Changes

Lincoln failed to get the Grants to the theater; they declined his invitation.  Lincoln then went to Stanton, asking for Major [[Thomas Eckert]], a burly man who could provide a reasonable amount of protection in a fight, but he declined as well, citing work which needed to be done.  Finally, Lincoln invited a young couple engaged to be married, Major Henry R. Rathbone and Clara Harris, the daughter of a [[New York]] senator.

Lincoln failed to get the Grants to the theater; they declined his invitation.  Lincoln then went to Stanton, asking for Major [[Thomas Eckert]], a burly man who could provide a reasonable amount of protection in a fight, but he declined as well, citing work which needed to be done.  Finally, Lincoln invited a young couple engaged to be married, Major Henry R. Rathbone and Clara Harris, the daughter of a [[New York]] senator.

Ford’s Theater that night was holding a performance of ''Our American Cousin'', a comedy starring [[Laura Keene]] as a British dowager who believes that a visiting country bumpkin (played by [[Harry Hawk]]) is a millionaire.  Good Friday was usually a slow night for the theater, but the cast, excited that they would entertain the president, prepared to entertain a full house (TL 26, pg. 73).  The play was already in progress when the president arrived, and stopped when Lincoln was seen; the performers and audience rose and gave a standing ovation while the orchestra played “[[Hail to the Chief]]”.  Inside their box, decorated that night with flags by the son of the theater’s owner, they were seated.  Lincoln in a [[rocking chair]] on the far left, Mary in a chair next to him, and Major Rathbone and his fiancée on a small sofa to their right.  Guarding the box was to have been John F. Parker, a White House bodyguard and member of the Metropolitan Police.  Although there when the Lincolns arrived, he soon left his post, apparently intending to find a better seat to observe the play.  Parker’s act of dereliction of duty, added to a record of similar occurrences as well as drunkenness on duty, would prove beneficial to Booth.

Ford’s Theater that night was holding a performance of ''Our American Cousin'', a comedy starring [[Laura Keene]] as a British [[dowager]] who believes that a visiting country bumpkin (played by [[Harry Hawk]]) is a millionaire.  Good Friday was usually a slow night for the theater, but the cast, excited that they would entertain the president, prepared to entertain a full house (TL 26, pg. 73).  The play was already in progress when the president arrived, and stopped when Lincoln was seen; the performers and audience rose and gave a standing ovation while the orchestra played “[[Hail to the Chief]]”.  Inside their box, decorated that night with flags by the son of the theater’s owner, they were seated.  Lincoln in a [[rocking chair]] on the far left, Mary in a chair next to him, and Major Rathbone and his fiancée on a small sofa to their right.  Guarding the box was to have been John F. Parker, a White House bodyguard and member of the Metropolitan Police.  Although there when the Lincolns arrived, he soon left his post, apparently intending to find a better seat to observe the play.  Parker’s act of dereliction of duty, added to a record of similar occurrences as well as drunkenness on duty, would prove beneficial to Booth.

After a few drinks at Taltavul’s Star Saloon, Booth entered Ford’s Theater from the front and walked up the stairs behind the dress circle towards the president’s box.  Entering the first door, he slipped a wooden beam (which he had brought and hidden earlier in the day) under the door knob to prevent it from being opened, crept to the second door, and peered through a small hole, looking at the back of the chair Lincoln was sitting in.  He then opened it, and pulled out a single-shot Derringer pistol and a large dagger.

After a few drinks at Taltavul’s Star Saloon, Booth entered Ford’s Theater from the front and walked up the stairs behind the dress circle towards the president’s box.  Entering the first door, he slipped a wooden beam (which he had brought and hidden earlier in the day) under the door knob to prevent it from being opened, crept to the second door, and peered through a small hole, looking at the back of the chair Lincoln was sitting in.  He then opened it, and pulled out a single-shot Derringer pistol and a large dagger.