Lincoln's yarns and stories : $b A complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story tellerMcClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly)
History
Lincoln's yarns and stories : $b A complete collection of the funny and witty anecdotes that made Lincoln famous as America's greatest story teller
McClure, Alexander K. (Alexander Kelly)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Anecdotes
Booth, accompanied by David C. Herold, a fellow-conspirator, finally
made his way into Maryland, where eleven days after the assassination
the two were discovered in a barn on Garrett’s farm near Port Royal on
the Rappahannock. The barn was surrounded by a squad of cavalrymen, who
called upon the assassins to surrender. Herold gave himself up and was
roundly cursed and abused by Booth, who declared that he would never be
taken alive.
The cavalrymen then set fire to the barn and as the flames leaped up the
figure of the assassin could be plainly seen, although the wall of fire
prevented him from seeing the soldiers. Colonel Conger saw him standing
upright upon a crutch with a carbine in his hands.
When the fire first blazed up Booth crept on his hands and knees to the
spot, evidently for the purpose of shooting the man who had applied the
torch, but the blaze prevented him from seeing anyone. Then it seemed
as if he were preparing to extinguish the flames, but seeing the
impossibility of this he started toward the door with his carbine held
ready for action.
His eyes shone with the light of fever, but he was pale as death and
his general appearance was haggard and unkempt. He had shaved off his
mustache and his hair was closely cropped. Both he and Herold wore the
uniforms of Confederate soldiers.
BOOTH SHOT BY “BOSTON” CORBETT.
The last orders given to the squad pursuing Booth were: “Don’t shoot
Booth, but take him alive.” Just as Booth started to the door of the
barn this order was disobeyed by a sergeant named Boston Corbett, who
fired through a crevice and shot Booth in the neck. The wounded man was
carried out of the barn and died four hours afterward on the grass where
they had laid him. Before he died he whispered to Lieutenant Baker,
“Tell mother I died for my country; I thought I did for the best.” What
became of Booth’s body has always been and probably always will be a
mystery. Many different stories have been told concerning his final
resting place, but all that is known positively is that the body was
first taken to Washington and a post-mortem examination of it held on
the Monitor Montauk. On the night of April 27th it was turned over to
two men who took it in a rowboat and disposed of it secretly. How they
disposed of it none but themselves know and they have never told.
FATE OF THE CONSPIRATORS.
The conspiracy to assassinate the President involved altogether
twenty-five people. Among the number captured and tried were David
C. Herold, G. W. Atzerodt, Louis Payne, Edward Spangler, Michael
O’Loughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mrs. Surratt and Dr. Samuel Mudd, a
physician, who set Booth’s leg, which was sprained by his fall from
the stage box. Of these Herold, Atzerodt, Payne and Mrs. Surratt were
hanged. Dr. Mudd was deported to the Dry Tortugas. While there an
epidemic of yellow fever broke out and he rendered such good service
that he was granted a pardon and died a number of years ago in Maryland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account