Civil War,Assassination of President Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth

An actor, planned with others for six months to abduct Lincoln at the start of the war, but they were foiled when Lincoln didn't arrive at the scheduled place. April 14, 1865, he shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre and cried, "Sic Semper Tyrannis!" ("Thus always to tyrants!") When he jumped down onto the stage his spur caught in the American flag draped over the balcony and he fell and broke his leg. He escaped on a waiting horse and fled town. He was found several days later in a barn. He refused to come out; the barn was set on fire. Booth was shot, either by himself or a soldier.

Assassination of President Lincoln

Shortly after reelection and end of war, Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater.

President Lincoln ' death

The Assassination of President Lincoln April 14, 1865 Shortly after 10 p.m. on April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C., and fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln. As Lincoln slumped forward in his seat, Booth leapt onto the stage and escaped through the back door. A doctor in the audience rushed over to examine the paralyzed president. Lincoln was then carried across the street to Petersen's Boarding House, where he died early the next morning. The Assassination of President Lincoln April 14, 1865 Lincoln was the first president assassinated in U.S. history. Why did Booth do it? He thought it would aid the South, which had just surrendered to Federal forces. It had nearly the opposite effect, ending Lincoln's plans for a rather generous peace. Booth did not act alone. This "wanted" poster appeared everywhere, offering a reward for the arrest of Booth and his accomplices. The conspirators were all captured, and Booth was shot while trying to escape from Union soldiers. The whole country grieved the death of President Lincoln. As the nine-car funeral train carried President Lincoln home for burial in Springfield, Illinois, people showed up at train stations all along the way to pay their respects.

Ford's Theatre

Washington, D.C. theater where Lincoln was shot