John+Wilkes+Booth+8

John Wilkes Booth was just an actor from Maryland. He was very successful as an actor because of his skill at becoming a character and his good looks. He was not famous enough that we would have heard of him today, however. There is only one reason that we learn about him today. He assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

All throughout the Civil War, Booth was a staunch supporter of the South and the principal institution it fought for: Slavery. Some say that he was even a secret agent for the South during the war, as he never fought in either army. Enraged in the same way that most Southerners were at the "injustice" of the North, Booth began plotting a kidnapping of Abraham Lincoln in the summer of 1864. His plan was to hold Lincoln ransom in exchange for Confederate P.O.W.s.

Booth's original plan was to intercept the President's carriage its way to a play near Washington. After getting ready for a bombardment, Booth and his fellow conspirators discovered that the President had changed his plans and had instead decided to make a speech to a branch of the army. At that time, Booth presented the idea of kidnapping Lincoln at Ford's Theater. Booth's comrades thought that this was an un-reasonable plan. Around this time, John Wilkes Booth made the decision not to kidnap Lincoln, but instead kill him.

On April 14,1865, John Wilkes Booth made his way to the presidential box at Ford's Theater. The President was there to see a comedy entitled "My American Cousin." Booth then, at a distance of about four feet, shot Abraham Lincoln in the head. In that chaotic moment, Major Henry Rathbone, who was also in the box, rose to confront Booth. Booth then slashed him with knife he was also carrying. With that, Booth jumped from the balcony. His bad landing caused him to break his leg. Before limping off stage, he yelled "Sic Semper Tyrannus!" or "Thus Always to Tyrants!"

A few weeks after Booth had fled the theater on horseback, Federal foces found him and surrounded a barn that he and a friend of his were inside of. They were given the option of either coming out within five minutes or having the barn set on fire. After some discussion, Booth called out that if the investigators fell back 100 yards, he would come out and fight them. They refused, so Booth told them, "Well, my brave boys, prepare a stretcher for me!" As they were preparing to set the barn on fire, Booth's companion, David Herold, came out and surrendered. A few minutes later, the barn was up in flames. Booth limped towards the door with a gun, preparing to fire at the soldiers. Before he could, a shot to the neck fell him. He died two hours later, at 7:00 on April 26th.

__Works Cited__

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/booth.html

__War Between Brothers__ Pgs. 166-170.