Ai I lond LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER LINCOLN ZJke ^5toru of the ^rdAaddination The photographs in this scries were obtained through the co-operation of the Lincoln Museum, operated by the National Park Service. Copyright, 1949, by Randle Bond Truett, 1622 North Harrison Street, Arlington, Virginia. Printed in the United States of America. M 473.7 U3 DT7LJL *t ^ he Story of the Assassination LINCOLN ABRAHAM LINCOLN 1809-1865 One of the several portraits made by Alexander Gardner of Washington, D. C, on April 10, 1865, five days before Lincoln's death. ^Jhe +2)toru o¥ tht -Srddaddina tion Copyright, 1949, Randle Bond Truetf PAGE THREE The Story of the Assassination FORD'S THEATRE, NOW THE LINCOLN MUSEUM In 1861, a Baptist Church on the site of the present Lincoln Museum, having been abandoned by the congregation for another location, was acquired by John T. Ford, a theatrical producer of Baltimore and Phila- delphia, who converted it into a theater. On the night of December 30, 1862, it was destroyed by fire. The cornerstone for a new theater was laid on February 28, 1863, and the structure was completed six months later. Constructed of brick and embodying the most modern improvements of the time, it was consid- ered one of the finest of its kind in the United States. The seating capacity of Ford's Theatre was nearly 1,700, one-third being in the dress circle, or first balcony. There were four private boxes on each side of the stage, one of which was later occupied by President Lincoln and his party on numerous occasions. The new Ford's Theatre was opened to the public on the night of August 27, 1863. From that date until it was closed by the Government in April 1865, it was one of Washington's most successful amusement places, offering the nation's most talented personalities of the theater in the out- standing productions of the day. PAGE FOUR The Story of the Assassination DIORAMA Original photographs and artists' sketches were used in the making of the diorama which reproduces the interior of the theater in miniature as it appeared the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. It is not difficult to visualize the theater filled to capacity by an audience obviously relieved by the recent termination of the Civil War. They were attending a benefit performance of "Our American Cousin" on the night of April 14, 1865. The two upper boxes at the right of the stage were occupied by the Presi- dential party and were appropriately decorated with flags and a portrait of George Washington at the center. PAGE FIVE The Story of the Assassination JOHN WILKES BOOTH Although overshadowed by his famous brother, Edwin, John Wilkes Booth was a prominent actor. Handsome, popular with the ladies, the 26-year-old thespian's earnings totaled $20,000 a year. The third act of the play was drawing to a close when Booth entered the theater and made his way leisurely around the dress circle to the Presi- dential box. Gaining entrance unnoticed to the vestibule of the box, he barred the door from within. After observing the President's position through a small hole which he had carved earlier in the inner door, Booth, familiar with the play, entered the box at 10:20 p.m., when only one actor was on the stage. At the time Lincoln sat with his back to the door, absorbed in the play. Suddenly the fatal shot was fired and the mortally wounded President slumped in his chair. PAGE SIX The Story of the Assassination DERINGER This small single shot, muzzle loading Deringer was used by Booth to strike down Abraham Lincoln. PAGE SEVEN The Story of the Assassination BOOTH CROSSING THE STAGE A contemporary sketch which shows Booth as he turned and paused briefly to shout "Sic semper tyrannis" (ever thus to tyrants) before continuing his dash across the stage. Major Joseph B. Stewart is also shown as he leaped onto the stage in pursuit of the assailant, who escaped through a back door of the theater into the alley where his horse was being held in readiness. PAGE EIGHT The Story 6f the Assassination 7 j ^*- PETERSEN HOUSE President Lincoln was carried from the theater across the street to this house owned by William Petersen, a tailor. He was taken into a small first-floor bedroom, and because of his great height he was laid diagonally across the bed. Mrs. Lincoln, overcome with grief, remained in the front parlor, occasionally going to the bedside of her stricken husband. PAGE NINE The Story of the Assassination THE DEATH OF LINCOLN In J. H. Littlefield's conception of the scene, a large group of people are shown at Lincoln's bedside. The hall and parlor were overcrowded and many passed in and out of the bedchamber during the night. The doctors realized the unconscious President could live but a few hours, and he died at 7:22 a.m., April 15, 1865. PAGE TEN The Story of the Assassination BOOTH'S DIARY The leather-bound diary of John Wilkes Booth was recovered from his person at Garrett's farm. In part he wrote: "To-night I will once more try the river, with the intent to cross; though I have a greater desire and almost a mind to return to Wash- ington, and in a measure clear my name, which I feel I can do. I do not repent the blow I struck. I may before God, but not to man. I think I have done well, though I am abandoned, with the curse of Cain upon me, when, if the world knew my heart, that one blow would have made me great, though I did desire no greatness. To- night I try to escape these bloodhounds once more. Who, who, can read his fate? God's will be done. I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh! May He spare me that, and let me die bravely. "I bless the entire world. Have never hated or wronged any one. This last was not a wrong, unless God deems it so, and it is with Him to damn or bless me. And for this brave boy with me, who often prays (yes, before and since) with a true and sincere heart, was it crime in him? If so, why can he pray the same? I do not wish to shed a drop of blood, but I must fight the course. 'Tis all that's left me." PAGE ELEVEN The Story of the Assassination 10 ^^ iESf**^ Sjfcjw"" * MT§!?%i£. lJL ^Bl J_jA jBT'%^r »?'*«!*3SS ~il| M&- i lB^-*i s - RESIDENCE OF RICHARD A. GARRETT After crossing the Potomac River into Virginia, Booth and David E. Herold, his companion, were directed to Garrett's farm, near Port Royal, where they arrived at 4 p.m. on April 24, their identity being unsuspected. After having passed a quiet night and spending most of the next day in rest, Booth learned that the search for him was centering in this vicinity. At 2 a.m., April 26, a cavalry detachment of 28 men under Colonel E. J. Conger tracked Booth and Herold to Garrett's barn where they had hid- den. Herold surrendered, but Booth refused. A shot was fired and Booth sank to the floor, wounded. He was carried to the front porch of the Garrett home where he was given aid. The fatal shot was fired at 3:15 a.m., and he lingered in agony until his death at 5:30 a.m. It had been the hope of the authorities that he be returned to Washington in order that they might learn from him the complete details of the plot. Herold was taken to Washington where he was tried with the other seven so-called "conspirators". The Military Commission of nine officers, formed to try the eight persons involved first in the plot and finally in the assassination of the President, pronounced sentence on June 30, 1865. Herold together with Mary Surratt, George A. Anzerodt and Lewis Payne were given the death sentence and were hanged a week later, July 7. Michael O'Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, Ed. Spangler and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, the other four conspirators, were given life imprisonment at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, off the Florida coast. PAGE TWELVE The Story of the Assassination THE LINCOLN MONUMENT, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS After the funeral in Washington, Lincoln's remains were carried to his old home in Springfield, Illinois, over the same route he had traveled four years earlier as President-elect on his way to the Nation's Capital. The journey took twelve days, for at each town thousands of mourners waited to pay tribute to their fallen leader. In the presence of his friends and neighbors Lincoln's body was laid to rest in a temporary receiving vault in Oakridge Cemetery. On October 15, 1874, the remains were moved to this memorial which had been erected on the hill directly above the original burial vault. PAGE THIRTEEN The Story of the Assassination LINCOLN MEMORIAL, WASHINGTON, D. C. Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, is quoted as saying when Lincoln died, "Now he belongs to the ages." LINCOLN PAGE FOURTEEN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 3 0112 031808444