Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is the story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. During the Civil War, the United States was in a state of turmoil. The country was parted into those who supported the Southern cause and those who supported the Northern cause. As the Northern Cause and Abraham Lincoln’s policies won, many of the Southern supporters were aggravated, and one of them was John Wilkes Booth.
John was a famous actor and had an easier access to the president than many of the other Southern supporters. He believed that the Civil War could be won by kidnapping Abraham Lincoln and using him as a bargaining tool for either the war itself, southern prisoners or valuable war secrets. When Booth set this plan to action during the Civil war, he failed.
Booth was furious as the Northern cause won the war, but he insisted that the Southerners could get back their fire and continue fighting if President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward and Vice-President Johnson all were killed. Booth set forth a plan and gathered a little team three men who were all going to kill each their victims in hopes of crippling the Union government.
Abraham Lincoln had asked his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln out on a date at the Ford theatre, as it was one of the first somewhat stable moments in the country after the war, as well as trying to cheer her up since he knew she was depressed after the death of their son. Booth found out about Lincoln’s plan, entered the theatre and shot him in his head. A doctor in the audience tried saving him, but quickly realized that the injuries were too severe, and he dies.
Booth was tackled by members of the audience and broke his leg as he escaped. His two companions were not successful and neither the Vice-President nor the Secretary of State killed. Booth became a wanted man and was later caught hiding in the tobacco shed at a farm. Him and all his co-conspirators were all hanged shortly after.
