The Crime Book

308

At the very instant an amusing

scene in the play prompted a loud

laugh from the audience, Booth fired

a single shot from his .44-calibre

derringer into the back of Lincoln’s

head. The bullet entered behind the

president’s right ear and lodged

behind his right eye. Booth, ever the

actor, dropped his pistol and shouted

in triumph, “Sic semper tyrannis!”

The Latin phrase, meaning “thus

always to tyrants” – and short for

“thus always I bring death to

tyrants” – was the motto of his

THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

adopted state of Virginia. Other

members of the audience claimed he

also cried: “The South is avenged!”

The dramatics gave those in the

box time to react. One of Lincoln’s

guests, lunged at the assassin.

Booth stabbed him in the arm with

a knife, then leapt from the box onto

the stage, falling awkwardly as his

boot spur caught on a flag, and

breaking his left shin. He was able

to reach the alley outside, and rode

away on his horse, which had been

held for him by his theatre worker

accomplice, Edman Spangler.

President Lincoln’s body,

meanwhile, was taken across the

street, where his family and six

doctors maintained a vigil at his

bedside. He never regained

consciousness and died at 7:22am

the next morning, nine hours after

Booth had shot him.

As the nation mourned, a huge

manhunt was launched for Booth,

backed by a $1 million (£13 million

today) reward. The assassin was

already on the run. First, he visited

Dr Samuel Mudd, who set his broken

bone. As troops searched the land

around Washington, D.C., Booth and

David Herold, a fellow conspirator,

hid for days near a swamp in

Maryland before moving to Virginia.

Famous fugitive

While in hiding, Booth read the

newspapers, which were brought

to him each day. He had expected

some public sympathy for his

actions, and was disappointed to

read descriptions of himself as a

savage, rather than a hero. Booth

He fails to enact his

kidnap plan

Booth is angered when Lincoln makes a

speech supporting limited black suffrage

Booth plans to abduct President Lincoln in

exchange for the release of Confederate soldiers

Lincoln is re-elected in November, 1864

In April 1865, the South surrenders

to the Union, ending the American Civil War

Booth comes up with a plan to

assassinate President Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth, a member of

a famous theatre dynasty, was one

of America’s most acclaimed actors,

known for his energetic performances

and his habit of stealing the show.

All present rose to their

feet, rushing towards

the stage...

Associated Press

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309

soon learned that some of his fellow

plotters had been arrested. George

Atzerodt, assigned to kill the vice

president, had lost his nerve and

got drunk instead, and Michael

O’Laughlen, who was to kill

secretary of war Edwin Stanton,

failed for the same reason. Lewis

Powell, assigned to assassinate

William Seward, caused severe

wounds to the secretary of state’s

face and neck, but did not manage

to kill him. Booth was the only one

of the assassins to succeed.

The authorities set to work

tracking Booth down through his

known associates. A boarding-

house kept by Mary Surratt was

identified as having been used by

the conspirators, and, by chance,

Lewis Powell arrived at Surratt’s

door as she was being questioned.

Both were taken into custody.

On 26 April, Booth and Herold

were traced by federal troops to a

tobacco barn on a farm outside Port

Royal, Virginia. Herold surrendered,

ASSASSINATIONS AND POLITICAL PLOTS

but Booth chose to remain inside

the barn. The authorities responded

by setting the barn alight, hoping

to flush Booth out.

As the blaze grew fiercer, one of

the soldiers shot Booth in the neck,

reportedly because the assassin

had raised his gun as if to shoot.

Whoever fired the final shot, it is

known that Booth was dragged

from the barn, and died hours later.

Trial and execution

In May and June 1865, the eight

people accused of President

Lincoln’s murder were tried by a

military commission. Several of

them had been involved in the

failed plot to abduct the president,

but their role in the assassination

itself was less apparent. Over seven

weeks, 371 witnesses testified, and

seven of the accused were found

guilty of at least one charge.

Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell,

George Atzerodt, and David Herold

received the death penalty for their

part in the conspiracy. Dr Samuel

Mudd was sentenced to life in

prison, as was Michael O’Laughlen,

who died of yellow fever after two

years behind bars. Edman Spangler

received a six-year sentence. ■

Four of Booth’s co-conspirators

were executed by hanging on 7 July

1865. Among them was Mary Surratt,
      the first woman to be put to death
      by the federal government.

I have too great a soul to die

like a criminal. Oh may

[God] spare me that and let

me die bravely.

John Wilkes Booth

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