Henry Rathbone
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Henry Reed Rathbone (July 1, 1837 – August 14, 1911) was a United States
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
officer and lawyer who was present at the
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
; Rathbone and his fiancée
Clara Harris Clara Hamilton Harris (September 9, 1834 – December 25, 1883) was an American socialite. She and her then fiancé, and future husband, Henry Rathbone, were the guests of President Abraham Lincoln the night he was shot at Ford's Theat ...
were sitting with Lincoln and Lincoln's wife
Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Birth name, née Todd; December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy ...
when the president was shot by
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
at
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...
. When Rathbone attempted to apprehend Booth, Booth stabbed and seriously wounded him. Rathbone may have played a part in Booth's leg injury. His mental state deteriorated afterwards, and in 1883, he killed his wife, Clara; he was declared insane and lived the rest of his life in a
lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...
.


Early life and family

Rathbone was born in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, one of four children of Jared L. Rathbone, a merchant and wealthy businessman who later became the first elected
Mayor of Albany In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
, and Pauline Rathbone (née Penney). Upon his father's death in 1845, Rathbone inherited $200,000 (the equivalent of $8,415,763.16 as of 2025). His widowed mother married
Ira Harris Ira Harris (May 31, 1802December 2, 1875) was an American jurist and senator from New York. He was also a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Life Ira Harris was born in Charleston, New York on May 31, 1802. He grew up on a farm, and graduated from Unio ...
in 1848. Harris would later be appointed
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
after
William H. Seward William Henry Seward (; May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States senator. A determined opp ...
became Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State in 1861. As a result of the marriage, Ira Harris became Rathbone's
stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a biologically unrelated male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. In fiction Thou ...
. Harris was a widower with four children of his own, including a daughter named Clara, who became Rathbone's stepsister when the two were approximately ages 11 and 14. Despite being step-siblings, they formed a close friendship and later fell in love, becoming engaged shortly before the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. The couple married on July 11, 1867, and had three children: Henry Riggs (born February 12, 1870), who later became a U.S. Congressman; Gerald Lawrence (born August 26, 1871); and Clara Pauline (born September 15, 1872).


Legal and military career

Rathbone studied law at
Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
, where he was known to miss many classes, and worked in a law partnership in Albany. In 1858, he entered the New York National Guard, where he worked as a judge advocate. Shortly after this, he was selected to be sent to Europe as an observer during the Second Italian War for Independence. He entered the Union Army at the start of the American Civil War and served as a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in the 12th Infantry Regiment at the
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...
and the
Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...
. In 1863, he was pulled from frontline duty and given a desk job. By the war's end, he had attained the rank of
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. When he resigned from the military in 1870, Rathbone had risen to the rank of brevet
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
.


Lincoln assassination

On April 14, 1865, Rathbone and Harris accepted an invitation from President Lincoln and First Lady
Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Birth name, née Todd; December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy ...
to see a play at
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...
. Rathbone and Harris had been friends with the president and his wife for some time and were invited after
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
and his wife, Julia, and several others had declined the invitation. During the play, noted stage actor
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
entered the presidential box and shot President Lincoln in the back of the head with a pistol. Rathbone heard the shot and turned to see Booth standing in gunsmoke less than four feet behind Lincoln; Booth shouted something that Rathbone thought was "Freedom!" Rathbone immediately leapt from his seat and grabbed Booth. Rathbone was horrified at the anger on Booth's face, as Booth wrestled himself away, dropped the pistol and drew a
dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...
, and attempted to stab Rathbone in the chest. Rathbone parried the blow by raising his arms and Booth slashed Rathbone's left arm from the elbow to his shoulder. Although wounded, Rathbone recovered and grabbed onto Booth's coat, as Booth prepared to jump from the box, causing Booth to lose balance as he leapt to the stage, possibly breaking his leg, though some historians have suggested that the injury did not occur until later. As Booth landed on the stage, Rathbone cried out, "Stop that man!" Audience member Joseph B. Stewart climbed over the
orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...
and footlights and pursued Booth across the stage, repeating Rathbone's cry of "Stop that man!" several times. Booth escaped and remained at large for twelve days. Rathbone assessed the President as unconscious and mortally wounded. He rushed to the door of the box for the purpose of calling medical aid. Rathbone testified that it was "barred by a heavy piece of plank, one end of which was secured in the wall, and the other resting against the door. It had been so securely fastened that it required considerable force to remove it. This wedge or bar was about four feet from the floor. Persons upon the outside were beating against the door for the purpose of entering. I removed the bar, and the door was opened. Several persons, who represented themselves as surgeons, were allowed to enter. I saw there Colonel Crawford, and requested him to prevent other persons from entering the box. I then returned to the box, and found the surgeons examining the President's person. They had not yet discovered the wound. As soon as it was discovered, it was determined to remove him from the theater." As Lincoln was carried out, Rathbone escorted Mary Lincoln to the
Petersen House The Petersen House is a 19th-century Federal architecture, federal style row house in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 516 10th Street NW, several blocks east of the White House. It is known for being the house where President o ...
across the street, where the president was taken. Rathbone said that upon "reaching the head of the stairs, I requested Major Potter to aid me in assisting Mrs. Lincoln across the street to the house where the President was being conveyed." Shortly thereafter, Rathbone passed out due to blood loss. Harris arrived soon after and held Rathbone's head in her lap while he lay semiconscious. When surgeon Charles Leale, who had been attending Lincoln, finally examined Rathbone, it was realized that his wound was more serious than initially thought. Booth had cut him nearly to the bone and severed an artery. Rathbone was taken home while Harris remained with Mary Lincoln as the president lay in a comatose state over the next nine hours before he died on the morning of April 15.


Later life and death

Although Rathbone's physical wounds healed, his mental state deteriorated in the years following Lincoln's death as he anguished over his perceived inability to thwart the assassination. After his resignation from the military in 1870, Rathbone struggled to find and keep a job due to his mental instability. He became convinced that Harris was unfaithful and resented the attention she paid their children. He reportedly threatened her on several occasions after suspecting that she was going to divorce him and take the children. During this time, he made multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain a position as a United States
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
, before eventually being offered the appointment as Consul to Hanover by President Chester A. Arthur. Rathbone and his family relocated to Germany, where his mental health continued to decline. On December 23, 1883, he attacked his children in a fit of madness. He fatally shot and stabbed his wife, who was attempting to protect the children. He stabbed himself five times in the chest in an attempted suicide. He was charged with murder, but was declared insane by doctors after he blamed the murder on an intruder. He was convicted and committed to an asylum for the criminally insane in
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
, Germany. The couple's children were sent to live with their uncle, William Harris, in the United States. Rathbone spent the rest of his life in the asylum. On August 31, 1910, it was reported that he was "near death". He died on August 14, 1911, and was buried next to his wife at the Stadtfriedhof Engesohde cemetery in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. In 1952, the Rathbones' remains were disinterred and their remains disposed of in accordance with the German cemetery's policies, i.e. the couple's surviving family lived overseas and could not regularly tend their graves.


Portrayals

* Earl Schenck (1924) '' The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln'' * Lloyd Whitlock (1936) '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' * Steve Darrell (1955) '' Prince of Players'' * John Cooler (1977) '' The Lincoln Conspiracy'' * Sean Baldwin (1998) '' The Day Lincoln Was Shot'' * Andy Martin (2010) '' The Conspirator'' * Joseph Carlson (2013) ''
Killing Lincoln ''Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever'' is a book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard concerning the 1865 assassination of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. The book was released on September 27, 2011, and is t ...
'' His experience at the Lincoln assassination and the murder of Clara Harris are covered in the non-fiction book ''Worst Seat in the House: Henry Rathbone's Front Row View of the Lincoln Assassination'' by Caleb Stephens. Rathbone and Harris are also the subjects of ''Henry and Clara'' (1994, published by Ticknor & Fields), a historical fiction novel by Thomas Mallon.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, Henry R. 1837 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American murderers American people imprisoned in Germany Burials in Lower Saxony Deaths in mental institutions People acquitted by reason of insanity People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln Military personnel from Albany, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War People convicted of murder by Germany Union army officers Union College (New York) alumni Lawyers from Albany, New York Uxoricides 19th-century American diplomats American lawyers with disabilities