ON THIS DAY

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April 14, 1865

Abraham Lincoln shot.

On this day in 1865, just after the effective end of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a production at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the next morning.

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service.

After attending Lincoln's last public address, on April 11, 1865, in which Lincoln stated his preference that the franchise be conferred on some Black men, specifically "on the very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers", Booth plotted to assassinate the President. When Booth learned of the Lincolns' intent to attend a play with General Grant, he planned to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln and his wife attended the play Our American Cousin on the evening of April 14. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending.

At 10:15 pm, Booth entered the back of Lincoln's theatre box, crept up from behind, and fired at the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln's guest, Major Henry Rathbone, momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. After being attended by Doctor Charles Leale and two other doctors, Lincoln was taken across the street to Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15.[332][k] Stanton said, "Now he belongs to the ages." Lincoln's body was placed in a flag-wrapped coffin, which was loaded into a hearse and escorted to the White House by Union soldiers. President Johnson was sworn in later that same day. Two weeks later, Booth was located, shot and killed at a farm in Virginia by Sergeant Boston Corbett. Secretary of War Stanton had issued orders that Booth be taken alive, so Corbett was initially arrested to be court martialed. Stanton declared him a patriot and dismissed the charge.

By the way:

It isn’t true that Mrs Lincoln was asked ‘Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play/’

(Nor is it true that Yoko Ono was asked ‘Apart from that, Yoko, how did the recording session go?’ )

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