During the break in the play, the President's police guard and two of his servants went out for a drink, and the door to Lincoln's box was left without its guard.
On 14 April 1865 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., Lincoln's police guard John F. Parker, his footman Charles Forbes and his coachman Francis P. Burke left the theatre at the intermission to get a drink nearby [1].
Burke, who had been dozing on the carriage, said two friends asked him to have a glass of ale, and that they were the police officer and the President's footman. He thought it was at the end of the first act, and they were gone for at least ten minutes.
Sources call the place the saloon next to the theatre or a nearby tavern. One account says Parker may have gone to Taltavull's Star Saloon next door, where the actor John Wilkes Booth, who shot Lincoln later that night, also drank, so Parker may have been there when Booth was; that is not proven. Forbes came back and sat by the door to the box; Booth handed him a card, and Forbes let him in. The outer door had no fastening at all, and the locks on the passage doors had been broken the month before. Booth then jammed a wooden bar against the outer door; one source says he had placed it there earlier that day, another says only that someone familiar with the theatre prepared it. Major Henry Rathbone, a guest in the box, later found the door barred by a heavy plank.
It is still not known whether Parker drank at the Star Saloon itself or whether he ever came back before the shot. The coachman Burke testified under oath at the 1867 trial of John Surratt, one of Booth's group, and the saloon keeper Peter Taltavull at the 1865 military trial of the people accused of helping Booth; the full text of what either said on this point has not been found.
[Report #200] WHAT HAPPENED. During the play's intermission, Parker 'had left the theater to get a drink at a nearby tavern with Lincoln’s valet, Charles Forbes, and coachman Francis P. Burke.' (
history.army.mil) Another telling: 'At the intermission of Our American Cousin , Charles Forbes (Lincoln's footman) and Parker invited Francis P. Burke (Lincoln's coachman) to join them for a drink at the saloon next to Ford's Theatre.' (
web.archive.org) The coachman's own account, as given by Bryan: 'Coachman Burke was roused from his dozing by "two of my friends," who suggested that he have a glass of ale with them. He thought this was at the close of the first act.' (
archive.org) Bryan's source: 'Testimony of L. J. Carland and F. P. Burke, Surratt Trial' (
archive.org). 'Both of them, therefore, were absent from their posts during an intermission, when it would seem that their presence was specially needed, and both were drinking while on duty.' (
archive.org) They 'were gone for at least ten minutes' (
archive.org).
WHERE (held). Named only as 'the saloon next to Ford's Theatre' (
web.archive.org) and 'a nearby tavern' (
history.army.mil). The Star Saloon is named only with a 'may': 'Parker may have gone next door to Taltavul's Star Saloon for a drink.' (
web.archive.org) Booth himself went there that night: 'Booth decided to get a drink at Peter Taltavull’s Star Saloon next door, where he ordered a whiskey and a glass of water.' (
history.army.mil) Hence 'So Parker may have been there when Booth was.' (
web.archive.org) Wikipedia adds that Parker 'went to a nearby tavern with Lincoln's valet and coachman , got drunk and fell asleep.' (
en.wikipedia.org)
THE DOOR LEFT BEHIND. 'It is uncertain whether Parker returned to the theater, but Forbes certainly must have, because he met Booth at the door to Lincoln’s box. Booth presented his calling card, and, after a short conversation, Forbes allowed Booth to enter the presidential box' (
history.army.mil). Forbes 'was sitting in the dress circle, by the vestibule door' (
archive.org). 'Hanscom, editor of the Na-tional Republican' (
archive.org), 'wrote that at that time there was neither guard, watchman, sentinel, nor usher at the vestibule door and he thought anyone might have passed.' (
archive.org)
THE BOX'S DOORS. 'The vestibule door had no fastening whatever' (
archive.org). 'Even though the locks and keepers on the two doors of the passageway behind the boxes had been broken the previous month, no one had taken the trouble to call Gifford's attention to this matter.' (
npshistory.com) Behind the outer door lay 'a mortise cut roughly in the wall nor, lying near, a wooden bar about two inches square and four feet long.' (
archive.org) 'Booth then quietly used a wooden brace, which he had placed in the box earlier in the day, to barricade the outer door of the box.' (
history.army.mil) Against a settled preparer: 'someone familiar with Ford's Theatre did prepare the bar and scoop the plaster out of the wall' (
npshistory.com) — both held. Henry Rathbone, after the shot, 'found it barred by a heavy piece of plank, one end of which was secured in the wall, and the other resting against the door.' (
hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu) In the door to box 7 was 'a hole a quarter of an inch in diameter, looking as if made with a gimlet and reamed with a pocket knife.' (
archive.org) Who bored it is disputed (see john_f_parker).
HELD. Whether Parker drank at the Star Saloon itself, and whether he ever came back before the shot. Not found (Oct 2026); would settle: the full text of F. P. Burke's 1867 Surratt-trial testimony and Peter Taltavull's 1865 conspiracy-trial testimony.
THE OCTOBER 2026 RESEARCH REPORT SAID the coachman was 'John Buckingham (the coachman)'; its sources name 'Francis P. Burke (Lincoln's coachman)' (
web.archive.org), and Bryan lists 'Buckingham, J. E., doorkeeper at Ford's Theatre on Good Friday' (
archive.org).