Sparks Commentary: A review of PBS’s “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln”

“Don’t know the manners of good society, eh? Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal – you sockdologizing old man-trap!”

– A comedic line from the play “Our American Cousin” (1858) – spoken by an actor at Ford’s Theater in 1865, the moment before Lincoln was shot there by John Wilkes Booth

Background on John Wilkes Booth, and his unrealized plot to kidnap Abraham Lincoln

I have seen many films about the Civil War. But this film may still rank among the best, despite its relative brevity. It is only 90 minutes long, and it is brilliantly narrated by the actor Chris Cooper. It has many omissions, but it also has some great storytelling. (More about the omissions later.) After a brief introduction, they start by delving into the early life of John Wilkes Booth. They spend some time on his successful stage career, and his early sympathy with the Confederacy. Ironically, John Wilkes Booth had a pro-Northern brother, who later disowned the actions of his notorious sibling. The brother-against-brother phenomenon extended right into the Booths’ own family. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. They spend time on his growing dissatisfaction with Abraham Lincoln, which would later turn into murderous rage. Booth felt some guilt about not having fought for the Confederacy on the battlefield. Thus, he recruited people to help him in a plot to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, and bring him southward. Obviously, this kidnapping plot was never realized – partly because his accomplices pointed out that there were some slight flaws in his plan. But, eight hours before the fateful gunshots, he learned that President Lincoln would be attending Ford’s Theater that night. Thus, he worked at a feverish pace to lay the groundwork for the later events of that evening. Lincoln had few bodyguards around him, in part because no president had ever been assassinated before. That is, there were many other times where Booth could have killed Lincoln with relatively few risks to himself. But he chose Ford’s Theater instead, in part because of his familiarity with the stage. Thus, he got ready to kill President Lincoln. But he also had some accomplices remaining, as well as two other targets.

John Wilkes Booth, the man who murdered Abraham Lincoln

Booth with brothers Edwin and Junius Jr. in Julius Caesar

Details of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC

On April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln thus went into Ford’s Theater, to see the English play “Our American Cousin.” As context, the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse had happened a mere five days before. Thus, Lincoln was then at the height of his glory. This film omits that Lincoln had once seen Booth perform on stage. Lincoln had once said that he would like to meet Mr. Booth. Obviously, the circumstances of their meeting were not quite what Lincoln had in mind. Regardless, Booth knew the exact content of the play that would be performed there that night. His plan was simply to wait for the funniest line of the play to shoot his intended victim. Thus, Booth hoped that the audience’s laughter would cover up the sound of the gunshot. At that moment, the president and his wife were seated together. This film also omits that the president appeared to be enjoying the play, which apparently appealed to his sense of humor. At one point, when Abraham and Mary Lincoln were holding hands, Mary whispered to her husband: “What will Miss Harris think of my hanging on to you so?” Lincoln reassuringly replied, “She won’t think anything about it.” These are usually considered to be Lincoln’s last words, another omission on this film’s part. But back to the story. The Lincolns were then accompanied by Clara Harris (referred to earlier as “Miss Harris”), and her fiancé Henry Rathbone – which they do mention here. When the “sockdologizing old man-trap” line was spoken, the audience roared with laughter as expected. Then, at that moment, Booth pulled the trigger – sending a bullet into the president’s head. Mary Lincoln screamed. She would never again set foot in a theater for as long as she lived, incidentally.

John Wilkes Booth assassinating Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theater, 1865

Lincoln’s box at Ford’s Theater – where he was assassinated in 1865

Booth’s words after the gunshot, his escape from the theater, and death in a firefight

I now turn to Wikipedia’s wording, for the next part of the story. Specifically, “Booth held his bloody knife over his head and yelled something to the audience. While it is traditionally held that Booth shouted the Virginia state motto, Sic semper tyrannis! (‘Thus always to tyrants’) either from the box or the stage, witness accounts conflict.[footnote] Most recalled hearing Sic semper tyrannis! but others – including Booth himself – said he yelled only Sic semper![footnotes] Some did not recall Booth saying anything in Latin. There is similar uncertainty about what Booth shouted next, in English: either ‘The South is avenged!’,[footnote] ‘Revenge for the South!’, or ‘The South shall be free!’ Two witnesses remembered Booth's words as: ‘I have done it!’” (Source: Their page on the “Assassination of Abraham Lincoln”) Whatever Booth’s words were, they must have defeated the purpose of his firing the fatal gunshot during the uproarious laughter. Booth may have been drunk at the time, and this may have affected his judgment in this regard. The shots had certainly been heard despite this, and Booth’s angry words had been heard as well. The nearby Henry Rathbone tried to apprehend Booth, but received a stab wound from Booth’s dagger – which they do mention here, as they should. Thus, John Wilkes Booth managed to escape from the familiar environment of the theater. It must have seemed like he had gotten away with the crime. But this film spends a considerable time on the manhunt for the assassins. This, in fact, may be the biggest focus of the film. Thus, only two weeks afterward, Booth would die in a firefight with federal troops, accompanied by conspirator David Herold. The government knew by then that both men were involved in the plot, so David Herold surrendered. But Booth himself refused to surrender. Thus, Boston Corbett shot Booth in the head. Referring to his hands, Booth’s last words were: “Useless, useless!” Three hours later, Booth died.

William H. Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State – another target of the assassination plot

David Herold, one of Booth’s accomplices, who had been tasked with killing Secretary Seward

Booth had accomplices, who were assigned to kill Andrew Johnson and William H. Seward

But, back on the day of the shooting, there had been two other targets besides Abraham Lincoln himself. One of these targets was William H. Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State. Incidentally, Seward had once been Lincoln’s rival for the Republican presidential nomination. Lincoln had once been forced to put Seward in his place during the Lincoln presidency. Nonetheless, William H. Seward had served Mr. Lincoln faithfully for many years. This included critical advice about the timing of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which might have seemed off-topic to these filmmakers. This might be why, understandably, the filmmakers decided to omit this part. Regardless, on the night that Lincoln was shot, David Herold and Lewis Powell had both been tasked with killing Mr. Seward, in his home over at Lafayette Square. Lewis Powell actually attempted to do so. He even fooled Seward’s family with a story about some medicine from his physician. (Seward had been injured the previous day, by being thrown from his carriage – and thus might have needed some medicine.) After entering the house, Mr. Powell fired a shot at Seward’s son Frederick, but it happened that the gun misfired. Thus, Powell bludgeoned Frederick Seward unconscious with the gun. He managed to stab William H. Seward himself, thus wounding him. But Mr. Seward survived. There was then a struggle, where another Seward son received a stab wound. Yet another stab wound was suffered by a soldier that was assigned to protect Seward. Lewis Powell was apparently worried about being caught, which seems to have been why he made these further attacks. Later on, outside the house, a State Department messenger was also stabbed in the back by Powell, and was likewise injured. Powell’s accomplice David Herold was frightened by the screams from the house, and then abandoned Powell to find his own way. But there was still another accomplice: a man named George Atzerodt. We know that Mr. Atzerodt had been tasked with killing the vice president – a relative unknown named Andrew Johnson. I develop this story in more detail elsewhere, in a blog post about Andrew Johnson. Thus, suffice it to say here that Atzerodt chickened out at the last minute. Crucially, this allowed Johnson to survive. Therefore, when Lincoln died on the day after being shot by Booth, Andrew Johnson then succeeded Lincoln as president of the United States. This is the reason that Johnson’s survival was so crucial. It would have important consequences for the postwar Reconstruction period. This film does briefly mention the events surrounding Johnson, but omits these other events surrounding the attack on William Seward. That is, they do mention the stabbing of Seward himself, but fail to mention that there were any other victims in his immediate entourage. To me, this is the biggest omission of this film.

Lewis Powell, another of Booth’s accomplices, who stabbed and wounded Secretary Seward

Lewis Powell attacks Frederick Seward, during the Lincoln assassination plot

Investigation into the plot, hanging of the conspirators, and details of the aftermath

This film also tells the story of the investigation into the plot. There were some in the South who sympathized with Booth’s actions. But, in general, the murder proved somewhat unpopular – even in the Southern states. Again, this may have been partially because no American president had ever been assassinated before. The surviving family of John Wilkes Booth were thus disgraced when his involvement became public. Again, his pro-Northern brother disavowed his now-notorious sibling. All three of Booth’s known accomplices were later tried and hanged. Mary Surratt was also hanged, and this film argues that she did in fact know about the plot. This has long been an area of controversy, so it was interesting to hear this film’s conclusions on this issue. Incidentally, I tend to agree with their conclusions. Relatively few were tried for treason or war crimes when the Civil War ended. The few exceptions, by the way, include Henry Wirz – the commandant of the Andersonville prison camp. The others mainly include the aforementioned accomplices of John Wilkes Booth. Understandably, this film also omits how the slain president’s son Robert Lincoln, strangely enough, was also nearby during two later assassinations. That is, he was nearby during the assassinations of Presidents James A. Garfield and William McKinley. This must have been an odd feeling for Lincoln’s only surviving son – the only one who ever made it past age eighteen. Understandably, they also omit that Lincoln’s body was exhumed in 1878, and then exhumed again in 1901. (More about that here.) They only hint at how Mary Lincoln later lost her sanity, because of all of the family members that she had lost – including her three other sons. Henry Rathbone, who had tried to apprehend Booth at the theater, lost his sanity as well – another omission on their part. But, in his case, it eventually led him to kill his wife Clara – the one who had been with him that night. Thus, Clara might also be considered an indirect victim of this tragedy – another omission on their part, albeit an understandable one.

Execution of Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, 1865

Conclusion: There are many omissions in this film, but it is still quite good despite this

Thus, there are many omissions in this film – which are generally understandable, given the film’s limited runtime. But, with the narration of actor Chris Cooper, the film is still quite good. Again, it is still one of the best Civil War documentaries that I have ever seen. It tells the infamous story of the president’s demise, and highlights some little-known details about the assassination plot. For example, they mention the outbreak of violence in many Northern cities, with a possible 200 victims from the mob violence. The murder itself remains an area of controversy, all of these years later. Thus, this film helps to bring some understanding to the fateful events of that day. They are particularly good at dramatizing the point of view of John Wilkes Booth, by quoting from some post-murder entries in his diary. These help to show his state of mind at the time. I recommend this film to Civil War buffs, and to anyone else who is interested in Abraham Lincoln. Like all other stories of this kind, this story is a tragedy, which left many victims in its wake. But the story will live on for its human interest, and for its lasting effects upon American history.

Footnote to this blog post:

Abraham Lincoln was the first of four presidents to be assassinated. The others who met the same fate are as follows: James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963).

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