Lincoln's wound

[STS Lincolnite]

(01-11-2015 06:28 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  In describing the events of the night Henry Rathbone stated, "The President seated himself in this chair, and except that he once left the chair for the purpose of putting on his overcoat, remained so seated until he was shot."

Thanks Jim and Roger! I did not know this. I love the fact that I learn something here every day! Can I assume Lincoln got his "overcoat" because he was cold? I do seem to remember reading one time that he also had a blanket that covered his legs while he was watching the play...I don't know if that is true either. If it is, what happened to the blanket?

I think Jim brings up a very interesting point about the potential for larger amounts of blood from the wound (then maybe has been previously considered) on the great coat. I concur that "blood relics" were very popular and it would make sense that areas of the coat with blood on it would have been the most prized of souvenirs and quickly removed (for those who did that kind of thing). Of course, as a history lover, I am appalled. A fully intact great coat, worn at the time Lincoln was shot, could potentially have taught us more about that evening. Was Lincoln's great coat removed before he was lowered to the floor or was it removed once he was on the floor or was it removed at the Peterson house? If there was a lot of blood on the great coat, maybe the alleged Lincoln blood on Laura Keene's dress was transferred from the great coat.

It should be noted that even minor scalp wounds bleed profusely due to the dense capillary network present in the scalp (as anyone who has gotten a minor bump and cut to their head can attest). Knowing this and having experienced it (and had to deal with clinically in a sports environment many times) I always wondered why more blood from Lincoln's wound was not reported. It may be that there was a copious amount of blood from the piercing of the scalp initially and that, like Leale said, the deeper wound clotted and bled little by the time he got to the President. Perhaps Blaine Houmes could chime in on this.