John Wilkes Booth

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John Wilkes Booth.

John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who plotted and successfully executed the murder of American President Abraham Lincoln.

Although he never fought as a solider in the American Civil War, Booth was pro-slavery supporting the Confederate South. By April 1865, with the tide turning against the Confederates, Booth planned the murder not only of Lincoln but also Vice-President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward in simultaneous attacks. With the President and his two immediate successors removed, the North would be leaderless and the South could take advantage of the chaos. The attacks were executed on 14 April 1865: Seward was wounded but survived; the accomplice tasked with killing Johnson reneged and spent the night drinking. Only Booth was successful, shooting Lincoln in Ford's Theatre and fleeing.

Booth was finally cornered in a barn on Garrett farm but refused to surrender. The soldiers then set fire to the barn. Pursuing soldiers torched the barn, and Booth was shot by Boston Corbett in the confusion. Booth's murder was in fact performed by the Assassins: it is unclear if Corbett was the only member of the Assassin Order, or if all the soldiers involved were secretly Assassins.