author
Charles A. (Charles Augustus) Leale
1842–1932
Best remembered as the young army surgeon who rushed to Abraham Lincoln’s side at Ford’s Theatre, he left a firsthand link to one of the most dramatic nights in American history. His life combined Civil War service, medicine, and a long career that kept him connected to the memory of Lincoln’s final hours.
1 Audiobook
Lincoln's Last Hours
by Charles A. (Charles Augustus) Leale
About the author
Born in New York City in 1842, Charles Augustus Leale trained in medicine during the Civil War era and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1865. He served as a Union Army surgeon while still very young, entering history almost immediately after earning his degree.
Leale is chiefly known for being the first doctor to reach President Abraham Lincoln after the shooting at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. His quick examination and treatment helped keep Lincoln alive until the following morning, and his account of the event remains an important eyewitness record of the assassination.
After the war, Leale continued his medical career and lived a long life, dying in 1932. Today he is remembered not only as a physician, but as a calm and capable young doctor whose name became permanently tied to a turning point in American history.