0:00

Hey,

0:00

Real Narcos fans. We wanted to give you

0:02

a heads up about a show you might like.

0:04

It's made by our friend, Professor Greg Jackson.

0:07

It's called History That Doesn't Suck. This

0:09

is a teaser episode. If you like it and

0:11

want to hear more, search History That Doesn't

0:14

Suck wherever you get your podcasts and

0:16

hit subscribe.

0:28

It's late 1864.

0:30

Abraham Lincoln has won a second term.

0:48

Confederate

0:54

cities are falling left and right.

0:57

The CSA is against the ropes, and

0:59

a 26-year-old Marylander is determined

1:01

to remedy that. Now, this

1:04

young man is already helping the Confederacy.

1:06

God knows the high wages his theatrical

1:09

talents command on stages from Boston

1:11

to Washington City have bought plenty of

1:14

quinine for the rebels. His

1:16

Union loyal sister has noted the calluses

1:18

on his hands from personally rowing across

1:21

the Potomac to smuggle the valuable medicine

1:23

south. But the metaphorical

1:25

hour is late. It's time

1:27

for a move of far greater proportions.

1:31

The Confederacy needs more men, and

1:33

since the Union refuses to carry out prisoner

1:35

exchanges as long as Confederate leaders

1:38

refuse to return black POWs,

1:40

the handsome, mustachioed, pale-skinned

1:43

actor with jet-black hair has

1:45

come up with a bold plan.

1:47

He'll kidnap the one man for whom

1:49

the U.S. would have to exchange thousands

1:52

of Confederate soldiers,

1:53

President Abraham Lincoln. Amid

1:56

his preparations, recruiting accomplices,

1:59

and meeting with the Confederate Secret Service. He's

2:01

also writing a letter. It's undated,

2:04

but should his kidnapping plot fail, this

2:07

manifesto will, he believes,

2:09

explain. No, justify

2:12

his actions. The letter is

2:14

self-contradicting at times and full

2:17

of dramatic flair you might expect from one

2:19

who spends his life on stage. Let's

2:21

read over his shoulder as the ink flows from

2:23

fountain pen

2:24

to paper.

2:30

To whom it may concern. Right

2:33

or wrong, God judge me, not

2:35

man. For be my motive

2:37

good or bad of one thing I am sure,

2:41

the lasting condemnation of the North.

2:44

I love peace more than life, have

2:47

loved the union beyond expression. For

2:50

four years have I waited, hoped,

2:52

and prayed for the dark clouds to break and

2:54

for a restoration of our former sunshine.

2:57

To wait longer would be a crime.

2:59

All hope for peace is dead. My

3:02

prayers have proved as idle as my hopes.

3:05

Gods will be done.

3:07

I go to see and share the bitter

3:09

end. I

3:12

have ever held the South were

3:14

right. The very nomination

3:16

of Abraham Lincoln four

3:18

years ago spoke plainly war,

3:21

war upon Southern rights and institutions.

3:25

His election proved it. Oh

3:27

wait an overt act. Yes

3:29

till you are bound and plundered. What folly.

3:32

The South was wise. Who

3:34

thinks of argument or patience when the finger

3:37

of his enemy presses on the trigger? People

3:40

of the North. To hate tyranny,

3:42

to love liberty and justice, to strike

3:44

it wrong and oppression was the teaching

3:47

of our fathers. The study

3:49

of our early history will not let me forget

3:51

it.

3:52

And may it never.

3:53

This country was formed for the white,

3:56

not for the black man. And

3:59

looking upon Africa.

3:59

in slavery from the same standpoint

4:02

held by the noble framers of our constitution,

4:05

I for one have ever considered it one of

4:08

the greatest blessings both for themselves

4:10

and us that God has ever bestowed

4:13

upon a favored nation. Witness

4:15

here to for our wealth and power,

4:18

witness their elevation and enlightenment

4:20

above their race elsewhere. I

4:23

have lived among it most of my life and

4:25

have seen less harsh treatment from master

4:28

to man than I have beheld in

4:29

the North from father to son. Yet

4:33

heaven knows, no one would be willing

4:35

to do more for the Negro race than I

4:38

could I but see a way to still better their

4:40

condition.

4:41

But Lincoln's policy is only

4:44

preparing the way for their total annihilation.

4:47

The South are not, nor have they been

4:49

fighting for the continuance of slavery. The

4:52

first battle of Bull Run did away with that idea.

4:55

Their cause since for war have been as noble

4:57

and greater far than those that urged

5:00

our fathers on. Even should we

5:02

allow they were wrong at the beginning of this contest,

5:05

cruelty and injustice have made the

5:07

wrong become the right. And they

5:09

stand now as a noble band

5:11

of patriotic heroes.

5:14

Hereafter reading of their deeds

5:17

thermopoly will be forgotten. When

5:20

I aided in the capture and

5:23

execution of John Brown, I

5:25

was proud of my little share in the

5:27

transaction for I deemed it my duty

5:30

and that I was helping our common country

5:32

to perform an

5:33

act of justice.

5:34

But what was a crime and poor John

5:37

Brown is now considered as the greatest

5:39

and only virtue of the whole Republican

5:42

party. Strange

5:44

trans migration, vice

5:46

to become a virtue simply because

5:49

more indulge in it.

5:51

The South can make no choice. It

5:54

is either extermination or slavery

5:56

for themselves worse than death

5:59

to draw. from. I

6:01

know my choice. I

6:03

have also studied hard to discover upon

6:06

what grounds the right of a state to secede

6:08

has been denied when our very name,

6:11

United States and the Declaration

6:14

of Independence both provide for

6:16

secession. But there is no time

6:18

for words. I write in haste.

6:21

Alas, poor country, is she to meet

6:24

her threatened doom. Four

6:26

years ago, I would have given a thousand lives

6:28

to see her remain powerful and

6:30

unbroken. And even now, I

6:33

would

6:33

hold my life as not to see her what

6:35

she was. Oh, my friends,

6:38

if the fearful scenes of the past four

6:40

years had never been enacted,

6:42

or if what has been had

6:44

been but a frightful dream from which

6:46

we could now awake with what overflowing

6:49

hearts could we bless our God and pray for

6:51

his continued

6:51

favor. How I have

6:54

loved the old flag can never

6:56

be known. A few years since

6:58

and the entire world could boast of none

7:00

so pure and spotless. But

7:03

I have of late been seen and hearing

7:05

of the bloody deeds of which she has been made

7:08

the emblem and which shudder to think how

7:10

changed

7:11

she has grown.

7:12

Oh, how I have longed to see her break

7:14

from the mist of blood and death that circles

7:17

round her folds, spoiling her beauty

7:19

and tarnishing her

7:20

honor. But no, day

7:23

by day has she been dragged deeper

7:25

and deeper

7:26

into cruelty and oppression till now

7:28

in my eyes, her once bright

7:30

red stripes look like bloody gashes

7:33

on the face of heaven. I look

7:35

now upon my early admiration of her glories

7:38

as a dream.

7:40

My love is for the South alone, nor

7:43

do I deem it a dishonor and attempting

7:45

to make for her a prisoner of

7:47

this

7:48

man to whom she owes so much

7:50

of misery. A Confederate

7:53

doing duty upon his own responsibility.

7:57

J. Wilkes Booth.

8:06

John Wilkes Booth might not succeed at kidnapping

8:09

Lincoln,

8:10

but it won't be for lack of trying as

8:12

plans to do so, first on January

8:14

18th and then on March 17th, 1865, both go awry. But

8:20

laying the groundwork of John's would-be abductions

8:22

are mere prelude to this episode's real

8:25

story. Today, I bear

8:27

the melancholy burden of regaling you

8:29

with the tale of the assassination of President

8:31

Abraham Lincoln. We'll start with his

8:34

return to Washington City amid General

8:36

Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, then

8:38

follow the old rail splitter through his

8:41

last six days before attending a performance

8:43

of our American cousin at Ford's

8:45

Theatre. Then comes the sinister

8:48

deed itself. But the story

8:50

won't end there. We'll cover the aftermath,

8:52

from what becomes of his murderer to the

8:55

long journey ahead before the gangly president's

8:57

body finally gets to rest in

8:59

peace. It's been a while

9:01

since I've said this, but I'm telling you now,

9:04

grab some tissues, because it's definitely

9:07

going to be one of those episodes.

9:09

Here we go.

9:14

It's late Sunday night, April 9th, 1865. President

9:19

Lincoln just got back to Washington City today

9:21

from a two-week visit with General Ulysses

9:24

S. Grant's army in Virginia.

9:26

But it's around 9 p.m. that the War Department

9:28

receives a telegram from Ulysses conveying what

9:30

the Illinois rail splitter had hoped to hear

9:32

while in the Old Dominion.

9:34

Earlier that afternoon,

9:36

Bobby Lee surrendered the army of Northern Virginia.

9:39

The next day, Monday, April 10th,

9:42

D.C. erupts in celebration. Somewhat

9:45

literally.

9:46

First thing in the morning, War Secretary

9:48

Edwin Stanton fires off a 500-gun salute that shatters

9:52

windows in Lafayette Square and shakes

9:54

the very ground itself.

9:56

Edwin's wake-up salute is the start of an impromptu

9:58

holiday, full of a marriage.

9:59

American flags and the sounds of bells,

10:02

guns, cries of joy, bands playing.

10:04

In short, it's the block party of the century.

10:09

Thousands gather at the White House to share in their

10:11

celebrations with the president. They

10:13

spill across the lawns, under the North Portico

10:16

and beyond.

10:18

They go crazy, cheering when

10:20

little 12-year-old Tad Lincoln peeks

10:22

out of a second-story window waving a Confederate

10:25

flag, likely surrendered by a Confederate

10:27

unit while he and his parents were in Virginia last

10:29

week. A band plays, the

10:31

people sing, and many call out for

10:34

the president to make a speech. Lincoln's

10:37

got a speech in the works. The last

10:39

thing he wants to do, though, is fire it off early

10:41

and half-baked. Still, he's

10:44

got an idea, possibly inspired

10:46

by the sight of Tad with the rebel banner.

10:48

He approaches the window. I

10:51

am very greatly rejoiced to find that

10:53

an occasion has occurred so pleasurable

10:55

that the people cannot restrain themselves.

10:58

The

11:00

crowd goes wild. The

11:03

president continues, I have always

11:05

thought Dixie one of the best

11:07

tunes I've ever heard. Our

11:09

adversaries over the way attempted to appropriate

11:12

it, but I insisted yesterday that

11:14

we fairly captured it.

11:18

Oh, how the crowd eats that line

11:20

up, as well as his closing joke.

11:23

I presented the question to the attorney general,

11:26

and he gave it as his legal opinion that

11:28

it is our lawful prize. I

11:30

now request the band to favor me

11:32

with its

11:33

performance. And

11:36

with that, the band strikes up Dixie,

11:39

which it chases down with a vibrant rendition

11:41

of Yankee Doodle. Following

11:44

the two tunes that have defined both sides

11:46

of the war, the crowd has been sufficiently

11:48

amused by their quick-witted president and

11:50

disperses.

11:53

Let's pause and dissect this scene for

11:55

just a second, though.

11:57

As Lincoln's mind turns from war to

11:59

rebuilding the nation, that is, Reconstruction,

12:02

he's trying to seize on opportunities for

12:05

reconciliation. As he told

12:07

the Marquis de Chambron two days ago

12:09

while discussing the song,

12:11

it is good to show the rebels that with

12:13

us, they will be free to hear it again.

12:16

The Frenchman will later question

12:18

the American president's kindness, yet

12:20

he'll also express admiration for

12:23

the generous impetus of a victor

12:25

prone to forgiveness

12:27

that abides in Lincoln.

12:29

But don't mistake Lincoln's kindness for softness

12:32

on Reconstruction.

12:33

If the rail splitter has proven anything to

12:35

us throughout his presidency, it's that he's slow

12:38

and cautious to move, yet firm when he

12:40

does.

12:41

His tender heart is matched by an iron

12:43

will to stand his ground against Confederates

12:45

and political foes, those outside

12:48

and inside his party alike.

12:50

None of this has changed.

12:51

He may still be thinking through Reconstruction,

12:54

but Lincoln remains no pushover.

12:57

This is apparent in his address the following day,

13:00

Tuesday, April 11th.

13:02

Washington City is still in full-on

13:04

celebration mode.

13:06

Like yesterday, a crowd forms outside

13:08

the White House, and once again, people are

13:10

calling on their executive to speak.

13:13

The gaunt president appears at the second story

13:15

window under the White House's North Portico.

13:17

Thunderous

13:20

applause and cheers erupt. Unlike

13:22

yesterday, though,

13:24

there will be no stalling.

13:25

Today, he's ready to give his thoughts.

13:28

Noah Brooks will hold up a reading light,

13:31

and little Tad will snatch up the pages

13:33

his father intentionally lets fall to the ground

13:35

as the careful and firm president

13:37

reads his speech verbatim to avoid anyone,

13:40

friend and foe alike, from misinterpreting.

13:43

We meet this evening, not in sorrow,

13:46

but in gladness of heart.

13:48

He opens. Lincoln then mentions,

13:51

a call for national thanksgiving is

13:53

being prepared.

13:55

He may have already called for a day of national

13:57

thanksgiving to be held on the last Thursday

13:59

of November back in 1863, a

14:02

call that surely has church and state

14:05

separatists Thomas Jefferson rolling over in

14:07

his grave.

14:08

But this will be another special, singular

14:11

day of thanks.

14:12

He then quickly gets to the topic really

14:14

weighing on his mind,

14:16

post-war reconstruction.

14:18

He focuses much of his attention on the already

14:21

under-reconstruction state of Louisiana.

14:23

Many, perhaps radicals in particular,

14:26

are frustrated by reconstruction in the Pelican

14:28

state.

14:29

He has lackluster voter participation,

14:32

nor did its new constitution enfranchise

14:34

black men.

14:35

But Lincoln offers a defense.

14:37

He points out that the state legislature has

14:40

ratified the slavery-banning 13th

14:42

Amendment

14:43

and is providing public schools for Americans,

14:46

white and black.

14:47

In a word, Lincoln's message is

14:50

patience with the process.

14:51

His old country lawyer ways come out as

14:54

he uses a farm analogy to argue for

14:56

allowing the state to continue developing.

14:59

Concede that the new government of Louisiana

15:01

is only to what it should be as

15:04

the egg is to the fowl. We shall

15:06

sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg

15:08

than by smashing it.

15:10

Extrapolating from what Lincoln is saying, it's

15:13

fair to say his vision of reconstruction would

15:15

restore civil governments and democracy

15:17

with a fair degree of leniency. But

15:20

the rail splitter isn't giving it away. He

15:22

also expects real, substantive

15:24

changes.

15:26

Lincoln's disappointed that Louisiana has not

15:28

yet given the vote to some black men,

15:30

and this he hopes to see change.

15:33

He won't go as far as the radicals who want

15:36

all black men to have the vote.

15:38

But Lincoln does, in this moment,

15:40

become the first US president to call,

15:42

even if in a limited capacity for

15:45

black suffrage. Speaking of

15:47

black men receiving the vote, he proclaims,

15:50

I would myself prefer that it were

15:52

now conferred on the very intelligent and

15:54

on those who served our cause as soldiers.

15:58

Many in the crowd approve of what he said. what

16:00

they're hearing, but not John Wilkes

16:02

Booth. The actor, with belaying

16:04

good looks, is present, listening,

16:07

with two of his fellow failed would-be

16:09

presidential kidnappers, and those

16:11

words bring his blood to a boil. That

16:14

means n*** citizenship. That

16:17

is the last speech he will ever

16:19

make, he says. John

16:21

begs his co-conspirator, a tall,

16:24

swarthy-skinned, square-jawed Confederate

16:26

veteran named Lewis Powell, to pull

16:28

his gun and shoot Lincoln on the spot mid-speech.

16:32

Lewis refuses, but John is hell-bent

16:34

on his path. After months of

16:36

contemplating a presidential kidnapping, his

16:39

mind has turned to murder.

16:41

John mutters, by God,

16:43

I'll put him through.

16:49

The following day, Wednesday, April

16:51

12th, Lincoln and his cabinet discuss

16:53

reconstruction,

16:55

specifically, reconstruction in Virginia.

16:57

In brief, the cabinet fears Lincoln is being too

17:00

trusting. Last week, he gave

17:02

his blessing to the Virginia legislature to meet,

17:04

with the understanding they would vote to rescind

17:07

secession.

17:08

Attorney General James Speed, as well

17:10

as war and Navy Secretaries, Edwin

17:12

Stanton and Gideon Wells, aka

17:15

Mars and Neptune,

17:16

express grave concerns about this.

17:19

Lincoln is his own man, but not one

17:21

to ignore his advisors. Furthermore,

17:24

word is coming in that these legislating Confederate

17:27

Virginians are already starting to push the

17:29

bounds given them.

17:31

With these combined factors, the president's

17:33

had enough.

17:34

He goes to the War Department and dictates a telegram

17:37

to General Godfrey Weitzel, instructing him

17:39

to rescind the permission previously granted

17:41

to the old Dominion's legislature.

17:43

Poor Lincoln. He's trying to proceed

17:46

carefully, generously, yet

17:48

justly with reconstruction.

17:50

That's a tough needle to thread, and

17:53

he feels it.

17:54

The weight of it all is apparent in the conversation

17:56

he has with Edwin Stanton as the war secretary

17:59

tries to resign.

17:59

Now, the details are lacking.

18:03

There's more than one version of how this chat goes.

18:06

And while I would guess it happens today

18:08

during Lincoln's visit to the War Department, it

18:10

might have been any day this week. Anyhow,

18:13

with the war over, Edwin feels it

18:15

his duty to resign.

18:17

The rail splitter is touched at his sense of

18:19

duty, but won't have it.

18:22

He needs Mars.

18:24

According to Edwin, Lincoln grabs him

18:26

gently by the shoulders and says,

18:28

Stanton, you cannot go.

18:32

Reconstruction is more difficult and dangerous

18:35

than construction or destruction.

18:38

You have been our main reliance. You

18:41

must help us through the final act.

18:43

Damn. And to think, that

18:46

call to action on reconstruction is one of

18:48

the last things Lincoln will

18:51

ever say to his beloved Mars.

18:53

You can imagine how that will stick with and impact

18:56

Edwin. And yes, that

18:58

is foreshadowing for a future episode or

19:00

two.

19:01

Thursday, April 13th brings yet

19:04

more celebration, particularly as

19:06

Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia, arrive

19:08

in Washington City.

19:10

Bells, guns, flags, I

19:12

mean, you know the drill at this point in this

19:14

days-long celebration. Ulysses

19:17

spends hours with Edwin Stanton as

19:19

they discuss an end to recruiting and

19:21

cuts to military spending and staff. I

19:24

seriously wonder if two individuals have ever

19:26

been happier to see their own department cut.

19:29

Their wives, Julia Grant and Ellen Stanton,

19:32

join them that afternoon. And Julia

19:34

can't help but note how happy Edwin

19:36

is.

19:37

The usual grump can't hide his joy,

19:40

not even behind that

19:41

massive long beard of his. The

19:43

war secretary even hosts a party that evening

19:46

at his home. Kids play

19:48

as they watch fireworks that night on the front

19:50

steps. What a great

19:52

evening. How jarring from

19:54

what the news will be tomorrow night.

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21:08

It's now Friday. Good Friday, in

21:10

fact.

21:11

April 14th.

21:13

Lincoln is just so happy.

21:15

Life is good, and

21:17

his joy at peace knows no bounds.

21:20

As he's having breakfast with his son, Robert,

21:23

who's currently an assistant adjutant general

21:25

of volunteers with the rank of captain, the

21:28

gangly president comments,

21:30

Well, my son, you have returned

21:32

safely from the front. The war is

21:34

now closed, and we soon will live

21:36

in peace with the brave men that

21:38

have been fighting against us.

21:41

His cabinet sees it too when they and

21:43

Ulysses Grant meet with Lincoln later that

21:45

morning.

21:46

They have some disagreements on reconstruction,

21:49

which is fine.

21:50

Lincoln did inform the cabinet he has for

21:52

initial agreement.

21:54

He doesn't do yes-men.

21:56

He appreciates its members' different perspectives

21:58

on such serious issues.

22:00

The president has come to appreciate that he can't

22:03

trust the seceded state governments, but

22:05

he also knows,

22:06

we can't undertake to run the

22:08

state governments in all these southern states.

22:11

As such, they discuss Edwin's

22:13

plan for military governors.

22:16

Navy Secretary Gideon Welles doesn't

22:18

like the idea of Virginia and North Carolina

22:20

under one single military governor.

22:23

But through all the yet to be decided discussion,

22:25

Lincoln looks engaged, sharp and

22:28

happy,

22:29

rather than disheveled.

22:30

Like he doesn't have time to think of something as mundane

22:33

as his clothes.

22:34

Edwin can see the cheerfulness in Lincoln

22:37

as the hopeful executive speaks kindly

22:39

of Bobby Lee and other Confederates, some

22:41

of whom he hopes will flee the country and spare

22:43

the nation the trauma of worrying about treason

22:46

trials. Didn't our chief

22:48

look grand today? Edwin

22:50

asks Attorney General James Speed

22:52

as they walk out of the cabinet meeting. Lincoln's

22:56

great mood follows him through the afternoon.

22:59

Assistant Secretary of War Charles Dana witnesses

23:02

this when he comes to see the president in his office.

23:04

Hello Dana, the

23:07

rail splitter exclaims. The

23:09

Assistant War Secretary then explains

23:11

they have intel that high level Confederate

23:14

Jacob Thompson is fleeing the country for England.

23:17

Edwin Stanton wants to arrest him, but

23:20

given Lincoln's comments on letting Confederates

23:22

run, they thought it better to check first.

23:24

Well, I rather

23:26

think not, he answers. When

23:29

you've got an elephant by the hind leg and

23:31

he's trying to run away,

23:33

it's best to let him run. Around

23:39

three o'clock Lincoln does

23:41

something he's rarely done in a good

23:43

long while. He enjoys an

23:46

open carriage ride with his wife Mary.

23:48

She can see the joy in him too. Dear

23:51

husband, you almost startled me by your

23:53

great cheerfulness. She says,

23:56

I may feel so Mary. Forgot

23:58

husband replies.

23:59

Mary, I consider this day

24:02

the war has come to a close. We

24:05

must both be more cheerful in the future.

24:08

Between the war and the loss of our darling

24:10

Willy, we have both been very

24:13

miserable. What a beautiful

24:15

thought. And what future

24:18

the first couple envisions. They

24:20

reminisce about Springfield. They

24:22

have plans to travel, you know, like so

24:25

many of us hope to in retirement. To

24:27

see Europe, the Holy Land,

24:30

maybe make it out west to California.

24:33

Such great dreams ahead.

24:39

After the ride, Lincoln chats and reads

24:42

happily with friends at the White House. He's

24:44

having a blast, but has to cut the

24:46

visit for an early dinner.

24:48

He and Mary have plans to see the hit comedy,

24:51

Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater.

24:54

DC's fellow power

24:56

couples won't accompany them.

24:58

The Grants left the city this afternoon to go visit

25:00

their kids in New Jersey. A trip made

25:02

partly to get out of going.

25:04

Between you and me, Julia Grant

25:07

doesn't love Mary Lincoln's company. The

25:09

Sewards physically can't.

25:11

William Henry is still bedridden after his

25:13

terrible care jack stand last week.

25:16

As for the Stanton's, no

25:18

way.

25:19

Serious minded Edwin hates the theater.

25:22

Further, he, like many

25:24

of Lincoln's advisors, thinks it's a terrible,

25:27

unnecessary risk for the president to go to such

25:30

places. Perhaps especially when the newspapers

25:32

have announced he'll be there, like

25:34

tonight.

25:35

Oh, and like Julia, Ellen

25:37

Stanton would rather not hang with Mary.

25:40

Lincoln also invited Thomas Eckert of

25:43

the War Department. He joked at

25:45

the time that the powerfully built telegrapher

25:47

could be his bodyguard,

25:49

but Thomas won't be coming either.

25:51

He's

25:51

working.

25:52

Only Major Henry Rathbone and his

25:54

fiancée, Clara Harris, whose

25:56

father is Senator Ira Harris, will

25:58

join the first couple.

26:01

They arrive late, around 8.30, but

26:04

the audience has no complaints. The

26:07

orchestra interrupts the production playing

26:09

Hail to the Chief. Tears

26:11

and applause erupt as eyes are drawn

26:13

to the presidential box some 15 feet above

26:16

stage left. The tall, gangly

26:18

rail splitter steps up to the railing, which

26:20

is decorated with US flags and a framed

26:23

portrait of George Washington. Lincoln

26:25

waves, bows, and smiles. He

26:28

then settles into his rocking chair to enjoy the

26:30

show, utterly

26:31

unaware

26:32

that, around the same time, John

26:35

Wilkes Booth is meeting with co-conspirators.

26:38

They are finalizing a plan to create so

26:40

much havoc they hope the Confederacy might

26:43

still be salvaged. And that plan

26:45

is to assassinate Vice President Andrew

26:47

Johnson, Secretary of State William

26:50

Henry Seward, and Lincoln himself,

26:53

simultaneously, at 10.15 tonight.

27:02

It's the night of April 14th, sometime

27:04

in the 9 o'clock hour. George

27:06

Atsratt sits at the bar in the Kirkwood

27:09

House. The goatee wearing,

27:11

thick accented German immigrant has a room

27:13

here to get close to another hotel occupant,

27:16

his target, VP Andrew Johnson.

27:19

But George has reservations. This

27:21

wasn't the original plan when he signed on

27:23

with John Wilkes Booth months before.

27:27

Back then, it was to kidnap Lincoln, not

27:29

to commit a triple murder. But

27:31

John pressured him in their 8 o'clock meeting

27:33

tonight to assassinate Andrew. And

27:36

he agreed. At 10.15,

27:39

he's to go to suite 68, ring

27:41

the bell, then

27:42

shoot dead the Tennessean. Good

27:45

God, he doesn't want to do it.

27:48

How did it come to this? The clock

27:50

strikes 10. 15 minutes

27:52

to go. Ugh, I'll bet he's

27:55

sick to his stomach. No,

27:57

George tells himself. He won't

27:59

do it. He can't do it. George

28:02

gets up and exits the Kirkwood

28:04

House.

28:05

There will be no attempt on Andrew's life

28:07

tonight.

28:11

It's just past 10 p.m.

28:14

Lewis Powell presents himself at the Seward

28:16

home.

28:17

The Confederate vet, the same whom

28:19

John Wilkes urged to shoot Lincoln

28:21

mid-speech days before, tells

28:23

the servant who answers that he's brought medicine

28:25

for Secretary of State William Henry Seward.

28:28

It's a plausible story.

28:30

William Henry does have a broken jaw and

28:32

dislocated shoulder from his recent carriage

28:34

accident.

28:35

Despite the servant's protestations, Lewis

28:38

insists he can't hand this medicine

28:40

off. He must deliver it in person.

28:44

Pressing past the

28:45

young servant, Lewis is soon upstairs.

28:48

But William Henry's son,

28:50

Assistant Secretary of State Fred Seward,

28:52

stops him. My father is asleep.

28:55

Give me the medicine and the directions. I

28:57

will take them to him, he says. Lewis

29:00

knows Fred won't back down. His

29:02

disguise will get him no further. The

29:06

Confederate feigns leaving, then

29:09

quickly draws a revolver and fires at Fred.

29:13

It misfires, so Lewis leaps at his

29:15

opponent and beats him with the gun, cracking

29:18

his skull so badly Fred's brains

29:20

are visible. The sound of

29:22

Fred's thrashing draws the attention of Fanny

29:24

Seward and Private George Robinson, both of

29:26

whom are sitting with and watching over William

29:29

Henry as he sleeps. George

29:32

opens the door to see Lewis, tall and

29:34

powerful, coming right toward him. The

29:37

intruder slashes George across the forehead

29:40

with a booing knife, then advances on the Secretary

29:42

of State. Fanny begs the stranger,

29:45

please not to kill their father.

29:49

He gives no heed as he swings his blade

29:51

at William Henry, slashing the convalescent

29:53

man's neck and face and knocking him off the

29:55

bed in the process. Fanny

29:57

screams, at which point her other brother,

29:59

Gus enters the unexpected melee.

30:02

He and George fight Lewis together, but it's

30:05

a standstill until Gus goes to grab

30:07

his gun. Lewis realizes his

30:09

advantage will be lost.

30:11

And with that, he flees.

30:17

Lewis slashed Gus and George, beat

30:20

Fred's brains out, and slashed William

30:22

Henry. Medical Dr. Verde

30:24

is soon on the scene. All of

30:26

this, the work of one man. The

30:29

exasperated doctor will later note. Yet

30:32

despite the seriousness of these combined injuries,

30:35

all these men

30:36

will live.

30:40

The

30:43

Lincolns are enthralled as they watch our

30:45

American cousin.

30:47

Mary's hand rests on Lincoln's

30:49

knee, and she draws close. She

30:52

wonders if she's engaging in a bit too much

30:54

PDA. What

30:57

will Miss Harris think of my hanging on

30:59

you so?

31:00

She whispers to her husband, referencing

31:02

the engaged couple with them.

31:04

Lincoln smiles warmly and answers.

31:07

She won't think anything about it.

31:11

It's 10, 12 PM. Policeman

31:13

John Parker isn't at his post. Only

31:16

presidential footman Charles Forbes guards

31:19

Lincoln's box. A well-dressed,

31:21

handsome man presents the footman with his card.

31:24

Wow, John Wilkes Booth,

31:27

the famous actor. Charles

31:29

lets the legendary star ride in. Don't

31:32

know the man is a good society, huh? Well,

31:35

I guess I know enough to turn you inside

31:37

out, old gal. You suck, Donald Jai's

31:40

an old man trap. John's

31:46

bullet enters the back of the unsuspecting

31:49

president's head. Henry Rathbone

31:51

lunges at John, but the famous actor answers

31:53

by slashing the major across the chest with

31:56

a hunting knife. The actor now places

31:58

one hand on the box's railing. and leaps out.

32:01

It isn't graceful.

32:03

One of John's spurs gets caught in the flags

32:05

and possibly nicks the framed portrait of George

32:08

Washington decorating the front of the presidential

32:10

box. He crashes down on

32:12

stage, possibly breaking his left

32:14

leg just above the ankle as he lands

32:16

on his hands and knees.

32:18

Rising painfully, John holds

32:21

his hunting knife up high and yells out,

32:24

Six Semper, Terenas! That's

32:27

Latin for thus always

32:28

to tyrants.

32:29

It's also Virginia's state motto. The

32:32

actor that hobbles or dashes off. Witnesses

32:35

don't agree on which, escaping out

32:37

the theater's back. The

32:39

audience doesn't even know what to make of this.

32:42

Is this part of the show? Then Mary's

32:45

pain voice cuts through the still air.

32:47

They've shot the president! They've shot

32:50

the president! News

32:55

and confusion of the plot quickly spreads.

32:58

Messengers tell Edwin Stanton and Gideon

33:00

Wells that Lincoln's been shot and William

33:02

Henry Seward assassinated.

33:04

They both arrive at the Seward home about the

33:06

same time.

33:08

The blood-stained aftermath of the attack

33:10

is unreal, but it's relieving

33:12

to find the Secretary of State alive.

33:15

Mars and Neptune then make their way to the theater,

33:18

where

33:18

they find the fading president has been carried

33:20

across the street to the Peterson boarding house.

33:23

Mary sends word of what's happened to her son

33:26

Robert. The young Captain Lincoln,

33:28

John Hay, and Senator Charles Sumner

33:31

all share a carriage heading straight to the scene. What

33:34

about 12-year-old Tad Lincoln?

33:36

Oh, that my little tat he might see

33:38

his father before he died! Mary

33:41

exclaims, hoping to spare

33:43

him some suffering. They don't sin for the

33:45

emotional child, but cruel fate

33:47

would have him know anyway. The child

33:50

is watching a performance of the play Aladdin

33:52

at Grove's theater when the manager interrupts

33:54

to announce the president has been shot. Tad

33:57

runs out of the theater, sobbing, screaming.

33:59

He cries to the White House doorkeeper, Thomas

34:02

Pendle. As

34:05

for Mary herself,

34:06

she's in and out of Lincoln's room and parlor

34:08

through the night. She tells

34:10

unconscious Lincoln to take her with him. She doesn't

34:13

even want to live without

34:14

him. Countless mourners gather

34:16

outside the Peterson boarding

34:19

house. Throughout the night, Edwin is in full war secretary

34:22

mode. He's in a very, very, very, very,

34:24

very, very, very, and

34:27

he's in full war secretary mode. He

34:30

organizes a manhunt and telegraphs

34:32

important figures like Ulysses S. Grant,

34:34

who's requested to return to DC. The

34:37

general is shook

34:38

to the core.

34:43

It's Saturday morning, April 15th.

34:46

The president's long body lays diagonally

34:48

on the bed. As the sun rises,

34:51

Lincoln's breathing indicates he's going.

34:54

Mary is so overcome she faints. Take

34:57

that woman out and do not let her

34:59

in again, Edwin instructs. She

35:02

will never see her husband alive again.

35:05

Reverend Phineas D. Gurley leads those present

35:08

in prayer.

35:09

Then at 7.22 AM, it

35:10

becomes clear. Abraham

35:15

Lincoln, the Kentucky born, Illinois

35:18

rail splitter, self-taught lawyer

35:20

and uniter of peoples who held malice

35:22

toward none,

35:24

is dead. Edwin Stanton

35:26

breaks the silence. Now he

35:29

belongs to the ages we believe,

35:32

he says. And in this moment,

35:35

even the cool headed war secretary can no

35:37

longer contain himself, like

35:39

everyone in the room. Mars

35:41

weeps.

35:46

That's a hard scene to move on from, but

35:48

we still have unanswered questions.

35:50

What of Lincoln's killer? Where

35:53

is John Wilkes Booth? Or his

35:55

co-conspirators?

35:56

To get these answers, we need to go back to

35:58

March 15th.

35:59

meet John and his accomplices, and

36:02

hear how their plan to bring down the union came

36:04

about.

36:05

Rewind. It's

36:11

March 15th at Godier's Restaurant on

36:13

Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

36:16

A group of six men sit in a private

36:18

room eating a late meal and talking

36:20

in low voices. John Wilkes

36:23

Booth leads the conversation.

36:25

The handsome, mustachioed actor sits

36:27

with Lewis Powell and George Atzrot,

36:30

who we've already met, John Surratt,

36:33

whose mother runs a well-known boarding house

36:35

here in town, and Michael O'Loughlin

36:38

and Samuel Arnold. The only

36:40

one missing from this inner circle of conspirators

36:42

is round-faced Davey Harold.

36:45

But John and the others make plans anyway. Here's

36:48

the deal.

36:49

John has been circling around the idea of kidnapping

36:52

Lincoln since last year's election. He

36:54

failed once and is chomping at the bit

36:57

to try again.

36:58

So he and his co-conspirators have just scoped

37:01

out Ford's theater on 10th Street.

37:03

Lincoln often attends shows there.

37:06

With John's inside knowledge and connections

37:08

to the theater, it makes the perfect place

37:10

to snatch the president and hold him for the exchange

37:13

of Confederate POWs.

37:15

Surratt tells us, quote,

37:29

But

37:29

nearly a month later, John is still waiting.

37:31

I guess the president of a country at

37:34

war with itself doesn't go to the theater

37:36

that much.

37:37

As Bobby Lee surrenders to Ulyss at Appomattox

37:40

and the fighting comes to an end,

37:42

John's plan grows from kidnapping to

37:44

assassination.

37:46

And that's why on April 11th, when

37:48

John, Davey, and Lewis are standing

37:50

on the White House lawn listening to Lincoln

37:52

speak, the Confederate sympathizing actor

37:55

makes more than an idle threat.

37:57

Remember what John says after hearing Lincoln

37:59

wax eloquent on reconstruction.

38:02

That is the last speech he will

38:04

ever make. By God, I'll

38:06

put him through.

38:08

Only three days later, John sees

38:10

an opportunity to go through with his long anticipated

38:13

plan.

38:14

A little after 10am, on

38:17

Friday, April 14th, John goes

38:19

to Ford's theater to pick up his mail. See,

38:22

the actor doesn't actually have a permanent address,

38:25

so he has his fan mail, as well as his

38:27

bills and personal letters sent here. While

38:32

at the front desk, John overhears a messenger

38:35

requesting that two upper-level theater

38:37

boxes be reserved for President Lincoln,

38:40

General Grant, and their guests. Like

38:42

the soldier he never was,

38:44

John jumps into action.

38:47

Across the afternoon, the actor runs

38:49

several important errands, like renting

38:51

a horse for getaway transport. While

38:55

John's out on Pennsylvania Avenue, a carriage

38:57

rolls by with the Ulysses and Julia Grant

39:00

inside. If you listen, Julia

39:02

will be at the theater tonight. Why are they riding

39:04

toward the train station right now? The

39:09

curious actor mounts his horse and chases

39:11

down the carriage. Julia describes,

39:14

quote, We were nearing the railway

39:16

station when a man overtook

39:17

us, drew alongside and, leaning

39:20

down, peered into our carriage. Then

39:23

he wheeled his horse and rode furiously

39:25

away. Close quote. John

39:28

seems to have confirmed that the Grant won't

39:31

be at Ford's theater tonight. But

39:33

that information doesn't distract him. At 8

39:36

o'clock, John meets with Lewis, George,

39:39

and Davey to hand out the final assignments.

39:42

It's time to put his plot to assassinate the President

39:44

and leave the United States government leaderless

39:47

into motion.

39:51

While

39:53

Lewis, Davey, and George go after

39:55

their targets, John heads to the theater.

39:58

At 9 p.m., John leads the theater.

39:59

his horse down Baptist Alley that

40:02

leads to the rear stage door of the theater. John

40:04

knows this area like the back of his hand and doesn't

40:07

attract any attention to himself. He

40:13

knocks on the northeast back door and stagehand

40:16

Edmund Spangler opens it for him. Edmund

40:19

knows John so when the charming actor

40:21

asks Edmund to hold his horse for a minute

40:23

while he grabs something inside, Edmund doesn't

40:25

think twice.

40:27

The stagehand gets the theater's peanut seller

40:30

Joseph Burroughs to hold the horse while

40:32

he and John step inside. Edmund

40:34

gets back to work and John finds the trapdoor

40:36

that leads to the basement under the stage. The

40:39

play has just started and John doesn't want to

40:41

disturb it

40:43

yet.

40:44

He quietly walks on the dirt path under the stage

40:46

coming up on the opposite side. He

40:49

leaves by the south side exit and heads

40:51

to the saloon next door to wait for his moment.

40:54

Now he's in the perfect place to enter

40:56

the theater from the front while his horse waits

40:58

at the back.

41:00

Easy entrance,

41:01

easy escape.

41:03

At 10 o'clock John leaves his whiskey

41:06

on the bar and exits the saloon.

41:08

He walks to Ford's Cooley enters the front

41:10

lobby and makes his way upstairs to

41:12

the dress circle on the second floor.

41:15

It's crowded. The actors on

41:17

stage are playing to a packed house tonight.

41:20

John wends his way through sitting and standing

41:22

theater patrons towards the president's

41:24

box. A Union Army captain

41:27

Theodore McGowan sits in John's

41:29

path. Theodore later recalls.

41:32

I was sitting in the aisle leading by

41:34

the wall toward the door of the president's box when

41:36

a man came and disturbed me in my seat

41:39

causing me to push my chair forward to permit

41:41

him to pass. Theater watches

41:43

as John enters the president's theater box.

41:46

It doesn't register the danger his commander

41:48

in chief is in now.

41:50

You know what happens next. As

41:56

the theater patrons and actors take in the fact

41:58

that President Lincoln has just been shot.

41:59

John Wilkes Booth makes his getaway.

42:02

He dashes off the stage toward the northeast

42:04

door where his horse is waiting for him. One

42:07

witness says, quote, he

42:10

ran with lightning speed across the stage

42:12

and disappeared beyond the scenes. The

42:14

whole occurrence, the shot, the leap, the escape

42:17

was done while you could count eight. Close

42:19

quote. Well, maybe.

42:23

Another witness claims John limped painfully, like

42:25

the hopping of a frog. Either

42:29

way, John charges out the back door,

42:32

taking his horse in theater and Joseph burrows

42:34

by complete surprise. The

42:39

assassin bashes Joseph on the head with

42:41

the butt of his knife. While Joseph

42:43

grasps his head in pain, John

42:45

gallops into the darkness.

42:50

One quick side note.

42:52

It's worth pointing out that John claims he

42:54

broke his left leg as he jumped onto

42:56

the stage. As the case,

42:59

he runs out of the theater, mounts his horse and

43:01

rides away with the broken leg. But

43:03

historian Michael Kaufman doesn't believe John's

43:06

version. He claims that John will

43:08

break his leg when his horse trips and rolls

43:10

over on him a few miles outside

43:13

the city. We can't know for sure who's

43:15

right.

43:16

All I can tell you is that John has a

43:18

broken left leg by the next morning.

43:21

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

43:24

A little disheveled from a hard ride,

43:26

John meets up with Davey Harold on

43:28

Soppers Hill about eight miles southeast

43:31

of Washington, D.C.

43:32

Davey was supposed to help Lewis Powell attack

43:35

Secretary of State Seward, but left Lewis

43:37

on his own.

43:38

A strong-jawed young man doesn't volunteer

43:41

that info to John.

43:42

The two head south, hoping to outrun anyone

43:45

who might come looking for them.

43:47

At 4 a.m., John's leg is definitely

43:49

broken.

43:50

So he and Davey stop at the home of Dr. Samuel

43:52

Mudd.

43:53

Now, Sam has met John before,

43:56

but it's been a while.

43:57

And John looks terrible. He's traveled all over the

43:59

world. all night and thrown from his horse and broken

44:02

his leg.

44:03

So we can almost believe that Sam isn't lying

44:05

when he later tells authorities that he doesn't

44:07

know his middle of the night patient is

44:09

John Wilkes Booth.

44:11

Almost.

44:13

Sam sets John's broken left fibula

44:16

without question and orders the patient

44:18

to get some rest. Then the young doctor

44:20

goes about his business like any other Saturday.

44:23

But Sam's wife, Frankie, thinks it's a little

44:25

suspicious that John asks for a razor

44:28

and shaves off his very noticeable

44:30

handlebar mustache in the early afternoon.

44:33

Does she suspect that her house guest might

44:35

be a part of the now widely publicized

44:37

assassination?

44:39

John and Davey don't sit around waiting

44:41

to find out.

44:42

They continue their journey south that evening, getting

44:45

help along the way from a well-connected

44:47

chain of Confederate sympathizers.

44:50

John takes time to write his thoughts about

44:52

murdering Lincoln in his small memo book.

44:55

But he wants to know what people think of him.

44:57

One afternoon, a local named Thomas

44:59

Jones brings John and Davey some food. John

45:02

asks him, what does the world beyond

45:05

this swamp think?

45:07

Thomas has a few newspapers that will answer John's

45:09

question.

45:10

The St. Louis Republican declares, quote,

45:13

God only knows what incentive impaled

45:15

this devil to the commission of this horrid

45:17

and damning crime.

45:19

But one thing is certain, no man has

45:21

ever been so effectually damned to everlasting

45:24

fame as J. Wilkes Booth,

45:26

the perpetrator of this cowardly, dastardly

45:29

crime,

45:30

close quote.

45:32

This angers John who sees himself

45:34

as a brave liberator.

45:36

He defends himself in his journal.

45:38

I struck boldly and not

45:40

as the papers say, but there's

45:42

no time to brood.

45:44

With plenty of help from locals who give them food,

45:47

shelter and rides, John and Davey cross

45:49

the Potomac River and make it another 15 miles

45:51

south to the banks of the Rappahannock River

45:54

in the morning hours of April 24th.

45:57

And here at Port Conway, Virginia,

45:59

John and Davey run into a huge stroke

46:02

of luck.

46:03

Up until now, the two men have been relying

46:05

on the strength of their connections and the very much

46:07

intact Confederate sympathizer

46:10

information train. But on the afternoon

46:12

of April 24th, John and

46:14

Davey happen upon three friendly, paroled

46:17

Confederate soldiers, including

46:19

18-year-old Willie Jett.

46:21

Davey turns on the charm of a seasoned con

46:23

artist and strikes up a conversation with Willie

46:26

and his friends.

46:27

Davey lies better than George Clooney's character

46:29

Danny Ocean in Ocean's Eleven. While

46:32

John rests on the banks of the river,

46:34

Davey puts on his best puppy dog look and

46:36

tells the soldiers he's also a recently

46:38

paroled Confederate soldier who saw

46:41

action at Petersburg.

46:42

He and his injured

46:44

brother are just trying to get home,

46:46

but they need help getting across the river and finding

46:49

a place to stay. Seriously,

46:51

Davey knows all the right heartstrings

46:53

to pull. Willie and his friends

46:56

readily agree to help a couple of fellow

46:58

soldiers.

46:59

In fact, Willie even suggests that he

47:01

knows a nearby place where Davey

47:03

and John, who are, of course, not

47:05

using their real

47:06

names, can stay. By

47:09

three o'clock, John, Davey, Willie,

47:11

and his two friends have ferried across

47:14

the Rappahannock to Port Royal and

47:16

are on their way to a local farmer known for his

47:18

hospitality and friendliness to Confederate

47:20

soldiers, Richard Garrett.

47:25

Just as John and Davey bump into Willie Jett, Secretary

47:33

of War Edwin Stanton and his staffer Lafayette Baker up in Washington, D.C. get

47:39

a reliable tip on their whereabouts. A telegram

47:42

comes into the War Office stating

47:44

that two men were seen rowing across

47:46

the Potomac, and Edwin

47:49

and Lafayette jump into action.

47:58

and assemble

48:00

a team of 26 soldiers from the 16th

48:02

New York cavalry to go after those men.

48:05

Lafayette tasks detectives Everton

48:08

Conger and Luther Baker, along with

48:10

Lieutenant Edward Doherty, to

48:12

lead these troopers in fine John Wilkes Booth.

48:16

The search party arrives in Port Royal less than 24

48:19

hours after John and David, but they

48:21

don't try to make friends with the locals. Throughout

48:24

the morning of Tuesday, April 25th, the

48:26

posse harains the citizens of Port

48:28

Conway and Port Royal trying to get a beat

48:30

on John and David. A free black

48:33

couple, William and Betty Rawlins, tell

48:35

Luther Baker that they saw John and David just

48:38

yesterday. Luther's elated.

48:41

I cannot describe the thrill of

48:43

intense satisfaction that came over me when

48:45

I heard this statement.

48:46

I was positive I had struck the trail.

48:49

William and Betty informed the blue clad soldiers

48:52

that John and David had been traveling with Willie

48:54

Jett, a local boy who was courting

48:56

a young woman in nearby Bowling Green.

48:58

If the soldiers find Willie, they might

49:00

also nab John. There's

49:02

only 12 miles of well maintained shaded

49:05

road between Port Royal and Bowling Green.

49:08

Everton Conger decides to check out

49:10

William and Betty's tip.

49:12

At 11pm in Bowling Green,

49:14

Everton orders his men to quietly

49:16

surround the Star Hotel while he and Edward

49:19

Doherty go inside to question Willie. But

49:21

there's no way that the young, recently

49:23

paroled Confederate soldier will try to run

49:26

when he's roughly roused by two armed federal

49:28

officers.

49:29

In fact, once Everton explains

49:32

just who they are after, Willie

49:34

hastily agrees to help.

49:36

He states,

49:37

I know who you want and I will tell you where

49:39

they can be found.

49:41

Willie only wants some assurance that he won't be

49:43

arrested for helping a criminal.

49:45

Everton complies and Willie's whole story comes

49:48

gushing out.

49:49

The young man states, They

49:52

are on the road to Port Royal about three miles

49:54

this side of that. I will get there

49:56

with you and show you where they are and

49:58

you can

49:59

get them. Close quote. Everton

50:02

and Edward exchange frustrated glances.

50:05

Everton clarifies, you say that

50:08

they are on the road to Port Royal. Willy

50:11

nods,

50:11

if you have come that way,

50:13

you have come past them, but the cavalry

50:15

might have scared them off. Edward

50:18

doesn't look deterred by this thought. We'll

50:21

just have to go back and see. It's 2

50:23

a.m. on Wednesday, April 26.

50:27

Everton, Edward, Luther, and a 16th New York cavalry men

50:30

quietly ride up the lane, leading

50:32

to Richard Darritt's large wood-framed farmhouse. Once

50:38

the soldiers have surrounded the house,

50:40

Everton and Luther step onto the porch

50:42

and knock heavily on the single front door. No

50:45

lights can be seen through the windows on either

50:47

side of the entryway. Everton

50:49

knocks louder. Finally, Richard

50:51

Darritt, dressed only in a night

50:53

shirt and holding

50:54

a small candle, opens the door. Luther

50:57

grabs Richard by the collar and gruffly asks, where

51:00

are those parties who were at

51:02

your house last night? Scared out

51:04

of his mind, middle-aged Richard starts to

51:06

stammer. This

51:09

frustrates the soldiers who think Richard might

51:11

be stalling for time.

51:13

Just as Everton orders his men to stream and

51:15

then he's out of the way. Just

51:17

as Everton orders his men to string up Richard

51:20

to get more information out of him, 25-year-old

51:22

Jack Darritt comes striding around the corner

51:25

of the wood-framed house. Wait!

51:28

Jack yells to be heard over the commotion in

51:30

his front yard. I will tell you what

51:32

you want to know. Everton

51:34

and Luther turn toward Jack. The

51:36

young man continues, don't end your

51:38

father. The men you want are in the tobacco

51:41

barn. Jack explains that

51:43

he and his brother Will locked their house

51:45

guests into the barn to prevent them from stealing

51:47

a couple horses and fleeing

51:49

into the night. Will

51:54

Darritt gets the keys and unlocks the barn as

51:57

the entire posse surrounds the small structure.

52:00

Luther shouts into the barn. We

52:02

are here to make you prisoner. We

52:04

know who you are. I

52:06

will give you five minutes to surrender.

52:09

If you do not give yourself up in that time,

52:12

I will set the barn on fire.

52:15

John doesn't seem cowed.

52:16

I am lame with only one

52:18

leg. Give me some show for

52:21

my life. Draw your men 50 yards

52:23

from the door, and I'll come out

52:25

and fight you. Fight

52:27

you. Seriously, I

52:30

guess if you're zealous enough to shoot a president

52:32

of the United States, you're zealous enough to take

52:34

on over 20 armed soldiers. But

52:37

Luther doesn't want to shoot out. He

52:39

retorts, he didn't come here to fight

52:41

you, but to take you prisoner, and

52:43

we will take you dead or alive.

52:46

At this point, Davey loses his

52:49

nerve. He's

52:50

had enough running, and he definitely doesn't

52:52

want to get into a firefight with federal

52:54

cavalry. John's co-conspirator

52:57

exits the barn with his hands up. Soldiers

52:59

immediately nab him. The youngest

53:02

Garrett's son, Richard Jr. describes, quote,

53:05

the poor little wretch was dragged away,

53:08

whining and crying like a child and

53:10

securely bound to a tree in the yard. He

53:12

kept up his whimpering until the captain had ordered

53:15

him

53:15

gagged, close quote. With

53:18

Davey

53:18

out of the way, Everton, Luther,

53:21

and Edward realize they're going to have to

53:22

turn the heat up on John, literally.

53:25

They set a few pine boughs on fire and put the flaming

53:28

branches up against the back corners of the barn. The

53:31

hay, dried tobacco leaves, and barn boards

53:33

immediately catch fire. The

53:36

flames quickly light up the moonless night. One

53:39

soldier, Sergeant Boston Corbett,

53:42

can clearly see an armed John standing

53:44

in the middle of the barn. Boston,

53:47

the tall man with heavy mutton chops, decides

53:49

to take action. He

53:51

raises his Colt revolver, takes

53:54

through

53:54

a gap in the barn boards and

53:55

shoots.

54:01

The bullet strikes John through the neck, severing

54:04

part of his spinal cord.

54:06

Lincoln's assassin slumps to the ground.

54:09

Boston later explains his decision.

54:11

It was not through fear at all that I shot

54:13

him, but because it was my impression that

54:16

it was time the man was shot.

54:18

For I thought he would do harm to our

54:20

men in trying to fight his way through that den

54:23

if I did not.

54:24

Within seconds of Boston's shot,

54:27

Edward and a few soldiers rush into the barn and

54:29

drag John safely away from the now-raising

54:31

fire. John's alive, but

54:33

barely.

54:34

He's paralyzed from the neck down and can barely

54:37

breathe. Only the reflex

54:39

action of his diaphragm keeps air moving

54:41

in and out of his lungs. The

54:44

guards put a mattress on the front porch. A

54:46

few soldiers place limp, languishing

54:48

John on the mattress, then run to get a local

54:51

doctor. As the eastern horizon

54:53

grows lighter with the impending dawn, Dr.

54:56

Charles Urquhart arrives on the scene. But

54:58

there is nothing he can do. Medical

55:01

technology in 1865 can't save

55:03

a person paralyzed from the neck

55:04

down. Everton, Luther,

55:06

and Edward search John's pockets. They

55:09

find the small memo book in which John has been

55:11

recording his thoughts while on the run. As

55:14

Everton sits near John and reads through the

55:16

often-rambling memo book entries, he

55:19

notices that John is trying to speak. Everton

55:22

leans down and puts his ear next to the dying

55:24

man's mouth. John whispers,

55:27

Tell my mother, I die

55:30

for my country.

55:31

John dies a few minutes later, just

55:34

after seven o'clock in the morning of

55:36

April 26th,

55:43

John Wilkes Booth's body gets taken

55:45

back to Washington, D.C. as his co-conspirators

55:48

get rounded up.

55:59

Of course,

56:00

Davey Harold are all in federal

56:03

custody.

56:04

Their military trials will take a few weeks.

56:07

In the end, four people will be convicted

56:09

of conspiracy and condemned to death for

56:11

the roles they played in helping John Wilkes

56:13

Booth assassinate President Lincoln.

56:16

On July 7th, Mary Sirot,

56:19

Davey Harold, Lewis Powell, and

56:21

George Atsorot are hanged.

56:24

So now we know how the President's killer

56:27

and a few of his accomplices found their way to

56:29

the grave.

56:30

But what of Lincoln's? We

56:32

need to enter the Illinois Rail Splitter.

56:35

Let's go back in time once more

56:37

to attend Lincoln's funeral and follow

56:39

his body to its final resting place.

56:42

Rewind.

56:45

It's Wednesday, April 19th in Washington

56:48

City. Lieutenant General Ulysses

56:50

Grant stands on a recently built platform

56:52

in the middle of the East Room of the White House.

56:55

A 10 by 16 foot cataphalk has

56:57

a seven foot high canopy draped

56:59

with black and white velvet and silk sheets.

57:02

Ulysses stands in his practiced stoic

57:05

soldier stance.

57:06

Funeral guests quietly enter the room,

57:09

step onto the cataphalk, walk past

57:11

Lincoln's open casket, and

57:13

then find their seats for the upcoming service. Ulysses

57:16

looks straight ahead the whole time, but

57:18

the silent tears running down his cheeks bear

57:20

witness to how difficult this day truly

57:23

is for the Blue-Eyed General.

57:25

At noon, the funeral for the first assassinated

57:28

U.S. president begins.

57:30

Over 600 guests attend

57:32

the service in the East Room, including Lincoln's

57:34

oldest son, Robert, newly

57:36

sworn in President Andrew Johnson, and

57:38

the entire cabinet except recovering

57:41

William Henry Seward.

57:42

Mary Todd Lincoln also stays away,

57:45

unable to bear the finality of the funeral

57:47

service.

57:48

Churches all over Washington City hold their own

57:50

memorial services at the same time so

57:52

that all who wish can honor Abraham

57:55

Lincoln.

57:56

In the East Room,

57:57

Reverend Thomas Hall,

57:58

pastor of the Epiphany

57:59

Episcopal Church,

58:01

begins the service by reading St. John, 1125,

58:05

I am the resurrection and the life, he

58:08

that believeth in me, though he were dead,

58:10

yet shall he live.

58:13

When the funeral ends, eight sergeants

58:16

gently place the lid on Lincoln's coffin

58:18

and carry it out to a waiting hearse pulled

58:20

by six white horses. At

58:22

two o'clock, the procession from the White House

58:24

to the Capitol begins. Five

58:26

thousand marchers follow in a solemn line

58:28

behind the hearse with the 22nd Regiment, United

58:31

States color troops leading the way. With

58:34

thousands of marchers in the procession and

58:36

thousands more lining the streets to get a glimpse

58:39

of Lincoln's black velvet-draped coffin,

58:41

you might expect this procession to be a noisy

58:43

affair. But in between

58:45

the cannon shots which ring out every 60

58:48

seconds in mourning, witnesses say that

58:50

they can actually hear the light breeze rustle

58:53

leaves on the trees.

59:00

Lincoln's body stays at the Capitol for public

59:02

viewing until Friday morning.

59:04

Then it boards a train bound for home,

59:07

Springfield, Illinois.

59:09

The rail car is actually a specially built presidential

59:12

coach that Lincoln had planned to take on a nationwide

59:15

end of the war tour.

59:16

Now it will carry the president's body through 11 cities

59:19

on extended nationwide viewing.

59:22

At the Washington Depot, civilians and

59:24

soldiers gather to say one last farewell

59:26

to their president.

59:28

As the train pulls out of the station, a lone

59:30

voice calls out,

59:32

goodbye, Father Abraham.

59:34

Two of Lincoln's sons accompany his body

59:36

on the journey. Robert and

59:38

his deceased little brother, Willie, who

59:41

passed away in 1862.

59:43

Willie's casket will be reburied with his father

59:46

in Springfield.

59:47

The train arrives on May 3rd and the

59:49

next day, Lincoln and Willie's caskets

59:51

are placed in a receiving vault at Oak Ridge

59:54

Cemetery.

59:55

Come December,

59:56

Lincoln and Willie will be moved to a temporary vault

59:59

just a stone's throw away.

59:59

Then finally, in 1871,

1:00:03

they and recently deceased Tad will be laid

1:00:05

to rest in a permanent tomb on the same

1:00:07

hill at Oak Ridge. But

1:00:09

it won't be dedicated until 1874.

1:00:12

And of course, the granite tomb won't deter

1:00:14

people from trying to steal Lincoln's body.

1:00:17

So the tomb will undergo major renovations

1:00:19

in 1900 and 1930 to keep Lincoln safe and create

1:00:23

a place where people can honor his life and

1:00:25

legacy. Lincoln's

1:00:27

arrival at his final resting place doesn't

1:00:29

do much to assuage the grief of

1:00:32

many Americans.

1:00:34

A few months after the funeral, a clerk

1:00:36

in the Department of the Interior named Walt

1:00:38

Whitman

1:00:39

puts his grief into a poem.

1:00:41

It becomes a well-known tribute to the President

1:00:44

who weathered the storms of the Civil War,

1:00:46

but fell dead before he could enjoy the balm

1:00:49

of peace.

1:00:50

I'll read it to you now.

1:00:52

Oh Captain, my Captain,

1:00:54

our fearful trip is done.

1:00:57

The ship has weathered every rack. The

1:00:59

prize we sought is won.

1:01:01

The port is near. The bells I

1:01:03

hear.

1:01:04

The people all exulting.

1:01:07

While following eyes that steady

1:01:09

keel,

1:01:10

the vessel grim and daring.

1:01:13

But oh heart, heart,

1:01:15

heart. Oh the bleeding

1:01:18

drops of red. Where

1:01:20

on the deck my Captain lies. Fallen,

1:01:24

cold, and dead.

1:01:26

Oh Captain, my Captain,

1:01:28

rise up and hear the bells.

1:01:31

Rise up, for you the flag is flung.

1:01:34

For you the bugle trills.

1:01:37

For you bouquets and ribbon wreaths. For

1:01:39

you the shores are crowding. For

1:01:42

you they call, the swaying mass, their

1:01:45

eager faces turning. Here

1:01:47

Captain, dear Father, this

1:01:49

arm beneath your head. It

1:01:52

is some dream that on the deck

1:01:55

you've fallen cold and dead.

1:01:58

My Captain does not answer.

1:02:01

His lips are pale and still. My

1:02:04

father does not feel my arm. He

1:02:07

has no pulse nor will. The

1:02:10

ship is anchored, safe and sound. Its

1:02:13

voyage closed and done. From

1:02:17

fearful trip, the victor's ship

1:02:19

comes in with Object One. Exalt,

1:02:23

O shores and ring, O bells. But I, with

1:02:26

mournful tread, Walk

1:02:30

the deck, my Captain Wise, Fallen,

1:02:34

Cold and Dead.