Clara Harris's Bloody Dress

[J. Beckert]

It is an interesting blog and they certainly do their homework, but they're rather rough on the Gourlay family and very rude towards a member of this forum with regards to the Pike County Lincoln flag. I remember alerting Rich Smyth to this controversy, but he can better address that himself and I'm sure it's covered in his and Jim's next book.

The Laura Keene in the box issue was kicked around here before and one of the things that makes it so confusing is the Clara Harris/ Dr. Leale accounts being polar opposites. Even though Leale's account is from 44 years later, he was not an old man at that time. Some of our Victorian era etiquette experts here (She Rebels), speculated that Clara may have denied Keene was in the box out of respect to Mrs. Lincoln. Maybe Keene was allowed to hold Lincoln's head as he was carried to the street? I believe Seaton Munroe saw her bloodied before she'd left the theater.