Hay did not accompany the Lincolns to Ford 's Theatre on the night of April 14 , 1865 , but remained at the White House , drinking whiskey with Robert Lincoln . When the two were informed that the President had been shot , they hastened to the Petersen House , a boarding house where the stricken Lincoln had been taken . Hay remained by Lincoln 's deathbed through the night and was present when he died . At the moment of Lincoln 's death , Hay observed " a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features " . He heard War Secretary Edwin Stanton 's declaration , " Now he belongs to the ages . " According to Kushner and Sherrill , " Lincoln 's death was for Hay a personal loss , like the loss of a father ... Lincoln 's assassination erased any remaining doubts Hay had about Lincoln 's greatness . " In 1866 , in a personal letter , Hay deemed Lincoln , " the greatest character since Christ " . Taliaferro noted that " Hay would spend the rest of his life mourning Lincoln ... wherever Hay went and whatever he did , Lincoln would '' always '' be watching "
had been shot
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Hay