Ford's Theatre, Washington D.C.
The Night Lincoln Was Shot
April 14, 1865. A theatre. A presidential box. A single shot. And a 160-year cover-up that Paul Mellen's research finally unravels.
Ford's Theatre in 1865
Ford's Theatre was one of Washington D.C.'s premier entertainment venues in 1865, located at 511 10th Street NW. It had opened in its current form in 1863 after owner John T. Ford converted a former Baptist church into a 1,700-seat theatre. The building was well known to John Wilkes Booth, who had performed there multiple times and moved freely through its backstage areas. On the night of April 14, 1865, the theatre was hosting a performance of the popular comedy 'Our American Cousin,' starring Laura Keene. The announcement that President Lincoln would attend had boosted ticket sales significantly.
The Presidential Box
Lincoln's party occupied the State Box — actually two boxes combined into one — on the upper right side of the theatre, draped in American flags and bunting for the occasion. The box was accessible from the dress circle level via a narrow corridor and a single door. A second door opened directly into the box itself. The box had no lock that functioned properly that night — a fact that has been noted by historians for over a century. Lincoln sat in a rocking chair at the left rear of the box, partially obscured from the audience's view. His wife Mary sat beside him; Major Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris occupied the other chairs.
The Official Account of the Shooting
According to the official account, John Wilkes Booth entered the theatre at approximately 9:30 p.m. and made his way to the dress circle. At approximately 10:15 p.m., during a particularly loud moment in the play, Booth entered the corridor leading to the presidential box, braced the outer door shut with a wooden bar he had prepared in advance, and entered the box. He fired a single-shot .44 caliber Philadelphia Deringer into the back of Lincoln's head at close range. Major Rathbone attempted to restrain Booth; Booth slashed him with a knife. Booth then leapt from the box to the stage — a drop of approximately eleven feet — catching his spur on the bunting and breaking his left fibula. He shouted 'Sic semper tyrannis!' and escaped through the back of the theatre on horseback.
What Paul Mellen's Research Reveals
Paul Mellen's research does not dispute that a shot was fired in Lincoln's box at Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14, 1865. What it challenges is who fired that shot. Mellen's evidence — drawn from primary source documents at the National Archives, Canadian government records, and British historical files — places a second man in Lincoln's box that night: John Surratt, the Confederate spy and Union double agent who Mellen identifies as the actual gunman. In Mellen's account, Booth's dramatic leap to the stage was not the act of a shooter fleeing the scene — it was a calculated theatrical distraction, designed to draw every eye in the theatre away from the box and toward the stage, giving Surratt time to exit through a different route.
The Aftermath Inside the Theatre
The chaos that followed the shot was immediate and total. Audience members screamed and surged toward the stage. Mary Lincoln's cries filled the theatre. Major Rathbone, bleeding from the knife wound to his arm, called for help. Several doctors in the audience rushed to the box. Lincoln was found unconscious, the bullet lodged behind his right eye. He was carried from the theatre and across 10th Street to the Petersen House, a boarding house directly opposite. He never regained consciousness. He died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865, with members of his cabinet and his son Robert at his bedside. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, standing in the room, reportedly said: 'Now he belongs to the ages.'
Ford's Theatre Today
Ford's Theatre was closed by the U.S. government immediately after the assassination and remained closed for over a century. It was used as a government office building and later as a storage facility. In 1968, it was restored and reopened as a working theatre and National Historic Site. Today it operates as both a museum and an active performance venue, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The presidential box has been restored to its April 14, 1865 appearance, with the same flags, bunting, and rocking chair. The Petersen House across the street, where Lincoln died, is also preserved and open to visitors.
What really happened inside Lincoln's presidential box? The evidence points to a second man — and a 160-year cover-up.
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What Really Happened in That Box
The official account of what happened inside Lincoln's presidential box at Ford's Theatre has stood for 160 years. Paul Mellen's fully illustrated book presents the evidence that challenges it — naming the real shooter and tracing the cover-up that followed.
Order the Book NowWhat Really Happened at Ford's Theatre?
Paul Mellen's investigation reveals a second assassin in the balcony box that night. Fully illustrated, as featured on Fox Nation.
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