Abraham Lincoln Was Shot While at Ford's Theatre but Died Across the Street — Here's Why
Abraham Lincoln was incredibly tall for his time. The bed he died in was so small, he had to be placed diagonally on top of it.
Mar. 25 2024, Published 2:59 p.m. ET
Abraham Lincoln; Ford's Theatre
The area where Ford's Theatre is located in Washington, D.C. is now known as the Penn Quarter. It's next to Chinatown where one can catch a Wizards or Capitals game at Capital One Arena. If that doesn't strike your fancy, simply walk across the street to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Nothing sums up a city steeped in history that still exists in modern times, quite like the ability to see the place where a president was assassinated in the same neighborhood one can eat at a Shake Shack.
Thankfully, the National Park Service maintains Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot, as well as the building directly across from it. The house itself is like any other in that area apart from a sign out front that reads "House Where Lincoln Died." It's called the Petersen House and on April 14, 1865, the body of America's sixteenth president was carried up its steps and placed in a bedroom where he would later die. What is going on with the Petersen House today? Here's what we know.
Room in the Petersen House where Abraham Lincoln died
What is the status of the Petersen House today? It has been turned into a museum.
Like the District of Columbia, the Petersen House occupies two worlds. in one, the house where Lincoln ultimately passed has been preserved and turned into a museum. According to the National Park Service, "three rooms in the house today are furnished in 1865 period pieces, none of the furniture is original to the house."
When you walk up the stairs to the room where Lincoln was brought that fateful night, you might be shocked at the size of it. Lincoln was 6 foot 4 inches and quite tall for his time. The bed in the room, which is a replica of the original, would not have been big enough for the president. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles was present and wrote in his diary, "The giant sufferer lay extended diagonally across the bed, which was not long enough for him."
Who else was at Lincoln's bedside when he died?
It's unclear how many men were with Lincoln when he died. Historians do know that seven doctors were there, including Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes and Assistant Surgeon General Charles Crane. His good friend Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was there along with one corporal. The president's secretary John Hay was on hand. Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, a staunch abolitionist, was present in the room as well. Mary Todd Lincoln was in a different room but her son Robert Todd stayed with his father. And of course Rev. Dr. Phineas Gurley was by his side.
No photographs were taken while the president lay dying and while some claim as many as 40 people were standing by him, logistically that's not possible. President Abraham Lincoln passed away at 7:22 on the morning of April 15, 1865. After his death, "his body was placed in a temporary coffin covered with an American flag and transported by hearse to the White House," per the National Library of Medicine.
His body was brought to the second floor, to the same room his son Willie died in only two years prior. This is where the autopsy took place. There were officers and civilians there, whispering amongst each other. Off "to one side, stretched upon a rough framework of boards and covered only with sheets and towels, lay—cold and immovable—what but a few hours before was the soul of a great nation," wrote army surgeon Edward Curtis in a letter to his mother. It was a grim day on the heels of a great victory.