Dear Colleagues: I'm interested in what was going on in the White House in the days following Lincoln's murder and before his body was moved to the Capitol Rotunda. I've looked at Elizabeth Keckley's recollections and the contemporary newspaper accounts, "Lincoln Day by Day" and a number of familiar sources such as George Templeton Strong's diary. But I'm looking for detail? I'm especially interested in any activity which took place on Tuesday, April 17, the day before the East Room service. Any suggestions? Your thoughts will be appreciated. Jim Huffstodt of Tallahassee.

Shadowy Figure: One-armed Brigadier General Martin D. Hardin (1937-1923) commanded a division assigned to the Washington fortifications from July 1864 thru the end of the war. He's a little-known but fascinating figure with strong ties to the Lincolns. His father, Col. John Hardin, was a Lincoln friend and fellow Whig in Illinois. They met perhaps as early as the Black Hawk War. Lincoln met his future bride, Mary Todd, at the Hardin home in Jacksonville, Ill. Hardin also played a key role in preventing the famous Lincoln/Shields duel. Apparently, after Col Hardin died in the Mexican War, Abraham Lincoln kept an avuncular eye on the surviving children. Hardin's widow, Sarah (Hardin) Walworth exchanged letters with Mary Lincoln during and after the Civil War. Her son, General Hardin, wrote a letter to his mother right after Lincoln's death, with the dateline: White House. Hardin was also active in the immediate pursuit of JWB (see Official Records/telegraph transcripts), and escorted the Sewards when they boarded the Monitor Saugus to identify Paine as Sec. of State Seward's attacker. I've been researching General Martin D. Hardin for five years, but haven't yet been able to uncover much on his time in Washington and connection with Lincoln during the President's last year of life. Hardin, in a post-war speech (Lincoln's 100th birthday, 1909), talked about being a frequent visitor to the White House at that time (64/65), but didn't provide detail. My hope is that someone out there in the assassination forum may be able to suggest further sources that might fill in the blanks on Hardin and the assasination, and Hardin and the Lincolns. Surely, if Hardin were a frequent visitor to the White House, there would be a record somewhere? Any advice will be deeply appreciated. Jim Huffstodt of Tallahassee

I'm a life-long student of American history, especially Civil War history and Lincoln's role in that epic drama. I was drawn to a posting on this site discussing General Martin D. Hardin escorting Fanny Seward and others to the monitor to identify her father's attacker, Lewis Paine (Powell), based on an April 11, 1915 article in the Washington Post. I've been researching General Hardin's life for five years and am eager to follow-up on this lastest clue. Incidentally, Hardin believed that Paine was among a raiding party of Mosby's Rangers, wearing Union uniforms, that ambushed his command at Catlett Station in December 1863. Hardin was seriously wounded in the affair and lost his left arm as a result. General Hardin was also a friend of the Lincoln family and helped lead the hunt for that assassin on that terrible Good Friday.