Caleb Jenner Stephens

Major Rathbone is a textbook example of someone becoming a footnote to history merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time—in this case sharing a box with the Lincolns that fateful night at Ford’s theater. A footnote is an accurate description because, if this book is any indicator the poor guy didn’t leave much in the historical record, forcing the author to engage in a lot of speculating: did his failure to prevent the assassination drive him insane? Did a life of idle show more wealth leave him unable to surmount life’s obstacles? Maybe? The author points to Rathbone’s later mental break stemming from the PTSD he suffered that night but it’s always tricky trying to diagnose a century+ later. show less