Lincoln's Assassination, 150 Year Later

The Shot & The Plot: Sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s Assassination

It was 150 years ago this month when a single gunshot from a Derringer pistol changed the course of American history. On April 15, 1865, John Wilkes Booth interrupted a performance of “My American Cousin” to assassinate the President of the United States. The actor and Confederate sympathizer then leapt over the second-story balcony and broke his foot and America’s heart.

The body of President Abraham Lincoln, now slumped forward, became almost instantly lifeless. The man who had guided the nation through its most trying time, was now just a memory. The Commander-in-Chief that watched the country crumble and collapse and then assimilate once again was now gone. Lincoln was one of the more than 600,000 Americans to die from the American Civil War. After his passing, American politics and government took on a very different direction, redressing and redirecting the nation towards a more radical view of reconstructing the former Confederacy.

What most Americans don’t know is that this night was intended to be a much bloodier conspiracy, including the death of 2 future Presidents. It’s just that the mastermind behind the plan – John Wilkes Booth – was the only one to succeed in his debauchery.

Truth be told, Booth didn’t fully succeed at his mission. He was supposed to kill two individuals in the box at Ford’s Theater. The second target was none other than General Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the United States Army and Lincoln’s special guest. The theater was so sure of Grant’s attendance that he – and Lincoln, of course – were both mentioned in the Playbill. However Grant did not attend, and instead traveled back to Philadelphia that evening to meet his wife. Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara went in his place, and he was severely slashed by Booth’s Bowie knife when he tried to capture the fleeing assassin. Rathbone would suffer mental anguish after the event, blaming himself for the President’s death. In 1883, Rathbone attempted to attack his children before murdering his wife and unsuccessfully attempting suicide. He would spend the next 30 years in a mental institution.

Also in the crosshairs that evening was Vice President Andrew Johnson. On that same night, a Booth accomplice by the name of George Atzerodt stayed in the same hotel as the Vice President. However, when it came time to assassinate Johnson, he backed down from his assignment and drank heavily at the hotel bar instead. Afterward, reports have him wandering the streets of Washington, D.C. until he reported back and asked the bartender if he knew Johnson’s whereabouts. Since the whole city knew of the President’s death, this aroused suspicion and Atzerodt was arrested.

The last target of that tragic evening was Secretary of State William H. Seward. Booth assigned Lewis Powell to kill the Cabinet member, who was severely hurt and bedridden. Powell arrived at the Seward home under the premise that he was to give the injured man his medicine. As he began walking up the stairs, Frederick Seward, the Secretary’s son, stopped the slayer, insisting that he take the medicine to his father. Powell was caught off guard and attempted to shoot the Assistant Secretary, but his weapon failed. He then took the butt of his Whitney revolver and smashed him over the head several times, throwing young Seward down the stairs. The assassin then entered the Secretary’s room, pushing his daughter Fanny out of the way to jump on his bed and stab him in the face and throat several times before his guard tackled him off the bed. Powell then ran out the door, while the Seward family assumed their patriarch was slain dead.

Within the month, all the conspirators were either captured or killed. A majority of them were found at Mary Surratt’s inn, and they were hanged on July 7, 1865. Booth remained at large for 12 days until he was cornered at a Virginia farm. He thought he would become a Southern hero, but instead he was shot and killed on site, finding a traitor’s death.

April 14, 1865 is certainly one of the most tragic days in American history. Suffering the death of the President of the United States, arguably the greatest President, to boot, placed our country in trying times. However, it’s amazing how much more trying it could’ve been if Booth’s plan had fully succeeded.