615A. HENRY REED RATHBONE (1837 - 1911) American military officer invited with his fiancée Clara Harris to attend the play "Our American Cousin" with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln on April 15, 1865. Rathbone shared the Presidential box with the Lincolns, and following the shooting he attempted to restrain John Wilkes Booth, incurring a deep knife wound in the process. As Booth leapt to the stage, Rathbone freed the door which Booth had secured to prevent guards from entering the box. Rathbone married Harris and never forgave himself for not preventing the killing. Years later, he became insane and killed his wife, ending his tragic life in a mental hospital. E.S. "H. R. Rathbone" on verso of an A.L.S. by H. Dunckel, 1p. 4to., Canajoharie, Sept. 20, 1869, inquiring about the quota of the Mohawk, New York, men required to fill the March and July 1864 calls for troops. Rathbone signs at bottom of the following text: "War Dept. A[jutant] G[eneral's] Office, Washington, DC, Sept. 29, 1869. Respectfully returned to H. Dunckel, Esq., Canajoharie...The purpose for which the information desired within is required...". Boldly signed and very good. $1,200 - 1,500