Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

On the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln and his wife attended a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington. 

Earlier that day, John Wilkes Booth (one of America’s best-known actors) had stopped by the theater to pick-up his mail.  While there, he learned the President would be in the audience that night. 

It was just the news that Booth, a Southern sympathizer, needed.  He began to plot what he would do that evening to make sure his name would never be forgotten.

Based on historical sources and recreated scenes, this clip from Days That Shook the World, a BBC series, features the following:

06:00 - Background on President Lincoln;

07:30 - Retrieving his mail at the theater, Booth learns of the president’s plans;

13:25 - People arrive for the performance of Our American Cousin;

14:30 - Lincoln arrives after the performance has started;

15:25 - The play reaches its climax (when Booth plans to pull the trigger);

16:00 - John Wilkes Booth assassinates Abraham Lincoln;

19:00 - Booth seeks treatment for a broken leg from Dr. Mudd;

20:00 - Death of President Lincoln (the recreated scene is not totally accurate);

22:00 - Alleged conspirators are caught and punished;

23:00 - Booth records thoughts in his diary, is surrounded, captured and killed.

Credits

From Days That Shook the World, a BBC series.