So much tragedy came out of the Lincoln assassination. Many of you probably already know how difficult the rest of Mary Lincolns life was following her husbands death. But how many have heard the tragic story of Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris Rathbone? Major Henry Rathbone (left) and his fiancee, Clara Harris (right) were sitting in the presidential box next to the Lincolns when John Wilkes Booth shot the President. Major Rathbone, a veteran of battles including Antietam and Fredericksburg, immediately attempted to subdue Booth. The assassin produced a knife and slashed Rathbone in the head and left arm, nearly severing an artery. (His scuffle with Rathbone impeded Booths effort to jump from the box onto the stage, causing him to land awkwardly and break a bone in his leg when he landed.) Rathbone and Harris married in 1867 and eventually had three children, the first of which was born on February 12, 1870-what would have been Abraham Lincolns 61st birthday. Rathbone became obsessed over his inability to stop Booth and blamed himself for Lincolns death, and his mental health deteriorated. Despite this, President Chester A. Arthur (who succeeded the assassinated President James A. Garfield) appointed Rathbone as U.S. Consul to the Province of Hanover (Germany) in 1882. On December 23, 1883, Rathbone attacked his children in a fit of madness. Clara Harris Rathbone attempted to defend their children, and her husband, armed with a pistol and a knife, killed her and then stabbed himself multiple times. He was charged with murder but judged insane and committed to a German asylum for the criminally insane, where he spent the rest of his life. Rathbone died August 14, 1911 and was interred in Hanover, Germany next to the wife he had killed 28 years before. There is one last sad twist to this story. In 1952, the management of the cemetery in which the Rathbones were buried began reviewing paperwork concerning graves that had not received any visitors or family attention in years. This included the graves of Henry and Clara Rathbone. They eventually decided to disinter the Rathbones (and others) and dispose of their bodies to make room for more burials. Major and Mrs. Henry Rathbone now have no final resting place. The tale of the Rathbones is little known and is to many just a footnote to the tragic murder of President Lincoln. But it shows us just how far-reaching and personal the effects of such momentous historical events can truly be.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:04:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015