On this date in crime history – April 14, 1865, President
Abraham Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater. After
shooting the president Booth shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis!
(Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged," as he jumped onto the stage
and fled on horseback. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth was a well-known actor
who was particularly loved in the South. During the war, he stayed in the North
and became increasingly bitter. Along with friends Samuel Arnold, Michael
O'Laughlin, and John Surratt, Booth conspired to kidnap Lincoln and deliver him
to the South.
On March 17, along with George Atzerodt, David Herold,
and Lewis Paine, the group met in a Washington bar to plot the abduction of the
president three days later. However, when the president changed his plans, the
scheme was scuttled. Shortly afterward, the South surrendered to the Union and
the conspirators altered their plan. They decided to kill Lincoln, Vice
President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward.
On April 14, Atzerodt backed out of his part to kill
Johnson. Upset, Booth went to drink at a saloon near Ford's Theater. At about
10 p.m. he walked into the theater and up to the president's box. Lincoln's
guard, John Parker, was not there because he had gotten bored with the play, Our
American Cousin, and left his post to get a drink. Booth easily
slipped in and shot the president in the back of the head. The president's
friend, Major Rathbone, attempted to grab Booth but was slashed by Booth's
knife. Booth injured his leg badly when he jumped to the stage to escape, but
he managed to hobble outside to his horse. Meanwhile, Lewis Paine forced his
way into William Seward's house and stabbed the secretary of state several
times before fleeing. Booth rode to Virginia with David Herold and stopped at
the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who placed splints on Booth's legs. They hid in a
barn on Richard Garrett's farm as thousands of Union troops combed the area
looking for them. The other conspirators were captured, except for John
Surratt, who fled to Canada.
When federal troops finally caught up with Booth and
Herold on April 26, they gave them the option of surrendering before the barn
was burned down. Herold decided to surrender, but Booth remained in the barn as
it went up in flames. Booth was then shot and killed in the burning barn by
Corporal Boston Corbett. On July 7, George Atzerodt, Lewis Paine, David Herold,
and John Surratt's mother, Mary, were hanged in Washington. The execution of
Mary Surratt is believed by some to have been a miscarriage of justice.
Although there was proof of Surratt’s involvement in the original abduction
conspiracy, it is clear that her deeds were minor compared to those of the
others who were executed. Her son John was eventually tracked down in Egypt and
brought back to trial, but he managed, with the help of clever lawyers, to win
an acquittal.
His book
can be purchased at Amazon through the following
link:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=la_B0035CPN70_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361552464&sr=1-3
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