The original .44-caliber bullet that fatally wounded President Abraham Lincoln after he was shot at Ford’s Theatre is on public display in Montgomery County.
Housed at the National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) in Silver Spring, the artifact is part of a unique exhibit that also includes fragments of Lincoln’s skull and the surgical probe used to search for the bullet following the assassination.
Located at 2500 Linden Lane, the NMHM displays these items together to tell a powerful story of both a pivotal moment in American history and the medical response in its aftermath. The bullet, skull fragments, and probe were transferred in 1956 from the storage vaults of the Lincoln Museum to the predecessor organization of today’s National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Visitors to the museum can see the bullet that ended Lincoln’s life alongside these other historically significant objects, offering a rare and tangible connection to one of the most studied events in U.S. presidential history. The exhibit provides context not only for Lincoln’s assassination but also for the medical practices of the era, giving audiences a window into how physicians of the 19th century responded to traumatic injury. Additional information can be found here.
