EP. 163: The DISTURBING Story Of Henry Rathbone & Clara Harris, The Other Two Lincoln Assassination Victims
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He's the most terrifying serial killer you've never heard of. Haddon Clark has confessed to several murders, but investigators say he could have over 100 victims. At the center of the mayhem, a cellmate of Haddon's that was able to get key evidence into Haddon's murder spree across America,

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On the evening of Friday, April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, had arrived at the Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. That night, hundreds of people filled the theater to watch a special comedy called Our American Cousin. For hours, laughter filled the room as everyone was blissfully unaware of the tragedy that lingered ahead.

Towards the end of that night, a man named John Wilkes Booth entered the theater with a gun in hand and an overwhelming determination to murder America's president. Soon enough, the sound of gunfire interrupted the beautiful evening. And when the smoke cleared, President Lincoln was slumped in his chair, bleeding from his head wound. But you probably already know the story of Lincoln's assassination.

After all, we learn about it in school growing up. So the story we have for you today is not about Abraham Lincoln. It's about his good friends, a couple named Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. Clara and Henry were not only in the theater that night, but they were in Box 8 where Lincoln was murdered.

They saw firsthand what happened on that tragic evening. And following Lincoln's death, Henry would never quite be the same. In fact, after the tragedy, his mental state would slowly deteriorate. And in the end, Lincoln's good friend, Henry Rathbone, would commit a heinous act against his own family.

So this is the story of Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. ♪♪

Henry Reid Rathbone was born on July 1st, 1837 to a wealthy family in Albany, New York. His father, Jared, was a politician and a successful businessman. By the time Henry was born, his father owned and operated a general merchandising business and a wholesale grocery store. Now, the name Rathbone was well known and respected throughout Albany. And on January 21st, 1839, when Henry was just one years old, his father was appointed mayor of the city.

a position he would hold for the next couple of years. After serving as mayor, Jared Rathbone would continue to be a prominent member of the city and went on to become president of the Albany Medical School, director of the State Bank of Albany, and director of the Albany Insurance Company. So, as you can see, they were a powerful family. It was all Henry Rathbone ever knew. And throughout his life, he would become acquainted with the successful businessmen and politicians in Albany.

Jared and Pauline doted on Henry, especially after their first child, Charles, died at the age of two. Charles' death was devastating for their family. So when Henry came around, they vowed to always protect him. They knew that life was fragile, so they wanted their son to have all of the opportunities in the world.

But the structure of their family would soon change. On September 28th, 1844, when Henry was seven years old, Pauline gave birth to another boy that they would name Jared Jr. Now it's suspected that Henry didn't like having to share his parents' attention. Throughout his life, he was known to be the jealous type.

which likely all started with the birth of his brother. Not only were his parents doting on Jared Jr., but his little brother was also named after his father. So there was some competition there growing up. And with Henry being the oldest of the family, there was a lot of pressure for him to continue the Rathbone legacy, which really came into play on May 13th, 1945,

when Henry's father, Jared, passed away. Jared Rathbone was only 54 years old when he came down with a serious illness and inflammation in his lungs. And after his death, eight-year-old Henry was now the man of the house. Before, he didn't have many responsibilities. He was used to a life of luxury with servants waiting on him hand and foot. So being unexpectedly thrust into this new role wasn't easy.

But one thing that really helped with the grief was the money Henry inherited from his father's death. It was reported that he received $200,000 from his father's estate, which today is around $6.3 million. So even though the Rathbones were devastated and they had more responsibilities, they were definitely taken care of. And it wouldn't be long until Pauline would find another husband.

After Jared's death, Pauline would meet a local politician named Ira Harris, and the two shared a lot in common. They both came from money, and they both recently suffered a significant loss. Interestingly enough, Ira lost his wife Louisa just five days after Pauline lost Jared, so they bonded through their grief.

Pauline also really valued how hardworking Ira was. He was charismatic, honest, likable. And on July 1st, 1848, the two decided to get married.

For the first time since their spouses died, Pauline and Ira were happy again. But they also had to navigate blending their families together. Ira had four children, three daughters and a son. So following their marriage, Ira and his children moved into Pauline's estate. And together, there were now six kids in the home. Strangely enough,

two of them would end up getting married. Pauline's oldest son, Henry, would end up marrying Ira's oldest daughter, Clara. So essentially they were step-siblings turned husband and wife.

Now, Clara was born on September 9th, 1834. So, by the time her dad married Pauline Rathbone, she was just 13 years old, while Henry was 11. After the two families merged, Ira and Pauline instructed the children to treat each other as siblings, but Pauline would tell Clara to "think of Henry as your cousin." However, in the beginning, Clara and Henry didn't really get along. She just thought of him as her annoying younger stepbrother. But together, they were again a powerful family.

At the time, Ira Harris was a New York State Supreme Court judge, and he was highly respected within his community. People described him as confident and decisive. He also made a lot of money, which was nice because soon enough, their family would grow. In 1850, Ira and Pauline gave birth to another daughter that they would also name Pauline. Their home on Eagle Street was buzzing with the energy of the children, so Ira and Pauline hired four live-in Irish servants to tend to their every need.

And the child that gave them the most trouble was Henry Rathbone, Pauline's oldest son. It was reported that he wasn't happy about his mother remarrying. He and his stepdad didn't necessarily get along, so he often acted out. But not long after their youngest sibling was born, both Henry and Clara would leave home to attend school. Henry went to Marlborough Churchill's Military School in Ossining, New York, and

a 120-mile trip from albany and at 16 years old in 1854 henry began his university career at union college a college that his stepdad ira had also attended he pursued a bachelor of arts degree and joined the sigma 5 fraternity but based on his college records henry didn't take school as seriously as he should have the record stated that he frequently missed recitations and even more frequently prayers

During his college years, Henry lived on campus in the North College Dormitory, and in 1857, after three years, he graduated. From there, Henry continued his education and decided to pursue a law degree.

which was perfect for him because he had a lot of lawyers in his family. In fact, his step-uncle, Hamilton Harris, was a respected and prominent attorney in New York. So, Henry approached him one day and asked for some advice. According to Stevens, Hamilton was taken aback at Henry's desire to study law. After all, Henry was extremely wealthy after he inherited his late father's estate. He technically didn't have to work since he was pretty much set for life, but he wanted to.

Henry Rathbone had a desire to make something of himself, which was admirable. And in 1859, he would obtain that law degree. However, Henry was also a bit indecisive. After getting his law degree instead of using it, he decided to travel around Europe for a bit. In the meantime, he also went back to college and got a Master of Arts degree.

It seems as if during this time, Henry was experimenting like many people do in their early 20s. After all, he had the money to try out whatever he wanted. And interestingly enough, after all those years in school, Henry didn't put his law degree to use or use his master's degree for that matter. Instead, he decided to join the National Guard.

In 1859, Henry traveled to Europe and his mission there was to observe European military tactics. But the following year in 1860, big things were happening here in America. A new presidential election was right around the corner and a man named Abraham Lincoln was a candidate for the Republican party. But the South was not a big fan of Lincoln.

They feared that he was going to end the institution of slavery. And they were so opposed to him being president, they even threatened secession if he won. So on March 4th, 1861, when Lincoln did win, they made due on their promise. That day, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas all seceded from the Union.

So with the political division going on in the United States, Henry Rathbone decided to come back to America and enlisted into the 12th US Infantry as captain. Henry's stepdad Ira Harris was also making moves on his own in New York. By 1861, he was New York Senator.

In that year, Ira and his family decided to pick up and move to Washington, D.C. Their new home was located on the corner of H and 15th Street, only a few blocks away from the White House. Ira's new connections in Washington allowed the Harrises and Rathbones to develop a close relationship with the rich and powerful political figures during the time, including the Lincoln family.

Soon enough, their family became close with both Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd. Ira always visited President Lincoln.

So much so, there was this inside joke at the White House that the president had to look under his bed every night to make sure Ira wasn't hiding there. Mary Todd Lincoln wrote in a letter to Charles Sumner on March 23rd, 1865, and in it, she described her relationship with Ira, saying, quote, Judge Harris called last evening to say farewell.

He has been so kind, a friend that I am quite attached to, as if he were a relative."

The Harris and Rathbone families were now in Lincoln's powerful circle of friends, and they often joined him at social events, including parties and theater outings. Life was really good for their family. And to make matters even better, Pauline's oldest son Henry was about to move to Washington, D.C. after he joined the Army of Potomac.

For the time being, it was nice having Henry around more often. But after a while, Clara Harris realized that he was still the same old Henry she used to know. By then, the step-siblings got along better than they used to, but Henry was still a little on the mean side. So when Henry and the 12th Infantry received word that they were going to Virginia in what would be his first combat experience, Clara was happy. She hoped that this military career would purge him of all the aggression he has inside. But that wouldn't be the case.

Henry would continue to be aggressive throughout his life, and the war likely added to it. On April 5th, 1862, Major General George B. McClellan wanted to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. And over the series of a few months between March to July 1862, Henry and his 12th Infantry fought in the siege of Yorktown.

it was just the beginning of the brutality that henry would witness during his time in the civil war the siege of yorktown was followed by the seven day battles that started on june 25th and ended on july 1st 1862 the casualties on both sides were enormous there were thousands of dead and wounded soldiers on both sides and soon enough the reality of this gruesome and bloody war was felt across the country

A woman in Richmond wrote: "Death held a carnival in our city. The weather was excessively hot. It was midsummer. Gangrene and erysipelas attacked the wounded, and those might have been cured of their wounds were cut down by their diseases." In September 1862, Henry joined General McClellan in Maryland, just in time for the Battle of Antietam, the deadliest and bloodiest one-day battle in American history.

That's 22,717 people being killed, wounded, or having gone missing in one single day.

despite the high number of casualties president abraham lincoln believed that the battle of antietam was successful enough to issue his emancipation proclamation which declared that all persons held as slaves in the rebelling states were now free this also allowed black soldiers to join the union army and from then on the union would continue to fight their way through the confederate states

Henry Rathbone managed to survive these bloody battles, but he lost a lot of friends during them. And the last battle he would fight would be the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. Like the ones before it, this battle was extremely violent and deadly with an estimated 18,500 casualties. It was also a loss for the Union as they lost about 12,500 men.

But following this, Henry decided to go back to Washington DC, where he worked a desk job for the military governor. Now, he obviously got this job through his stepfather's connections, and it was definitely a lot better than fighting on the front lines. After all, the weight of the war became too much for Henry to bear, both mentally and physically.

According to a report, Dr. Pope Henry's physician documented the toll the war had on his body. It read, quote, "His bodily health, never robust, suffered impairments from fever in 1862."

Henry also got sick during the winter of 1863 and he remained ill for several months. So during his time home while recovering, he spent a lot of time with his older stepsister, Clara. By then, Clara Harris was 29 years old.

She was still unwed, but she had really established a life for herself in Washington, D.C. Clara was often seen out socializing with powerful couples, and she was well-liked within her community. Henry got to like her more as well. In fact, after spending more time with her, he even started to grow feelings for his stepsister. And I guess it wasn't weird to do back then.

Because even though they were respected members of society, no one seemed to bat an eye when Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris started dating. Clara would later say that she had a crush on Henry since she was a little girl, so she was very happy that his feelings were reciprocated. But soon after Henry and Clara became lovers, he was sent back out to war.

In April of 1864, Henry Rathbone became the personal attendant to General Ambrose Burnside. They fought many bloody battles together. On August 1st, 1864, Henry even attained the rank of Major for his bravery within these battles.

Then, one month later, in September 1864, Henry received special orders from President Lincoln to go to the prison in Rock Island, Illinois. While there, he was to convert the Confederate prisoners of war to Union soldiers. By October of that year, Henry had completed the mission and came back to Lincoln with a list of men who were willing to convert.

And Lincoln specifically ordered Henry to supervise the new soldiers to make sure they were up for the task. So as you can see, Henry Rathbone and Abraham Lincoln were closely acquainted. And after this mission, he was finally sent back to Washington D.C. to be with his lover, Clara Harris.

This time around, Henry was given the job of commissary for the General Bureau. He was tasked with handling the money for enrolling soldiers and drafting. Things were going really well for Major Henry Rathbone. He now had a secure, high-paying career in the military, he was good friends with President Lincoln, and he and Clara were engaged to be married.

Then, as a cherry on top, on April 9th, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant. Finally, the brutal Civil War was coming to an end, and after four violent years, the Union won. After the war was over, Henry and Clara were finally able to spend a lot of time together. Clara no longer had to worry about Henry dying at battle somewhere. For now, he was home with her.

and she was happy. While Henry was busy with his career, Clara maintained her social status around the highly influential political figures. She and Mary Todd Lincoln had grown very close over the years, which was perfect because their husbands were good friends as well. Now, two days after the Civil War ended, Clara and Henry were invited to watch President Lincoln's speech at the White House.

And as they listened, they couldn't help but feel so proud

of the union's victory. In fact, Clara would later write to a friend about this event saying, quote, "He spoke from the center window of the executive mansion. I had been invited to pass the evening there and stood at the window of the adjoining room with Ms. Lincoln, watching the crowd below as they listened and cheered. After the speech was over, we went into Mr. Lincoln's room. He was lying on the sofa quite exhausted.

But he talked of the events of the past fortnight, of his visit to Richmond, of the enthusiasm everywhere felt through the country, and Miss Lincoln declared the past few days to have been the happiest of her life.

"Their prospects indeed seemed fair, "peace dawning upon our land "and four years of a happy and honored rule "before one of the gentlest, best "and loveliest men I ever knew. "I never saw him out of temper, "the kindest husband, the tenderest father, "the truest friend, as well as the wisest statesman." End quote. It surely was a happy day in Washington, DC

But unbeknownst to everyone there listening to Lincoln's speech, evil was lurking in the shadows. In that crowd was a man named John Wilkes Booth. He had come there to listen to Lincoln talk about reconstruction efforts after the war and how black men and veterans should have the right to vote.

But John Wilkes Booth had very different political views. As he listened to Lincoln's speech, he became filled with rage. Meanwhile, almost everyone else in the crowd was very pleased with what Lincoln had to say. And John Wilkes Booth would even note, quote, "That is the last speech he will ever make." And from that moment forward, Booth began planning an assassination against the President of the United States.

as a little background on john wilkes booth he was born on may 10 1838 in maryland to successful actor junius brutus booth a british shakespearean actor his mother marianne holmes had been junius's mistress both junius and marianne were english immigrants and went on to have 10 children although

Although John excelled in extracurricular activities and athletics during his childhood, he didn't really show an interest in education. By the time he finished school, he followed in his father's footsteps and became an actor. But it was obvious that John suffered from emotional instability. His brother Edwin was also an actor, and John was extremely jealous of his success.

But even so, John had this overwhelming and inflated sense of self-worth. He truly believed that he was destined for greatness, not only on the stage, but also in the political arena. He made his acting debut in 1855 at the young age of 17 at the Charles Street Theater in Baltimore. And while there, he proved himself to be a passionate Shakespearean performer.

Not only was John attractive and charismatic, but he also had this captivating stage presence that earned him recognition across the United States. However, even though he was successful, John's erratic behavior would become a continuous problem for him throughout his life. He had always been a very outspoken supporter of the South. John believed that slavery was a fundamental right and necessity.

so when president lincoln wanted to free slaves he obviously wasn't very happy he also thought that the only way the south could be restored is if lincoln were to be assassinated so with these political beliefs along with john wilkes booth's desire to be famous he was determined to kill abraham lincoln so that he could be a hero for the confederacy which brings us to april 14 1865.

The Civil War had just ended the week prior. So to celebrate, President Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, decided that they were going to attend a show at Ford's Theater called "My American Cousin." The performance was a comedy.

which was much needed after four years of violence and chaos felt throughout the country. The Lincolns also invited their good friends, Clara Harris and her fiance, Major Henry Rathbone. So that evening, Clara got dressed in her nicest clothes and was so excited for the night ahead. Soon enough, the president's carriage pulled up to their home to pick them up. Clara and Henry stepped outside, got into the carriage,

And from there, they all made their way to Ford's theater. Clara would later say in a letter to her friend, quote, we four composed the party that evening. They drove to our door in the gayest spirits, chatting on the way. And the president was received with the greatest enthusiasm. But interestingly enough, Clara and Henry weren't the first guests that President Lincoln invited that evening.

They had actually invited union leader Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia, but they decided to decline the offer because they were visiting their children in New Jersey. Yet even though they weren't attending, the newspapers got word that President Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant would be watching the play that night, and they ran stories about it, which isn't a great idea when there are people out there planning an assassination.

But clearly at the time, they didn't know that. So together, Clara and Henry, along with Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd, arrived at Ford's Theater. Upon seeing the president's carriage, a crowd gathered out front as everyone wanted a glance at America's president. A policeman named John Parker stood by the main entrance waiting for the president, and he waved pedestrians by so they wouldn't crowd him.

That same officer had been in charge of checking the president's room where he would be watching the play. Earlier that day, he made sure everything was clear and that the president would be safe. So far, everything was running smoothly without incident. Lincoln's valet, a man named Charles Forbes, stepped down and one by one, he helped the president and his guests onto the platform, making sure the women's dresses didn't drag in the mud.

Up ahead, the ticket taker, Mr. John M. Buckingham, said that he was starstruck upon seeing the president. He even bowed to Lincoln as he let him inside. Now, by the time the president arrived at Ford's Theater, Act One was already being played. In the upper right-hand corner of the room was the State Box, where the president was set to watch the play.

But as of now, it was empty. And everyone down in the audience that evening knew that President Lincoln was supposed to be there. So throughout the play, everyone kept wondering where he was. They would glance upwards, hoping to see the president sitting in his chair. And finally, at around 8.30 p.m., the door to the state box finally opened and President Lincoln took his seat.

Upon seeing him, people in the theater stood up and applauded. The actress on stage, Laura Nee, even paused her performance so she could clap too. Professor Withers, who stood at the front of the orchestra, lifted his baton and the band started playing "Hail to the Chief" as the foursome took their seats inside Box 8. So, as you can see, Lincoln's presence was heavily anticipated. It changed the energy inside of that theater.

Once the song finished, the play continued, while President Lincoln, Mary Todd, Clara, and Henry all got comfortable in their seats. Lincoln's valet, Charles, sat behind him, and he whispered in the President's ear that he had brought a shawl just in case he got cold. But the President whispered back that he was fine.

Then after that, Charles left the room to go sit outside with the coachman. Now, John Parker, the policeman that was there that day, was supposed to be Lincoln's bodyguard that night. And for the time being, he stood in the corridor and watched the audience for any signs of a threat. By now, the play was well underway. It was a full house, and everything seemed to be going well.

but around 9 pm john parker decided to stand up and walk outside i guess he assumed that there was no threat inside the theater and that lincoln would be okay so he went outside and asked lincoln's valet charles forbes if he wanted to grab a drink at the nearby tavern and surprisingly they do leaving president lincoln with no security

Back in the theater, 1,675 people were enjoying the comedy, including President Lincoln and his guests. At one point during Act 1, Henry Rathbone had taken Clara's hand. It was a romantic gesture, and seconds later, the president grabbed his wife's hand. And together, they continued to watch the play, laughing along with the audience.

But this night of fun and laughter would soon take a dark turn. Little did anyone know, hours before the play even started, John Wilkes Booth had been at that theater perfecting his plan to assassinate the president. Driven by his vigorous support of Southern beliefs and his hatred towards Lincoln, Booth was willing to do anything to kill him. And this wasn't his first attempt.

The year prior in 1864, Booth and some of his friends had met up in Washington DC with a plan to kidnap the president.

However, after multiple failed attempts, Booth realized that this plan wasn't going to work. He had to come up with another way to kill the president. Then, as luck would have it, Booth was reading the newspaper one day and read that President Lincoln would be watching the play at Ford's Theater on April 14th. It was the perfect plan. Booth was a theater guy, and here he could assassinate the president on his own turf.

In preparation for that day, Booth arrived at the theater at about 6:00 PM and he tampered with the door leading into the state box where Lincoln would be watching the play. Over the next few hours, patrons would fill the theater seats.

And soon enough, the play began. At around 8.30, Lincoln, Mary Todd, Clara, and Henry arrived and took their seats. And by 9.30 p.m., John Wilkes Booth was finishing up his whiskey at the tavern next door. Once he finished, he made his way back to Ford's Theater on horseback.

Inside, our American cousin was now into act three. And inside the state box, President Lincoln leaned over and told Mary Todd that he had a chill. Mary suggested that he put on the shawl that was left for him, but he refused. And instead he put on his black coat.

At that same time, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater through the main entrance. He listened to the lines being spoken on stage and patiently waited. He then walked towards the ticket taker, John Birmingham. The two conversed for a few minutes and Booth mentioned that he liked to go inside to see the show. And since they were already in act three, Mr. Birmingham let him in for free

saying, quote, "courtesy of the house." However, he could have never known that the man he just let in had a gun and a determination to murder the president. It was now around 10:00 p.m. and the play was coming to an end. But down below where the audience sat was a man named James Ferguson and his neighbor's young daughter.

Throughout the play, the two kept looking up at the state box to catch a glimpse of President Lincoln. James didn't even really want to see the play. He just wanted to see Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant in person, the two most powerful men in the United States, after the victory of the North during the Civil War. However, James was disappointed when he sat down and noticed that he couldn't get a clear view of President Lincoln.

At one point, the president had leaned over to look at the orchestra below and James nudged the young girl to direct her attention to the state box. And there he was, the President of the United States. The two were in awe. For the remainder of the evening, James kept looking up, hoping to get more glimpses of the president. But instead, at around 10:00 PM, he saw a figure emerge and walk down the right-hand aisle of the dress circle.

He hoped it was Ulysses S. Grant, but as he squinted his eyes, he was disappointed to see that it was only the actor, John Wilkes Booth.

Booth approached the state box a bit earlier than anticipated, but luckily for him, Lincoln's bodyguard was gone. There was no one guarding the room. So from here, he quietly opened the door that he had rigged earlier that day. When he peeked into box eight, he could see Lincoln sitting on the high back rocking chair.

and his booth slipped into the room, he was relieved that the audience's laughter drowned out any noise he made coming in. Everything was going according to plan. And for a second, he just sat in the back of that room, listening to the actors on stage.

Booth knew this play very well. And in a few seconds, two of the actors would leave the stage and Henry Hawk would recite the words, quote, "Don't know the manners of good society, eh?" That was Booth's cue to assassinate the president. For a brief moment, Booth anticipated his next move with a rush of adrenaline. His heart was pumping as he gripped onto his 44 caliber gun.

Then the actor spoke those words he had been waiting for. Booth approached Lincoln standing to the left of him. He then slowly raised his gun

And as the crowd erupted in laughter, he pulled the trigger. The laughter seemed to have muffled the gunshot, so the crowd below still had no idea what was happening. But for Mary Todd, Clara, Henry, and the people in the room with Lincoln, they began to panic. At first, they didn't know what happened, but when the gun smoke cleared,

they saw President Lincoln slumped in his chair with a gunshot wound to his head.

After seeing the president was shot, Major Henry Rathbone spun around in his seat to see John Wilkes Booth standing there with a smoking gun. Booth then looked at everyone in the box and shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis!" Which is a Latin phase which translates "thus always to tyrants." Which, in colloquial terms, means that tyrannical leaders will inevitably always be overthrown.

this phrase has commonly been attributed to none other than marcus junius brutus one of the men who assassinated julius caesar and there are some strange connections that you can explore there with john wilkes booth's father being named junius brutus with john wilkes booth assassinating a powerful political figure just like marcus junius brutus assassinated a political figure in his day caesar

and it also should be noted that after timothy mcveigh was pulled over in his vehicle after bombing the alfred p mira building in oklahoma city he was wearing a t-shirt which had abraham lincoln's face on it and the words sick semper tyrannis so this phrase carries a lot of weight and it's important that we kind of examine what it means but anyways back to the shooting

At that point, Major Henry Rathbone had spun around, and there John Wilkes Booth was with his smoking gun. After screaming that phrase, Henry stood up and attempted to grab Booth. He would later say, "I instantly sprang toward him and seized him. He wrestled himself from my grasp and made a violent thrust at my breast with a large knife. I parried the blow by striking it up and received a wound several inches deep in my left arm, below the elbow and shoulder."

but despite being wounded from a horrific stab wound to his arm henry continued to struggle with booth but he managed to get away as soon as he was able to free himself from henry's grip booth jumped over the ledge of box 8 and dropped 12 feet to the stage below

During the fall, Booth's bootspur got tangled in the Treasury Regiment flag that hung from the balcony, and he ended up snapping his ankle bone. But with adrenaline still coursing through his body, he managed to get up and run, even with that injury. Henry, who was still up above, quickly shouted to the crowd, "Stop that man!" But the audience was frozen in confusion. Was this a part of the act?

One audience member, a man named Frederick Sawyer said: "The confusion was great the moment the pistol was fired, and my first thought was that there was a side scene of the play. Instantly, I remembered that there was nothing of this sort in the play, but by that time I had recovered my thoughts sufficiently to realize that such was not the case. The man had disappeared."

By the time the audience realized what was happening, John Wilkes Booth had already made his way out of the theater to his horse that was waiting outside. And somehow he was able to get away. So now all they could do inside of the theater was tend to President Lincoln. Mary Todd was absolutely distraught inside box eight. She was screaming, trying to hold her husband upright in his chair.

one man in the orchestra stood up and shouted, "For God's sake, what is it? What happened?"

Clara Harris peeked over the side of the balcony to the man below and shouted, "He has shot the president." The audience was mortified as many screamed, "No, no." People scrambled throughout the theater, trampling over one another. Some even fainted and it wasn't looking good for the president. Ever since the gun smoke cleared, Lincoln hadn't moved at all. Henry Rathbone noted, quote,

His position was not changed. His head was slightly bent forward and his eyes were closed. They all knew deep down that the president was likely dead, but their next course of action was getting medical aid. So from here, Henry ran throughout the theater with his bleeding arm, asking if there were any doctors that could help, but he didn't wanna just let anyone inside.

only those who, quote, presented themselves as surgeons. The man soon emerged from the crowd and introduced himself as Dr. Charles Leal,

an army surgeon. Dr. Leal would later say that when he entered box eight, quote, "The ladies were very much excited. Mr. Lincoln was seated in a high backed armchair with his head leading towards his right side supported by Mrs. Lincoln, who was weeping bitterly. Ms. Harris was near her left and behind the president." End quote. Dr. Leal assessed the president, but things didn't look promising.

He found him, quote, in a state of general paralysis. His eyes were closed and he was in a profoundly comatose condition while his breathing was intermittent and exceedingly strenuous, end quote. From here, Dr. Leal and the other four men carried Lincoln's body from the theater to a house across the street, the Peterson Boarding House, located at 453 10th Street.

They all placed his body on a small bed in one of the rooms, but Lincoln was so tall they had to lay him down diagonally. Now while the doctors worked tirelessly on Lincoln, Henry Rathbone started to feel faint. His knife wound was bleeding profusely and he was turning pale. Clara Harris quickly grabbed a handkerchief and attempted to bandage her fiancé's wound.

After a few moments, her dress was completely soaked in blood. But Henry didn't even care about his own wound. All he cared about was the president's condition. In fact, when one of the men inside of the house asked if he was okay,

Henry responded that, quote, "It was only a mere trifle," end quote. - From here, Henry was taken by carriage to Senator Ira Harris's home, his stepfather. Once there, Dr. G.W. Pope arrived to dress his wound.

he noticed that it was a deep narrow dagger thrust clean through the inner part of the upper left arm close to the armpit penetrating the biceps muscle and grazing the bone it came within about one-third of an inch of what is called in surgical language the brachial artery and deep basilica vein henry had no idea how serious his injury was he had narrowly escaped death in fact dr pope said that if he wasn't attended to he would have bled out in five minutes

But again, Henry didn't seem to care. As the doctor worked on him, he kept shouting out, "The president is shot! Assassinated! He will die! God in heaven save him! What will become of our country? Oh poor, poor dear Lincoln, our beloved president!"

And Henry was right. President Abraham Lincoln would die. The bullet had entered behind his left ear and lodged in the center of his brain. And at 7:22 that next morning on Saturday, April 15th, 1865, President Lincoln would pass away.

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was at Lincoln's bedside the moment he died, got on his knees and said, "Now he belongs to the ages." Henry Rathbone would end up surviving his injury, but he would spend the next few days in excruciating pain. Soon enough, the news of Lincoln's assassination spread quickly throughout the United States. Some Americans were devastated.

while many in the South celebrated. But as for Henry Rathbone, he would never quite be the same after Lincoln's death. For days afterwards, he laid in bed replaying that tragic evening over and over. Every time he closed his eyes, he had flashbacks of the gunshot, the smell of smoke,

the screams, the blood, and of Lincoln's dead body. It was horrific, and there was nothing he could do that would make it stop. Henry also felt an overwhelming amount of guilt that he didn't stop the gunmen before it was too late. But everyone handles grief differently. Henry was in a deep depression and couldn't get himself out of bed. But his fiancee Clara Harris went into investigative mode.

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That's simply safe with an I dot com slash in America. There's no safe like simply safe. And now let's get back to our story. On Sunday, April 16th, Clara joined her father, Ira Harris, Supreme Court Judge A.B. Olin, and a few others as they went back to Ford's Theater to look for clues. The group discovered that there was a small hole in box seven, the room next door, and it appeared to have been carved by a knife. They

They also found that the wall on the opposite side of the door had a square hole cut in the wall, just big enough to let in a bar. Once John Wilkes Booth had learned that President Lincoln was going to be in attendance at Ford's Theater, he had arrived and tampered with the door and wall. There was a wooden plank that had been used to bar the door shut so that no one could enter from the outside. The hole in the door was carved out by Booth so he could peek through to spy on the President and his friends.

However, after he killed the president, Booth had escaped, and still no one knew where he was. On Monday, April 17th, both Henry and Clara met with Judge Olin and gave their official statements as to what they had witnessed, and their stories matched perfectly. Meanwhile, investigators were still on the hunt for the assassin, and every home in Washington, D.C. was being searched. There was also a $100,000 reward for any information on his whereabouts.

President Abraham Lincoln's funeral was held on Wednesday, April 19th in the East Room of the White House. A news article stated, "A placid smile rests upon his features, and the deceased seems to be in a calm sleep. White flowers have been placed upon the pillow and over the breast." Henry and Clara were not present at the funeral.

most likely due to Henry's wound. But around this same time, Clara posed for a portrait for a well-known Civil War photographer named Matthew Brady. In this portrait, she wore the same bloody dress that she had been wearing on the night of Lincoln's assassination. It was reported that Clara could not bring herself to wash it or get rid of it.

The white satin dress was now covered in bloodstains. It was a night she would never forget. She ended up bringing the dress to her family's vacation home in New York. And inside of her bedroom closet, she hung it up. On April 25th, Clara wrote a letter to her friend that detailed her thoughts after the assassination.

It read, quote, My dear Mary, I received your kind note last week and should have answered it before, but I haven't really felt as though I could settle myself quietly, even to the performance of such a slight duty as that. Henry has been suffering a great deal with his arm.

but is now doing very well. The knife went from the elbow nearly to the shoulder, inside cutting an artery, nerves and veins. He bled so profusely as to make him very weak. My whole clothing as I sat in the box was saturated with blood and my hands and face. You may imagine what a scene. Poor Miss Lincoln all through that dreadful night would look at me with horror

and scream, "Oh, my husband's blood, my dear husband's blood," which it was not, though I didn't know it at the time. The president's wound did not bleed externally at all. The brain was instantly suffused. When I sat down to write, I did not intend alluding to these fearful events at all, but I really cannot fix my mind on anything else, though I try my best to think of them as little as possible. I cannot sleep.

and really feel wretchedly, only to think that Fiend is still at large. There was a report here yesterday that every house in the District of Columbia was to be searched today. I hoped it was true, as the impression seems to be gaining around that Booth is hidden in Washington.

If not that a terrible thought, Mr. Andrew Johnson is present living in Dr. Hooper's house opposite of us. A guard is walking the street in front constantly. It'll probably be two or three weeks before Mrs. Lincoln will be able to make arrangements for leaving.

She has not left her bed since she returned to the White House that morning. We expect to be able to leave next week for New York, but on what day, it would be impossible yet to say. I will write you in time, however, so that I shall be sure to see you while there. Please give my love to all the family and believe me, very truly yours, Clara H." End quote.

The next day, on Wednesday, April 26th, investigators found John Wilkes Booth hidden inside a tobacco barn at Garrett's Farm in Virginia. He had successfully traveled nearly 90 miles through Maryland and into Caroline County, Virginia. He had been hiding in the woods throughout the journey, all while reading newspapers about his assassination. Booth was obsessed with the news articles about Lincoln's death.

He finally felt like a star. And to some people, he was. When investigators finally located Booth in the tobacco barn, they tried to draw him out by setting the structure on fire, but it didn't work. Instead, he was killed by a gunshot wound to his neck by a man named Boston Corbett, a Union Army sergeant. After he was shot, Booth reportedly said, "Tell mother I die for my country."

But those wouldn't be his last words. In fact, Booth lived for several hours after he was shot in excruciating pain. And towards the end, he even begged investigators to put him out of his misery, screaming, Kill me! Kill me! But they wouldn't.

John Wilkes Booth slowly bled out and finally died around 7:00 AM that next morning. Afterwards, investigators were able to locate a journey that Booth had kept with him during his time on the run. And the first entry was written just a few days after the assassination. It read: "Until today, nothing was even thought of sacrificing to our country's wrongs. For six months we had worked to capture, but our cause being almost lost, something decisive and great must be done."

but its failure was owing to others, who did not strike for their country with a heart. I struck boldly and not as the papers say,

I walked with a firm step through a thousand of his friends, was stopped but pushed on. A colonel was at his side. I shouted "Six Semper" before I fired, and jumping broke my leg. I passed all his pickets, rode 60 miles that night with the bone of my leg tearing the flesh at every jump. I can never repent it. Thought we hated to kill. Our country owed all her trouble to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment.

Now, interestingly enough, Booth actually had some accomplices who would be prosecuted for their parts in the assassination, and Henry Rathbone would testify at their trials. On May 9th, 1865, Henry stood in front of the court and said, "When the second scene of the third act was being performed, and while I intently observed the proceedings upon the stage with my back toward the door, I heard the discharge of a pistol behind me, and, looking round, saw through the smoke a man between the door and the President.

The distance from the door to where the president sat was about four feet. At the same time, I heard the man shout some word, which I thought was freedom. I instantly sprang toward him and seized him. In the end, Booth's co-conspirators David Harold, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt were all sentenced to death, and one week later, their dead bodies hang from the gallows in the courtyard of the old Arsenal building.

But from here, Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were forced to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. After the trials, they decided to leave DC for a few weeks to clear their heads. They ended up going to Albany, New York, where they stayed with Henry's cousin. For the next six weeks, Henry's arm was tended to by multiple respected doctors and surgeons. And although he made a recovery, his arm would never be the same.

But the time away from Washington was good for the couple. But on July 11th, 1967, they finally got married at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Albany. Afterwards, Henry still wasn't ready to come back to DC. It was the very place where his life had been forever changed. So he ended up taking a leave of absence from the military to quote, "visit Europe."

So that's what he and Clara did. The newlyweds spent their time vacationing. And when he finally came back to the United States, Henry seemed to have been doing better.

He and Clara even bought a home in DC directly across the street from the White House. And in February of 1870, they had their first child together, a son named Henry Riggs Rathbone. Interestingly, their son shared a birthday with President Lincoln. Now later that same year, Henry officially resigned from his position in the army. And at the age of 33, he was retired.

After all of the trauma he experienced, he no longer wanted to work. He also knew he could live comfortably on the money that he inherited after his father's death. So from here, he and Clara enjoyed retirement together. The two continued to socialize with the rich and powerful, and they still involved themselves in DC's politics. Clara was still very popular in DC.

People described her as a quote, "brilliant conversationalist and fascinating woman." Henry also still had a good reputation, but people that knew him well knew that he was never quite the same after Lincoln's death.

He experienced a tremendous amount of guilt and it haunted him, but he always kept a smile on his face. From the outside looking in, Henry seemed to be doing well and they seemed like your perfect all-American family. They even continued growing their family. In August of 1871, they had another son named Gerald Lawrence Rathbone. And then in September 1872, they welcomed their first daughter, Clara Pauline Rathbone.

by 1873 henry and clara had three children a beautiful luxurious house and a lot of money they also had a lot of time on their hands since henry retired this was nice because it meant he could spend more time with the family but it also meant he had a lot of time to sit alone with his thoughts and unbeknownst to many henry rathbone's mind was a very dark place

He was consumed with thoughts of Lincoln's assassination. It became so bad, he even sought out help from his doctors in 1869 and then again in 1870. That last time, he was treated by a physician for "attacks of neuralgia of the head and face and in the region of the heart attended by palpitations and at times difficulty breathing." For years following the assassination, Henry Rathbone's mental state would decline.

Then, in December of 1875, there was more bad news for the Rathbone family. Clara's father and Henry's stepfather, Ira, had passed away. And after the funeral, the family decided to split their time between the United States and Europe. In the summer, they lived in Washington, D.C. And in the winter, they traveled overseas.

They said that they did this so that their children could have a good education. But it's also been theorized that they were in search of the best doctors for Henry's new diagnosis of dyspepsia. Dyspepsia is a known stomach ailment that causes frequent indigestion, stomach pain, bloating, vomiting, and nausea. There is also a direct correlation between dyspepsia and anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to his new diagnosis, Henry's personality also seemed to change.

He was constantly having violent outbursts, nervousness, jealousy, and he was overly suspicious and paranoid of everyone and everything. He mostly took his aggression out on his wife Clara, and it got pretty bad, to the point where Clara wasn't even allowed to speak or acknowledge any man who was in their presence.

Henry even grew jealous of his own children, as they occupied most of her time. He became obsessed with the idea that Clara was going to leave him and take their three kids. At one point during a trip to visit family members in Albany, Clara discussed leaving Henry, but she quickly changed her mind. She just couldn't imagine a life without him, even if he treated her poorly.

At the end of the day, she knew that Henry loved their family more than anything. She also knew that his mood swings were likely due to the trauma in his past. And every once in a while, she would see that sweet side of him and she would cling to those moments, even though they were short-lived. Lincoln's assassination was a dark stain on their family.

Clara even went as far as to break up the guest room closet where her bloody dress still hung. She couldn't seem to get rid of it, but she also felt that the dress brought a negative energy to their family.

So she hoped that breaking up her closet would keep the negative energy away from her husband. But as time went on, Henry's condition worsened. He was always armed. And more recently, he kept going on and on about how great of a shot he was. Hearing this, his family knew he wasn't doing well, but he reassured them that everything was fine. He said that he just wanted to be prepared

just in case he was ever put in another horrifying situation. But to his loved ones, Henry was clearly paranoid. Not only was he constantly looking over his shoulder for a threat, but he also confided in close friends that he believed everyone in the United States hated him for failing to protect the president. His friends would try and convince him that that wasn't true, but he always refused to believe it.

In 1882, when Henry was 45 years old, depression, anxiety, and stress had taken their toll on his body, and the signs were showing. He had lost a lot of weight and was extremely frail. One day that year, he went to his step-uncle's office, and immediately, Hamilton Harris knew something was very wrong.

He even asked Henry if he was okay, and Henry admitted that the dyspepsia was worse than ever and that he had trouble moving and using his wounded arm. It also appeared that on every anniversary of the Lincoln assassination, the press would hunt down Henry and Clara to bombard them with questions. In one letter to a friend, Clara said the following:

In every hotel we are in, as soon as people get wind of our presence, we feel ourselves become objects of morbid scrutiny. Whenever we are in the dining room, we begin to feel like zoo animals. Henry imagines that the whispering is more pointed and malicious than it can possibly be.

Now, it's obvious nowadays that Henry Rathbone was clearly suffering from PTSD, amidst other things. But back then, post-traumatic stress disorder wasn't a coined term. However, Dr. Jacob Mendez de Costa had studied Civil War veterans and he noted that many of them suffered from the same symptoms: anxiety, rapid heart rate, rapid pulse, and trouble breathing. Their condition became known as "soldier's heart."

after the end of world war one the present-day symptoms of ptsd showed themselves through soldiers who experienced sleep disorders anxiety nightmares tremors and headaches the condition was known as shell shock after world war ii shell shock was replaced with the term combat stress disorder and battle fatigue

according to author caleb jenner stevens throughout history soldiers have returned home from war battered physically emotionally and mentally although the physical injuries are the most obvious and get the most attention the unseen damage to the mind is many times the worst scar of all caleb jenner stevens also suggested that henry had a constant reminder of what he had witnessed as his son shared a birthday with abraham lincoln he was also reminded of that horrible day any time he had to use his arm which was never the same after his injury

To try and distance himself from the tragedy, Henry even tried leaving the country. But no matter where he went, the pain and guilt followed. After the assassination, friends who were close to Henry said, Others said that there appeared to be a "cloud" hanging over the spirit of Rathbone.

Now, in 1883, like every year, Henry and Clara began preparing for their trip to Europe. But this time, Clara was nervous to be alone with her husband. Over time, he had grown more and more unstable, and by now, she feared for her and her children's safety. Clara even asked her sister to join them on the trip and serve as their nanny, and luckily she obliged.

The family arrived in Hanover, Germany during the summer of 1883 and they stayed in a big luxury apartment in the center of town on Heinrichstrasse and they would end up staying there for months all the way through the holiday season.

As Christmas approached, the town was alive with the holiday spirit. Trying her best to look past her husband's issues, Clara spent most of her time celebrating the season with her children. She wanted to keep the Christmas spirit alive for her three kids: Henry, Gerald, and Clara. But that was very hard, as Henry's condition was now worse than ever.

Over the last few months, he had become even more paranoid and irritable. He had even started hallucinating, which made Clara very scared. Henry would often approach his wife with wild eyes, begging her not to leave him. And no matter how many times Clara tried to reassure him that she wouldn't leave, he never believed her. On December 22nd,

Clara tried to distract herself by decorating the Christmas tree with her three kids, but Henry's mood was extremely depressed. Clara even feared that he would take his own life, telling her sister Louise, quote, "'Well, the end is not far off.'"

Even the Rathbone's neighbors in Hanover noticed Henry's odd behavior. One neighbor stated he was, quote, shy of human beings, and others saw that he tended to stay indoors and not socialize. It was clear that Henry was battling his inner demons, and the pain and anguish became all-consuming. Clara's diary stated, quote,

The truth is, I have never loved him more than I have this last month. I have wanted to wail with pity over him. He mutters more than ever over our hours in the box at Ford's, forcing me to think of them too.

Three days before the Christmas holiday, Henry sat alone at a table away from his family. And the whole time, he was just staring blankly ahead, twirling his handkerchief in his hands. All the while, he was spiraling, thinking about Clara leaving him. It didn't matter that Clara promised she would never leave. He didn't believe her.

And so he started making a plan to make sure it could never happen. In the early morning hours of December 23rd, Henry woke up at around 5.30 a.m.,

got dressed and grabbed his revolver. He then walked down the hallway of their Hanover home and lightly tapped on the children's bedroom door. Clara's sister Louise, who had been sharing a room with the children, asked who it was. And on the other side of the closed door, Henry asked if his daughter was in the bedroom. Louise said she was, and then Henry asked for her to open the door.

It was odd. Louise felt a weird feeling in her stomach. The way Henry sounded was eerie, unsettling, but he was also their children's father. So completely unaware of the true danger that stood behind, Louise cracked open the door. But as luck would have it,

At this same time, Clara heard her husband in the hallway and she got up out of bed to see what was going on. She didn't see the gun just yet.

but she could hear that Henry seemed agitated. So she calmly approached him and tried to get him to come back to their bedroom. As Clara grabbed her husband's arm to lead him away, she yelled for Louise to lock the door to the children's room. Perhaps Clara knew what her husband was capable of.

And in her last heroic act, she wanted to save her three kids. Moments later, Henry slammed the door to he and Clara's bedroom. Louise would later say that she heard the door lock and unlock several times. It's unknown if Clara was trying to get away from Henry or if Henry was the one making sure the door was locked. But following this, Louise heard her sister scream.

Wanting to help, she ran over to their bedroom door and opened it. It happened to be unlocked. When Louise burst through the threshold, she saw Henry standing over Clara with a mad look in his eye. Hearing his sister-in-law walk into the room, Henry's head snapped in her direction and he angrily told her to get out.

Scared for her life, Louise did as she was told. And the next thing she heard was her sister screaming, quote, "Henry, let me live." Sadly, that wouldn't be the case. As Henry stood over his wife in their bedroom, he put his finger on the trigger and he fired two shots into Clara's body. Louise would later say that after that, the house grew eerily quiet.

Fearing for her sister's life, she walked into the bedroom again, and this time, she witnessed a brutal scene. Clara was lying on the bed with blood pouring out of her chest wounds. And not only had Henry shot her, but he had also stabbed her multiple times with a dagger. Clara was surprisingly still alive, but she was struggling to get air.

Seeing this, Luis rushed over to Clara's side as she uttered her last words. "'He has killed us both at last.'" And then from there, Clara took her last breath.

Clara Rathbone was dead. Louise would later find Henry on the floor near a porcelain stove. He was barely moving and also covered in blood. However, the blood didn't belong to Clara. After murdering his wife, Henry had turned the dagger on himself and had brutally stabbed his own chest five times.

One of the wounds was so deep that it had punctured his lung. And as Henry sat dying gurgling on the floor of their home, he looked up at his sister-in-law and begged her to bring him a glass of brandy.

Then, surprisingly, he started calling out Clara's name. Apparently, Henry was unaware of what he had just done. From there, he was able to pull himself up from the floor and when he saw his wife's dead body sprawled out on the bed, he asked Louise, "Who could have done this? I have no enemies." Henry didn't have the strength to stand so he collapsed on the floor beside the bed and then begged Louise to take him to the hospital.

Eventually, the police were called and when they arrived at the house, they found Henry mumbling to himself: "Who could have done this to my darling wife?" He also told the authorities to be careful of the men who were hiding behind the paintings in his room.

But following this, Henry was taken to the hospital and word was sent back to the United States about this horrific crime. When the Rathbones friends and family learned that Henry murdered Clara, everyone was devastated. They had always believed Henry was a doting husband and a father. Sure, he had his demons, but no one could have suspected he was capable of such a brutal, vicious crime. Even his step-uncle Hamilton Harris said: "I never saw a man who gave more evidence of deep loving his wife and children."

Henry's physician, Dr. Pope said, quote, "He never was thoroughly himself after that night. I have no hesitation in affirming that the dreaded tragedy, which preyed upon his nervous and impressionable temperament for many years, laid the seed of that homicidal mania." End quote. His attorney, Colonel James G. Barrett added, quote, "I don't think he ever recovered from the shock of the night in President Lincoln's box at the theater.

the scene always haunted his mind. He was at times subject to fits of despondency and moodiness. And surprisingly, despite his injuries, Henry would recover. Meanwhile, Clara's close friends and family members made their way to Europe for her funeral. Clara Rathbone was buried on January 2nd, 1884 in Hanover, Germany. There was an investigation and trial that was also held shortly after.

Once Henry was fully recovered from his stab wounds, he repeatedly told the German court that an unknown man had entered their home and attacked them. He had no recollection of knocking on his children's door with a gun in hand. He had no recollection of attacking Clara, nor did he remember turning the knife on himself. However, evidence showed that the real perpetrator was Henry himself.

Many witnesses also testified that Henry showed signs of insanity on several occasions following Ligon's assassination. It was reported that in 1910, Henry returned to the family's vacation home in Albany, New York. And while there, he decided to unbrick the guest bathroom closet. After knocking it down and tearing all of the bricks away, he walked into the room

and there hung his mom's bloody dress from the assassination. Knowing all of the trauma and heartache that that tragic night caused, Henry decided to burn the dress, as he would later say that it was cursed. Henry Riggs Rathbone passed away at the age of 58 on July 15th, 1928.

Gerald Lawrence Rathbone passed away at the age of 65 in 1936. And finally, their daughter, Clara Pauline Rathbone, would pass away at the age of 45 in 1918. But as for their father, Henry Rathbone,

He spent 28 years in that German asylum. It was reported that he refused to speak or eat with the other men housed there. Henry enjoyed taking long walks on the grounds by himself, but throughout the rest of his life, he continued to show signs of insanity. In August of 1891, Dr. A. Rosenbach arrived in Germany on behalf of the United States Army to conduct an examination on Henry.

He noted that Henry was nicely dressed and had no complaints, but it was clear that he was struggling mentally. Henry told the doctor that an unknown figure kept emerging from the walls and would blow smoke into his brain.

which caused headaches. But when the doctor tried asking him questions about his wife Clara or even Lincoln's assassination, Henry refused to speak. Interestingly enough, he never once asked about his children and he didn't seem interested in anything outside of those asylum walls.

In the end, Henry Rathbone was declared insane, and he was ordered to live out the remainder of his life at the Provincial Insane Asylum for the Criminally Insane in Hildesheim, Germany. On February 4th, 1884, Henry and Clara's three children left Germany and came back to the United States. They would ultimately go to live with Clara's younger brother, William, and his wife in Cleveland, Ohio.

But despite their tumultuous family history, Henry and Clara's firstborn son, Henry Riggs Rathbone, who shared a birthday with President Lincoln, would go on to live a very successful life. He graduated from Yale in 1892 and earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin. Following in his grandfather's footsteps in politics, he served in the United States House of Representatives. In 1903, he petitioned the court to become the trustee of his father's estate, and it was granted.

Over the course of the next few years, he sold all of the properties associated with his father and he and his siblings split the money three ways. The estate was valued to be around $71,000, with each sibling receiving over $23,000. So, they would all be well off. Henry Rathbone's story was pretty big here in the United States. Newspapers constantly covered his story and even reported on his life in the insane asylum.

In September of 1910, Henry's physical health started to decline. His doctors reported that he barely ate anything and continued to be plagued by paranoia and hallucinations. Then, on October 14th, 1911, Henry passed away from unknown causes at the age of 74. After his death, Henry would be buried in a small German cemetery, right next to his wife, who he murdered, Clara.

Sadly, their graves were forgotten for many years as no one, not even their own kids, ever visited them. Then, in 1952, it was reported that their bodies were exhumed and destroyed to make room for new graves. However, according to the book Worst Seat in the House: Henry Rathbone's Front Row View of the Lincoln Assassination, in 2013, a German researcher learned that the bodies of Henry and Clara weren't destroyed but instead placed lower in the ground.

Author Caleb Jenner Stevens explained, "The way in which people may lose their burial sites stems from the fact that burial sites at Angusode Cemetery are purchased for a fixed amount of time. After this time is up, another fee must be paid in order to extend the amount of time. In the Rathbones case, after Henry died in August 1911, assuming they started the countdown the next year and the couple was afforded two fixed periods, their 40 years would have ended in 1952."

But unfortunately, no one came forward to pay the fee. So from there, their bodies were exhumed, a deeper grave was dug, then they were reburied.

to make room for the new bodies that would go on top. So sadly, their graves are gone and mostly forgotten, which was an eerie representation of their lives after the tragedy. Even back in the United States, right after the murder, the name of Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris were shrouded in painful memories. So many people chose not to speak of them at all.

Their lives started out so promising and privileged. Both Clara and Henry came from wealthy families. They had money, political ties, social recognition, everything you could ever want in life, even to the point where they were getting invited to plays with the President of the United States. But that very connection would end up being their downfall. Witnessing Lincoln's murder would forever change their lives.

Before, Major Henry Rathbone was a wealthy and respected military man. But now, people mostly remember him as the man who was in the room when Lincoln was assassinated. And of course, his descent into madness that followed.

But, interestingly, there's an eerie legend associated with this murder that it doesn't feel right if we don't include. You see, according to some researchers, Clara never washed or destroyed the dress that she wore on the night that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. There were still bloodstains on the dress. They weren't bloodstains from Lincoln. They were bloodstains from her own husband, Henry. Clara kept this bloodied dress in a closet at her family's summer cottage in New York.

And on the one-year anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, the Rathbone family was there at the cottage, where the bloody dress sat in the closet. According to legend, that evening, Clara awoke in the middle of the night, hearing what sounded like laughter coming from a distance. And as she awakened, she allegedly heard the creaking of an old rocking chair. As Clara slowly awoke from her slumber, she tried to focus her eyes.

And when she looked forward, she saw that the rocking chair in her room was rocking by itself. And when she finally fully came to and was able to look at what she was seeing, she saw, according to Clara, none other than President Lincoln's ghost sitting in her rocking chair.

He was facing the closet where her bloodstained dress hung and rocking back and forth in the chair, laughing as he stared forward, almost as if he was watching some sort of a performance. Clara, not believing what she saw, tried her hardest to get some words out, and eventually she was able to state, "Mr. President?" And right after she had gotten these words out, allegedly, the ghost of President Lincoln turned his head, stared Clara dead in the eyes, and then vanished out of the chair.

Clara had a hard time believing what she had just seen, but as her eyes continued to adjust to the moonlight, she noticed that the rocking chair in the room was still rocking. Now, Clara was terrified. Immediately after seeing this, she jumped out of her bed, ran into the other rooms of the house, told her family, including Henry, what exactly she had just seen. But obviously, no one believed her. They said that this was just a bad dream, a nightmare, and that she should go back to bed.

Now, in an interesting twist, this led Clara to believe that there was something attached to that bloody dress from the night of the assassination. So, according to the legend, Clara then buried the dress in her closet by enclosing it in a brick tomb. So now, in the family's summer cottage was Clara's bloody dress from that horrific night sealed behind a wall of bricks that nobody could access.

A year later, according to some reports, another guest reported a similar experience in the same bedroom of seeing someone that looked like Abraham Lincoln. And yet, through all of the family's tragedies, through Henry's worsening medical condition and their constant trips to Europe and back to the United States, nobody, according to them, ever removed this dress that sat behind the bricks in the closet. Some in the family claimed that the dress was cursed.

And obviously, when Henry would then go on to murder Clara and try to take his own life,

Some members of the family believed that this curse was real. And remember Henry Riggs Rathbone, Clara and Henry's child who was eventually elected to the United States House of Representatives? Well, Henry was elected in 1922. But 12 years earlier, Henry had come to a conclusion. He thought that this dress had cursed his family. He thought that this dress was the reason why his mother was dead and why his father was insane.

and he decided to take action.

So, he headed to the family's summer home, he unbricked his mother's closet, he removed that bloody dress, and he burned it. Twelve years later, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Some say he undid the curse that day, and others obviously don't believe in ghosts. But I've always thought that this is a very interesting side note to a very tragic tale, and it's always left me with more questions than answers.

Hey everybody, it's Colin. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. We actually had this episode planned as a sort of 4th of July episode, so this definitely wasn't planned with recent events that have unfolded here in the United States, and it's honestly wild that that happened and we had already had this whole thing written up. And while this episode isn't strictly about the assassination, it's a dark time for America with those events unfolding.

But yeah, what a just crazy story that I'm sure most of you guys had never heard of before. If you want to help support the show, be sure to join us on Patreon. So for $5 a month on Patreon, you can get access to all of our episodes early and ad-free. For $10 a month, you get that early ad-free access, plus two full-length bonus episodes of Murder in America.

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Also, be sure to go leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to the show. It really helps us out. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Murder in America to see photos from every single case that we cover, including photos of Henry Rathbone and Clara. But yeah, we are really sorry we missed last week's episode. We had no power until last night. It is Monday right now in Houston, so we were out of power for almost a full week.

And yeah, it was a really stressful situation, but thank you to everybody for understanding. We love y'all and we will see you next week for another episode of Murder in America. Have a good one.