The Day Lincoln Died
"Now he belongs to the ages"
On April 14, 1865, around the close of the Civil War, Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth. In such a sensitive time period for the nation and its people, as well as for prospects of reconstruction in the future, this was a major shock-- and it changed everything.
The Assassination of President Lincoln was like a marionette puppet with many strings and factors attached. Here, we will explain in depth some of those strings-- what exactly happened and why, the conspiracy behind it all and its motives, and the significant impact of this tragedy.
Table of Contents:
1) The Night of the Assassination
2) The Manhunt
3) The Conspiracy
4) The Aftermath
5) The Consequences
The Assassination of President Lincoln was like a marionette puppet with many strings and factors attached. Here, we will explain in depth some of those strings-- what exactly happened and why, the conspiracy behind it all and its motives, and the significant impact of this tragedy.
Table of Contents:
1) The Night of the Assassination
2) The Manhunt
3) The Conspiracy
4) The Aftermath
5) The Consequences
1) The Night of the Assassination
This lithograph from Currier and Ives was one of the first prints to emerge after Lincoln’s assassination. Instead of being purely art, this print was a source of information (to the public) on the assassination, and is now one of the most iconic images of Lincoln’s killing.
What Happened:
April 14, 1865: John Wilkes Booth overhears that Lincoln is planning to attend the night’s performance at Ford’s Theater. He spends the day plotting Lincoln’s assassination with his co-conspirators Powell and Atzerodt.
During the performance that night, Booth shoots President Lincoln in the head, then jumps onto the stage, breaking his leg, but escapes on horseback. Lincoln is attended to by doctors in the audience who declare his wound fatal, and he is then carried by 4 soldiers to a nearby house where a death watch begins.
At 7:22 a.m. on the 15th April, Abraham Lincoln dies of his gunshot wound.
What Happened:
April 14, 1865: John Wilkes Booth overhears that Lincoln is planning to attend the night’s performance at Ford’s Theater. He spends the day plotting Lincoln’s assassination with his co-conspirators Powell and Atzerodt.
During the performance that night, Booth shoots President Lincoln in the head, then jumps onto the stage, breaking his leg, but escapes on horseback. Lincoln is attended to by doctors in the audience who declare his wound fatal, and he is then carried by 4 soldiers to a nearby house where a death watch begins.
At 7:22 a.m. on the 15th April, Abraham Lincoln dies of his gunshot wound.
2) The Manhunt
The fury fueled manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold ensued for twelve days as the conspirators pushed South through Maryland and Virginia, across the Potomac until the two were cornered by Union troops at Garrett’s Farm on April 26, 1865. Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War and head of the manhunt, pursued the conspirators mirthlessly with Union troops and a public reward of $100,000 for the fugitives at large. This is a copy of one of the wanted posters Stanton released everywhere in the United States.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/0/4/25043004/9275978.jpg?357)
What Happened:
After shooting Lincoln, Booth escaped out a stage door on a getaway horse with a broken leg. He joined with Herold and stopped at Surratt’s Tavern for stored firearms and supplies before continuing Southward to Dr. Samuel Mudd’s house to attend to Booth’s leg. After hiding in a pine thicket for five days, Booth and Herold attempted to enter Virginia to hide with Southern sympathizers but lost their way in the dark.
They finally reach Virginia on the 24th but were found and surrounded at the Garrett farm by Union troops only two days later. Herold surrendered but Booth refused to leave. The Union soldiers lit the barn on fire and Sergeant Boston Corbett’s fatal neck shot ended Booth’s life.
After shooting Lincoln, Booth escaped out a stage door on a getaway horse with a broken leg. He joined with Herold and stopped at Surratt’s Tavern for stored firearms and supplies before continuing Southward to Dr. Samuel Mudd’s house to attend to Booth’s leg. After hiding in a pine thicket for five days, Booth and Herold attempted to enter Virginia to hide with Southern sympathizers but lost their way in the dark.
They finally reach Virginia on the 24th but were found and surrounded at the Garrett farm by Union troops only two days later. Herold surrendered but Booth refused to leave. The Union soldiers lit the barn on fire and Sergeant Boston Corbett’s fatal neck shot ended Booth’s life.
3) The Conspiracy
What Happened:
John Wilkes Booth was the mastermind of the plot to murder not only President Abraham Lincoln, but also Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward, in order to destroy the Union’s government and therefore revitalize the Confederate cause.His main co-conspirators Lewis Powell and George Atzterodt were assigned Secretary Seward and VP Johnson respectively, but only Booth succeeded in killing his target. Powell stabbed a bedridden Seward, but was foiled in his attempt and inflicted only minor stab wounds, while Atzterodt lost his nerve and did not attempt to harm Johnson.
Booth and his associates planned and plotted in the house of a fellow Confederate sympathizer, Mary Surratt, and from that base created their schemes to kidnap the President, and when unsuccessful, to kill him. This photo of Mary Surratt’s boarding house shows just how deeply the lines between Northerners and Southerners ran, as well as foreshadowed the upcoming turmoil between the two as the South rejoined the nation.
4) The Aftermath
This is a 19th-century memorial poem is printed as a handbill. There are symbols that show mourning and love for the loss of a leader, including a grieving soldier and Lincoln’s portrait. This poem, created after Lincoln’s death, serves to show the people’s reaction to such a shocking incident. In fact, Lincoln’s dramatic death helped erase the memory of his shortcomings and caused his nobler qualities to stand out, which turned him into a legend. Beware, though, that this artifact doesn’t show the turmoil of the nation! We clearly see that his people (in the North) loved him, but that means that they turned with hatred against the South. Tensions rose, the new President Andrew Johnson was not as competent, and reconstruction in the South stumbled on bumpy road.
5) The Consequences
What Happened:
Even before the war officially ended, Reconstruction began in Union-controlled regions as early as 1863. President Lincoln preferred a policy of rapid reunification with little punishment for the rebels in order to minimize conflict. However, his assassination brought the Radical Republicans to power, who wanted to impose harsh measures in the South to ensure that any remnants of the Confederacy were destroyed and to punish the South for the war.
This illustration depicts President Grant’s reconstruction efforts in Louisiana, showing the hard line that the Radical Republicans took in the South to ensure the complete eradication of the Confederacy .
Citation for above map: National Park Service Map Showing John Wilkes Booth's Escape Route. 1996. Photograph. http://rogerjnorton.comWeb. 3 Dec 2013