkum hab come!” was the shout which rang through the street.

The Lieutenant found himself without a command. What cared those freedmen, fresh from the house of bondage, for floating timber or military commands? Their deliverer had come,—he who, next to the Lord Jesus, was their best friend! It was not an hurrah that they gave, but a wild, jubilant cry of inexpressible joy.

They gathered round the President, ran ahead, hovered upon the flanks of the little company, and hung like a dark cloud upon the rear. Men, women, and children joined the constantly increasing throng. They came from all the by-streets, running in breathless haste, shouting and hallooing and dancing with delight. The men threw up their hats, the women waved their bonnets and handkerchiefs, clapped their hands, and sang, “Glory to God! glory! glory! glory!”—rendering all the praise to God, who had heard their wailings in the past, their moanings for wives, husbands, children, and friends sold out of their sight, had given them freedom, and, after long years of waiting, had permitted them thus unexpectedly to behold the face of their great benefactor.

“I thank you, dear Jesus, that I behold President Linkum!” was the exclamation of a woman who stood upon the threshold of her humble home, and with streaming eyes and clasped hands gave thanks aloud to the Saviour of men.

Another, more demonstrative in her joy, was jumping and striking her hands with all her might, crying,—“Bless de Lord! Bless de Lord! Bless de Lord!” as if there could be no end of her thanksgiving.

The air rang with a tumultuous chorus of voices. The street became almost impassable on account of the increasing multitude. Soldiers were summoned to clear the way. How strange the event! The President of the United States—he who had been hated, despised, maligned above all other men living, to whom the vilest epithets had been applied by the people of Richmond—was walking their streets, receiving thanksgivings, blessings, and praises from thousands who hailed him as the ally of the Messiah! How bitter the reflections of that moment to some who beheld him! … Their government overthrown, their President and his cabinet vagrants, driven from house and home to be wanderers upon the earth. They had been promised affluence, Richmond was to be the metropolis of the Confederacy, and Virginia the all-powerful State of the new nation. How terrible the cheat! Their thousand-dollar bonds were not worth a penny. A million dollars would not purchase a dinner. Their money was valueless, their slaves were freemen …

Abraham Lincoln was walking their streets; and, worst of all, that plain, honest-hearted man was recognizing the “*****” as human beings by returning their salutations! The walk was long, and the President halted a moment to rest. “May de good Lord bless you, President Linkum!” said an old negro, removing his hat, and bowing with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. The President removed his own hat, and bowed in silence; but it was a bow which upset the forms, laws, customs, and ceremonies of centuries. It was a death-shock to chivalry, and a mortal wound to caste. Recognize a *****! Faugh! A woman in an adjoining house beheld it, and turned from the scene in unspeakable disgust. There were men in the crowd who had daggers in their eyes; but the chosen assassin was not there, the hour for the damning work had not come, and that great-hearted man passed on to the executive mansion of the late Confederacy."

---

WOW! I just noticed I went from Junior Member to Member. Three stars! Huzzah!

[RJNorton]

Thank you, everyone, for all the input and for showing what had entered my head after Dr. Hanchett's 1997 article was wrong. It still seems clear to me that Crook may well have simply "added himself" to the group. In fact in Crook's account he has himself holding "Taddie" by the hand with no mention of the president doing it.

P.S. Kudos, Erik!! Your next goal is "Senior Member." 100 posts are needed for that.

[Matthew R]

This is my first post. I used to post on another site. I have been here a couple of weeks and decided to pull the trigger on a post.

With that said, I thought the movie was extremely well done. I admit I was a little skeptical of the Tom Hanks part but it was done beautifully. I by no means and an expert on this subject but I find it fascinating. There were several parts I was looking for the details and they were there. With me knowing just a fraction of stuff compared to most on here, we have heard the story over and over again and we know how it ends. So in knowing that we look for even the smallest of details. This movie had them.

There were a couple of parts I was unsure of, but reading through this thread it appears it was gotten right in the movie. There were also a couple of things still in question that were commented on earlier in this thread and I will not rehash.

One thing I may have missed that was not discussed was after Booth shot Lincoln it appears Lincoln's head was resting back. I thought he was slumped forward after the shot.

Parts I really enjoyed:
1. Booth going under the stage to the other side. Never really thought about it before but it must have been dark under there and I got a sense of what it must have been like in that crossing.
2. The costumes seemed very true to the period.
3. Overall setting of DC it made me feel as if i was there.
4. The little side stories, such as Booth with Asia and the letters Booth wrote

Overall it was very well done and thank Erik for a fine piece of work.

[RJNorton]

(03-03-2013 07:28 AM)Matthew R Wrote:  Overall it was very well done and thank Erik for a fine piece of work.

Welcome, Matthew! And I sure agree with you.

[LincolnMan]

Nice post Matthew!

[DanielC]

Here is a question I have about the movie at the end on the JWB death scene it looks as though there is a detective? and soldier, who are with JWB when he passes. Is one Doherty? One thing that surprised me (and maybe it happened) was the respect that was shown to be given to Booth (removal of the hat) upon his passing. In particular by the soldier. Not a criticism at all ( I really enjoyed the movie) just an observation.

[MaddieM]

(02-18-2013 12:44 AM)asobbingfilm Wrote:  Sadly I think Ive gotten to the point where I'm convinced that no treatment under 2 hours can do the story justice. Thats my standard complaint, it seems every version is just to short. Of course holding an audience is tough over 2 hours esp on a Sunday evening. But it was SO MUCH better than most of the other versions I have seen. The look and dress of the conspirators was really great as was the look of Fords Theater inside and out. I myself could have done without Tom Hanks although he did a good job,it just messed up the pacing. Most dissapointed not to see anything on Mary Surratt really. I understand that there have to be commercials in the TV world but towards the end they seemed a bit much. The DVD/Netflix version will fix that problem. Overall I just wasn't blown away by it the way I had hoped to be, but Im glad to see anyone willing to invest in telling this story and bring it to a new audience. I give it 3.5 out of 5. Id like to see a Gone with the Wind length version on the big screen someday.

I've finally managed to watch this, and yes, I agree with the above, there just never seems to be enough time to do full justice to the characters, though this is focused on Booth who I thought was really well played. All the actors were very good and well cast... though I'm sure I read somewhere that JWB shaved off his tash before he got shot!

I loved the costuming and the general feel of the production, and my only real gripe was not enough time spent on the conspirators as people, but this never seems to be done and I guess the only way round that is to make movies/documentaries about each individual. They were after all, human beings, who came to where they were at that terrible time through winding roads, poor choices and circumstances often beyond their control. I would have liked to have at least seen the horror on Lewis Powell's face when he realised what he'd done, all the regret and contrition he said he felt as he left the Seward house.

I thought Josh Murray gave a very solid performance in portraying the strong silent, dependable and almost relentless demeanour of Powell. Whoever played George Atzerodt looked the spit of him. Davy Herold was suitably simple and Lincoln was played really well and just how I imagine Lincoln would have been.

Overall, I thought it was great.

---

Did anyone else notice JWB's hat fly off when he galloped away from the stables?

[L Verge]

Yep, I saw the hat fly off also. As for the shaving of the mustache, a group of us had a discussion over that a few years ago. It was claimed by the Mudds that he shaved it off at their house. However, either Ruggles or Bainbridge described him having a healthy mustache on board the Port Conway ferry. I challenged Rick Smith to shave off his mustache and see how long it took to grow back to a healthy size. He wouldn't do it.

[MaddieM]

(03-03-2013 05:59 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Yep, I saw the hat fly off also. As for the shaving of the mustache, a group of us had a discussion over that a few years ago. It was claimed by the Mudds that he shaved it off at their house. However, either Ruggles or Bainbridge described him having a healthy mustache on board the Port Conway ferry. I challenged Rick Smith to shave off his mustache and see how long it took to grow back to a healthy size. He wouldn't do it.

I would think about a month or more.

[Jim Page]

Maddie is correct; a month is how long it takes, for me at least, to grow a properly filled-in mustache.

--Jim

[Jim Garrett]

(03-03-2013 07:28 AM)Matthew R Wrote:  This is my first post. I used to post on another site. I have been here a couple of weeks and decided to pull the trigger on a post.

With that said, I thought the movie was extremely well done. I admit I was a little skeptical of the Tom Hanks part but it was done beautifully. I by no means and an expert on this subject but I find it fascinating. There were several parts I was looking for the details and they were there. With me knowing just a fraction of stuff compared to most on here, we have heard the story over and over again and we know how it ends. So in knowing that we look for even the smallest of details. This movie had them.

There were a couple of parts I was unsure of, but reading through this thread it appears it was gotten right in the movie. There were also a couple of things still in question that were commented on earlier in this thread and I will not rehash.

One thing I may have missed that was not discussed was after Booth shot Lincoln it appears Lincoln's head was resting back. I thought he was slumped forward after the shot.

Parts I really enjoyed:
1. Booth going under the stage to the other side. Never really thought about it before but it must have been dark under there and I got a sense of what it must have been like in that crossing.
2. The costumes seemed very true to the period.
3. Overall setting of DC it made me feel as if i was there.
4. The little side stories, such as Booth with Asia and the letters Booth wrote

Overall it was very well done and thank Erik for a fine piece of work.

Welcome Matthew. Good to have you on board.

[DannyW]

K[/font]

(03-03-2013 07:50 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  

(12-31-1969 07:22 PM)Matthew R
313712' Wrote:  This is my first post. I used to post on another site. I have been here a couple of weeks and decided to pull the trigger on a post.

With that said, I thought the movie was extremely well done. I admit I was a little skeptical of the Tom Hanks pa[font=Times New Roman]rt but it was done beautifully. I by no means and an expert on this subject but I find it fascinating. There were several parts I was looking for the details and they were there. With me knowing just a fraction of stuff compared to most on here, we have heard the story over and over again and we know how it ends. So in knowing that we look for even the smallest of details. This movie had them.

There were a couple of parts I was unsure of, but reading through this thread it appears it was gotten right in the movie. There were also a couple of things still in question that were commented on earlier in this thread and I will not rehash.

One thing I may have missed that was not discussed was after Booth shot Lincoln it appears Lincoln's head was resting back. I thought he was slumped forward after the shot.

Parts I rFeally enjoyed:
1. Booth going under the stage to the other side. Never really thought about it before but it must have been dark under there and I got a sense of what it must have been like in that crossing.
2. The costumes seemed very true to the period.
3. Overall setting of DC it made me feel as if i was there.
4. The little side stories, such as Booth with Asia and the letters Booth wrote

Overall it was very well done and thank Erik for a fine piece of work.

Welcome Matthew. Good to have you on board.

I just saw Killing Lincoln. Not bad! One question I have seen posted or mentioned I think at some point on here is about the Booth autopsy picture. Wonder where it could be? After all Dr. Leale's report turned up as well as a copy of Lincoln's death photo in Illinois. Any thoughts? Thanks-Danny West-

[Hess1865]

(03-03-2013 06:29 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Maddie is correct; a month is how long it takes, for me at least, to grow a properly filled-in mustache.

--Jim

Same with my 'stache