Lincoln's Last Battleground: A Tragic Night Recalled

by Robert T. Bain

On an unsuspecting night in April of 1865, the world would be changed forever. Our president, while sitting with his wife, was assassinated inside Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. by a man named John Wilkes Booth. The events that followed changed the lives of so many people both of that time and the present day. I think all historians agree that a gambit of emotions were experienced that evening. Some of anger, some of distress, some of sorrow like never experienced before. Several accounts have been written about that night and the events that unfolded but out of this chaos and panic there would be several fateful, far reaching consequences. My name is Robert T. Bain and this is the story of my ancestors, William and Anna Petersen. They owned the house where President Lincoln died. It has been known for over a hundred years as the Petersen Boarding House. William Petersen was born in Hanover, Germany in 1816. Anna was born in Hesse Cassel, Germany. They both arrived on the ship "Europa"at the port of Baltimore on June 23rd,1841. William was listed on the passenger list as being 25 years of age and a tailor by profession. Anna was listed as age 23. They applied for naturalization papers in Washington, D.C. and in 1846 became citizens of the United States. As it was with most immigrants, I'm sure, all they wanted from life was to raise a family where they would feel safe and know that their children, with hard work, could carve out a life for themselves that would continue for generations to come. However, a terrible war and an infamous assassin would turn that dream into a nightmare..

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2005

Reviews

[Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book - pamphlet really - runs 62 pages. It is more about the Petersen home and family and the assassination/death of Lincoln than about Lincoln.

Nonetheless it is very interesting.

There is a good deal of detail about Lincoln's last hours and the amount of blood he lost along with the many sheets, pillow cases and so forth that were used during those last 9 hours.

The Petersen family had their lives dumped upside down from that night forward. They have been lost to history for the most part.

1/1/26 updated:

This is a short pamphlet type book let that was written by a descendet of the Petersen family who owned the house in which Lincoln died on that fateful night.

One of the first things that stands out to me is the description of how much blood Lincoln lost in those last hours. In all other descriptions the loss of blood is minimal and actually seeping, rather than ran. In this book there is much description of the often changing of bedding due to blood, cloths, pillowcases, and other items that were used to wipe up the blook and then tossed rather unceremoniously into the hall outside the bedroom in which Lincoln lay dying.

But that is not the actual reason for the booklet being written.

Rather, it is to present how this impacted that family, the house and for generations that followed. Souvenir hunters began immediately collecting bloody items left in the hallway, they all were fair game to the public. They even tore pieces of wallpaper off and cut out parts of the rug in the room. Gruesome, actually. Just where all those items that were taken – are today – is a mystery.

It reminded me of the window on the 6th floor school book depository – in Dallas - where souvenir hunters had cut and chipped pieces f the window frame from where the fatal shots were fired at Kennedy.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short story of the Petersen family who opened their door to one of the greatest tragedies in American history. Well worth the read.