32.  Flag Fragments Attributed to Ford’s Theater and Lincoln Assassination
 
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the sixteenth President of the United States, March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery and a political leader in the western states, he won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president later that year. During his term, he helped preserve the United States by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.
 
Two fragments of red stripes from an American flag, reputed to be part of the flag that was used to carry the wounded President from Ford’s Theater. Presented to eyewitness Jeannie Gourlay, the actress playing the part of Mary Trenchard in “Our American Cousin” the night of Lincoln’s assassination, by her father, who was one of the men that carried Lincoln’s body across the street to Peterson House.  Includes a vintage commemorative “We Mourn Our Country’s Loss!” ribbon, so popular after Lincoln’s assassination.  Also includes letters and statements linking the flag to Ford’s Theater and Lincoln’s assassination.
 
The period note reads, “The piece of torn red flag is a part of the flag which covered Lincoln’s body as it was carried from Ford’s Theatre the night he was shot – carried across the street.”
 
Condition Report: Nicely preserved
 
Size: Two fragments, one 1.5 x 1 in. (3.8 x 2.5 cm.), the other 1 x 4.5 in. (2.5 x 11.4 cm.)
 
Provenance: American Heritage Autographs and Collectibles, Milford Museum

Estimate: $5,000 – 10,000

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