Booths gun

[J. Beckert]

Given the small size of the box and Lincoln's proximity to the door, I'd bet it was almost a contact wound. Booth was very familiar and skilled with firearms. I don't think he'd let anything but a few inches come between himself and his intention to achieve his goal.

[ReignetteC]

No model number, no serial number. Since each Henry Deringer (one 'r') pistol was handmade, each had its own variations. Even the bullet mold had to be made specifically to match the barrel for each pistol. I've seen some Deringers that were very close to Booth's pistol but never one that was completely identical.

Thank you for noting the "one r" in deringer. Why is it that it's currently spelled with two r's?

[LincolnMan]

Do we have any other information about Booth's gun-where he purchased it? How long he owned? Also, were there accessories to the weapon found-ramrod, cleaning supplies, ect?

[Dave Taylor]

During Dr. Blaine Houmes presentation at the 2011 Surratt Conference, he concluded that Booth shot Lincoln at a distance of between 3" to 1'. It was not a contact wound as there was enough distance between the gun and Lincoln's head for smoke to emerge.

[LincolnMan]

A "contact wound" meaning the barrell was physically touching Lincoln's head?

[Bill Richter]

Ok, at the risk of being run out of town by y'all, in Rick Stelnick's manuscript version of Dixie Reckoning, pp. 29-30, Booth obtained his deringer from an acquaintance, Philip Henson, a southern born, later Union spy, in 1860 when Booth and Matthew Canning were presenting plays in Alabama, just before they were run out of the state. Booth was not a secessionist at the time (see my Last Confederate Heroes, or Sic Semper Tyrannis, for Booth's transformation from a Union man in 1860 to a secessionist late in the war in 1864 to an assassin by 1865) and was threatened with assault by a secessionist mob. After the incident, Henson, a new friend, handed Booth a deringer for protection. The pistol was one of a pair owned by Henson. He cites the Henson papers owned by a relative. Booth kept it thereafter and used it to kill Lincoln. I am sure this will not fly with most of my fellow bloggers, but you pays your money and you takes your choice.

[J. Beckert]

I've heard the Henson story and it's as reasonable as any other.

A contact wound would be where the muzzle was pressed into the flesh, Bill (Nash). There would be evidence of this, such as a powder burn. It wasn't a contact wound Lincoln suffered, but I'm sure Booth knew the limitations of that extremely short barrel and was quite close.

[Jim Garrett]

There is a good "brain trust" on Roger's site!!!

[L Verge]

Bill beat me to the punch with Stelnick's manuscript (that's the one that I was sworn to confidentiality with after reading- as I have mentioned previously). Since he's let the cat out of the bag, I feel free to jump in.

Dixie Reckoning is highly detailed and needs a good editor to make sense out of its convoluted grammar, but if the author would ever make his sources available to anyone to verify his conclusions, it could very well set the assassination scholars on their ears. I have stopped holding my breath, however, as to when it will be published. Stelnick and I think on the same wave length as far as Judah Benjamin's involvement. He also makes ties to the New York crowd.

There is also a variation of the Henson story: Philip Henson watched Booth narrowly escape the vengeance of an irate husband, and that's when the deringer gift was given. Since deringers were considered dueling pistols and were sold as a pair, there is a question as to where the second gun is today.

[Jim Page]

That Henson story sounds perfectly plausible and I've always heard that those Henry Deringer pistols were often sold in pairs.

Very interesting!

--Jim

[L Verge]

In response to Reignette's inquiry as to where the extra "r" in the pistols' name came from, I have thought that it is a misspelling of Deringer's name by other manufacturers who were quick to jump on his idea of pocket pistols.

[J. Beckert]

A side note- John Dillinger's name is correctly pronounced Dill- ling - ger - with a hard G. The media pronounced it Dill- in- jer. JD liked the media's take on his name because it sounded like Deringer. J. Edgar Hoover can be found in news reels pronouncing it correctly

[Bill Richter]

I noticed my spell checker wanted to use 2 "r's"

[LincolnMan]

That Henson story sounds perfectly plausible and I've always heard that those Henry Deringer pistols were often sold in pairs.

Very interesting!

--Jim

Well, there was a second pistol found.

[Bill Richter]

There was an article in, I believe Am Heritage, that said so, but if Booth's pistol came from Henson, it was no match. Mike Kauffman and I discussed this years ago and he dismissed the second pistol theory, for what it is worth as my testimony counts as hearsay.