I was reading some Civil War history the other day and came across a bit of history about a man not many folks ever knew much about. I know for a fact, that this man, who by doing his job, could have possibly changed history.
In the early 1860s, Washington, D.C. was the centerpoint of the Union Army’s war effort. The war had turned a small city into a major capital.
Lincoln had been elected and became president on Mar. 4, 1861. His recent election served to be the driving force for the outbreak of the American Civil War. Although, Lincoln’s biggest political ambition was to preserve the Union at all costs.
In 1863, Lincoln was instrumental in passing the Emancipation Proclamation which freed 20,000 slaves. Then the Thirteenth Amendment made slavery unconstitutional in the U.S.
Then in 1864, Lincoln won reelection, mostly because of northern victories in the South.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Northern Virginia Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Before the month ended, the Civil War was over, giving the North the victory.
All during the war, Lincoln had been a hands-on president. If one of his generals wasn’t doing enough, he was replaced by someone who possibly could.
During Lincoln’s presidency, he preferred not to have many bodyguards around. I wonder if that would be the case in today’s society? Why, in his last term, someone took a shot at him while he walked alone in the gardens of the White House. The bullet went through the top of Lincoln’s hat but he wasn’t injured.
Then on April 14, 1865, Lincoln, his wife and another couple decided to take in a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington. The play was called, “Our American Cousins.”
What Lincoln didn’t know was that a local actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth, and his fellow conspirators had plans to assassinate the president, the vice president (Andrew Johnson) and Secretary of State (William Henry Seward) that very night.
As Lincoln entered the president’s box at the theater, only one guard was posted at the door. The Metropolitan Police Department had detailed four officers to guard the president but only one was stationed at the door that fateful night. That man was John Frederick Parker.
Let me tell you a little about Parker: He was born in Winchester, Virginia on May 19, 1830. His father was a butcher but later became a police officer. As time went by, John moved to Washington, D.C. and became a carpenter. It wasn’t long before John got married and he and his wife had three children. When the Washington Metropolitan Police Force was organized in 1861, John left the carpentry business and became one of the 150 officers who were hired.
As a police officer, Parker’s record was spotted to say the least. He was brought up before the police board for several transgressions. These charges included: conduct unbecoming to a police officer, visiting a house of prostitution, firing a pistol through a window, being drunk on duty, asleep on duty and using foul language. At times, Parker was reprimanded; at other times, the charges were dismissed but at no time was he fired. Despite his record, Parker was assigned to be one of the four officers who became Mr. Lincoln’s presidential guards. This sounds a little fishy to me.
On the night of April 14, 1865, John Parker reported to the White House at 7 p.m. (3 hours late). He was told to go to Ford’s Theater and wait for the president.
After Lincoln and his guest arrived and were seated, Parker took up his position in a small passageway just outside the closed state box door.
As the play went along, Parker got bored and could only hear the play. To see the play and hear it better, Parker left his post and found a seat in another open box.
At the play’s intermission, Parker not only left the president unguarded but went with some friends to a saloon next to Ford’s Theater. Some say that Lincoln excused Parker but no record was found to that order. As John Wilkes Booth entered the state box to kill President Lincoln, Parker was nowhere to be seen.
Early the next morning after everyone learned of Lincoln’s death, Washington was in chaos. Johnson was spared Seward had been badly injured. All of the Union Army and the local police departments were trying their best to track down John Wilkes Booth and anyone else in the conspiracy to kill Lincoln.
On May 3, 1865, John Parker was cleared of the neglect of duty charge involving the president. A transcript of the case was never kept and the complaint was dropped. Parker never got over that fateful night he left his post but was still assigned to work security at the White House.
Mrs. Lincoln later told Parker that she would always think that he was responsible for President Lincoln’s death.
Parker stayed on the police force until 1868 when he was fired for sleeping on the job. He died in Washington, D.C. of pneumonia on June 28, 1890 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Glenwood Cemetery. His widow and their three children are buried next to him. There are no images of John Parker and his grave was left unmarked to signify his contribution to the president’s death.
I would like to close this story with a question: By leaving our post in life, I wonder how many people we affect and how it might change history as was the case of John Frederick Parker?
J.A. Bolton is the author of “Just Passing Time” and co-author of “Just Passing Time Together.” He is also a member of the Anson County Writers Club, the Anson and Richmond County Historical Societies, the N.C. Storytelling Guild and the Story Spinners of Laurinburg. Contact him at ja@jabolton.com.
