The Bullet that Killed Ninety-Four People

On one day, the firing of one bullet killed ninety-four people.

April 14, 1865, Abraham and Mary Lincoln are accompanied by Major Rathbone and his finance`, Clara Harris, to Ford's theater. The War Between the States over, they sit in their private box, enjoying the play, "Our American Cousin" on that Good Friday.

The famous actor, John Wilkes Booth, stood behind Lincoln and fired one bullet into the back of his head and it was that bullet that would kill the ninety-four.

The funeral procession for Lincoln included a train trip through many states, finally ending at Springfield, Illinois. While the trip was in progress, two soldiers assigned to the trip were killed by misfiring rifles. Now Booth's bullet was responsible for the deaths of three.

While on the hunt for Booth, two military ships collided, killing eighty-seven. Booth's bullet was now responsible for the deaths of ninety.

After the trial of his co-conspirators, the military tribunal found four guilty, one of whom became the first woman the government of the United States ever executed. The total now stands at ninety-four.

In one of history's oddities, the three with Lincoln in the box that night at Ford's Theater were as good as dead. They say that Mary Todd Lincoln never recovered from the shock of that night, and her son eventually had her declared legally insane. For a time, the authorities locked up the former First Lady of the United States.

But the oddest of the oddities was what happened after Rathbone and Clara Harris became man and wife. They started a family and moved to Germany. Over the years, friends said that Rathbone was becoming increasingly despondent and erratic over his not being able to stop either the assassination or the assassin.

It was there, in Germany, one night, that Clara became concerned about the bizarre behavior of her husband and ordered the housekeeper to lock the children in their room. Rathbone came after his wife, stabbing her in the
chest until she died. The authorities tried him, pronounced him guilty, and locked him away for the rest of his life. More deaths, more casualties, and children orphaned because of Booth's bullet.

In reality, the toll was more than ninety-four. In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, angry mobs hanged those (no one knows how many) they mistook for Booth.

History is a record of what we'd expect if we know the Bible-what we do doesn't remain in a vacuum; it has repercussions of which we'd never dream. The ultimate example of that is the Fall of man in Genesis 3. "In Adam's fall we fell all," isn't that the statement made by the McGuffey reader?

It's not only that we don't sin in a vacuum; we also don't do good in a vacuum either. What we do, good or bad, has repercussions. You may remember the encouraging word of a teacher that was only a sentence or two, but it set the course of your life. You remember the compliment a Sunday school teacher gave you years ago that still encourages you to this day.

In the same way, we remember the stinging, critical remark that remains deep inside us years later like a wound that refuses to heal. Critical words have ended marriages and ruptured relationships. The son who never heard an encouraging word from his father continues deep into adulthood to trying to impress him decades later, just to hear him finally say something to refresh his spirit. Sadly, it never comes. The wound never dies.

The book of Proverbs is filled with words about the power of words; they can wound or heal. That's why we read of the need to be careful and weigh them carefully. That's why Paul tells the church, "Encourage one another."

That's the way Christ is with us, ever the Encourager: "I'll be with you to the end of the age." "I'm going to prepare a place for you." "I'll come back for you."

Dr. Mike Halsey, Pastor