The Wandering Disciple

Following the assassination of President Lincoln, the Petersen House across the street from Ford's Theatre became the heart of the nation.  The front parlor was the waiting room for Mary Todd Lincoln and family.  The front bedroom was the temporary seat of government where the county was run and the manhunt was overseen.  Then in the back bedroom was where Lincoln was being attended to and would eventually take his last breath.  (Photo: February 14, 2009)

This parlor at the Petersen House became the seat of the US government in the hours following the shooting of President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. It is from this room that Secretary of War Edward Stanton ran the country while Almarin Cooley Richards of the Metropolitan Police Department conducted the investigation of the shooting. All just steps away from where the dying president was being treated. (Photo: February 14, 2009)

On April 15, 1865, the Peterson House, a row house in Washington DC went from being the home of a German tailor William Peterson to being a prominent spot in American history.  It is in the bedroom of this house where President Abraham Lincoln passed away following his assassination.  Fearing the wounded president wouldn't make it back to the White House, he was ushered into the house located directly across the street from Ford's Theater.  The house became busy with activity, doctors attended to Lincoln in the back bedroom while Edward Stanton help run the country from the parlor.  Today the three rooms of the Peterson House used during this time can be toured for free as part of the Ford's Theatre historic site.  (Photo: February 14, 2009)

Washington, DC: Across the street from Ford’s Theatre is the Peterson Boarding House. The Peterson House will always have a place in history as being the house where Lincoln died following the presidential assassination in 1865. Built by William Petersen in 1849, the boarding home entered the national spotlight following the assassination of President Lincoln. It was within the walls of this home where the president took his last breaths. Following the shooting at Ford’s Theatre, doctors feared the President was too weak to survive the trip back to the White House. Boarder Henry Safford directed the attendants into the boarding house and the President was placed in a second floor bedroom. The house quickly filled with political powers of the Lincoln cabinet. The boarding house became the center of the country. Mary Lincoln and family grieved in the front parlor while Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and other members of the cabinet conducted the investigation and ran the country f...