On November 9, the president and Mrs. Lincoln, again in total disregard to my previous advice, attend a play at Ford's Theater. This time the play was "Marble Heart" starring John Wilkes Booth. Booth came from a theatrical family with his father, Junius Brutus, and brother, Edwin, also acting on the stage in Shakespearean plays.
I was surprised to find out that on that same day, Mr. Lincoln had written to his friend Stephen Logan of Springfield, Illinois proposing the he and his daughter Sally Logan, my wife, attend the dedication of the national Cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19. I had previously planned to visit Sally in Springfield that very day, but had to cancel due to the invitation to attend the Gettysburg event as the marshal in charge.
I traveled to Gettysburg in preparation of the event. While there I received privileges from the federal telegraph office to send telegrams to Union states inviting them to send representatives to the event. I appointed dozens of assistant marshals, set up the procession route, and garnered buggies and horses for celebrities to ride during the procession from the town center to the cemetery.
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