WI: The Grants go to Ford's Theatre with Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia were asked to go to a showing of the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre with the Lincolns. They declined. However, John Wilkes Booth thought they would be attending, and planned to stab Grant after he'd shot Lincoln.

What if the Grants had decided to go? Could Booth have succeeded in stabbing him? Alternately, could his presence have resulted in Honest Abe surviving?
 
Considering that Lincoln dismissed his security guard, I would assume there would be Military escort this time.

I mean, its the President of the United States AND the Commanding General of the United States Army.
 
Considering that Lincoln dismissed his security guard, I would assume there would be Military escort this time.

I mean, its the President of the United States AND the Commanding General of the United States Army.

Grant had his own guard who would NOT have left the booth to go to a bar. Grant also swore later he would have heard Booth enter the Presidental box- in fact for the rest of his life Grant
blamed himself for Lincoln’s death. If I had been there, he always maintained, I would have stopped Booth.
 
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What if the Grants had decided to go? Could Booth have succeeded in stabbing him? Alternately, could his presence have resulted in Honest Abe surviving?

Almost certainly the latter. The sentry would never have left his post had Grant been there - you just didn't take such liberties with him. So Booth probably wouldn't even have got into the Presidential box.
 
Almost certainly, Lincoln survives. The next 3 years or so are defined by a slow drift to the radical faction of the Republicans as Lincoln's desire to moderate eases in the face of overwhelming Republican electoral supremacy and pressure from the Radicals in the House. Next GOP ticket is probably Grant/Colfax as OTL, I don't really see a reason why another candidate would win out.

Would Lincoln's presence and undoubtedly massive political sway affect the corruption scandals and Dominican annexation affair of the Grant administration? At a minimum I'd expect Reconstruction to not be the miserable failure it was OTL.
 
Lincoln almost certainly survives. If not because someone is going to go "Oh hey, we've got two top level VIP's in this booth, lets go put a couple more boys on the security detail", then at least because Grant's bodyguard isn't going to just wander off.

Booth's best plan might actually be to wait till the play's over, 'happen' across the two in the lobby, and try to get close.
 
no, john parker(the bodyguard who had a known history of shirking his duty) just wandered off
first to watch the play in the adjoining both, and then to grab a drink across the road

if nothing else having grant's bodyguard there would mean that there's one competent person on duty

Yes, he was quite the drunkard as well.

Regardless, Lincoln's security was lax (even if it was standard at the time). I would actually figure that would change with Grant.
 
Lincoln will most likely survive the night. He might have taken a fatalistic view towards his security but Grant definitely wouldn't. At the very least a security/escort detachment would have accompanied both men to the theater. Boothe might have gotten cold feet and abandoned his part in the plan.

If Seward is still attacked (and I can't see why he wouldn't be) then Lincoln would definitely have a permanent security detail going forward.
 
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