Book SummaryChasing Lincoln's Killer, by James L. Swanson

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is an account drawn from archival materials of John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 and the 12-day pursuit of Booth and his co-conspirators through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

In the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln was beginning his second term as president, and Washington, D.C. was starting to breathe more easily as the four-year Civil War wound down.

However, many rebels and Confederate sympathizers refused to give up the so-called lost cause of slavery and states’ rights, holding out hope of eventually winning. Washington and the surrounding countryside harbored numerous spies and supporters of the Confederacy looking for ways to undermine the Union.

One vehement anti-Unionist was a popular 26-year-old actor, John Wilkes Booth. He was a racist and Lincoln-hater acquainted with Confederate agents and sympathizers from Canada and New York City to Virginia. In the spring of 1865, after General Robert E. Lee’s disappointing surrender, Booth became increasingly dismayed with Lincoln—and a belief took root that killing Lincoln would rally Confederate sympathizers and veterans to renew the fight and defeat the Union.

Planning the Assassination

Booth’s opportunity to kill Lincoln came on April 14 when he learned that the President and Mary Todd Lincoln would be attending the performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre that evening. Having acted in other performances, Booth was familiar with the theater’s layout and knew he could shoot Lincoln in his balcony box and get away quickly.

However, Booth knew he’d need help because, in addition to killing Lincoln, he wanted to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward. So at around 8 p.m. (curtain time for the play), Booth met with a group of co-conspirators at a hotel near the theater and assigned them roles.

Booth’s co-conspirators and their roles were:

1) David Herold, a tracker and outdoorsman, would guide conspirator Lewis Powell to Secretary of State Seward’s home in D.C. and wait while Powell killed Seward (Powell didn’t know his way around the city). Then Herold was to accompany Powell out of the city to meet up with Booth south of Washington, in Maryland, after Booth killed Lincoln.

2) Lewis Powell, a former Confederate soldier, would assassinate Seward, who was recuperating in bed at his home from a serious carriage accident.

3) George Atzerodt would kill Vice President Andrew Johnson in his room at the Kirkwood House hotel in Washington. Atzerodt had doubts about the assignment and didn’t sign on until Booth threatened him.

After the meeting, Booth checked on the progress of the play at about 9 p.m., then went to a nearby stable and got his horse, which he asked an unwitting theater employee to hold for him at the theater’s back door.

The Assassination Plot Unfolds

Booth returned to the theater at 10 p.m. and climbed the stairs to the balcony. In the vestibule leading to the president’s box, he pulled out a single-shot pistol and knife. He waited until there was just one actor on stage, who he knew would deliver a big applause line generating a reaction that would muffle his shot. He opened the door to the president’s box at 10:31 p.m., entered, and fired as he heard the applause line, striking Lincoln in the head. A guest in the box lunged at Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped by climbing over the balcony, dropping to the stage (breaking his leg), and racing through the wings and out the back door to his horse.

Meanwhile, **when Powell tried to kill Secretary of State Seward...

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary Introduction

In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, author and Lincoln historian James L. Swanson draws on archival material and trial transcripts to create a vivid account of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the 12-day pursuit of killer John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators through Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. This book is condensed from a longer work to adapt it for young readers.

(Shortform note: We compressed the book’s 14 chapters into 8 to clarify the timeline and make the story more cohesive.)

Washington, D.C. in 1865

In the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln was beginning his second term as president, and Washington, D.C. was starting to breathe more easily as the four-year Civil War wound down.

However, many rebels and Confederate sympathizers refused to give up the so-called lost cause of slavery and states’ rights, holding out hope of eventually winning. Washington and the surrounding countryside harbored numerous spies and supporters of the Confederacy who looked for ways to undermine the Union.

One vehement anti-Unionist was a popular 26-year-old actor, John Wilkes Booth. He was a racist and Lincoln-hater who maintained contact with a broad range of...

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary Chapters 1-2: Planning the Assassination

Booth spent April 14 laying plans for the assassination, which required connecting with multiple co-conspirators. He knew he’d need help escaping to Virginia, a Confederate state where he hoped to find support and acclaim.

He’d also need help because, in addition to killing Lincoln, he wanted to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward. He hoped that killing several key government officials would rally Confederate sympathizers and veterans to renew their fight.

Introducing the Co-Conspirators

Following are brief bios of the key co-conspirators and their roles.

1) David Herold: Booth’s most-loyal follower, Herold was a tracker and outdoorsman whose role in the assassination plot was to guide conspirator Lewis Powell to Secretary of State Seward’s home in D.C., and wait while Powell killed Seward (Powell didn’t know his way around the city). Then Herold was to accompany Powell out of the city to meet up with Booth south of Washington, in Maryland, after Lincoln’s assassination.

2) Lewis Powell: Powell was a former Confederate soldier and loyal Booth follower, whose job of assassinating Seward was expected to be fairly...

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary Chapter 3: The Assassination Plot Unfolds

Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln, and their guests Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancé Clara Harris arrived at the theater after the play had begun. However, the director stopped the play, the band played “Hail to the Chief,” the audience cheered, and Lincoln bowed to the crowd.

After having a drink at a saloon, Booth entered the theater lobby at 10 p.m. and climbed the stairs to the balcony, where he opened the vestibule door unimpeded. He closed and blocked it behind him, and waited outside another door to Lincoln’s box. He could see through a peephole that he may have made that Lincoln was seated in a rocking chair closest to the door holding Mary’s hand. Their guests were seated on Mary’s other side.

Four scenes remained in the play. Booth pulled out his pistol and knife. He waited until there was just one actor on stage, Harry Hawk, who he knew would speak a big applause line generating a reaction that would muffle his shot. He opened the door and entered the president’s box at 10:31 p.m.

No one in the box noticed as Booth stepped toward Lincoln and raised the pistol to shoulder height. When Hawk spoke the line, “You sockdologizing old mantrap,” the audience burst...

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary Chapters 4-7: Manhunt

At 7:22 a.m. April 15, at the boarding house across from Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln died and Stanton sent a telegram announcing the news to the nation. The president’s body was placed in a simple pine coffin and soldiers escorted it to the Executive Mansion. At 11 a.m, Vice President Johnson was sworn in as president.

Meanwhile, Stanton escalated the investigation and manhunt for the co-conspirators, calling in troops and police from as far away as New York City. They had numerous pieces of evidence from searching Booth’s room, including letters with the names of associates, but they were also distracted by false sightings and leads.

April 15

Atzerodt: Azerodt left his hotel room and walked to Georgetown, on his way to his cousin’s in Maryland. In Georgetown, he stopped at a store, got a $10 loan by using his pistol as collateral, and continued on.

Booth and Herold: Booth and Herold rested at Mudd’s farm during the day and planned to continue south at nightfall. When Mudd went to town for supplies, he learned that Lincoln had been shot and cavalry troops were searching the countryside for Booth and other associates. A patrol coming from Washington rode past his...

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary Chapter 8: Trial and Execution

Despite the hundreds of people originally arrested, including many who had encountered or assisted the co-conspirators, Stanton decided to try only eight: Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, Edman Spangler, and Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Arnold and O’Laughlen were involved in Booth’s kidnapping conspiracy, but apparently not in the assassination plot. Nonetheless, they...

Shortform Exercise: Was Justice Served?

Most of the people who saw and knowingly assisted the Lincoln assassination conspirators were not ultimately punished. (Also, an innocent man was punished.)

Do you think those who knowingly assisted the conspirators by providing food, shelter, transportation, and so on, should have been punished? Why or why not?