Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary

Chasing Lincolns killer is about the assassination of the 16th president of the United States and the killer. The story starts with the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, hearing about the president coming to the theater the assassin works at. Mr. Booth begin to plan the assassination carefully. Once the president arrives at the theater the plan begins and then starts the assassins daring escape. Once Mr. Booth is out of Washington he must go into hiding until his capture.

The day John Wilkes Booth heard of the Presidents soon to be appearance at the ford theater, he was excited. Mr. Booth had not liked this president because he was with the union. John Booth started to plan the assassination immediately. Mr. Booth wasn’t alone in this plan, he had companions to assassinate the secretary of state too. Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, all attempted assassinations the night of April 14, 1865, but only John Wilkes Booth succeeded shooting the president in the back of the head. The others were to kill the secretary of state, William H. Seward, which failed because his family put up a fight.

Once the president was shot, John Wilkes Booth had to make a quick escape. Mr. Booth

had a horse ready in the back of the theater. The assassin pushed and shoved past other actors in the narrow passageways to the back. Once he was out of Fords theater he road to Maryland. In Maryland he met up with David Harold and they rode to a safe house. The two rode to an acquaintances house, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, to help John Wilkes Booths broken leg and to let them rest for a few nights.
John Booth and David Herold soon left Dr. Mudds house to find somewhere safer for them to hide. Dr. Mudd suggested Captain Samuel Cox’s farm. Off they went to Captain Coxs farm. With Booths broken leg it made it much slower and harder. Mr. Cox graciously let them stay. It was not safe for them to stay at the house so the stayed in a heavily wooded thicket near the farm. Captain Cox sent his son to go fetch Thomas Jones, a confederate Secret service veteran, to help Mr. Booth and Mr. Herold get to Virginia. Mr. jones would know the best time to get across the Potomac River.
When Mr. Jones saw Wilkes Booth covered in dark, stained, dirty close he was excited and scared. John Wilkes Booth looked close to death. Thomas Jones knew this would be no easy task. Mr. Jones explained to the two dirty looking men in order to safely cross the Potomac River they would need a dark night, with smooth water, and an empty riverbank. It could take days until the union soldiers looking for John Wilkes Booth fanned out to other states looking for the assassin.
John Wilkes Booth had asked Thomas Jones to bring a daily paper to him so he could see what he people had said about his assassination job. When Thomas Jones came back with the paper for John Booth they discussed escape plans. A little while after they heard horses if the riders had found they there would be no escape, booth wouldn’t be able to get on his horse and they had only a bowie knife. Luckily for the assassin and the other two men the riders road off.
On April 20th the union cavalry left the county on a rumor that John Booth was there. This as the night they put their plan in action. Thomas Jones went to tell John Wilkes Booth and David Herold immediately. John Booth and David Herold was led by Mr. Jones to a small fishing boat. Jones gave Booth a candle and gave him caution of the glow when crossing the River. This would be the last time Thomas Jones would see Booth or Harold again.
As Jones was falling asleep that night he thought to himself “they must be landing in Virginia soon” little did he know Booth and Herold had been going in the wrong direction. Herold was a great navigator in the daylight when he could see but no so much in the dark. They had rowed so long for almost nothing. When they reached land again they were back in Maryland. Luckily John Booth knew a friend in this area. At the friend house Booth and Herold where given food and information. The union was still looking for them so they would have to wait one more night to get into Virginia.
The Union knew the fugitives, Booth and Herold, where heading for Virginia so they asked for help form the fisherman and every one they could. They were going to find Booth eventually.
April 22 the two men got in the small boat and began rowing again this time towards Virginia.

Nine days after the assassination of the 16th President of the United States, John Wilkes Booth and David Harold finally arrived in Virginia. Due to Booths injured leg, Harold when to find the ex-confederate spy that was to help them get horses.

The fugitives, after finding two houses that had denied them shelter, found their way into a town and was approached by soldiers. Confederate soldiers at that. The soldiers began planning with Booth and Herold to help them. The soldiers would ferry the men across the river to confederate ground. The soldiers told Mr. Garrett, a loyal confederate, that John Wilkes Booth was a wounded soldier and needed a place to rest. The man agreed to take care of

Booth.
The Garretts had become suspicious of Booth and didn’t want his company anymore. The union was closing in as well. The union had found out about the soldiers that had helped Booth and Herold and where on their way to get them. The fugitives where just about to find out about the Garrets treachery. They had set up a trap in the Tabaco farm for the two rebels. The Garretts had locked them in. the next morning Booth awoke to the sound of dogs and cavalry. Booth and Harold tried to escape but alas they could not find a way out. The cavalry tried sending in a civilian, talking the rebels out, and finally burning the barn. Harold had given himself up and left the barn to be taken by the soldiers. Booth on the other hand stayed in the barn even as it burned. Boston Corbett was watching Booth through a gap in the barn wall and took a good shot at the assassin. When the cavalry heard the shot they went in and pulled Booth out. The cavalry tried to dress Booths wound even when he would say “kill me.” A doctor was called and it was said Booth would not live from this wound. After twelve days of hunting Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States’ assassin he died on the Garretts farm by a bullet to the head.