State Box

[RJNorton]

I don't ever remember hearing any details as to Taft's entrance other than he was hoisted up. My suspicion would be Portal II only because the area around Portal I would already be congested by the victim, the wife, Dr. Leale, maybe Rathbone, and maybe Clara.

Here is a Library of Congress photo of the State Box. If it be accurate, I agree with Laurie that the area around Portal I would be very congested, and Portal II seems more logical for Dr. Taft's ascent IMO.

[RobertLC]

Thanks for the picture, Roger.

I've always thought Taft's entrance would have been portal 2 for the same reasons. Although the depth perception might not be perfect in the picture, it still illustrates how close things were there.

It also seems to me that Booth would have had to make a rather acrobatic move to get out of portal 1.

[Gene C]

Thanks for this view Roger. I can see how Booth could have easily have caught his spur on the United States flag, not quite so easily the Treasury Flag in the middle on a pole.

How soon after the assassiantion was the black and white photo of the exterior of the box taken? The next day?
The Treasury Flag is leaning slightly in front of the post dividing the box on the side of Portal I. (you may have to zoom in on the photo to notice it)

If Booth bumped the picture of Washington, then they straightened the frame for the photo. Whatever side of the frame he may have scratched would also be a big clue as to which portal he jumped out of.
If they straightened the frame for the photo, what else could they have adjusted, the flags on the railing?
IMO, if Booth went out Portal I, he likeley went between President Lincoln and Mary. He might have even brushed up against her. How tragic for her to be so close to her husband's murderer.

[L Verge]

If I remember correctly, the notch in the frame of Washington's lithograph is on the left-hand side as you look at the BACK of the frame (the direction from which Booth was coming. That would be consistent with Booth's right spur kicking it as he went over the balustrade from Portal I. It would also be consistent with the same spur making contact with the Treasury flag.

Rathbone rushing at Booth would, in my opinion, keep the assassin pretty much confined to the area around Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln, forcing him to jump from Portal I. If he jumped from Portal II, his right leg would swing towards the American flag at the far end of Box 8 and not be even close to the Washington picture.

[J. Beckert]

I believe those flags in the Brady photo were borrowed as the original ones had disappeared by then. The notch cut into the engraving is on the Lincoln's side of the box. It is clearly visible today from the outside of the back of box.

Brady's photo was a staged one. I think, as Ferguson stated, on the 14th., the Treasury Guards flag was not on a pole, but displayed completely opened under the engraving and Booth's spur snagged it as he dropped.

---

If you stop this at 1:13, there's a close up of the nick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grx1ORG4Fl0

[Hess1865]

When I lived in Connecticut I drove up to Hartford to see the CT Historical Society's exhibit of the flag.
Impressive!
I even bought a t-shirt with a pic of the flag on it

[L Verge]

The LOC photo is misleading, or else I'm not seeing things correctly. Isn't there a chair missing where Miss Harris sat next to Mrs. Lincoln? Wasn't the settee further into Box 8?

[RobertLC]

Laurie,

I can't speak to the chair, but do you think the perspective could be slightly skewed because of the camera lens? It seems to be very close.

[Cliff Roberts]

I've always had a problem with the accuracy of the modern reconstruction of the theater boxes. Having not been able to visit the theater in person, this is based solely on the appearance of the box interior as shown in present-day photographs like the one above. Historians had no design plans for the original theater to work from, relying instead on period photographs and drawings. The most reliable was a scale drawing which was used at the conspiracy trial. But even this did not record exact measurements. Comparing photos of the interior of the restored box with views taken from the stage in 1865, it seems to me the original combination-box was wider across the front. The box interior looks so cramped in modern views, it seems almost impossible you could comfortably seat four adults, then add Booth squeezing between Mrs. Lincoln and the center post, then the doctors and others known to have entered the box, all being careful not to step on the President laying full-length on the floor. Also, I've seen the chairs and sofa used by Harris and Rathbone positioned differently in various views of the modern box. Is it known for certain whether Miss Harris was seated next to the center post with Maj. Rathbone on her right (as I've always believed), or was Rathbone seated, at the end of the sofa, next to the post, with Miss Harris on his right, as suggested in this photo? And why was Rathbone seated on the sofa when there was a fourth chair available?

[RJNorton]

Cliff, Mike Kauffman writes, "Mr. Lincoln's rocking chair was tucked back into the corner, where he was largely hidden from the audience by a flag. His wife sat beside him, and Miss Harris took a large armchair at the far side of the box. Major Rathbone was seated on a sofa almost behind his fiancée." So if Mike is correct then Clara Harris was seated in front of Rathbone (i.e. closer to the railing) and to his right.

I couldn't agree more with Cliff when he says that the box appears cramped (in modern views). If these modern views are anywhere near accurate it sure makes me wonder if everyone (such as Laura Keene with her hoop skirt), whom most writers have claimed entered the box after the shot, were really ever there.

[L Verge]

I would disagree that Miss Harris was seated in an armchair. Hoop-skirted ladies of the day did not sit in armchairs because the arms caused their hoops problems. Armchairs of the day were actually termed "gentlemen's chairs;" ladies sat on straightbacks (often matching pieces to the gentlemen's chairs, but without arms and termed "ladies' chairs") or on settees and the like. It would be interesting to see what the original seat of Miss Harris was.

Likewise, for some reason, I have always pictured Clara in Box 8 close to the center pillar with the settee near the far wall of that box and slanted so that it pretty much followed the wall, but with the far end positioned close to Clara so that Henry could sit close to her.
Does anyone know whether or not the settee was a standard feature of that area or whether it was brought in the occasion?

I also re-read Ferguson's account yesterday, and he describes Lincoln's position as being almost completely out of view of the audience and also mentions the lace curtains which surrounded the boxes to help obstruct the view. Ferguson also repeats twice that Booth's spur caught in the folds of an American flag draped over the box. It sounds more like he's referring to the bunting over the balustrade.

[RobertLC]

Major Rathbone testified that his back was to the door when Booth entered. So maybe to get a better view of the play the sofa was pulled away from the wall. If he was sitting at an angle on the sofa, it would have improved his view.

Amazing, even with the play taking place, that Booth could have entered that quietly.

[L Verge]

I was finally able to locate Miss Harris's chair in the photo posted above. It is at the farthest end of the balustrade in Box 8 and 3/4 obscured by the settee. And, I was right that it is an upholstered ladies' chair without arms. With this arrangement, however, it would seem more likely that Clara sat on the settee in order to be a companion for Mrs. Lincoln and to have room for her skirts, and Rathbone likely sat on the chair.

[RobertLC]

Laurie,

Ferguson testified: “The President sat in the left-hand corner of the box, and Miss Harris in the right-hand corner. Mrs. Lincoln sat to the right of the President, as I am sitting here. Then the gentleman in citizen’s clothes, whom I learned afterwards was Major Rathbone, sat back almost in the corner of the box.”

That would place Rathbone on the sofa with his back to the door if the sofa was angled as it is in the picture that was posted earlier. It is certainly possible that they switched seats at the show progressed, but Ferguson's description would fit pretty well with what Rathbone said.

[RJNorton]

When I lived in Connecticut I drove up to Hartford to see the CT Historical Society's exhibit of the flag.
Impressive!
I even bought a t-shirt with a pic of the flag on it

Several years ago Mr. Hess sent me a photo of the shirt he purchased. Here is what it looks like: