In Part 1 (Read Here) of my blog post on the Lincoln Assassination, I discussed the assassin himself, John Wilkes Booth. In Part 2, I discuss the action that he took against our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, at Ford’s Theatre.

On the morning of April 14^th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth went to Ford’s Theatre to pick up his mail. A member of the theatre told him that Abraham Lincoln would be attending a play that evening. Booth now knew that he had about eight hours to plan his attack. (American Experience, PBS) Booth called his co-conspirators and decided that at 10:15pm, he would kill Lincoln at Ford’s Theater. At the same time, his co-conspirators would also kill Secretary of State William Seward, and Vice-President Andrew Johnson. (American Experience, PBS)

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln arrived at the theater at 8:30pm with Corporal Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris, to see the British Comedy, Our American Cousin. (McDougal, p. 370). Booth knew the layout of Ford’s Theatre very well because he performed there many times. His last performance there was on March 18^th, 1865. (battlefields.org).

Booth was able to get inside the presidential box because Lincoln’s guard had left his post to have a drink at a local tavern. Booth waited for a part of the play that generated the loudest laughter. At that moment, Booth used his Deringer pistol and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. Corporal Henry Rathbone leapt to his feet and Booth used his dagger to cut Rathbone in the left forearm. Booth then leapt down to the stage and broke his left ankle. He yelled “Sic Semper Tyrannis!” which translates to “Thus always to tyrants!” The audience was confused at first, thinking this was part of the play. Then people started to realize that President Lincoln had been shot and Booth escaped out of a side door. Many people in the crowd had recognized Booth. (American Experience, PBS)

At the same moment that Booth killed Lincoln, co-conspirator Lewis Powell was sent to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Powell broke into Seward’s home, fought off guards and Seward’s sons, and attacked William Seward while in bed, already recovering from a carriage accident. Powell slashed Seward’s face with a Bowie knife. Seward lost so much blood and would be scarred for life, but he did survive. Powell was able to escape.

George Atzerodt was sent to kill Vice-President Andrew Johnson. As he neared Johnson’s residence, he lost his nerve and turned away. (American Experience, PBS) Back at Ford’s Theater, Lincoln’s body was taken across the street to the Petersen House, where he would spend his last agonizing hours. (American Experience, PBS)

Stay tuned for Part 3 which will focus on the death of Lincoln and the widespread manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. I also will ponder the question: what if Lincoln had lived?

Works Cited

Guttridge, Leonard F., and Ray A. Neff. Dark Union: the Secret Web of the

Profiteers, Politicians, and Booth Conspirators That Led to Lincoln’s Death.

Wiley, 2003.

Mcdougal, Holt. Americans, Grades 9-12 New Jersey: Mcdougal Littell the

Americans. Holt Mcdougal, 2007.

“John Wilkes Booth.” American Battlefield Trust, 14 Apr. 2020,

http://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-wilkes-booth.

American Experience: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Directed by

Barak Goodman, Public Broadcasting Service, 2009. Retrieved from

Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZH-wJvl3-I

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