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A photograph of Dred Scott, taken around the time of his court case. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

NY museum adds Lincoln artifacts to Civil War exhibit

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
A photograph of Dred Scott, taken around the time of his court case. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A photograph of Dred Scott, taken around the time of his court case. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – The New York State Museum has added two artifacts to its exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Now in the exhibit, entitled “An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War,” are the notes taken by two physicians who attended President Abraham Lincoln on his death bed. Also added to the collection is the only existing oil painting of Dred Scott, the slave who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom in a landmark 1858 Supreme Court case.

The doctors’ handwritten notes describe Lincoln’s condition after being shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 15, 1865. Some of the notes are stained with the president’s blood.

The Dred Scott decision contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.

The exhibit is open through Sept. 22.

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AP-WF-05-23-13 0710GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A photograph of Dred Scott, taken around the time of his court case. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A photograph of Dred Scott, taken around the time of his court case. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.