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Abraham Lincoln's son Robert once fell between a moving train and a platform in Jersey City and was pulled out by a stranger: the famous actor Edwin Booth, whose brother would later shoot the president.

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Robert Todd Lincoln described the incident himself in a 1909 letter to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine, and dated it to 1863 or 1864. Waiting for a sleeping-car ticket, he was pressed by the crowd against a train that began to move, and dropped into the gap. A hand seized his collar and hauled him back onto the platform. He turned and recognised Edwin Booth, the most celebrated American actor of the day. In April 1865 Edwin's younger brother, John Wilkes Booth, shot President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington. Edwin learned whom he had saved from Adam Badeau, an officer on General Grant's staff, and that knowledge is said to have been some comfort to him after the assassination.

Türkçe oku
Abraham Lincoln'ün oğlu Robert bir gün Jersey City'de hareket eden trenle peron arasındaki boşluğa düştü ve onu bir yabancı yakasından tutup çekti: ünlü oyuncu Edwin Booth. Edwin'in kardeşi, daha sonra Başkan Lincoln'ü vuracaktı.

Robert Todd Lincoln olayı 1909'da The Century Magazine'in editörü Richard Watson Gilder'a yazdığı bir mektupta kendisi anlattı ve 1863 ya da 1864 yılında yaşandığını söyledi. Yataklı vagon için bilet beklerken kalabalık onu hareket etmeye başlayan trene doğru sıkıştırdı ve tren ile peron arasındaki boşluğa düştü. Bir el yakasından yakalayıp onu perona geri çekti. Robert dönüp baktığında, dönemin en ünlü Amerikalı oyuncusu Edwin Booth'u tanıdı. Nisan 1865'te Edwin'in küçük kardeşi John Wilkes Booth, Washington'daki Ford Tiyatrosu'nda Başkan Lincoln'ü vurdu. Edwin kimi kurtardığını General Grant'in kurmayındaki subaylardan Adam Badeau'dan öğrenmişti; bunun suikastten sonra ona biraz teselli verdiği söylenir.

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Background reading: Robert Todd Lincoln
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