This undated photo provided by the Library of Congress shows Dr. Charles A. Leale, who was the first doctor to treat President Abraham Lincoln after he was shot at a Washington theater on the night of April 14, 1865. Now, 147 years later, a researcher with the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project has discovered an original copy of Dr. Leale's clinical 21-page report from the night Lincoln was shot. (AP Photo/Library of Congress)
Updated: June 5, 2012 7:53PM
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Researchers have found the long-lost report of the first doctor to treat President Abraham Lincoln after he was shot at a Washington theater.
Dr. Charles Leale rushed to the presidential box and found Lincoln leaning against his wife. Leale ordered brandy and water be brought to the president immediately.
The eyewitness report of the first physician to reach the mortally wounded president at Ford’s Theater in April 1865 was discovered in a box at the National Archives.
It was found by a researcher for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project, which is dedicated to finding and saving all documents written by or about the 16th president during his lifetime.
Director Daniel Stowell says the report is remarkable because it’s straightforward and lacks sentimentality.
Leale’s report: http://tinyurl.com/bt3c2fz