Assassination Trivia

[Steve Whitlock]

(01-27-2021 09:49 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  

(01-27-2021 09:27 PM)Steve Wrote:  

(01-27-2021 08:18 PM)Steve Whitlock Wrote:  Whoaaa!!! Back up the bus out of town. Lt. Bolton has some support for having been in the Lincoln box at Ford's Theatre. In the newsclip I posted for the statement of Dr. Taft, under the "BLEEDING STARTED" header, 2nd paragraph down there is mention of :

"The officer in command of the provost guard at the theater was directed to clear the room which had become speedily filled to suffocation of all except the Surgeons. This officer guarded the door until relieved later in the evening by General M.C. Meige who took charge of it the rest of the night by direction of Mr Stanton."

That officer was Lt. Bolton, according to his testimony and that of his former commander, ret Lt. Col. Asa Bird Gardiner (See pgs 133-134). Lt. Bolton in his statement does declare that he cleared the box, or tried to (see pg 136 of attached statement). However, there is a conflict with Dr. Todd in that Bolton appears to claim he carried the President over to the Peterson house and stayed. How could he do that if he was guarding the door back at the theater?

So, it appears that Bolton assisted Dr. Todd up to the Lincoln box, and then followed him up as the man identified by Clara Harris. After that the stories get muddled, but we have some corroboration for Bolton being there. That is a best guess possibility. At any rate Bolton was likely there in the box. The rest of his story needs close scrutiny.

You misread Dr. Taft's quote, he says the officer in charge of the provost guard at the theater was guarding the room with the President at Petersen House after the President was moved there:

https://archive.org/details/abrahamlinco...0/mode/2up

So there really isn't a contradiction there. As I mentioned above Gardiner's testimony is not trustworthy at all. But I do think Taft's account along with Clara Harris' affidavit description of the man wearing a VRC uniform do give some credence to Bolton's account to counter its problems.

Steve,

At least one of us (you) read the whole paragraph. Where I further confused myself was on pg 136 of Bolton's statement:

"At this point I went to the front of the box and ordered the house cleared."

He then goes on to order the president be taken across the street. Still, it seems a matter of determining what is true and what is an embellishment for Bolton, and that he was likely both in the box (if he was the one in the Clara Harris statement) and at the Peterson house (per Dr. Taft).

I, too, was put off by the 1914 date for his statement. If Gardiner is unreliable perhaps a better source for Bolton being in charge 14 Apr 1865 needs to be found. I had a listing for soldiers in the Veteran Reserve Corp because of the provenance for the blood stained piece of Mary Lincoln's chair, but that is gone with my old computer at the moment.

Steve Williams,

Here's some proof Lt. John T. (or F.) Bolton was in the 7th Reg. Veteran Reserve Corps:

NPS.govPark HomePeopleSoldiers and Sailors DatabaseSoldiers
Search For Soldiers:
Bolton, John F.
Side: Union
Location: Veteran Reserve
Battle Unit: 7th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps
Alternate Name: John T./Bolton
**********************************
John T. Bolton
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: John T. Bolton
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Veteran Reserve Corps
Regiment: 7th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps
Company: K
Rank In: Second Lieutenant
Rank Out: Second Lieutenant
Film Number: M636 roll 3/4
Other Records: Learn More about this Regiment
**************************************
John F. Bolton
in the U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
Name: John F. Bolton
Side: Union
Regiment State/Origin: Veteran Reserve Corps
Regiment: 7th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps
Company: K
Rank In: Second Lieutenant
Rank Out: Second Lieutenant
Alternate Name: John T./Bolton
Film Number: M636 roll 3/4
Other Records: Learn More about this Regiment
U.S., American Civil War Regiments, 1861-1866
Regiment: 7th Infantry Regiment U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps
Date of Organization: 10 Oct 1863
Muster Date: 25 Nov 1865
Regiment State: U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps
Regiment Type: Infantry
Regiment Number: 7th
Find Soldiers in this Regiment: U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles
*********************
That doesn't prove he was guarding Ford Theatre 14 Apr 1865, but that he was truthful in stating his outfit and rank. Also, the uniform worn by the soldiers was distinctive, but may have been changed.

Invalid Corps members stood out because of their unique uniforms. According to General Orders No. 124, issued May 15, 1863:

The following uniform has been adopted for the Invalid Corps: Jacket: Of sky-blue kersey, with dark-blue trimmings, cut like the jacket of the U.S. Cavalry, to come well down on the loins and abdomen. Trousers: Present regulation, sky-blue. Forage cap: Present regulation.

Invalid Corps troops also wore standard dark blue fatigue blouses from time to time. Standard forage caps were to be decorated with the brass infantry horn, regimental number, and company letter.

Officers also wore sky blue; a frock coat of sky-blue cloth, with dark blue velvet collar and cuffs, in all other respects according to the present pattern for officers of infantry. Shoulder straps were also to match current patterns but dark-blue velvet. Officers also wore gold epaulets on parade. Eventually officers were allowed to wear the standard dark-blue frock, ostensibly because sky-blue frocks soiled easily. Some officers had their frocks cut down to make uniforms or shell jackets. By the war's end, however, the army was still making sky-blue officers' frocks.


Invalid Corps
A great number of Civil War soldiers were disabled by weapons, disease, and accidents. Initially, the permanently disabled received medical discharges from the army, but later they remained in the service and performed noncombat duties, relieving other soldiers to fight.
In 1862 the Union army allowed chief medical officers to employ "convalescent wounded and feeble men" as nurses, cooks, and hospital attendants and subsequently to organize them into detachments. Unfortunately, these methods were inefficient, and many convalescents did not return to their combat units when well.
Therefore, in Apr. 1863 the U.S. War Department created an Invalid Corps of worthy disabled officers and men who were or had been in the army. Ridicule influenced the corps to exchange its sky blue uniform for one similar to those worn by the other soldiers. The corps formed 2 "battalions," the first for those who could bear arms and perform garrison duty and the second for the severely handicapped fit only for hospital service. Late in the war the surgeon general took command of the second battalion. Like the combat units, the Invalid Corps organized officers and men into companies and regiments.
Renamed the "Veteran Reserve Corps" 18 Mar.1864, it was abolished during summer 1866. Between 1863 and 1866 more than 60,000 individuals served in the organization and performed valuable services, including garrisoning fortifications and quelling an 1863 "Draft Riot" in New York City.
The Confederacy established an Invalid Corps in 1864, in which officers and men disabled in the line of duty had to serve if they wished to receive pay. Also, if their physical condition improved sufficiently, they had to return to their combat unit. Unlike its Union counterpart, the Confederate Invalid Corps never organized companies and regiments, but a high percentage of its officers and men did perform worthwhile duties based on their disabilities and army requirements.
(Source: Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War)