Ford's Theater - Lincoln Assassination Site

Author: Jewls Krueger

On the night of April 14, 1865, just five days after the end of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was shot inside Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the following morning, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to be assassinated.

The killing was part of a larger conspiracy aimed at decapitating the federal government, and the manhunt for Booth and his fellow conspirators became one of the largest in American history.

Lincoln & Booth

John Wilkes Booth -Public Domain

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, had led the Union through the Civil War and was just beginning his second term when he was killed. On April 9, 1865, just five days before the assassination, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the war.

John Wilkes Booth was a 26 year old actor from a famous theatrical family. A passionate Confederate sympathizer, he had spent the previous year plotting various plans against Lincoln, beginning with an attempt to kidnap the president. After Lee's surrender, Booth's plotting turned to assassination. He organized a small group of co-conspirators with the goal of simultaneously killing Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Ford's Theater

Ford's Theatre, located at 511 10th Street NW in downtown Washington, was one of the most popular theaters in the capital. The building was originally a Baptist church before being converted into a theatre by businessman John T. Ford in 1861. Lincoln was a frequent patron and had attended performances there several times.

The Assassination

Public Domain

On the evening of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln arrived at Ford's Theatre to attend a performance of the comedy "Our American Cousin." Joining them in the presidential box were a young U.S. Army officer named Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris. The Lincolns' originally invited guests, General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia, had declined and left town earlier that day.

Booth, as a well known actor, had free access to the theatre. Around 10:15 p.m., during the third act of the play, he made his way to the presidential box, slipped inside, and shot Lincoln once in the back of the head with a single shot .44 caliber Deringer pistol. Major Rathbone immediately attempted to subdue Booth, but Booth slashed him in the arm with a knife and leapt from the box to the stage below, breaking his left leg in the fall. He shouted the Latin phrase "Sic semper tyrannis," meaning "thus always to tyrants," and escaped out a back door to a waiting horse.

Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House, a boarding home, where he was placed in a back bedroom. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865.

That same night, fellow conspirator Lewis Powell forced his way into Secretary of State Seward's home and stabbed Seward several times before escaping. Seward survived. A third conspirator, George Atzerodt, lost his nerve and never carried out his planned attack on Vice President Johnson.

The Manhunt and Trials

Booth fled south into Maryland on horseback, accompanied by fellow conspirator David Herold. The two stopped at the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth's broken leg before they continued on. After hiding in the swamps of southern Maryland for several days, they crossed the Potomac into Virginia.

On April 26, 1865, twelve days after the assassination, Union soldiers tracked Booth and Herold to a tobacco barn on the Garrett family farm near Port Royal, Virginia. Herold surrendered, but Booth refused. The barn was set on fire, and as Booth moved inside, Union soldier Sergeant Boston Corbett shot him through a gap in the boards. Booth was dragged from the burning barn and died on the farmhouse porch a few hours later.

Eight other conspirators were tried before a military tribunal. Four of them, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt, were convicted and hanged at the Washington Arsenal on July 7, 1865. Surratt became the first woman ever executed by the U.S. federal government. The remaining four conspirators received prison sentences.

Ford's Theatre Today

Ford's Theater -Creative Commons - Ingfbruno

After the assassination, the federal government took over Ford's Theatre, banning further use as a theater. It served various government purposes over the decades, including as a War Department records office. In 1932, it was reopened as a Lincoln museum.

In the 1960s, the building was restored to its 1865 appearance and reopened as a working theater and historic site. Today, Ford's Theatre is operated jointly by the National Park Service and the nonprofit Ford's Theatre Society. It functions as both an active performing arts venue and a museum, with exhibits about Lincoln's presidency, the assassination, and the manhunt that followed.

Visitors can tour the theater, see the presidential box where Lincoln was shot, and visit the on site museum. The Petersen House, where Lincoln died, is directly across the street and is also part of the historic site. Admission to the historic spaces is free, though timed entry tickets are required. Please be respectful of ongoing performances and rehearsals, and follow all posted guidelines during your visit.