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Book Review
He states, "This story is true. . . . What happened in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1865, and in the swamps and rivers, and the forests and fields, of Maryland and Virginia during the next 12 days, is far too incredible to have ever been made up." John Wilkes Booth was a handsome, charismatic actor. He was also an ardent Confederate and was suffering the sting of defeat and anger at the celebrations that began in the North after the fall of Richmond and the subsequent surrender of General Robert E. Lee. He blamed President Lincoln for the South's downfall. His first plan had been to kidnap Lincoln and try to force his government to "free" the Southern states. After the end of the fighting and because of other factors, that plan was abandoned. Then Booth began to plot the assassination. Not all of his co-conspirators knew about the change in plans. Three of them had roles to play, though Booth was the only one to succeed. Lewis Powell, assisted by David Herold, was to kill Secretary of State William Steward; George Atzerodt, Vice President Andrew Johnson. The dreadful story unfolds as Booth carefully completes his bloody deed and leaps dramatically to the stage of the theater and makes his escape on a horse held in the alley. Almost everyone was too startled, some thinking it was part of the play for an instant, to pursue him until it was too late. Swanson continues tracing Booth's ride into the night while he gives the details of Lincoln's death. The leap to the stage mattered because Booth's leg was injured, and the need for a doctor not only slowed his escape, it involved Dr. Samuel Mudd in the affair. Booth was able to leave Washington, as was David Herold, before the news about the President was known. From then on, however, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had organized the chase and the search for the assassin, and the hunt was on. Booth had wanted three things above all: to kill Lincoln, to become famous, and to help the South. He succeeded in two of them. But it is generally agreed that Lincoln's death was a great tragedy for the old Confederacy, and Stanton and many others were convinced for a long time that Southern leaders were involved in the plot, a belief that resulted in harsher treatment than might have happened. Full of exciting moments and sad experiences, Manhunt holds our attention. One of the ironies was the collapse in 1893 of Ford's Theater which had become the Army Medical Museum. It was rebuilt, and is now a museum and living theater. The fate of those involved in the conspiracy is less happy, though some survived to write about it.
Manhunt is available at the Mary Willis Library.
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