Lincoln Assassination Police Log Surfaces

From Fox5 News in Washington, D.C. comes the exciting news that the official D.C. Police logs from Abraham Lincoln's assassination have come to light. A video report tells how the retired police chief of the D.C. police force has recently donated a log book to the D.C. Police museum which contains firsthand accounts of the events of the evening of April 14, 1865. Update: The book now apparently resides at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

In the video, officer Kenneth Stewart, the curator of the museum, shows the log book to the TV reporter, with the specific log entries from the night of the assassination and the aftermath. It begins by relating that "Lincoln, the president of the United States, was shot at the Ford's Theater on 10th Street." It then continues:

"The excitement was great throughout the precinct...but the people were orderly and quiet..the whole force were immediately put on duty by order of Superintendent Richards"

It then continues with a poignant and sad entry:

"The gloom that overshadowed the nation by the sad occurrence deeply affected the whole force and brought many heartfelt sympathies from the nation's loss"

The log book was recovered from the trash decades ago in a precinct station and eventually found its way to the retired chief who donated it to the police museum. That's a very noble gesture on his part, because he could have sold this book for hundreds or thousands of dollars to a private collector. Now, it's available for viewing and enjoyment by everyone.