Just Trivia

[RJNorton]

Yes, Gene! Indeed it was the plainclothes police officer who was a bodyguard to the President. Perhaps William H. Crook is most known for his reminiscence that Lincoln said "Goodbye, Crook" rather than the normal "Good night, Crook" as the President departed for the theater on April 14, 1865. Crook recalled: "It was the first time that he neglected to say 'Good Night' to me and it was the only time that he ever said 'Good-bye'. I thought of it at that moment and, a few hours later, when the news flashed over Washington that he had been shot, his last words were so burned into my being that they can never be forgotten."

(I will note that some historians feel Crook's memories fall more into the myth category than fact category.)