An interesting article has been published in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology by Drs. Theodore N. Pappas, Sven Swanson, and Michael M. Baden from the Department of Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine. The authors attempted to come to a conclusion about an oddly debated detail of Lincoln’s assassination: the path the bullet took inside Abraham Lincoln’s skull.
In the journal article, the doctors discussed the contradictory evidence that exists regarding the path Booth’s bullet took as it was fired into Lincoln’s brain. This debate is not a new one, as fellow MDs and late Lincoln researchers John K. Lattimer (whose diagram is shown above), Blaine Houmes, and E. Lawrence Abel each wrote about this topic.
What makes this new journal article unique is the way in which Drs. Pappas, Swanson, and Baden, were granted access to the Presidential Box to re-stage the assassination based on eyewitness accounts. They attempted to simulate the circumstances surrounding the assassination to get a better idea of the path the bullet may have taken. I’m happy to see Ford’s Theatre allowing this scientific exploration, even though the process involved a somewhat eerie floating skull over the reproduction Lincoln Rocker.
I won’t spoil the doctors’ findings here. Instead, I encourage you all to read the article for yourself. As far as scientific journal articles go, this one is very easy to digest. Click here or on the following title to read their article on The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology‘s website:
I’m grateful to these doctors and the ones who came before them for using their expertise to help further our understanding of this key event in American history.
LincolnConspirators.com 
From what I’ve read the pistol ball came to rest behind Lincoln’s right eye! There was bruising, and discoloration! Booth would have had to be standing directly behind him for the shot to go behind his left eye, Booth by the accounts I have read was at an angle after he bared the door! Unless the door was directly behind Lincoln! I might change my mind if I could see the position of the door!
Thanks for this, Dave. I am convinced now that the bullet came to rest in the left portion of Lincoln’s brain. I first became interested in Lincoln’s assassination through reading Kunhardt and Kunhardt’s “Twenty Days.” That book followed Taft and Barnes’s view. I have never been able to understand any “right-left” controversy. This clears it up.
My understanding was left to right based on what I had read previously, but that forensic analysis is thorough and it has convinced me of its conclusion!
I think the doctors did a great job explaining their process and I agree with their findings as well. The one very minor issue I have is based on the picture of the floating skull. My issue is that the paper never explained how they came to determine the correct height in which to place the skull. You see I have a replica of the Lincoln Rocker. I sit in it pretty regularly. The seat of the Lincoln rocker is very low down to the ground. When I sit in the rocker, I don’t feel my head is is high as is shown in the picture. However, I am only 6′ 1″ while Lincoln was 6′ 4″. In addition, I know that most of my height is from my legs and that my torso isn’t all that long. So perhaps the positioning of the skull is correct, but I would have liked more explanation as to the steps that went into deciding the correct height. But, that doesn’t change my overall opinion of the study.
Thanks, Dave. That reminds me of something else that I read some time ago, which was Lincoln’s height was mostly due to the length of his legs and his torso wasn’t that long. Thus, he didn’t appear to be very tall when he was sitting down. For that reason, the height of the demonstration skull may be questionable.
Dave,
Very interesting. Thank you for posting. I had concluded based on Clara’s statement that Booth entered door 8. I also felt he could not physically have entered through 7, One mopre puzzle solved.
Ed
Dr. Steers,
I 100% agree with your conclusion regarding which door Booth used to enter the box. Both Clara and Henry state that the door to box 8 was open and, as you note, the position of the Lincoln rocker would have made things very difficult for Booth if he attempted to enter Box 7.
I hope all is well with you.
Dave
I rewatched the Discovery Channel documentary on the “lost” Lincoln deathbed photograph today for something I am writing on mythical photographs related to the conspiracy. (Needless to say I am not convinced) They had Booth using the door to box 7 and I got to wondering if this forensic article puts the dispute over the photograph to rest.
Hey Dave, two questions: Do you believe Withers’ account of his stabbing? Also, when Booth struck Peanut, why didn’t he just stab him too? Thanks.
Contrary to his name, William Withers’ story only grew more elaborate with each telling. As a result, it is very hard to trust some of his later accounts of his run-in with Booth. I believe that Booth swiped at him as he attempted to get past the orchestra leader, but you have to take all of Withers’ accounts with a grain of salt.
In terms of why he just hit Peanuts with the butt of his knife and/or kicked him rather than slashing at him, your guess is as good as mine. I’m under the belief that he had no malice towards Peanut John and merely wanted to get him away, rather than actually wounding him.
Rather interesting that he’d strike two white men with his knife that night, but give the black kid the “easier” treatment. And isn’t it the ultimate irony that a black teen was (duped into) holding Booth’s mare.
Dave, how long do you think it took to evacuate the theater after the shooting? That must have been difficult, esp. without power.
All evidence points to the idea that Peanut John was white, not Black. His real name was Joseph Burroughs and he gave a statement to investigators on April 15. He also testified at the trial of the conspirators on May 16. Due to racial prejudices at the time, Black witnesses were identified as “colored” in their statements and in the trial transcripts. This identifier was never used for Peanuts. In addition, he spoke of having shared a drink at the nearby saloon with Booth and other Ford’s Theatre employees, something that would likely not have been possible if he had been Black.
I’m not sure how long it took to clear out Ford’s Theatre. I think the shock of the event and the desire of the audience to see what was happening in the box would have slowed down the process. But there were gas lamps in the theater that were already lit when the assassination occurred so I doubt there was much issue with people seeing.
Dave, who were the guys who arrived first in the box after the shooting? The men pushing on the door when it was wedged shut. Was Forbes one of them? Are their names lost to history?
The names of the four young soldiers who carried Lincoln down the stairs and across the street ARE known. However, the men who were “pounding” on the door, we’ll never know who they were. We DO know Rathbone was able to remove the doorstop to allow them entry. The mens’ identity, is anyone’s guess.
The soldiers were Jacob Soles and Jabez (?) Griffith, and two others. But I don’t know if they were the first ones to penetrate the box. Anyone on this blog have this info?
Forbes had to be one of the first in. How could he not be? He was seated right outside. It would be interesting if there was a catalog of the men who first saw Lincoln after the shot.
Besides those already in the Box, Forbes would be first to view the unconscious president, I would think. One question to add is, how large was the Box? In some depictions, it is cavernous; in others it is barely the size of a closet.