Meredith Newmark

Social Studies

6^th period

The Lincoln Assassination

“Assassination is not an American practice or habit, and one so vicious and so desperate cannot be engrafted in our political system,” said William Henry Seward, President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State. Seward had reason to believe this; all fifteen presidents before Lincoln had died of natural causes. Unfortunately, though, Seward was very wrong. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln would be the first president of the United States to be killed by an assassin. The shot would change American history.

On April 14, 1865, Lincoln definitely had cause to be happy. Just five days ago, Lee had surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, ending the Civil War that had taken the lives of over 600,000 men. “I am glad the war is over at last,” Lincoln said, surely speaking for everyone. A more personal reason Lincoln had to be happy was that his oldest son, Robert, had returned home from the army that morning. Lincoln, unfortunately, also had reason to be frightened. He had recently had a dream in which he saw people mourning over a corpse. When he asked who had died, a soldier responded, “The President. He was killed by an assassin!” The cause of this nightmare was probably previous assassination threats and attempts on him. In one assassination attempt in 1862, a bullet hit his top hat. Everyday, his secretaries threw away many letters threatening his life before he could see them. The President, however, had kept eighty threats to his life, by March of 1865, in an envelope labeled “Assassination.” Despite his troubles, Lincoln was happy. He expected Sherman’s victory soon. Even Mrs. Lincoln noticed. “Dear Husband, you almost startle me by your great cheerfulness,” she commented. It would not last long.

John Wilkes Booth had been hatching a plan to bring the President’s life to an end. Booth was a famous actor on stage. He was the ninth son of Junius Brutus Booth (named after Julius Caesar’s assassin), an English actor in Shakespeare’s tragedies. Booth’s brother, Edwin, was very well known in America for his role of Hamlet. Booth also supported the Confederacy while hating the Union. Slavery was “one of the greatest blessings” according to Booth. Booth had even spied for the South. Because Lincoln was president of the Union and supported the abolition of slavery, Booth fervently hated him. The last straw for Booth was Lincoln’s speech on April 11, 1865, in which Lincoln spoke of giving blacks suffrage. Booth came up with the plan to kidnap Lincoln on his ride to his White House office, when the President had few guards. Booth would then take him to Richmond, where the Confederate government would hold him for ransom in exchange for Confederate prisoners of war. But in order to put this plan into action, Booth would need some help.

Several desperate Confederates encouraged and aided Booth. He convinced his friends, Samuel B. Arnold and Michael O’Laughlin, both former Confederate soldiers, to help him. John Harrison Surratt, a courier for the Confederacy, was also impressed by Booth’s plan. He knew the hidden roads from Washington to Richmond. Soon, more men were recruited to the conspiracy. George A. Atzerodt would ferry Booth across the Potomac River. David E. Herold would guide them in their escape out of Washington. Lewis Paine, a deserter of the Confederate army, and Ned Spangler, a friend of Booth’s, promised to help Booth. Booth paid the conspirators, bought them weapons, and kept horses for them. The eight men met in the house of Mrs. Mary Surratt, John Surratt’s mother. Booth thought of kidnapping Lincoln one night at Ford’s Theatre, but the others thought the plan was too risky. Then Booth planned to kidnap Lincoln at a play at a military hospital he’d heard Lincoln would be attending, but Lincoln didn’t show up. Arnold, O’Laughlin, and Surratt decided to abandon the plan. When Richmond fell to the Union, Booth chose to murder Lincoln instead, to keep the Confederacy. Booth and his conspirators would also kill General Grant, Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of State William Henry Seward, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Booth saw his opportunity when he heard about the Lincolns’ night out.

Lincoln would be attending a play at Ford’s Theatre on the night of April 14. He had invited Grant and his wife to the theater, but they had turned him down, saying they were going to visit their children in New Jersey. The real reason for their decline was that Mrs. Grant couldn’t stand Mrs. Lincoln. Then Lincoln invited Major Henry J. Rathbone and his fiancee Clara Harris. They accepted the invitation. They arrived at the theater when the play, Our American Cousin, was already in the first act. As they arrived at the box draped in American flags, the play halted and the orchestra played “Hail to the Chief.” Lincoln often had little protection, and that night was no exception; only one policeman, John Parker, was on duty inside the theater. Parker neglected his duty of protecting the president and went to get a better view of the stage. This was to Booth’s advantage.

During the day, Booth had been putting the final touches on his plan. Booth would kill Lincoln, Paine would kill Seward, and Atzerodt would kill Johnson. During the third act, Booth entered the hall leading to the President’s box, and barred the door behind him. He crept up to the unsuspecting President, who was holding hands with his wife, and fired the derringer at the back of his head. Lincoln slumped in his chair, and Mrs. Lincoln screamed. Rathbone tried to get a hold of Booth, but Booth stabbed him in the arm. Booth went to the railing of the box and jumped down to the stage. As he jumped, one of his spurs caught on the flag decorating the box, ruining his balance, and causing him to fracture a bone in his left leg as he landed. He shouted at the audience, “Sic semper tyrannis,” which means “Thus always to tyrants,” in Latin. He ran out of the theater and left town, after stabbing the orchestra leader who had tried to block his way. The first part of the plan was done.

Lewis Paine had also attempted assassination, unsuccessfully, on the Secretary of State, Seward. At the same time Booth had entered the President’s box, Paine had come to Seward’s house, pretending to have medicine for the secretary. The secretary was in bed from injuries after a carriage accident. Seward’s son, Frederick, tried to stop Paine, but Paine knocked him out with his gun, so hard that the gun broke. Paine ran to Seward’s bedroom with his Bowie knife drawn. The secretary had been wearing a metal brace on his neck, to recover from the accident, and the brace helped to protect him from Paine’s knife. Paine still hit Seward three times, but was pulled off Seward by a nurse and Seward’s other son, Augustus. Paine ran out of the house. David Herold had been waiting for Paine outside, but fled after hearing the trouble inside the house. The third part of the plan was not successful either. George Atzerodt had gotten drunk in a saloon, and went to Maryland, failing to execute the plan to murder Vice President Johnson. The survival of these two men would have great impact on the period after the Civil War.

Up in the President’s box in Ford’s Theatre, Rathbone removed the bar that had Booth had put on the door to keep it shut, and let in two doctors, Dr. Charles A. Leale and Dr. Charles S. Taft. Dr. Leale examined Lincoln, and saw that the bullet had fatally hit the President’s brain. Lincoln’s wound was so serious that he had to be moved to somewhere nearby. Doctors and soldiers carried Lincoln on a stretcher to the house of William Peterson, which was across the street from the theater. Lincoln was laid out on a bed (diagonally, since the bed wasn’t long enough for the tall President). Mary Todd Lincoln rushed to his side, crying and moaning. The effect of the assassination had on Mrs. Lincoln, however, didn’t compare to the effect it had on the country.

A large crowd had gathered outside the theater. The word had gotten around Washington, and the celebrations of the end of the war halted and turned to panic. In the chaotic pushing and shoving of the crowd, rumors had started to spread. Some said that the Secretary of State, all the Cabinet, and General Grant had been assassinated as well. Another rumor was that the treaty at Appomattox was not real, and Confederate soldiers were marching to Washington right then. The crowd started to get angry and fearful of the South. Secretary of War Stanton decided to try to prevent any imminent trouble. He ordered an armed guard to protect other government officials, like the Vice President, and warned military forces. Stanton questioned witnesses, and soon found the assassin to be Booth.

Meanwhile, in a room filled with family, doctors, congressmen, Cabinet members, and military officers, Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m., April 15, 1865. “Now he belongs to the ages,” Stanton said sadly. The bells in Washington tolled somberly for the President’s death. The crowd stayed outside silently, waiting for Lincoln’s body to be brought out. Lincoln’s body was brought to the White House, and put in a coffin on a canopied platform. On the morning of April 18, the public was allowed to go through the White House to see Abraham Lincoln’s body in an open coffin. The line to the entrance was over a mile long. The funeral in Washington on April 19, with six hundred people present, was the first of twelve funerals for Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln was not at any of her husband’s funerals; she had too much grief, and stayed at the White House. After the first funeral, Lincoln’s body was put on a train with nine black cars going through six northern states, and ending up in Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois. The body of Lincoln’s son, Willie, was also on the train. It had been taken out of a cemetery in Washington so, in accord with Mrs. Lincoln’s request, Willie could be buried with his father.

The War Department had begun a search for Booth and his accomplices promptly after Lincoln’s death. They had found a note in Booth’s hotel room (after he’d left) incriminating Sam Arnold and Michael O’Laughlin. On April 17, Arnold was arrested in Virginia, and O’Laughlin was taken into custody in Baltimore, both refusing to confess their involvement in the plot. Officials also found out about Booth’s companionship with John Surratt. Policemen went to the Surratt boardinghouse, and searched it, finding no evidence of Surratt. Detectives, however, found out about Surratt’s help of the Confederacy, and about questionable activities at the boardinghouse. As the detectives questioned boarders, Lewis Paine showed up at the boardinghouse, saying he had to dig a gutter for Mrs. Surratt. Although Mrs. Surratt claimed not to recognize him, the detectives eventually identified Paine as the attacker on Seward. Paine, and soon Arnold and O’Laughlin, was taken onboard the Saugus, a warship that served as a temporary prison. Mrs. Surratt and her daughter Anna, as well as other women who’d met Booth, were put in the Old Capitol Prison. (These arrests were possible because of the suspension of the writ of habaeus corpus.) Another conspirator, Edward Spangler was taken into custody, then arrested, charged with helping Booth escape, and taken to the Saugus. George A. Atzerodt was also arrested, in Maryland, moaning about losing a girlfriend. Stanton and his men had been successful so far, but a few criminals had not yet been captured.

Booth, John Surratt, and Herold were still at large, and large sums of money were offered for their capture. After escaping the theater, Booth had gone to the Navy Yard’s bridge, guarded by Sergeant Silas Cobb. Cobb had been told to let people exit and enter Washington that seemed innocent. The telegram saying to be wary of killers had not reached Cobb, and he allowed Booth to pass the bridge, convinced by Booth’s alibi. Cobb also let Herold pass, too. Herold met up with Booth, and they went to Dr. Samuel A. Mudd for medical help for Booth’s leg. Although Booth had met Mudd, a Southern sympathizer, a year ago, he disguised himself with a false beard and covered most of his face with his cloak when he arrived at Mudd’s house. Mudd treated Booth’s fracture, after being told that Booth had fallen off his horse. He went into town that day, and learned of the assassination. When he got back to his home, Herold and Booth left, riding into a thicket.

Booth and Herold camped in a thicket, and later stayed with Thomas A. Jones, who was aware of the criminals’ identities, but didn’t betray the men. Booth wanted to read news of the assassination, but was disappointed when he found that the letter he wrote before the assassination had not been published, and that even Southern newspapers despised Booth’s act.

Booth and Herold eventually made it to the home of Richard Garrett, and stayed in his barn. By now, the hunt, led by Colonel Lafayette Baker, had found out where to find Booth and Herold. Lieutenant Luther Baker and twenty-seven other men were sent to the home of Garrett, early on the morning of April 26. Lieutenant Baker questioned Garrett, who said that the fugitives were in the woods. When Baker threatened to hang Garrett if he didn’t tell what he knew, Garrett’s son told the soldiers that the criminals were in the barn. The soldiers surrounded the barn. Herold gave himself up, but Booth refused. Baker set fire to the barn to force Booth out. Booth still refused to surrender, and aimed a rifle at the soldiers. But Sergeant Boston Corbett was ready. Going against the order to keep Booth alive, he fatally shot Booth in the neck. Booth’s body and Herold were taken back up the Potomac River. Booth was buried beneath the prison floor of a penitentiary. Herold was put in another warship and held in solitary confinement. He, along with the other conspirators, would soon be put on trial.

Because of some eyewitnesses located by General Joseph Holt, the new president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, believed that the former president’s assassination not only a murder, but also a belligerent act. It involved Jefferson Davis and other prominent Confederates. Since it was a Confederate conspiracy, the men would be tried in a military court rather than a civil court. This would make it easier for the conspirators to be convicted. The eight prisoners (Herold, Atzerodt, Paine, Mary Surratt, Arnold, O’Laughlin, Mudd, and Spangler) went into the courtroom on May 10 to hear what they were accused of. The first charge was conspiring with Confederate officials to murder President Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, Secretary of State Seward, and General Grant. The second charge was executing their plan. The prisoners could be put to death for such serious crimes.

The trial began on May 12, with the defense lawyers making requests to make things easier on the defense, such as trying the eight prisoners separately. Their requests were denied. The defense stated that the prisoners were not guilty, and then it was time to hear the prosecution’s case. The first part of the prosecution’s case was bringing in witnesses to prove that the murder was a Confederate conspiracy. A few witnesses claimed that many Confederate government officials were aware of, and encouraged, the murder of Union leaders such as Lincoln. The second part of the prosecution’s case was that the prisoners had fully intended, since the beginning, to commit murder, not to kidnap. Many witnesses had heard Booth speak of killing the President. The third part was prosecuting the prisoners. Several people were willing to testify against the prisoners; in about a month, over three hundred people testified. The prosecutors had little trouble finding evidence against seven of the prisoners, but Spangler had a chance.

The verdict was reached after two weeks, and was like the trial had been: in favor of the prosecution. All the defendants were convicted. Spangler, although he was not convicted of conspiracy, he was sentenced to six years in prison. The others were convicted of conspiracy. Arnold, O’Laughlin, and Mudd were sentenced to life in prison. Paine, Atzerodt, Herold, and Mary Surratt were to be hanged. Although there was much dispute over whether a woman should receive such a harsh punishment as death, all four were hanged on July 7.

Later, John Surratt, who had escaped all the way to Europe, was found and put on trial. The defense was stronger this time. They proved that there actually had been a kidnapping plot, and that some of the witnesses in the first trial had made up testimony. In an eight to four decision, Surratt was found not guilty, and set free on bail.

It was soon made public that the military commission had recommended that Mary Surratt receive a less severe punishment, and Johnson had refused. This, and the unfair trial, enraged America. Although Johnson pardoned Mudd, Arnold, and Spangler (O’Laughlin had already passed away), he would never quite recover the respect of the American people. Because of his actions in office concerning Reconstruction, he would be the first president to be impeached.

The South found Lincoln’s assassination to be much less advantageous than Booth had thought. While Lincoln planned to “let ‘em up easy,” the assassination angered the North so that a Reconstruction plan with easy terms for the South would never be possible.

Seward was very wrong when he said an assassination in America would never happen, and he would continue to be proved wrong. Three more American presidents after Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated: James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. All of these murders were black spots on American history. But none were so influential or tragic as that of Abraham Lincoln.