Tragedy Strikes: The Assassination
In the course of his duties in the White House, Hay also developed a close relationship with Robert Todd Lincoln, just a few years his junior. The two were at the White House together on the evening when Lincoln was shot, and rushed to Lincoln’s side at the Petersen house, where they spent the night awaiting Lincoln’s death.
In the wake of the assassination, public hunger arose for biographies of the now-martyred President. Nicolay and Hay, still grieving themselves, avowed they were not yet ready to begin their own work, but nevertheless established themselves as stout defenders of Lincoln and his legacy. In this, they were supported by Robert Todd Lincoln, who supplied them with access to the bulk of his father’s papers as a contribution toward their own project.
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(photograph of an original print, reduced in size and date unknown).
Pendel was White House Doorkeeper at the time of Lincoln’s assassination. Here, he recounts conveying the news of the events at Ford’s Theatre to Robert Todd Lincoln and John Hay, who remained at the White House that evening, including details of their reactions to the tragic news.
The standing figure at the head of the deathbed is Robert Todd Lincoln; Hay, who remained with Lincoln during his final hours, is the younger of the two seated figures at his left.
Early in 1866, historian George N. Bancroft (a Democrat) was asked by Congress to deliver a special eulogy on Lincoln. Hay objected vociferously to Bancroft’s characterization of Lincoln, as indicated in a letter to William Henry Herndon, shown below.
“I consider Lincoln Republicanism incarnate – with all its faults and all its virtues. As in spite of some Evidences, Republicanism is the sole hope of a sick world, so Lincoln with all his foibles, is the greatest Character since Christ.”