Photo may be last in Lincoln’s life

A collector believes a photograph from a private album of Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant shows President Abraham Lincoln in front of the White House and could be the last image taken of him alive.

If it is Lincoln, it would be the only known photo of the president in front of the executive mansion.

Grant’s 38-year-old great-great-grandson, Ulysses S. Grant VI, had seen the picture before, but he didn’t examine it closely until January. Then the Springfield, Mo., construction business owner called Keya Morgan, a New York-based photography collector and Lincoln aficionado, who helped identify it as Lincoln.

Several historians who looked at it said the evidence supporting Morgan’s claim is compelling.

A handwritten notation on the back says: “Lincoln in front of the White House.” Grant believes his great-grandfather, Jesse Grant, the general’s youngest son, wrote that.

Also included was the date 1865 and the seal of photographer Henry F. Warren. Warren went to Washington to photograph Lincoln after his second inauguration in March 1865. Lincoln was killed in April, so the photo could be the last one taken of him.

Morgan paid Grant $50,000 for the photo, adding to his $25 million collection of Lincoln artifacts and original images.

Watch held hidden 1861 note

For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. On Tuesday, museum curators confirmed it was true.

A watchmaker used tiny tools to carefully pry open the antique watch at the National Museum of American History, and a descendant of the engraver read the message aloud.

“April 13 - 1861,” the first line reads, “Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date. J Dillon.” The second part states the location as Washington and says, “Thank God we have a government.”

Irish immigrant Jonathan Dillon, working as a watchmaker on Pennsylvania Avenue, had Lincoln’s watch in his hands when he heard the first shots of the Civil War had been fired in South Carolina.

In a 1906 article, an 84-year-old Dillon said no one, including Lincoln, ever saw the inscription.