The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth

by Scott Martelle

Union cavalryman Boston Corbett became a national celebrity after killing John Wilkes Booth, but as details of his odd personality became known, he also became the object of derision. Over time, he was largely forgotten to history, a minor character in the final act of Booth’s tumultuous life. And yet Corbett led a fascinating life of his own, a tragic saga that weaved through the monumental events of nineteenth-century America.
 
Corbett was an English immigrant and devout Christian who long struggled not only with poverty but also with mental illness, which was likely caused by the mercury he used in his job as a silk hat finisher. He was one of the first volunteers to join the US Army at the outbreak of the Civil War, a path that would in time land him in the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Eventually released, he ended up in the squadron that cornered Lincoln’s assassin in a Virginia barn. After the war, he headed west as a homesteader to the plains of Kansas, where his shaky mental health led to his undoing.
 
The Madman and the Assassin is the first full-length biography of Boston Corbett, a man thrust into the spotlight during a national news event and into an unwelcome transformation from anonymity to fame, and back to obscurity.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Civil War, Biography, True Crime, American History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

A veteran journalist and former member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, Martelle also writes books primarily about overlooked people and events from history. His newest, though, takes a broader look at a seminal year in American history: 1932: FDR, Hoover, and the Dawn of a New America.

Martelle's journalism and book reviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Sierra Magazine, Los Angeles magazine, Orange Coast magazine and other outlets.

Reviews

[GG Stewart’s Bookhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on a man that history has forgotten. Boston Corbett was a religious and very eccentric man. A man who felt that his manly urges were not allowing him to completely serve his calling and castrated himself…this part is not for the squeamish. He was imprisoned at Andersonville Prison camp and managed to survive, though he escaped with lifelong health problems, both physical and mental. From fame to being committed to an asylum to him disappearing, this book brings to light a man and his life that so little is known but who’s actions had a great part of this country’s history.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little is known about Boston Corbett, but we would know nothing at all if his regiment had not been selected to pursue the fleeing John Wilkes Booth and he was not the man who shot him. His story illustrates the opportunities and hardships for young males in the United States in the mid 19th century.

Scott Martelle traced the scant records of this strange man. Corbett immigrated to the US as a young man with his taxidermist father who returned to England. Alone in the new country, Corbett became a deeply religious, preaching and praying everywhere he could and learned the trade of hat making. Widowed after a brief marriage, his religious fanaticism propelled him to castrate himself… Matetlle’s medical reporting on this is not for the squeamish. His faith also led him to oppose slavery and fight for the Union.

There are good sections on Corbett’s military life, how he preached and prayed at every opportunity, his daily life in battle, patrol and as a POW. Martelle covers the Booth family, something of the conspirators, Lincoln's assassination and the manhunt. He explains how and why some claim that Booth escaped.

After the war, Martelle follows Corbett as he moves about the country preaching and taking short jobs. The description of his homesteading in Kansas may be a typical experience of trying to make bad land work.

Corbett’s fanaticism seems to do him in and he is institutionalized. It is not clear how this happened (not the author’s fault), but this clever man who found his way out of Anderson Prison, found a lasting route to freedom this time. It is unclear what became of him, but you do learn how, without modern ID methods, imposters operate.

This is a short and interesting book. If you have interest in these times, you will enjoy it.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I may be the only non civil war historian who exclaimed "OMG someone wrote a book about Boston Corbett!". I learned about him in the book Manhunt, about the search for John Wilkes Booth, and he definitely stood out as an eccentric character. This book is fantastic even though you mightn't know much about Corbett's role in the search for John Wilkes Booth. A summary of the search for him and the trial of the conspirators is nicely summarized. This book is a testament to great research and use of primary sources. A lot of information on Corbett is lost to time, but the author is able to piece together Corbett's story--one that encompasses the Great Revival, the horrors of The Andersonville prison camp,the American economy at the time, homesteading--you learn a lot about the time period through this story.

[Scott Martelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to seeing what you all think of the story of this fascinating figure from the Civil War and Lincoln assassination ...

[Jon]

3.5 stars

Interesting life story of the man who shot the man who shot President Lincoln.

Also one of this year's Kansas Notable Books.

[Mark Boughtwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing historical novel, detailing the life of Boston Corbett, the killer of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. It’s a short book and unfortunately I found the telling lost its way towards the end—perhaps I was more intrigued over the days and hours leading up to and post Booths killing. A well researched story nonetheless and I gave it five stars. My cross examination would be over the assertion Corbett was mentally ill or unstable, primarily from his working with mercury as a silk hat maker. I would question this hypothesis. Corbett had a quick temper and was a self-castrated, Christian zealot, and this in itself may have led to bouts of unusual behaviour. But mental illness and a madman, I’m not convinced. For the most part, Corbett was beyond honest, a gentleman who had almost a fanatical sense to help others—despite his own ailing—and a genuine friend to many. Saying this, I hesitate over why such a devout Christian and deeply rooted ordinary citizen, would serve so many terms (or musters) as he did in the US and Union army. I view Corbett as an ordinary man of his time who underwent unfathomable pressure when after a ‘moment in time’ act (killing Booth) he was cast unwelcomingly into fame. No wonder he slept with a pistol under his pillow—those in the South particularly detested the man. And would not five months living in the unliveable Andersonville prison camp knock the stuffing out of someone, or cause one to possess several eccentricities. The only unfortunate section of the story was how Corbett lived the last years of his life. Did the trail go cold for Martelle, or did his interest and research wane after the key action and controversial periods of Corbetts struggles had been told? One niggling question I had nearing the end, what happened to Corbetts $1,654 bounty share, a substantial sum in the 1860’s (five years the average salary for this decade). Surely there’s another chapter or two to be written.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really stellar biography of Boston Corbett. Its size is great and it does a good job of contextualizing Boston's life within other historical events and trends. It is very readable and not bogged down in the details. My only complaint is that many of the quotes lack citations, which make it difficult to confirm information or find extended quotes. Overall, a phenomenal work of history that doesn't expand historical scholarship greatly but makes existing scholarship accessible and interesting.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A short biography (a difficult subject to research) about Boston Corbett, the religious zealot (self-castrated), who shot Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been fascinated with Boston Corbett ever since I started down the road of obsession reading about the events of April 14th, 1865 through the twelve day manhunt for Booth. To my knowledge this is the first biography of him. While he is mentioned in various other texts, he is always portrayed as the religious fanatic who killed Booth then went crazy in Kansas. It's nice to finally see a book about him to clear up fact from fiction.

Don't go into this book thinking you are going to get all the answers you want. It's impossible. Corbett was a secretive man who tried to stay out of the lime light. There are surviving letters which tell his story in his own words but the rest has to be filled on with with either secondary sources or just saying "we don't know", and there is a lot of that.

I have to say that I am disappointed and its not because of this book. I've always wanted to write two history books. One I have (Jack McClelland: The Pride of Pittsburg) and the other was going to be the first bio of Boston Corbett. Alas, you snooze you lose. Martelle did an excellent job and I can't say that I could have done any better.

Thanks for bringing this forgotten American back to life. I will re-read this book sometime down the line, for sure!

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping account of the religious zealot who killed John Wilkes Booth and spent most of his life, pre and post fame, battling crippling mental illness and the physical after shocks of imprisonment in Andersonville prison camp during the civil war.

Corbett spent most of his life either trying to avoid the infamy the act of shooting Lincoln's assassin brought him ( he faced death threats from southerners and their supporters for most of his life)or using that fame to try to help him gain his military pension to be able to scrape by on the merest subsistence to battle poverty starvation and lifelong mental illness.

Martelle does a scrupulous job of unearthing Corbett's life from obscurity, and in doing so shines a welcome light on the how poorly the diagnosed and undiagnosed mentally ill were treated in 19th century America. Corbett would have benefited greatly from more compassionate treatment than either going undiagnosed or being left to die in an asylum.

A searing look at how an "ordinary" man can be pulled out into the spotlight by chance and happenstance.

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in honor of of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln. I've always wondered about Boston Corbett. The only view I've ever ever read of him is that he killed Wilkes Booth and was considered a religious nut. (He castrated himself to avoid temptation). Scott Martelle has done a masterful amount of research to present a much more nuanced study of a complicated man. I don't think there is any doubt that he was compassionate (his good works, especially as a prisoner at Andersonville) speak for themselves. He was however, probably brain damaged by the chemicals used in the hatters trade. The big mystery at the end is what happened to him. He just walked away from history.

[Mike C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because I feel like Lincoln and Booth have been done a million times, but this was focused on a unique character who has been somewhat forgotten. The problem is that while interesting at times, there just isn't enough here to justify a full book. He needed to add a few chapters on Booth and the assassination just to get it over 200 pages, and this was done by citing much better works. It was a quick read and decent, and credit for trying something different, but nothing to go out of your way for here.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very weird little man, who would of been destined to an even more obscure life than he had. He brushed up against history as the man who killed John Wilkes Booth. If you are a reader of history and life in the Civil War era you will enjoy the book. I was especially interested in his brief career as a door man to the Kansas legislature which ended with Mr. Corbett chasing members of the Kansas legislature through the building with a loaded gun. He then spent time in the Kansas State Hospital before stealing a horse and riding off into obscurity

[Kenneth Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well-written account of the weird life of Boston Corbett, the man who killed John Wilkes Booth. I read this book in conjunction with research for my 2nd book, Tears from a Stone, which I hope to finish by next year. Quirky and unusual, the man found himself at Andersonville Prison and then later assigned to the Army unit responsible for tracking down John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of President Lincoln.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

This appears to be the first attempt at a comprehensive biography of "the man who avenged Lincoln". I found from Martelle's account that apparently much of what I had previously read about Corbett is almost certainly wrong (e.g., the claim that he attempted a "mass shooting" of the House of Representatives, which seems to be made up out of whole cloth. But he did turn up in odd places in Civil War history, including Andersonville. A recreation of the life of a forgotten man.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A goodreads book, The Madman and the Assassin is much more than a biography of Boston Corbett. Maryellen weaves the story of Corbett with the times and the people of those times. I can’t wait to reread it.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of a strange but pious man who was thrust into fame because of one thing he did. I liked it.

[Steve Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about “a self-castrating religious zealot who killed Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, escaped from an insane asylum, and then disappeared from history.”

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It should have been a week of triumph and celebration. It should have allowed a nation, so long enduring death and war, to have a chance to breathe. But in the days following news of General Lee’s surrender to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, the celebrating in Washington, D.C. and the North of news of the approaching end of the U.S. Civil War ended abruptly into a return to tragedy and mourning. On the night of April 15, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln as he sat in the President’s box in Ford’s Theater while attending the play, Our American Cousin. After a brief scuffle with Lincoln’s guest, Major Henry Rathbone, Booth leapt from the box down to the stage and into infamy. Having broken his leg, he exclaimed “Sic Semper Tyrannis!” and limped to the back and a waiting horse. It was one of the those brief moments of time which seems inexorably frozen in the collective memory as a singular point from which all things seem to change, despite all that led to it, or that would follow from it.

One figure from the events of April 1865 is often just mentioned in passing, almost as a footnote to the story, but for a time the man who actually shot the man who shot Lincoln, Boston Corbett, would also enjoy both fame due to his act and infamy due to his very personality. Author Scott Martelle has attempted to bring Corbett out of the shadows and give us a better look at the man who shot Booth in his new book:The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth.

Perhaps many Americans know the basic story of the assassination of President Lincoln. It was a shocking act, for although a President had died in office before, no President had, as of that moment in our history, been assassinated. The North mourned, and some across the South condemned the act, but some privately would lauded him a hero. As Booth made his escape along with an accomplice, David Herold, from Maryland into Virginia, the government and military began a large manhunt and Booth and his co-conspirators were wanted individuals. Twelve days after the assassination, Booth was tracked to a barn in Virginia and Boston Corbett was in the 16th New York Calvary that had cornered him. In the details of the night Booth was killed, there would be some discrepancy in the accounts of those present (especially later when various parties were trying to claim the monetary reward for Booth), but the basic facts were not in dispute: Sgt. Corbett was posted around the barn. His Lieutenant, Edward Doherty, ordered the men to place straw around the barn to try and smoke Booth out, after negotiations seemed to him to be getting nowhere. Corbett could see through cracks in the wood sides of the barn and had his pistol trained on Booth. Once Booth saw the smoke he began to move (Corbett would later say he felt Booth, who was still armed, was going to shoot his way out) and Corbett fired, hitting Booth in the back of the skull. Booth would die several hours later, and the 16th would take his body, and Herold whom they had taken prisoner, back to Washington D.C.

Martelle begins his book with those events, but they serve as a framing piece for the rest of Corbett’s life. We are introduced to Thomas “Boston” Corbett, originally from England, who we briefly see grow into manhood (Martelle tells us later that there are some gaps of information as far as documentation is concerned for Corbett's early life- as can be expected) and he becomes very religious- to the point of being deemed by some as a zealot. And his odd behavior shows up early on. In fact, it is his religious nature which both attracts some to Corbett to become long time friends, but also puts others off. When Corbett saw what he deemed to be infractions of religious observance or commandments, it would sometimes draw a very violent temper from inside him. At other times, he would give everything he had to help someone who was needy. Over the course of his life, the violent temper would return and after he gained notoriety as Booth's killer he developed something of a persecution complex. Martelle's description of Corbett as a "madman" is spot on in his later years, as he would eventually end up in a mental institution. Over the course of his later life, many continued to be interested in Corbett's story and his part of the history of the assassination, and they would continue to ask for his story and then human interest news stories about the "whereabouts' of those involved, like Corbett, showed up in newspapers from time to time. However the death threats that he received shortly it became known he killed Booth, seemed to have affected him more, as Corbett kept his pistols with him at all times, even sleeping with them under his pillow.

Boston Corbett, though he has been treated as a footnote in history, is worthy learning about to fill in the gaps of how the War changed not just the nation, but individuals. Even someone who seemed to be famous and lauded for his "avenging" of the death of Lincoln, the injuries he had from the war, both mental and physical left him a broken man; in many ways trapped forever on that fateful April night. Martelle does an excellent job of keeping the pace quick and the focus on his subject, though we sidetrack to Booth's conspiracy and life, as one should expect, Corbett's life looms large throughout the pages. However, it is difficult for the reader to get to know Corbett, perhaps as difficult as it was for the people in his life. Part of this is due to his mental state and his temperament that obscures any way to truly know the man. But Martelle does the very best he can and the religious zealotry goes along way in giving at least some motivations for his actions. A final twist in the tale gives this story an almost Hollywood feel, and it is easy to see this book and its subject brought to the big screen - a story this large, this intense deserves to be told and its drama would fit well on film.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from the publisher through Goodreads.com. Thanks to Chicago Review Press and Goodreads
4 starts

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book (and finished it in a little more than a week; it's a quick read!) to see if Boston Corbett, the man who shot and killed Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, died in the 1894 Hinckley, Minnesota fire since I'll be visiting that site next week while on vacation. I don't think this book answered that question definitively, but along the way I learned quite a bit about a mostly little-known American Civil War figure. Really interesting historical notes, the kind of information I eat up quite honestly. So I'd definitely recommend this to any Civil War enthusiasts who are looking to shore up their knowledge of that American time period.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book about a strange guy. After his wife died, Corbett chose to castrate himself in hopes of eliminating his sexual urges. Then he served the Union only to end up in Andersonville, which he survived. Somehow he was fortunate enough to be among the men that cornered Booth in a tobacco barn because his was the deciding shot. Unfortunately, post-mission bureaucracy worked to deny Corbett his fair share of the reward, and failed to provide for him in his old age. His pre-war profession as a hatter also caught up with him shortly before he fell out of recorded history.

[Tom Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boston Corbett was definitely an interesting individual in life from what I read. I only knew him at the point when I picked up the book as Lincoln's Avenger but reading this book gave me a lot of new insight to who he was prior to the Civil War and who he was after he shot Booth. This as I have called it Historical Autobiography was a really interesting read and a read for any who want to learn more about the man who would be known as Lincoln's Avenger.

[Justin Bitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise (the guy who shot the guy who shot the guy), and really well researched.

To me, some of the more shocking elements happen early on, but it is still interesting to know the story of the remainder of Corbett's life, especially as it relates to fame and paranoia.

[Saklani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the man who shot Booth. Deeply religious, badly debilitated by his time in Confederate captivity and working with mercury, Boston Corbett is a main lost to history. And in life, too, vanishing forever after escaping a mental institution later in life.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting man~

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually gave this quick little read 4 and 1/2 stars. Well written and researched. Find a longer review at www.clqouetriverpress.com.
Peace.
Mark

[Vince Flecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know this story and really enjoyed learning about this part of history.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but a couple name misspellings & a glaring historical error

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE.

“Sergeant Boston Corbett was mad as a hatter.” (Kindle Locations 135-136).

Writer Scott Martelle recently hosted a panel discussion, at the 2016 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, that I was lucky enough to have attended. When he mentioned, almost in passing, that he had written a book about a madman, an assasin, and the Civil War… he got my attention.

That book is, The Madman and the Assasin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Not riveting fare, within itself, perhaps, but very comprenensive, interesting, and informative. A must read for those of us addicted to the more obscure edges of history.

Recommendation: Not worth putting down what you’re currently reading for; but well worth being added to your ‘Someday Isle’ (Aisle? I’ll?) shelf.

“From Georgia, the Columbus Daily Enquirer noted briefly, and with sarcasm, on September 10 that ex-Sergeant Boston Corbett, who shot John Wilkes Booth, has written to the Postmaster-general asking employment in Camden, (N.J.) post office. He stated that he has never been in any Government position, although he thinks he has earned some consideration for his services. […] If murdering a wounded maniac in a barn constitutes a claim upon the government, Boston Corbett should be provided for.” (Kindle Locations 2439-2443)

Chicago Review Press. Kindle Edition. 3,822 Kindle locations, 240 pages.

[Argum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads FirstReads.

I think like most Americans that I knew John Wilkes Booth fled after killing President Lincoln and after a while was killed in a barn. The man that pulled the trigger was the subject of this book. There is a bit of outside story like the details of the assassination, but mainly this is a biography of an unknown figure in a well known tale.

This book is narrative history in style, but not riveting reading. It is engaging, but not enthralling. There are some choices made in telling the story where gaps exist in the historical record that go against the story generally accepted. There are lots of endnotes and sources listed so this may be a legitimate difference of interpretation. Boston Corbett was an odd duck, but an interesting man to read about for a few hours.