Historic Replicas

Abraham Lincoln is obviously one of the most compelling figures in American history.  What many people may not know, however, is that Lincoln’s son Robert has his own grim claim to fame.  Robert witnessed two political assassination attempts, and was in close proximity to two others, a remarkable coincidence that earned him the nickname “Angel of Death”.  On April 14th, 1865, the night his father was shot with a Civil War gun at Ford’s Theatre, he was in bed at the White House, mere blocks away.  He’d been invited to attend the play with his parents, but declined, being exhausted from a long journey.

In 1881, Robert was Secretary of War under President James Garfield.  The President invited him on a rail trip to Massachusetts, and on July 2nd, Robert made his way to Washington’s 6th Street station to meet him.  He ran late, and arrived just in time to see Charles Guiteau assassinate Garfield.  All he could remember were seeing traces of the man’s civil war hat .  20 years later, in 1901, President McKinley invited Robert to the Pan-American exposition in Buffalo, New York.  Robert warned him that he wasn’t an especially lucky person for a president to be around, but McKinley laughed it off.  Once again, Robert arrived at the very moment McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leo Czolgosz.  Coincidence?  You be the judge.