New Eyewitness Account?

[kerry]

(06-03-2018 12:29 AM)Steve Wrote:  

(05-21-2018 11:38 PM)kerry Wrote:  Taft, hearing a call for a surgeon, made himself known, and was pulled up by people in the box. I am not sure if he came in before the door was unblocked, or if he just did not know how to access the door. According to a 1909 interview with Taft, "Assistant Surgeon Charles A. Dale of the navy was already in the box, and Dr. Taft says that Dale’s quick decision in having the dying president laid flat on the floor of the box prevented his expiring of syncope within the first few minutes." So I'm not sure how this fits in with the Loring story, but maybe Dale ordered Loring and Flood to help. Taft's 1865 account says when he arrived Leale and King had it under control, and several other men were present.

Kerry,
Do you have a reference or a link for this 1909 interview of Dr. Taft? Because of the similarity of pronunciation of "Dale" to "Leale" (or possibly some sloppy handwriting where the "L" and "e" were smooshed together into something that resembled a "D"), I'm assuming the surname is some sort of misprint. But the navy surgeon bit is interesting when compared to Clara Harris' affidavit.

I think you are right about 'Dale' being a misheard version of 'Leale.'

On May 11, 1909, the Lincoln Nebraska State Journal did a story on Lincoln’s death, interviewing Dr. Taft. That's where it comes from.