TIL Abraham Lincoln’s sole guard at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865 was an unreliable cop who walked to the saloon next door to get drunk during the fateful play. Ironically, John Wilkes Booth was at the same saloon working up courage before walking next door to assassinate the unguarded President.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/?page=1



Submitted April 15, 2015 at 12:33AM by VCULax http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/32lfzd/til_abraham_lincolns_sole_guard_at_fords_theater/