Ladd Was at Lincoln's Deathbed

Judge Advocate Henry Burnett's Testimony

Henry Burnett, the chief investigator and prosecutor at the Lincoln assassination trial, placed Major Jonathan Ladd at the Peterson House on the morning of April 15, 1865. Burnett's records confirm Ladd's presence among the officers and officials gathered at Lincoln's deathbed.

President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre on the evening of April 14, 1865, and carried to the Peterson House across the street. He died at 7:22 am on April 15, 1865. Major Jonathan Ladd's gold pocket watch — presented to him by Colonel Elisha Strong Kellogg and the officers of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Artillery in March 1864 — may well have been the timepiece that recorded that historic moment.

Ladd's Washington Connections

Major Ladd's connections ran deep in Washington. He had served as Paymaster under the Union Army and had personal relationships with Governor John Albion Andrew, Senator Henry Wilson, Benjamin Butler, Hannibal Hamlin, and William Henry Seward Jr. These connections placed him at the center of the most consequential moments of the Civil War era.