The Role Of David Herold In The Assassination Of Lincoln

Everyone knows that John Wilkes Booth was the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, but not everyone knows John Wilkes Booth’s take on it. Like Why did he do it? Who were his accomplices? What happened after he did it? Well that is was this paper is about.

On April 14, Lincoln held a Cabinet congregation to talk over post-war reconstructing exhaustively. President Lincoln wanted to have southern state governments in operation prior to Congress met in December in order to keep away from the oppression of the vengeful Radical Republicans. That same night, during the time that Lincoln was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre, a fanatical Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth, crept up at the back Lincoln and shot him in the head. Lincoln died the following day, leaving the South with little wish for a non-revengeful Reconstruction.

Booth, along with his coconspirators began to plan the assassination of Lincoln (Ito 30) these conspirators included; George Azterodt, Mary Surratt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, Edward Spangler, Louis Paine, Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen (Ito 30). Though many of these conspirators did not actually commit murder they were still however charged with the crime of assisting Booth in plotting the murder of both Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward (Ito 30).

The death of Abraham Lincoln is described very vividly: “...the sphere of Britannia metal poked a neat round hole in Lincoln’s skull and then pushed fragments of that bone deep into Lincoln’s brain as it traveled precisely seven and a half inches before plowing to a stop in the dense gray matter.” (page 208). After the arrests of the other co-conspirators like Azterodt and Powell, detective Lafayette Baker attempts to hunt down John Wilkes Booth and David Herold who are hiding out in a swamp in Maryland. Eventually, the two conspirators are found in a barn in Virginia and John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed as the barn burned to the ground. Finally, the assassin of the killer of Abraham Lincoln is killed in the same manner as the president.

He held one final meeting with his co-conspirators. He said he would kill Lincoln at the theatre (he had since learned that Grant had left town). Atzerodt was to kill Vice-President Andrew Johnson at the Kirkwood House where Johnson resided. Powell was assigned to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Herold would accompany Powell. All attacks were to take place simultaneously at approximately 10:15 P.M. that night. Booth hoped the resulting chaos and weakness in the government would lead to a comeback for the South.

Surratt and the other conspirators were convicted of being involved with John Wilkes Booth’s intricate plot to dissolve the Union government by killing President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. George Atzerodt was the conspirator that was tasked to kill Johnson, but he had second thoughts and got drunk at a tavern instead. Lewis Powell was supposed to kill Seward, but Powell failed and Seward was able to survive Powell’s attack on his life. Surratt was believed by many to be the epicenter around in which the whole conspiracy evolved. Many believed this because her boardinghouse was used as a meeting headquarters for the conspirators, including Booth and she had a personal relationship with Booth as well. After a month long trial and only two days of deliberation, all four conspirators were charged with collaborating to assassinate the President of the United States and were sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead for their crime. Throughout the whole trial process, Mary Surratt was the most hated woman in the country and there was little disbelief in Americans’ minds that she played a certain role in the assassination plot. For the almost 150 years since her execution, though, public opinion of her has been somewhat

John Wilkes Booth was the murderer of the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. With the nation divided and the Confederacy falling apart, Booth murdered Washington in hope that the confederavy would have a second chance. John Wilkes Booth did not accomplish his goal because was caught and was not help the confederacy change the course of the war. Firstly, John Wilkes Booth was later caught and killed.

On the evening on April 14, 1856, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who had already attempted to kidnap Lincoln twice already, while attending the play of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. Sitting with him were Mayor Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clare Harris. While watching the play, Booth sneaked into the box the president, a knife in his left hand and a pistol in his right. Booth shot the president in the back of the head, slashed Rathbone across the arm, and jumped off the balcony. Booth caught his leg on a flag on the way down and broke his leg. Lincoln was carried to a boarding house next door and died the next day. President Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated in United States history. John booth escaped, sought medical attention for his wounded leg, and fled into the Virginia country side. Union troops found the barn he was hiding in, surrounded it, set it on fire, and shot Booth as he attempted to escape (“The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” 34f). The president’s body was taken by train to Springfield, Illinois, where he was then buried. Accomplices of Booth’s were tried for their part in trying to assassinate other leaders, such as the Vice President and the Secretary of War. Others were tried in court for attempting to aid

He was a famous actor born in Maryland in 1838. He sided with the Confederates and did not like Abraham Lincoln. Instead of assassinating Lincoln, he had planned to kidnap him on March 5, 1865 and take him to the Confederate capital, Richmond. This planned failed when Abraham Lincoln did not show up to the spot. Two weeks after this, the Union forces took over Richmond. Booth then decided that Lincoln still needed to be killed, so he shot him with his .44 caliber, then stabbed Army Officer Henry Rathbone. After paralyzing Lincoln, “Booth leapt onto the stage and shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis!” (“Thus ever to tyrants!”–the Virginia state motto)” (History.com). He fell off of the stage after this, which resulted in him breaking his leg, but he still was able to

When none of his attempts were successful, he set a new plan, one not quite like the others, this one-an assassination. According to Booth’s former friend Louis Weichmann, Booth set out this plan after hearing Lincoln deliver a speech about Negro Suffrage.

Sadly, Lincoln was killed due to the belief of Booth that “Lincoln was going to over throw the constitution and destroy the south he loved.” (Booths reason for assassination) This was most likely caused by the fact that Booth was an open confederate sympathizer during the war. It was also thought that the guards were not doing their jobs at the theatre and that they allowed Booth to sneak by and shoot Lincoln in the head with a 44 caliber derringer pistol. Recently after Lincoln’s death it was found that co-conspirators were involved in Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s

John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of Lincoln, had many reasons for his actions. This is very important to people because there still might be some unknown factors for why John Wilkes Booth slaughtered Lincoln. Booth thought that assassinating Lincoln was a good idea, but it really only turned him into a hated and despised

The conflict of the Civil War tore the United States apart. John Wilkes Booth was a member of the Confederacy. He believed that slavery was necessary to the economy. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth crept into the balcony of Ford’s Theatre and assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, actor, murderer, and confederate spokesperson, is linked to the downfall of the South.

John Wilkes Booth and his fellow conspirators planned to kidnap Abraham Lincoln on March 20, 1865, but on that day the president did not arrive at the location they thought he would. Once Booth figured out that Lincoln was going to Ford’s Theater he and his conspirators planned to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and William H. Seward (“Abraham”/history.com). Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. As the president could not escape the southern sympathizers the nation was lead through its darkest hour when our 16th president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Booth broke his leg in the fall from the President's box, but was still able to escape from the theater and leave the nation's capital, meeting up with his co-conspirator David Herold (History.com Staff). They travelled to accomplice Dr. Samuel Mudd who treated Booth's wounds, and then Confederate sympathizer Thomas Jones sheltered the pair before they crossed the border to Virginia (History.com Staff). Booth and Herold ended up hiding in a Virginia farmhouse when they were found by the Union soldiers chasing Lincoln's killer. In the morning of April 26, Herold surrendered and was taken into Union custody, but Booth's escape attempt led to his being shot in the neck. Lincoln's assassin was dead (History.com