The Many Coats of Abraham Lincoln with Reignette Chilton

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre, he was wearing two coats. His outer layer was a custom greatcoat from the celebrated clothier Brooks Brothers. President Lincoln originally wore this greatcoat with the phrase “One Country, One Destiny” embroidered on the inside at his second inauguration, just a month before his murder. In 2019, researcher and author Reignette Chilton published a book called Lincoln’s Greatcoat: The Unlikely Odyssey of a Presidential Relic. In that book, Ms. Chilton documented the greatcoat’s journey from being a private possession of a White House doorkeeper’s family to a national treasure that long greeted visitors upon their entrance to Ford’s Theatre.

In January of 2026, Ms. Chilton released a new book delving into the other coat Lincoln wore on the fateful night of April 14, 1865. Beneath the elaborate Brooks Brothers greatcoat, Lincoln wore a regular suit coat, known as a frock coat. In the over 160 years since his death, three different frock coats have become associated with the tragedy at Washington. They exist in the collections of the Smithsonian, Ford’s Theatre, and the Chicago History Museum. But which is THE coat Lincoln was wearing when the fatal bullet was fired? In Lincoln’s Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic, Ms. Chilton dives deep into each frock coat and the evidence behind the claims. The journeys of these frock coats involve members of the Lincoln family, trusted White House staff, noted artists, wealthy collectors, auctioneers, lawyers, and more, as supporters of two of the coats fought bitterly to be recognized as the true assassination relic. It’s a historical mystery expertly solved through primary sources and comprehensive analysis.

I was fortunate to conduct a virtual interview with Reignette Chilton to discuss her background, research, and fascinating books, with an emphasis on the mysterious Lincoln frock coats. Reignette had so many interesting stories to share that we talked for over an hour and a half, and even then, we only scratched the surface of these relics. I hope you enjoy the interview.

If this interview has whetted your appetite for more (and I hope it has), go out and buy or borrow Lincoln’s Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic to learn which coat deserves to be called the last frock coat Lincoln ever wore.