The year was either the latter part of 1864 or early 1865, when in the late hours of a dark night a tired young man stood on a crowded train station platform waiting to catch a train. The platform was about the height of the train car floor and the young man is leaning against the car when the train starts to move. With no where to go the motion was twisting him off his feet. A small opening appeared between the train and the platform and the young man began to fall into the crack surely to die on the tracks below or be crushed between the platform and the train. Suddenly, he felt a strong hand grasp his coat collar and the feeling of being raised to his feet. Upon turning to thank his rescuer the young man was surprised to see someone he knew. A man who was considered famous throughout America. (It was like being rescued by George Clooney today). The young man expressed his gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name.
Some time passed and the young man joined the military and was telling his commander of his near-death experience and who his savior had been. So moved by the tale the Colonel took pen in hand and sent a thank you letter to our hero. The good Samaritan did not know the identity of the young man whose life he had saved until he received the letter addressed to him from his friend, the young man's commander, Colonel Adam Badeau.
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| Edwin Booth |
You see, by the time he received the letter it was said to have been of some comfort because the hero who had saved the young man was no other than Edwin Booth. Yes, Edwin the older brother of John Wilkes Booth, and the young man was Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln.
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| Robert Todd Lincoln |
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