Eyewitness Account of Dr. Robert King Stone, President Lincoln's Family Physician

On April 14, 1865, at approximately 10:20 p.m., John Wilkes Booth, a prominent American actor, sneaked up behind President Abraham Lincoln as he watched a play from the presidential box at Ford's Theater and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. Of the 14 doctors who attended to President Lincoln on the night of his assassination, Dr. Robert King Stone was the only one to present testimony at trial on Lincoln's condition. A witness for the the prosecution, Stone was questioned by the government's lead Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt. Here, a facsimile of Dr. Stone's statement is presented, along with suggestions for classroom exercises relating to the assassination.