Bomb Scare

Abraham Lincoln’s whistle-stop train tour from Springfield, Illinois to his inauguration in Washington, DC was marked by several threats to the president-elect’s life.

For example, after his train left Cincinnati, Ohio, a bomb was discovered in a small carpet bag on a seat in the railroad car that was occupied by Lincoln and his family and friends. The bomb was found only because luggage was prohibited in the car.

The explosive device, which was timed to detonate in fifteen minutes, was quickly deactivated. It “would have exploded with a force sufficient to have demolished the car and destroyed the lives of all persons in it,” according to one newspaper account.

Source: Attempts on the Life of Mr. Lincoln, The World (New York, NY), February 27, 1861, 1