John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor who is most famous for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. A professional and extremely popular stage actor of his day, Booth was a Confederate sympathizer who was dissatisfied by the outcome of the American Civil War.

The assassination and aftermath

On April 10, after hearing the news that Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Booth told a friend, Louis J. Weichmann, that he was done with the stage, and that the only play he wanted to present henceforth was Venice Preserv'd. Although Mr. Weichmann didn't understand the reference, Venice Preserv'd is about an assassination plot.

Related Topics:
April 10 - Robert E. Lee - Appomattox Court House - Venice Preserv'd

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On April 11, Booth was in the crowd outside the White House when Lincoln gave an impromptu speech from his window. When Lincoln stated that he was in favor of granting suffrage to African-Americans, Booth turned to Lewis Powell and urged him to shoot the president on the spot. Powell refused. Booth claimed that it would be the last speech Lincoln would ever make.

Related Topics:
April 11 - Suffrage - Lewis Powell

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On the morning of Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Booth heard that the president and Mrs. Lincoln, along with General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, would be attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. Booth immediately set about making plans for the assassination and an escape route. Later that night, Booth informed Powell, Herold and Atzerodt of his intention to kill Lincoln. He assigned Powell to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward and Atzerodt to assassinate Vice-President Andrew Johnson. Herold would assist in their escape into Southern territory. By targeting the President and his two constitutional successors to the office, Booth seems to have intended to decapitate the Union government and throw it into a state of panic and confusion. With any hope, the Confederate government could then reorganize and continue the war.

Related Topics:
Good Friday - April 14 - 1865 - General Ulysses S. Grant - Our American Cousin - Secretary of State - William Seward - Vice-President - Andrew Johnson

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Booth was a famous actor and a friend of owner John Ford, and thus had free access to all parts of the theater. Boring a spyhole into the presidential box earlier that day, the assassin could see if his intended victim had made it to the play. That evening, as the play distracted the Presidential guests, John Wilkes Booth stole into Lincoln's box and shot him fatally in the back of the head with a .44 caliber Deringer pistol.

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Booth then jumped out of the President's box and fell to the stage, reportedly breaking his leg. Many historians now believe, however, that Booth actually broke his leg when his horse fell on him later in the escape, and that the "diary" entry claiming it occurred jumping to the stage is a typical Booth dramatization. Some witnesses said he shouted "Sic semper tyrannis" from the stage, while others said he shouted "The South is avenged." He fled to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated the broken leg. Mudd was convicted of treason before a military court and sentenced to life in prison at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas region of Florida, but released early for his efforts in stemming a yellow fever epidemic. Ironically, one of the other plotters and fellow prisoners, whom he took into his care when he returned home, survived him.

Related Topics:
Sic semper tyrannis - Samuel Mudd - Fort Jefferson - Dry Tortugas - Yellow fever

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Booth was pursued by Union soldiers through Southern Maryland and across the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers to Richard Garrett's farm, near Bowling Green, Caroline County, Virginia. Early in the morning of April 26, 1865, the soldiers caught up with Booth. Trapped in a tobacco barn, Booth refused to surrender and Everton Conger ordered the soldiers to set the barn ablaze. Sergeant Boston Corbett, against orders, fired at Booth and fatally wounded him in the neck. Booth was dragged from the fire and he died on the porch of the farmhouse. His last words were spoken as he stared at his hands and reportedly muttered, "Useless! Useless!"

Related Topics:
Potomac - Rappahannock - Bowling Green - Caroline County - Virginia - April 26 - 1865 - Tobacco - Everton Conger - Boston Corbett

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Booth's body was taken to the Washington Navy Yard for identification and an autopsy. The body was then buried in a cell in the Old Penitentiary at the Washington Arsenal. In 1867, the body was exhumed, placed in a pine box, and locked in a warehouse at the prison. In 1869, the body was once again identified before being released to the Booth family, where it was buried in an unmarked location in the family plot at Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Related Topics:
Washington Navy Yard - Autopsy - 1867 - 1869 - Greenmount Cemetery - Baltimore

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