John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was born May 10th, 1838 in Hartford, Maryland. He was the 9th of 10 children of Junius Booth and Mary Ann Holmes. 'Junius was one of the most famous actors on the American stage' (Kimmel, p.33) Junius was eccentric and had many problems with alcohol. John Wilkes Booth attended several private schools, including a boarding school operated by Quakers. He then went on to attend St. Timothy's Hall and Episcopal Military Academy in Maryland. 'During the 1850's young Booth became part of the Know-Nothing party in politics' (Kimmel, p.55). The Know-Nothing party was formed by American natives who wanted to preserve the country for native-born whites. After his father's death, Booth wanted to be a famous actor like him. When he was 17 years old, Booth made his stage debut in Richard III. 'Forgetting his lines and cues, the critics ridiculed him. Booth was so upset that two years passed before he returned to the stage' (Samples, p.42). In 1857 Booth played Stock in Philadelphia, then later became a member of the Richmond Theater. As his career took off, many people called him the "handsomest man in America." 'He stood 5-8, with jet-black hair, ivory skin, and was lean and athletic. He had an easy charm abo
Booth and Herold would wait in that hiding spot for six days and five nights. Jones found them and gave Booth some food and drink. When Booth rode to the Navy Yard Bridge a guard, by the name of Silas Cobb, stopped him. Cobb told Booth that no one was allowed to pass after 9:00. Being 10:30, Booth told Cobb that he had business in the city and was unaware of the rule. Cobb believed he was just an innocent businessman and had lost track of time so let him pass. While all of this happened, Secretary of War Stanton ordered all routes out of Washington closed. All of the routes were blocked except for the Navy Yard Bridge, the most logical route Booth would take. Meanwhile the hunt for Booth was on. Over $100,000 was being offered for the capture of Booth and his accomplices. Oddly, Stanton's press releases did not even mention Booth's name during the early part of the manhunt. This was despite the fact that was identified as the assassin almost immediately. It was not until April 15 that Stanton formally identified Booth as the murderer, and even then the information was kept quiet. This writer does not believe that Stanton wanted Booth captured, or he would have broadcast his name all over the country. Stanton was in no hurry to capture Booth or to inform the country of his identity. Fifteen minutes after the shooting of President Lincoln all the telegraph wires in the city of Washington went dead. Historians are convinced that Major Thomas Eckert knew enough about the telegraph system to make it inoperable. Eckert was the Assistant Secretary of War and Stanton's right hand man. 'When Eckert was asked about the telegraph wires he said that he was too busy to look into it. Sabotage was suspected, but no investigations into this event took place.'(Hanchett, p.174) During his capture, Herold made one statement to Judge Advocate General Holt. The statement was never released and Herold was not allowed to speak in court and be interviewed. During questioning by Holt, Herold said that he crossed the Navy Yard Bridge in the afternoon, not the evening. Herold also claimed he was not with Booth when Booth went to Dr. Mudd's house. It should be noted that David Herold never identified his dead companion as Booth but rather insisted his name was Boyd. Also, the body has been identified as having a long, bushy, red mustache when Booth's was black and that he had shaved it off at Mudd's house only eleven days earlier. 'When Lt. Baker found out about this he quickly rode back to Garret's farm where the tobacco barn was and asked Mr. Garrett if he had any idea who the man was. Garrett insisted that the man introduced himself as Captain J.W. Boyd of the Confederate army. To this day, nobody knows for sure if Booth really died in that tobacco barn. This writer believes he did not and the wrong person was killed to cover up a conspiracy. Nobody will know if John Wilkes Booth acted alone or was acting in a greater conspiracy then we think, but a few questions made this writer think. What if Stanton listened to Gleason and Weichmann, and took action to arrest the conspirators before anything could happen? What if Lincoln was never assassinated and he led America into Reconstruction? What would the U.S. be like today? Booth walked up the steps to the Presidents Box. Nobody questioned him because he was a regular at the theater and was always walking around. During a funny moment in the play, while the crowd was laughing, Booth crept up behind Lincoln and shot him in the back of the head at point blank range. Major Henry Rathbone, who was accompanying President Lincoln and his wife, began to wrestle Booth. Booth pulled out a knife and stabbed Rathbone in the arm. After the struggle, Booth leapt to the stage, which was approxemently 11 feet below t
Some common words found in the essay are:
Wilkes Booth, Fords Theater, Booth Herald, Booth Booth, Richmond Theater, Booth Herold, Dr Mudd, Booth None, Silas Cobb, Rebel Underground, john wilkes, john wilkes booth, wilkes booth, yard bridge, navy yard bridge, tobacco barn, navy yard, fords theater, booth herald, secretary war, booth booth, president lincoln, wilkes booth found, garrett's farm union, booth herald rode,
Approximate Word count = 2567
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
