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President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
Abraham Lincoln attended the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. He had no idea that an angry Confederate with a score to settle was also there, waiting for him. John Wilkes Booth had been plotting an attack on Lincoln for quite some time. Booth snuck into the President's box and stood only a few feet from Lincoln when he fired his .44-caliber Deringer pistol. As Booth fought his way out of the theater, Lincoln started his slow descent into a braindead state. -
Seward's Attempted Assassination
The night the President was shot, Lewis Powell attempted to assassinate the Secretary of State, William H. Seward. Seward was confined to his bed after a carriage accident. Powell impersonated a messenger delivering medicine from Seward's doctor. When Powell insisted that he must deliver the medicine in person, an argument broke out. Powell injured several people when he resorted to using brute force to get to the Secretary's bedroom. That night Seward barely escaped death. -
David Herold Abandons Lewis Powell at the Seward House
While Powell is trying to kill the Secretary of State, Seward's daughter Fanny started screaming out the window. When Herold heard her, he took off leaving Powell's horse behind. -
Joseph Stewart Chases Booth at Ford's Theater
After John Wilkes Booth jumped from the president's box at Ford's Theater, Joseph Stewart was the only person who took off after him. Stewart chased him outside and didn't really manage to slow him down much. But Stewart did see him as he took off on the back of the horse being held for him. -
Booth Talks His Way Across the Bridge
When Booth left the theater, he needed to leave the city. He had to cross the bridge leaving Washington. But the bridge was already closed. Booth eventually smooth-talked his way past the guards, crossed the bridge, and fled the city. -
News of Both Attacks Begins to Spread
People ran into the streets shouting news about the assassination of President Lincoln. Others argued with them that it was Seward who was killed. As the shouting worsened, so did the confusion. -
Lincoln is Carried into a Boardinghouse
After being shot, Abraham Lincoln needs to get out of the theater. The Petersen boardinghouse was one of the nearest places that could provide a bed for the President. Lincoln was carried up the stairs and laid down gently. The doctors started working to save the President as soon as possible. -
Edwin M. Stanton Visits the Seward House
A messenger showed up at the Stanton house. When Mrs. Stanton answered the door, the messenger told her that Secretary of State Seward had been murdered. Stanton, not believing what he had heard, went to the Secretary's home to investigate. When he got there he was horrified to find Fanny Seward looking like a ghost all pale and covered in blood. The entire house looked like a crime scene. But Stanton was relieved to find that Secretary Seward was still alive. -
Mary Todd Lincoln Arrives at the Petersen House
As President Lincoln was dying in the Petersen House, Mary Todd Lincoln made her way into the house and pleaded, "Where is my husband? Where is my husband?" She got to the bedroom where the President was being kept and leaned in over him. The room became so crowded that all the windows were opened. But the doctors still needed more space and air. They asked anyone that wasn't a doctor to exit. Mrs. Lincoln was forced to leave her dying husband. -
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Chasing Lincoln's Killer
The hunt for President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, began on April 14, 1865. This is the night that Lincoln was assassinated. Booth was an angry Confederate with a grudge against the President. The hunt ended 12 days later when Booth was shot and killed. His body was taken back to Washington, and Lincoln's body was taken home to Kentucky. -
President Abraham Lincoln Dies
Lincoln had been struggling to breathe. He had been in and out of consciousness. His heart had stopped and then restarted multiple times. Even though Lincoln should have already been dead, he kept fighting and survived for a long time. But it was hopeless. His brain was dead and far beyond recovery. Lincoln was pronounced dead at 7:22 on the morning of April 15, 1865. America had lost its president, and the world had lost a good man. -
Edwin Stanton Cuts a Lock of the President's Hair for Mary Jane Welles
Mary Jane Welles was a nurse that cared for Willie Lincoln before he died. She had become very close with the entire Lincoln family. Stanton cut a lock of the President's hair off and sent it to her. He felt that if anyone in Washington deserved a lock of Lincoln's hair, it was her. She later hung it on her wall in a frame with dried flowers that had decorated Lincoln's coffin at the White House funeral. -
Matthew Brady Photographs Ford's Theater during Stanton's Investigation
Stanton was at Ford's Theater and while investigating was determined to preserve the scene of the crime. He ordered the theater to be surrounded by a twenty-four hour guard. He wanted photographs of the whole place. Matthew Brady, who had photographed Lincoln several times, photographed the scene of his murder. He captured the stage and is scenery as it was at the time of the assassination, the exterior of the president's box, the approach to the box, and the outer door leading to the vestibule. -
Booth and Herold Seek the Help of Samuel Cox
Dr. Samuel Cox was a farmer living in Maryland was approached by John Wilkes Booth while he was at home one night. David Herold knocked on his door and asked for his help. Cox had Booth and Herold hide in a thicket of pines while he contacted his friend, Thomas Jones. Thomas Jones was the only man Cox knew could get Booth across the Potomac River. All he had to do is see if Jones was willing to help. -
Lewis Powell Shows up at Mary Surratt's house
Lewis Powell showed up at Mary Surratt's house while their were tons of soldiers there looking for Mary's son, John Surratt. Powell was carrying a pickax and claimed that Surratt had hired him to dig a gutter. When the soldiers asked Mary Surratt if this was true, she said she had never seen Powell before, even though he had been in her home at least twice before. Powell had been caught in his lie. He could have started a brawl, but instead he surrendered without a fight. -
Booth and Herold Almost Escape Maryland
After hiding in the pine thicket for days, Thomas Jones arrives and escorts Booth and Herold across the Potomac River. They float down the river in a small wooden boat. Only, they were floating the wrong direction and when they finally hit land, they were still in Maryland. Rather than getting back in the boat and floating a while longer they just stayed there and waited another day in Maryland. The next night they went back down the river and landed in Virginia, their original destination. -
Booth and Herold Arrive at the Garrett's Farm
Booth and Herold seek help at the Garrett's family farm. They are given a meal and a place to sleep. They played with the Garrett children. Booth was delighted in their hospitality! But after some soldiers rode past, Booth tensed and this alarmed John Garrett. He refused to let the men stay there another night. But Booth and Herold refused to leave! So they stayed another night. -
Herold Abandons Booth and Booth is Shot Dead
Booth and Herold were sleeping in the Garrett's barn because John Garrett kicked them out of the house. The Garrett's told the cavalry that Booth and Herold were in the barn. They woke up and tried to get out of the barn only to find that it had been locked! The cavalry surrounded the barn. Herold abandoned Booth and surrendered. Booth fought back and was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett. Booth's body was taken back to Washington and most of his conspirators were later put on trial and convicted.
