A Glimpse at History

I have come across a few interesting theories about Lincoln while conducting my recent research for my new book coming out soon called “Only Ghosts Came Home”.

First, it has been theorized that due to the direction from which the bullet was fired, the type of gun used, and the density of the skull, the bullet would have never penetrated the brain. Instead it is because of the medical procedures of the time, which suggested that the doctor, while performing his initial evaluation of the wound, first insert a probe into the wound to determine its depth. Upon doing this, the probe pushed the bullet deeper into the brain which ultimately caused Lincoln’s death. The actual recorded depth of the bullet would have never reached the brain by firing alone. So it can be argued that Booth didn’t really kill Lincoln….it was his doctor.

Secondly, I have come across written accounts that during the war and Lincoln’s administration, he exhibited strange and irrational behavior at times. Within medical records there have been entries that a substance called Blue Mass was administered to him. During my research on the substance I have found many individuals during that time period using the same substance. As it turns out Blue Mass is a high dose of Mercury. We all know what Mercury can do when taken by a human being. It causes strange and irrational behavior, illness, nausea, headaches and death. Even more interesting are the reasons I have found for it being administered to people, such as, depression, flu, indigestion, the common cold, and whatever else they could think of.

I hope you enjoyed a Glimpse into History….every couple of days or so I will share with you interesting tidbits I find during my travels and within my research. I will also in the spring attempt to provide for you a travel itinerary for the ultimate Civil War tour. Look for up and coming changes and additions to this site as it develops into a must see for history enthusiasts.

Filed under: Civil War Blogs by Savannah Meade