Charles Leale

Charles Augustus Leale (March 26, 1842 – June 13, 1932) was a surgeon in the Union Army during the American Civil War[1] and the first doctor to arrive at the presidential box at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865 after John Wilkes Booth fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln in the head. His prompt treatment allowed Lincoln to live until the next morning. Leale continued to serve in the army until 1866, after which he returned to his home town of New York City where he established a successful private practice and became involved in charitable medical care. One of the last surviving witnesses to Lincoln's death, Leale died in 1932 at the age of 90.

Charles Leale
Charles Leale in his middle years
Born
Charles Augustus Leale

(1842-03-26)March 26, 1842
New York City, New York
DiedJune 13, 1932(1932-06-13) (aged 90)
Manhattan, New York
Occupationphysician, surgeon

Early life

Dr. Leale was born in New York City March 26, 1842, the son of Captain William P. and Anna Maria Burr Leale. He was a grandson of Captain Richard Burr, who, in 1746 sent a cargo of corn to famine-stricken Ireland. Leale began his medical studies at 18, the private pupil of Dr. Austin Flint, Sr., in diseases of the heart and lungs, and of Dr. Frank H. Hamilton in gunshot wounds and surgery. He also studied at various clinics and served a full term as medical cadet in the United States Army.[2]

Assassination of Lincoln
Main article: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Charles Leale in Union Uniform

In April 1865, about six weeks after graduating from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City, Leale had charge of the Wounded Commissioned Officers' Ward at the United States Army General Hospital in Armory Square, Washington, DC.[3]

A few days before Lincoln's assassination, Leale saw Lincoln give his last public address and was intrigued by Lincoln's facial features. Soon after, learning that Lincoln was going to Ford's Theatre to see the play Our American Cousin, he attended as well – not to see the play, but to study Lincoln's face and facial expressions.[4] He arrived late and was unable to get a seat with an unhindered view of Lincoln; instead he sat near the front about forty feet away.

After John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln, Leale rushed to Lincoln's box where he briefly examined Henry Rathbone, whom Booth had stabbed in the arm. He then saw Lincoln slumped in his armchair supported by Mary Todd Lincoln; Lincoln was unresponsive, barely breathing with no detectable pulse.[5] Initially thinking Lincoln had been stabbed, he laid him on the floor and, with bystander William Kent, cut off Lincoln's collar and opened his coat and shirt in search of wounds. After realizing that Lincoln's eyes were dilated, Leale found the bullet wound at the back of the head.[6] Leale was unable to locate the bullet, which was deep in Lincoln's head, but after he dislodged a blood clot Lincoln's breathing improved;[7]:121–22 he found that regular removal of clots maintained Lincoln's breathing. He also gave artificial respiration. His assessment, however, was that Lincoln could not recover. By this time other surgeons from the audience had arrived, including Laura Keene, who cradled Lincoln’s head, while Leale announced that Lincoln wasn’t going to survive.

Fearing that Lincoln would not survive a carriage ride back to the White House, Leale ordered that Lincoln be moved to someplace nearby. Soldiers and bystanders picked Lincoln up and took him across to the Petersen House, where Leale and the others laid Lincoln diagonally on the small bed, rented by William Clark. After clearing everyone out, they searched for other wounds by cutting away all of Lincoln’s clothes. When they realized that Lincoln’s body was cold, they applied hot water bottles, mustard plasters, and blankets. At this point other physicians took charge of Lincoln's care, but Leale kept hold of Lincoln's hand throughout the night, "to let him know that he was in touch with humanity and had a friend."[8] Lincoln remained comatose until he died at 7:22 the next morning, April 15, 1865.

For his efforts, Leale was allowed to participate in various capacities during Lincoln's funeral.[4]

Later life
Charles Leale in his later years

Although Leale submitted a report in 1867 to Representative Benjamin F. Butler's House commission investigating the assassination, Leale's account of Lincoln's death was not publicly revealed until the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 1909.[9] In that year Leale spoke on "Lincoln's Last Hour" to the New York commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.[10] His 1865 written report to the Surgeon General of the United States was thought lost until 2008, when a 22-page photocopy was found in the Georgetown University Library and published.[11]

Seemingly written just hours after the assassination, a second copy was found in the National Archives in June 2012.[12][13][14]

After his discharge he went to Europe, where he studied the Asiatic Cholera. On September 3, 1867, he married Rebecca Medwin Copcutt, a daughter of Yonkers, New York, industrialist John Copcutt (1805–1895) at the historic John Copcutt Mansion.[15] Until his retirement in 1928, Dr. Leale maintained a continuous interest in philanthropic, medical, and scientific projects. Leale was one of the last surviving attendees of Lincoln's assassination upon his death in 1932 at the age of 90. He was survived by five children, a sixth child, daughter Annie Leale, having died in 1915. Rebecca Copcutt Leale died in 1923. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, where funeral services were held on June 15, 1932.[16] Burial followed in Oakland Cemetery.

The cuff of the shirt that Leale wore the night of the assassination, stained with Lincoln's blood, was later donated by his granddaughter to the National Museum of American History.[17]

See also

References
  1. Schroeder-Lein, Glenna R. (28 January 2015). The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine. Routledge. ISBN 9781317457107. Retrieved 25 October 2017 – via Google Books.
  2. THE NEW YORK TIMES, June 14, 1932, Obituary of Dr. Charles A. Leale.
  3. Leale, Charles. Lincoln's Last Hours. 1909. Project Gutenberg
  4. Helen Leale Harper Jr. (Spring 1995). "Dr. Charles A. Leale: First Surgeon to Reach the Assassinated President Lincoln". YHS Newsletter. Yonkers Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  5. "Report of first doctor to reach shot Lincoln found".
  6. Richard A. R. Fraser, "How Did Lincoln Die?," American Heritage Magazine February/March 1995 "How Did Lincoln Die?" Archived 2010-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Steers, Edward. Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. University Press of Kentucky, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8131-9151-5
  8. Steers. Blood on the Moon. p. 14.
  9. Charles A. Leale to Benjamin F. Butler, July 20th, 1867, Benjamin Butler Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., box 43
  10. Charles A. Leale, Lincoln's Last Hours: Address Delivered Before the Commandery of the State of New York Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (New York: Privately published, 1909) Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/0/8/24088/ (accessed July 27, 2012)
  11. Sotos, JG (2008). The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook. Mount Vernon, VA: Mt. Vernon Book Systems. ISBN 978-0-9818193-3-4.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ""Is there a surgeon in the house?!" Papers of Abraham Lincoln researcher discovers report of Dr. Charles A. Leale, first physician to reach Lincoln at Ford's Theatre" (PDF). Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. 5 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. Papaioannou, Helena (6 June 2012). "All Things Considered". National Public Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Robert Siegel. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  15. Neil G. Larson (July 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: John Copcutt Mansion". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  16. THE NEW YORK TIMES, June 14, 1932, Obituary of Dr. Charles A. Leale.
  17. "Coffee cups, chairs, and jackets: Presidential last moments preserved". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
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