Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) came from an aristocratic family known for their roles in the theater. He was one of the most famous American stars of the stage during his day and played the leading role in many plays. This tendency toward theatricality is evident in his actions during and after Lincoln’s assassination, as when he leapt up on stage and, brandishing a bloody knife, yelled, “Sic semper tyrannis. The South is avenged” (48). (“Sic semper tyrannis” is the state motto of Virginia, meaning “Thus always to tyrants.”)

Booth was born in Bel Air, Maryland. He was a handsome, debonaire man known for his moustache and good looks. As Swanson puts it, “Booth’s passions included fine clothing, delectable women, and the romance of lost causes” (10). Indeed, he had relationships with many women, including 16-year-old Isabel Sumner, to whom he wrote adoring love letters. Like many celebrities, he was self-obsessed and had a grandiose sense of importance, comparing himself to great figures in theater and history such as Brutus, who assassinated Julius Cesar in ancient Rome. He had his initials, JWB, tattooed on his hand.

Booth was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy, which caused conflict within his family, especially his older brother, Edwin, who was a Union supporter. Beginning by at least 1864, using his fame and wealth, Booth began to create his own network of Confederate sympathizers to plot the kidnapping of President Lincoln, who he reviled. After the fall of Richmond, the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, and the re-election of Abraham Lincoln, Booth became depressed and angry. This spurred him to change the kidnapping plot into an assassination. On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. Booth was killed by New York cavalryman Boston Corbett on April 26, 1865. He was first buried at the Washington Arsenal and later interred in an unmarked plot in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

David Herold (1842-1865) was a pharmacist’s assistant who contributed to Booth’s plot to assassinate Lincoln, Secretary Seward, and Vice President Johnson. Herold was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy and an admirer of Booth, who he met through John Surratt. Herold was 23 years old at the time of his participation in the assassination. He was “an avid hunter and outdoorsman” whose skills would be essential for their escape attempt after the assassination (25). Herold was staunchly loyal to Booth, although he was not particularly brave. On the night of the assassination, his job was to wait for Powell outside the Seward residence to help Powell navigate out of Washington, DC. Instead, when he heard things were going badly in the residence, he abandoned Powell, who then spent two nights sleeping in a tree, completely lost.

Herold had several opportunities to abandon Booth, but he continuously returns to help him. The night of the assassination, Herold met Booth in Maryland. He then spent many days hiding out in a pine thicket with him under adverse conditions. Indeed, during this time period “Herold felt privileged to have [Booth] to himself” (208). Herold left Booth at the Garrett farmhouse to go buy shoes in a nearby town, but later returned to Booth for his last stand. He only abandoned Booth in the final moments when it became clear that they would not be able to escape. Herold was hanged for his role in the conspiracy on July 7, 1865 in Washington, DC.

Thomas Austin Jones (1820-1895) was a key figure in Booth and Herold’s escape attempt. Jones was a Confederate “secret service veteran” and an experienced riverman (167). During the Civil War, he supported the Confederacy by transporting people, mail, and information across the Potomac River. He was jailed for these activities and went unpaid for his work after the collapse of the Confederacy. Despite these setbacks, he remained fiercely loyal to the Confederacy. He refused to give up Booth and Herold to authorities, even when tempted with a significant amount of money. In his memoir, written after the events, he stated that his decision not to turn them was motivated by his sense of honor and Southern pride.

After the events, Jones never revealed anything about his role until he gave a tell-all interview to popular journalist George Alfred Townsend in 1883. In 1893, he self-published his memoir about his role, but when he attempted to sell them at the World’s Columbian Exposition, his stall was destroyed by Union veterans. Late in life, he became a collector and “an amateur dealer in Lincoln assassination memorabilia” (374). He died in 1895 at the age of 74.

George Atzerodt (1835-1865) and Lewis Powell (1844-1865) were two of Booth’s coconspirators on the night of April 14, 1865. They were both supporters of the Confederacy. Atzerodt was a “hard-drinking, twenty-nine-year-old Prussian immigrant” who worked as a carriage painter in Port Tobacco, Maryland (25). When Booth announced a change of plan from kidnapping to assassination, Atzerodt attempted to back out, but he was pressured by Booth to go through with it. Atzerodt did not ultimately assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and instead wandered around the city, drinking and trying to find somewhere to spend the night. The text suggests that Atzerodt was not particularly intelligent. He lets slip details about the conspiracy, and he does not make much of an attempt to flee authorities, ultimately leading to his arrest at his cousin’s house.

At the time of the book’s events, Lewis Powell was a 21 year old born in Randolph County, Alabama. As a teenager, he lived in Hamilton County, Florida. He fought in the Confederate Army until he was injured in battle. Powell was vicious and violent in his attempt to assassinate Secretary of State Seward. He injured Secretary Seward and his two sons. He killed State Department messenger Emerick Hansell while escaping the scene. Like Atzerodt, the book indicates that Powell was not particularly clever, and he was arrested at the Surratt boardinghouse three days later whereupon he made a complete confession.

Atzerodt and Powell were hanged in Washington, DC, on July 7, 1865.