Trivia 9-22-2020 Not a Very Good Sniper

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" the shot went high. The bullet passed harmlessly through the President's hat, knocking it to the ground; "
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Lincoln's silk hat


The following account from Private John W. Nichols appeared in the April 6, 1887 issue of the New York Times after originally appearing in the Wheeling Register (West Virginia):

One night about the middle of August (1864) Mr. Nichols was doing sentinel duty at the large gate to the grounds of the home. About 11 o'clock he heard a rifle shot, and shortly afterward Mr. Lincoln dashed up to the gate on horseback. The President was bareheaded, and as he dismounted he said, referring to his horse; " He came pretty near getting away with me, didn't he? He got the bit in his teeth before I could draw the rein." Mr. Nichols asked him where his hat was, and he replied that somebody had fired a gun off at the foot of the hill, and that his horse had become scared and jerked his hat off.

"Thinking the affair rather strange," said Mr. Nichols, "a corporal and myself went down the hill to make an investigation. At the intersection of the driveway and main road we found the President's hat — a plain silk one — and upon examining it we discovered a bullet hole through the crown. The shot had been fired upward, and it was evident that the person who fired the shot had secreted himself close by the roadside. The next day I gave Mr. Lincoln his hat and called his attention to the bullet hole. He remarked rather unconcernedly, that it was put there by some foolish gunner and was not intended for him. He said, however, that he wanted the matter kept quiet, and admonished us to say nothing about it. We felt confident that it was an attempt to kill him, and a well nigh successful one, too. The affair was, of course, kept quiet in compliance with the President's request. After that the President never rode alone."


Private Nichols' story was corroborated by President Lincoln himself, who told the story to his friend, Ward Hill Lamon, shortly after it took place. Lamon later recounted the story Lincoln told in his book
Recollections of Abraham Lincoln.
 
The sniper hit Lincoln's "eight dollar plug hat"

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