Washington D.C. Policeman... Infamous

5fish

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John Frederick Parker is the most Infamous policeman to wear blue and few to no one knows who he is today...

Parker... https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln61.html

John Frederick Parker was born May 19, 1830, in Winchester, Virginia. His father was a butcher who later became a police officer. As time passed John moved to Washington, D.C. and became a carpenter. He married Mary America Maus on July 16, 1855, became the father of three children named Cora, Sallie, and Kate, and lived at 570 L Street N., Washington, D.C. When the Metropolitan Police Force was organized in 1861, he became one of its first 150 officers.

Parkers police history... https://findery.com/Chung123/notes/bar-saw-both-assassin-bodyguard-drinking-before-lincoln-shot

Lincoln's bodyguard John Parker remains faceless in history (his grave unmarked).
Before guarding the President Apr 14, 1865, he had been cited many times for being drunk and sleeping on the job, as well as using brothels while on duty over 4 years.


Snip...https://www.policeone.com/patrol-is...n-Parker-at-fault-for-Abraham-Lincolns-death/

Parker lived all his life internalizing the undeniable truth expressed by William H. Cook, Lincoln’s most trusted guard. Officer Cook observed, “Had [Parker] done his duty, I believe President Lincoln would not have been murdered by Booth.”

Officer John Parker died in 1890 — probably hoping that the failure he could never forget would be forgotten by history. He left behind neither photographs of himself nor a personal account of his actions on that tragic night. Even more, telling is the fact that he arranged to be buried in an unmarked grave.


 

5fish

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It all starts with a bullet through a hat...

Presidential Security Detail
President Abraham Lincoln is beloved today, but in life he was hated by millions in the states in rebellion — as well as “Copperhead Democrats” in the North.

Even though he had received many death threats, in August 1864 president was riding alone toward his summer retreat at “The Soldier’s Home.”

He later related that while deep in thought, “I was aroused — I may say the arousement lifted me out of my saddle as well as out of my wits — by the report of a rifle, and seemingly the gunner was not fifty yards from where my contemplations ended and my accelerated transit began.”

President Lincoln lost his hat in the encounter and when it was returned by a soldier it had a bullet hole in its crown.

A 24-hour security detail of four Metropolitan Police Officers was formed in response to this assassination attempt.

Fatefully, that detail included Officer John Fredrick Parker.


Here is a more detail account about a Bullet thought Lincoln's hat... Lincoln jokes it off...

Link:
The Shot Through Abraham Lincoln's Hat

Snip...

In August 1864 a sniper apparently tried to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. One day at the White House Lincoln told the following story to this good friend, Ward Hill Lamon:
"Last night about eleven o'clock, I went to the Soldiers' Home alone, riding Old Abe, as you call him (a horse he delighted in riding), and when I arrived at the foot of the hill on the road leading to the entrance to the Home grounds, I was jogging along at a slow gait, immersed in deep thought, contemplating what was next to happen in the unsettled state of affairs, when suddenly I was aroused–I may say the arousement lifted me out of my saddle as well as out of my wits–by the report of a rifle, and seemingly the gunner was not fifty yards from where my contemplations ended and my accelerated transit began. My erratic namesake, with little warning, gave proof of decided dissatisfaction at the racket, and with one reckless bound he unceremoniously separated me from my eight-dollar plug hat, with which I parted company without any assent, express or implied, upon my part. At a break-neck speed we soon arrived in a haven of safety. Meanwhile I was left in doubt whether death was more desirable from being thrown from a runaway federal horse, or as the tragic result of a rifle-ball fired by a disloyal bushwhacker in the middle of the night."


Snip...

Independent confirmation of Lamon's story came from Private John W. Nichols (pictured left and below) of Company K, 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Quoting from Matthew Pinsker's Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home:

"About eleven o'clock one night, Private John W. Nichols of Company K was on guard duty at the large gate on the edge of the institution's grounds when he heard a rifle shot and then witnessed the "bareheaded" president riding quickly on horseback toward his cottage. Private Nichols asked the president about his missing hat and was told that "somebody had fired a gun off at the foot of the hill" which frightened Lincoln's horse and then led to a struggle to regain control that had "jerked his hat off." Concerned, Nichols recalled years later that he and another member of the company went down the twisting driveway toward the main road where they discovered the president's signature silk plug hat with a bullet hole through the crown. The next day Nichols claimed that he returned the item to the president, who assured him "rather unconcernedly" that the whole episode was the product of "some foolish gunner" and that he wanted the matter "kept quiet."

Whoever fired the shot remains a mystery to this day.
 

5fish

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The night that brought Parker infamy... with Lincoln at Ford theater April 1865...

That night April 1865... https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/

John Wilkes Booth entered the theater around 10 p.m.. Ironically, he’d also been in the Star Saloon, working up some liquid courage. When Booth crept up to the door to Lincoln’s box, Parker’s chair stood empty. Some of the audience may not have heard the fatal pistol shot, since Booth timed his attack to coincide with a scene in the play that always sparked loud laughter.

No one knows for sure if Parker ever returned to Ford’s Theatre that night. When Booth struck, the vanishing policeman may have been sitting in his new seat with a nice view of the stage, or perhaps he had stayed put in the Star Saloon. Even if he had been at his post, it’s not certain he would have stopped Booth. “Booth was a well-known actor, a member of a famous theatrical family,” says Ford’s Theatre historical interpreter Eric Martin. “They were like Hollywood stars today. Booth might have been allowed in to pay his respects. Lincoln knew of him. He’d seen him act in The Marble Heart, here in Ford’s Theatre in 1863.”


Snip...

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris were attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. Parker was assigned to guard the entrance to the President's box where the four were seated. He is known to have, at first, stayed at his assigned post, but he later told family members that he was then released by Lincoln until the end of the play. During the intermission, Parker went to a nearby tavern with Charles Forbes and Francis Burke, Lincoln's butlerand coachman.[8]

Snip... https://findery.com/Chung123/notes/bar-saw-both-assassin-bodyguard-drinking-before-lincoln-shot

At the break, bodyguard Parker left his post to go drinking at Star Saloon (518 10th St NW) next door with Lincoln's carriage crew. He claimed Lincoln relieved him and it is unclear if he ever returned.
Assassin John Wilkes Booth was having a drink at Star Saloon to muster his courage before entering Lincoln's booth at 10 pm. He had no troubles as he was very recognizable as a stage star.


The local Police created a unit to protect the president... https://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln61.html

In the fall of 1864 it was decided that a detail of the Washington Metropolitan Police force would be assigned to protect the president. This was at the request of Ward Hill Lamon, United States Marshall for the District of Columbia and a close friend of Lincoln's. Lamon had become increasingly fearful for the president's life. On November 3, 1864, the initial detail was composed of John R. Cronin, Alphonso Dunn (or Donn), Thomas F. Pendel, and Alexander (or Andrew) C. Smith. Changes were occasionally made, although the detail was never more than 5 officers at any one time. Other officers who served in the detail included William S. Lewis, William H. Crook, George W. McElfresh, Thomas T. Hurdle, Joseph Shelton, John F. Parker, and D. Hopkins. Parker was assigned to the detail sometime between late February and early April 1865.

Snip...

Obviously, this is a mysterious case. On 12 previous visits to the theater, Lincoln had little or no security. Some professionals have suggested Parker was serving more as an escort than a guard. Also, some historians and authors have logically suggested that Abraham Lincoln, with his known lackadaisicalness for personal safety, told Parker to leave his post and find a seat where he could see the play.

Snip... https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-129320

As usual, Parker got off to a lousy start that fateful Friday. He was supposed to relieve Lincoln’s previous bodyguard at 4 p.m. but was three hours late.
Parker was seated outside the president’s box, in the passageway beside the door. From where he sat, Parker couldn’t see the stage,so after Lincoln and his guests settled in, he moved to the first gallery to enjoy the play. Later, Parker committed an even greater folly: At intermission, he joined the footman and coachman of Lincoln’s carriage for drinks in the Star Saloon next door to Ford’s Theatre.


Snip...

At the intermission of Our American Cousin, Charles Forbes (Lincoln's footman) and Parker invited Francis P. Burke (Lincoln's coachman) to join them for a drink at the saloon next to Ford's Theatre. Whether Parker ever returned to the theater that night is unknown for certain. When John Wilkes Booth entered the State Box, Parker was either still in the saloon or back at his seat from which he could both see and hear the play.

Snip... a woman... next morning...

The next known event regarding Officer Parker took place at 6:00 A.M. the next morning. He arrived at the police station with a woman named Lizzie Williams. She was immediately released although he wanted her charged with prostitution.

Snip.. insult to injury... or Mary Lincoln knew...

Incredibly, Parker remained on the White House security detail after the assassination. At least once he was assigned to protect the grieving Mrs. Lincoln before she moved out of the presidential mansion and returned to Illinois. Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker, former slave Elizabeth Keckley, recalled the following exchange between the president’s widow and Parker: “So you are on guard tonight,” Mrs. Lincoln yelled, “on guard in the White House after helping to murder the President.”

“I could never stoop to murder,” Parker stammered, “much less to the murder of so good and great a man as the President. I did wrong, I admit, and have bitterly repented. I did not believe any one would try to kill so good a man in such a public place, and the belief made me careless.”


Mrs. Lincoln snapped that she would always consider him guilty and ordered him from the room. Some weeks before the assassination, she had written a letter on Parker’s behalf to exempt him from the draft, and some historians think she may have been related to him on her mother’s side.
 

jgoodguy

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OTOH Parker's superiors who should have taken action to find a substitute or dismissed him long before are well remembered.
 

5fish

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OTOH Parker's superiors who should have taken action to find a substitute or dismissed him long before are well remembered.
I think everyone would agree but I think this duty guardian of the President was considered an easy gig. I believe no one thought anyone would try to hurt, take or kill the President...
 

5fish

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I found his gravesite... its a patch of dirt...

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9690422/john-frederick-parker


John Frederick Parker

BIRTH
19 May 1830
Winchester City, Virginia, USA
DEATH 28 Jun 1890 (aged 60)
Washington, District of Columbia, District Of Columbia, USA
BURIAL
Glenwood Cemetery • Plan a trip here
Washington, District of Columbia, District Of Columbia, USA Show Map
PLOT Section Q, Lot 185
MEMORIAL ID 9690422 · View Source

Bodyguard. The night Lincoln was assassinated Parker was in charge of guarding the president. On May 1, 1865, Parker was charged with neglect of duty in connection with the assassination. He was tried but the case was dismissed on June 1865. Parker died in Washington D.C. years later of pneumonia, asthma, and exhaustion. He was buried beside his children in Glenwood Cemetery there. Parker's wife died in 1904 and is also buried beside him. The specific plot is not marked.

 

5fish

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Men who wished to be there... and who was...

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/a...fated_saga_of_lincolns_bodyguards_126306.html


In any event, Grant was not there when John Wilkes Booth entered the president’s box. “Grant always regretted leaving,” Grant biographer Geoffrey Perret wrote. “He blamed himself for not going to Ford’s Theatre that night. Grant was certain that he would have heard Booth open the door to Lincoln’s Box and been able to get his body between Booth’s derringer and the seated President.”

Snip...

Perhaps so. Grant had proved by April 1865 to be exceedingly able, and was no longer a person routinely underestimated by others. But Booth had concocted his plan after hearing that Lincoln and Grant were attending the play that night. Lincoln’s assassin had developed his sinister plot believing that Grant would be present -- and he carried a large knife in addition to his pistol.

Snip... another soldier...

This seems more likely than the thought that John Parker, or even Gen. Grant, could have saved Lincoln. But it must be remembered than another Army officer was present in the president’s box, a younger man than Grant. His name was Henry Rathbone, and he was the escort of Clara Harris, Mary Todd Lincoln’s younger friend.

But he, too, was caught unawares because Booth entered the box silently and quickly during a time of applause in the play. Maj. Rathbone didn’t confront Booth until after he’d heard the shot, and then was stabbed for his troubles. He is the one who shouted for the audience to stop Booth, but even here he was too late.

Snip... The young soldier goes on a killing speer...

Rathbone went on to marry young Clara and the couple had three children, but his failure that night haunted him the rest of his life. Today we would say he was beset by post-traumatic stress syndrome, and maybe schizophrenia. Whatever the medical diagnoses, on Christmas Eve 1883, while living in Germany, he stalked Clara in their home, fatally shooting her in the head and then wounding himself with his knife. It was a sad and macabre replay of the events on April 1865.

A side night to his murdering...

On December 23, 1883, Rathbone attacked his children in a fit of madness. Rathbone fatally shot and stabbed his wife, who was attempting to protect the children. Rathbone then stabbed himself five times in the chest in an attempted suicide.[22] He was charged with murder but was declared insane by doctors after blaming the murder on an intruder. He was convicted and committed to an asylum for the criminally insane in Hildesheim, Germany. The couple's children were sent to live with their uncle, William Harris, in the United States.[11]Rathbone spent the rest of his life in the asylum. He died on August 14, 1911, and was buried next to his wife in the city cemetery at [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanover']Hanover/Engesohde.[11] As time passed, the cemetery management, looking over records concerning plots without recent activity or family interest, decided in 1952 that both sets of remains could be exhumed and disposed of.[23][/URL]

Snip...

Ward Hill Lamon. This strapping man, Lincoln’s loyal friend and former law partner, was sometimes described as “Herculean.” Alarmed by Lincoln’s inattentiveness to his own security, Lamon appointed himself Lincoln’s bodyguard and at least once slept on the floor outside the president’s quarters. But Lincoln had dispatched him on an errand to Richmond, and he was not in the city when the president was ambushed that night.

“As God is my judge,” he lamented later. “I believe if I had been in the city, it would not have happened.”

Snip... a thought about Parker

This assessment struck Parker as overly harsh, and he sniveled in response to Mrs. Lincoln’s opprobrium. In truth, it’s hard to believe that this hapless flatfoot would have been any match for John Wilkes Booth,
 

5fish

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Charles Forbes Footman: He allowed Both into the box...

http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org...ees-and-staff/employees-staff-charles-forbes/

He was on the presidential carriage on the night of April 14, 1865, acting as a messenger and checking on the presidential party during the evening. He and guard John Parker went to a nearby bar to have drink during the intermission at Ford’s Theater.

Assassination scholar Michael Kauffman wrote that “Abraham Lincoln had no bodyguards in the modern sense. It was the messenger Charles Fores who had allowed Booth into the box, and consequently Mrs. Lincoln held Forbes responsible for the president’s death. To deflect the blame, Forbes filed a formal complaint against a White House guard, patrolman John F. Parker, and charged him with leaving his post outside the president’s box to have a drink. Parker was tried and acquitted.”

Forbes died in 1895 and still remains a mysterious figure in the assassination. He never gave a witness statement nor did he ever leave a written or verbal account of the events of that evening. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Congressional Cemetery until 1984 when The Lincoln Group, a historical society, placed a marker on his grave.


He did do an: In an 1892 affidavit, Forbes briefly described his last ever interaction with Lincoln at the White House:

In the same affidavit Forbes, writing twenty-five years after the event remembered he was in the booth with Lincoln but there is no record of that. He was in the anteroom, which he might have considered as part of the presidential box.

https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/assassination-abraham-lincoln

His grave... https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18002817/charles-forbes


Charles Forbes
BIRTH 1835
Ireland
DEATH 11 Oct 1895 (aged 59–60)
District Of Columbia, USA
BURIAL
Congressional Cemetery
Washington, District of Columbia, District Of Columbia, USA
PLOT Range 34, Site 76
MEMORIAL ID 18002817 · View Source

Charles Forbes was the personal attendant, messenger, and valet to President Abraham Lincoln from 1861-1865. He occasionally watched out for Tad Lincoln. He was driving Mrs. Lincoln from the Soldier's Home to the White House on July 3, 1865 when an accident or sabotage caused the carriage to break apart. Mrs. Lincoln's head was badly hurt, and she spent weeks recovering. He also accompanied the Lincoln's to Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865 the night that Lincoln was assassinated. John Wilkes Booth approached Forbes who was seated outside of Lincoln's box, gave him his calling card, and Forbes allowed Booth to enter the door to the private box. Mrs. Lincoln was fond of Forbes, bore him no ill will for the evening's events, and later presented him with the suit of clothes that Lincoln wore that night.

Forbes died in 1895 and still remains a mysterious figure in the assassination. He never gave a witness statement nor did he ever leave a written or verbal account of the events of that evening. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Congressional Cemetery until 1984 when The Lincoln Group, a historical society, placed a marker on his grave.


 

5fish

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Edward “Ned” Burke, or Francis Burke or they one and the same... http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/employees-and-staff/

Edward “Ned” Burke was a White House steward and coachman. President Lincoln wrote a letter of recommendation for him on March 4, 1862: “Edward Burke, the bearer of this, was at service in this Mansion for several months now last past; and during all the time he appeared to me to be a competent, faithful and very genteel man. I take no charge of the servants about the house, but I do not understand that Burke leaves because of any fault or misconduct.”13 Burke later reappeared on the White House payroll in 1865 and drove the Lincolns to Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865.

Snip...https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/assassination-abraham-lincoln

In 1865, Burke gave evidence of his actions on that fateful night.

On April 25, 1865, he gave a statement. It read: "Francis Burns, [sic] the driver of the president's coach, states that on the night of the murder of Mr. Lincoln, he drove him to the theater and stayed at the door until the tragedy occurred. The Special police officer and the footman of the president came up to him to take a drink with them; which he did; but he does not remember anyone else coming up to him in particular, those there were several who asked him questions. He does not know who they were."

Snip... question his story...

Burke was described as a big burly Irish coachman who was known to have a fondness for booze, and it is highly unlikely he just had one scoop at the Star Saloon. He was invited to the bar during intermission by the Irish footman Forbes and, unbelievably, John Parker, the police officer who was supposed to be guarding the president's box.
 

O' Be Joyful

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He did do an: In an 1892 affidavit, Forbes briefly described his last ever interaction with Lincoln at the White House:

In the same affidavit Forbes, writing twenty-five years after the event remembered he was in the booth with Lincoln but there is no record of that. He was in the anteroom, which he might have considered as part of the presidential box.
Which was off the Dress Circle, and led to the presidential box. Supposedly Booth, IIRC, presented a forged calling card to Forbes to allow him entrance and Forbes waved him by.

The second floor of Ford's Theatre was known as the Dress circle. It was also the floor that contained the private boxes and Presidential box. Like the orchestra section, the seats were wooden movable chairs arranged in rows. The seating capacity for the Dress circle was 422 and tickets cost $.75 cents. Another important note, in relation to the assassination, was the height of the floor. It was twelve feet from the Presidential box to the stage.



https://www.assassinationofabrahamlincoln.com/theatre-layout
 
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