Prologue
I was writing lore for my Hearts of Iron 4 Mod (discord here) and I figured out that I could just write the United States timeline out here as I go along.
Please keep in note that the actual POD for this timeline happens a very long time before these events, though the history of the United States is virtually identical up until the events I now write here.
Prologue
“There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me...”
William H. Crook had only been a doorkeeper for the White House for three months, yet he saw no shortage of loonies come to the White House. On April 10, 1865, a strange, tall man with a long beard and a thick accent Crook couldn’t quite place where it was from came to the entrance and asked to meet with the President.
“The stars will soon reign down from the heavens onto the Earth,” the man rambled. “I need to see Abe to ensure he is not crushed by the weight of time’s corruption and evil.”
Crook responded in the most cordial fashion he could muster. “I’m sorry, fine sir, but Lincoln is currently preparing an important speech on voting rights for those freed from servitude. I’m sure Mr. President will be more than happy to discuss Armageddon with you some other time.”
“Fool!” Crook stepped back, frightened by the strange man’s outburst. “The President has little time left if he does not accept my warning. The antichrist has came to the Incan Empire, it will come to my great Kingdom of Brazil, and soon it will dawn upon America!”
Crook readied his rifle, signifying to the raggedy man to depart. “Well, I’m not sure if it’s wise to give a hoot about Brazil,” he said, sternly. “We have enough problems down in the South.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Bah!” The old man stormed off, leaving Crook in a cloud of confusion.
On their way to the War Department, April 13, 1865, president Lincoln scratched his beard and asked his bodyguard, “Crook, do you know, I believe there are men who want to take my life, and I have no doubt they will do it."
The question brought much worry to Crook. “Why do you think so, Mr. President?”
"Other men have been assassinated," he replied. "I have perfect confidence in those who are around me—in every one of you men. I know no one could do it and escape alive. But if it is to be done, it is impossible to prevent it.”
This worried Crook, especially recalling the strange meeting that occurred just three prior. Perhaps he should keep a closer eye on the people surrounding Lincoln in the next few days.
The next day, Lincoln was in an excellent mood, yet he seemed a bit reluctant to see Our American Cousin. Still, he insisted on attending. "It has been advertised that we will be there and I cannot disappoint the people. Otherwise I would not go. I do not want to go."
Crook was surprised- the president usually loved going to the theater. Lincoln would often slip into Ford’s Theater unnoticed during a play and watch a few minutes of it from the back of the house before slipping back out and returning to work, just for some fun. As Crook accompanied Lincoln back to the White House, Lincoln turned and said, "Goodbye, Crook."
Prior to that evening, Lincoln always told Crook “Good night,” not “Goodbye.” The strange substitution in wording had Crook concerned. He decided to visit Ford’s Theater off-hours, remembering that he supposedly has little time left, according to the Brazillian lunatic.
Crook arrived late to the theater. He assumed that Lincoln would have bodyguards with him regardless- though Crook just wanted to make sure of it. Crook walked upstairs, identified himself as the White House’s doorman, and was let into the room just before President’s box.
Oddly enough, the policeman Crook heard was assigned to guard Lincoln, John Frederick Parker, was not present. He assumed Parker just went off to use the bathroom. At 10:25 PM, Crook, idly listening to the play and Lincoln converse with his wife, saw a slow-walking, mustached man enter the room. Was he another security detail, perhaps a friend of Lincoln’s Crook hadn’t known? Crook stepped back and eyed him in the darkness.
Not noticing Crook, John Wilkes Booth pulled out a stick he hid in his pocket and barricaded the door. Startled, Crook stepped out of the shadow, readied his gun and shouted, “Stop right there! What in the Lord’s name are you doing to that do-”
Panicked, Booth quickly drew his Deringer and fired his single shot into Crook’s skull. The gunshot rang out across the theater, interrupting the play and shocking the audience. Unsure where the loud noise was coming from, Lincoln turned around. Realizing he wasted his only bullet on a random guard, Booth swung open the door and lunged towards Lincoln, stabbing him in the chest. Missing his heart by a few inches, Booth attempted to jump down to the first floor and escape the box with his dagger deep in Lincoln’s unconscious body, but was soon tackled by officer Henry Rathbone and quickly apprehended.
The plot to kill America’s sixteenth president had unceremoniously failed.
On April 21st, 1865, having fully recovered from the attempt, Lincoln attended the funeral of his devoted bodyguard who saved his life. There, he gave a speech acknowledging the deep animosity that still existed among much of the South- such as the crazed man who tried to kill him- that existed, and will try to impede on efforts to reunite and reunify the nation. Still, he declared, the federal government must not bend over to the spiteful and resentful, and the rights of the emancipated must be safeguarded instead of deprived. Saluting towards the casket of William H. Crook, he declared that America must be rebuilt greater than it was before.
OTL Sources:
Partly adapted from Adam Selzer - Ghosts of Lincoln: Discovering His Paranormal Legacy
Please keep in note that the actual POD for this timeline happens a very long time before these events, though the history of the United States is virtually identical up until the events I now write here.
Prologue
“There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me...”
William H. Crook had only been a doorkeeper for the White House for three months, yet he saw no shortage of loonies come to the White House. On April 10, 1865, a strange, tall man with a long beard and a thick accent Crook couldn’t quite place where it was from came to the entrance and asked to meet with the President.
“The stars will soon reign down from the heavens onto the Earth,” the man rambled. “I need to see Abe to ensure he is not crushed by the weight of time’s corruption and evil.”
Crook responded in the most cordial fashion he could muster. “I’m sorry, fine sir, but Lincoln is currently preparing an important speech on voting rights for those freed from servitude. I’m sure Mr. President will be more than happy to discuss Armageddon with you some other time.”
“Fool!” Crook stepped back, frightened by the strange man’s outburst. “The President has little time left if he does not accept my warning. The antichrist has came to the Incan Empire, it will come to my great Kingdom of Brazil, and soon it will dawn upon America!”
Crook readied his rifle, signifying to the raggedy man to depart. “Well, I’m not sure if it’s wise to give a hoot about Brazil,” he said, sternly. “We have enough problems down in the South.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Bah!” The old man stormed off, leaving Crook in a cloud of confusion.
On their way to the War Department, April 13, 1865, president Lincoln scratched his beard and asked his bodyguard, “Crook, do you know, I believe there are men who want to take my life, and I have no doubt they will do it."
The question brought much worry to Crook. “Why do you think so, Mr. President?”
"Other men have been assassinated," he replied. "I have perfect confidence in those who are around me—in every one of you men. I know no one could do it and escape alive. But if it is to be done, it is impossible to prevent it.”
This worried Crook, especially recalling the strange meeting that occurred just three prior. Perhaps he should keep a closer eye on the people surrounding Lincoln in the next few days.
The next day, Lincoln was in an excellent mood, yet he seemed a bit reluctant to see Our American Cousin. Still, he insisted on attending. "It has been advertised that we will be there and I cannot disappoint the people. Otherwise I would not go. I do not want to go."
Crook was surprised- the president usually loved going to the theater. Lincoln would often slip into Ford’s Theater unnoticed during a play and watch a few minutes of it from the back of the house before slipping back out and returning to work, just for some fun. As Crook accompanied Lincoln back to the White House, Lincoln turned and said, "Goodbye, Crook."
Prior to that evening, Lincoln always told Crook “Good night,” not “Goodbye.” The strange substitution in wording had Crook concerned. He decided to visit Ford’s Theater off-hours, remembering that he supposedly has little time left, according to the Brazillian lunatic.
Crook arrived late to the theater. He assumed that Lincoln would have bodyguards with him regardless- though Crook just wanted to make sure of it. Crook walked upstairs, identified himself as the White House’s doorman, and was let into the room just before President’s box.
Oddly enough, the policeman Crook heard was assigned to guard Lincoln, John Frederick Parker, was not present. He assumed Parker just went off to use the bathroom. At 10:25 PM, Crook, idly listening to the play and Lincoln converse with his wife, saw a slow-walking, mustached man enter the room. Was he another security detail, perhaps a friend of Lincoln’s Crook hadn’t known? Crook stepped back and eyed him in the darkness.
Not noticing Crook, John Wilkes Booth pulled out a stick he hid in his pocket and barricaded the door. Startled, Crook stepped out of the shadow, readied his gun and shouted, “Stop right there! What in the Lord’s name are you doing to that do-”
Panicked, Booth quickly drew his Deringer and fired his single shot into Crook’s skull. The gunshot rang out across the theater, interrupting the play and shocking the audience. Unsure where the loud noise was coming from, Lincoln turned around. Realizing he wasted his only bullet on a random guard, Booth swung open the door and lunged towards Lincoln, stabbing him in the chest. Missing his heart by a few inches, Booth attempted to jump down to the first floor and escape the box with his dagger deep in Lincoln’s unconscious body, but was soon tackled by officer Henry Rathbone and quickly apprehended.
The plot to kill America’s sixteenth president had unceremoniously failed.
On April 21st, 1865, having fully recovered from the attempt, Lincoln attended the funeral of his devoted bodyguard who saved his life. There, he gave a speech acknowledging the deep animosity that still existed among much of the South- such as the crazed man who tried to kill him- that existed, and will try to impede on efforts to reunite and reunify the nation. Still, he declared, the federal government must not bend over to the spiteful and resentful, and the rights of the emancipated must be safeguarded instead of deprived. Saluting towards the casket of William H. Crook, he declared that America must be rebuilt greater than it was before.
OTL Sources:
Partly adapted from Adam Selzer - Ghosts of Lincoln: Discovering His Paranormal Legacy