Officials Say Researcher Faked Date on Lincoln Document

A Virginia man has confessed to trying to rewrite history by altering a date on a document penned by Abraham Lincoln -- a move that enhanced his own reputation as a scholar, the National Archives said today.

Longtime Lincoln researcher Thomas Lowry, of Woodbridge, Va., admitted that he changed the date on a presidential pardon issued to Patrick Murphy, a Union Army soldier who was court-martialed for desertion during the Civil War, said David S. Ferriero, archivist of the United States.

Lowry altered the date on the document from April 14, 1864, to April 14, 1865 -- the day John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, Ferriero said. After changing the date, Lowry was then able to claim he had found what may have been one of Lincoln's last official acts, if not the very last one, Ferriero said.

He called it a "criminal intention to rewrite history."

In 1998, Lowry received national media coverage for his discovery of the Murphy pardon, and the document was placed on display at the National Archives Building in Washington. Lowry cited the document in his 1999 book, "Don't Shoot That Boy: Abraham Lincoln and Military Justice."

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However, Trevor Plante, an archivist at the National Archives, noted that the "5" in "1865" seemed to be a little darker than the rest of the date, and it looked as if there might have been another number under the 5. Another expert examined the document and confirmed Plante's suspicions.

Lowry agreed to be questioned by the Office of the Inspector General and eventually admitted on Jan. 12 that he had changed the date, Ferriero said.

The Justice Department said too much time had elapsed to prosecute Lowry, but the National Archives has permanently banned him from all its facilities.

Conservators will determine whether the document can be restored to its original form.