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"They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theater, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is a central drama of the American experience. Its impact is felt to this day, and the basic story is known to all. Anthony Pitch’s thrilling account of the Lincoln conspiracy and its aftermath transcends the mere facts of that awful night during which dashing actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head and would-be assassin Lewis Payne butchered Secretary of State William Seward in the bed of his own home. “They Have Killed Papa Dead!” transports the reader to one of the most breathtaking moments in history, and reveals much that is new about the stories, passions, and times of those who shaped this great tragedy.
Virtually every word of Anthony Pitch’s account is based on primary source new quotes from previously unpublished diaries, letters and journals – authentic contemporary voices writing with freshness and clarity as eyewitnesses or intimate participants – new images, a new vision and understanding of one of America’s defining moments. With an unwavering fidelity to historical accuracy, Pitch provides new confirmation of threats against the president-elect’s life as he traveled to Washington by train for his first inauguration, and a vivid personal account of John Wilkes Booth being physically restrained from approaching Lincoln at his second inauguration. Perhaps most chillingly, new details come to light about conditions in the special prison where the civilian conspirators accused of participating in the Lincoln assassination endured tortuous conditions in extreme isolation and deprivation, hooded and shackled, before and even during their military trial. Pitch masterfully synthesizes the findings of his prodigious research into a tight, gripping narrative that adds important new insights to our national story.
Virtually every word of Anthony Pitch’s account is based on primary source new quotes from previously unpublished diaries, letters and journals – authentic contemporary voices writing with freshness and clarity as eyewitnesses or intimate participants – new images, a new vision and understanding of one of America’s defining moments. With an unwavering fidelity to historical accuracy, Pitch provides new confirmation of threats against the president-elect’s life as he traveled to Washington by train for his first inauguration, and a vivid personal account of John Wilkes Booth being physically restrained from approaching Lincoln at his second inauguration. Perhaps most chillingly, new details come to light about conditions in the special prison where the civilian conspirators accused of participating in the Lincoln assassination endured tortuous conditions in extreme isolation and deprivation, hooded and shackled, before and even during their military trial. Pitch masterfully synthesizes the findings of his prodigious research into a tight, gripping narrative that adds important new insights to our national story.
561 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
195 people are currently reading
744 people want to read
About the author
Anthony S. Pitch
16 books9 followersAnthony S. Pitch is the author of “They Have Killed Papa Dead!” on the Lincoln assassination, The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814, and Our Crime Was Being Jewish. A journalist on four continents, he has appeared on C-SPAN TV, the History Channel, National Geographic TV, Book TV, NPR, and PBS. He lives in Potomac, Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
November 12, 2022
I remember visiting Ford’s Theater when I was about 12, and buying a souvenir trade paperback on the Lincoln assassination and the hunt for the perpetrators. I can’t recall much about the text, but I remember the images that mesmerized me every time I picked it up, long after I returned home - the newspaper headlines, the wanted posters, the funeral train, and particularly the haunting series of photos showing the final moments of the conspirators who met their ultimate fate at the gallows. Heavy stuff for a preteen.
I was reminded of that book (which I hope still exists somewhere, maybe in a box in my parents’ basement), when reading this one. It was the pictures that stuck with 12-year-old me - in the case of Pitch’s book, it was the pictures he painted with his words that stick with me now, as he managed to fill in all the fascinating details of the assassination and its aftermath that I didn’t or couldn’t appreciate back then.
I know some others have mentioned this, so let’s get it out of the way - the book’s title is a little off putting. It’s a quote from Tad Lincoln, who was himself only 12 at the time of the assassination, so I can’t criticize his reaction. But as a book title, what’s presumably meant to be heartrending comes across as kind of cloying, and doesn’t really fit the tone of the book, which is more about the assassination plot and the plotters than it is about how the assassination affected the Lincoln family. Add to that the book’s prologue, in which Pitch appears a little self-congratulatory, as he describes how hard he worked researching the book and how successful he was in finding new material to include.
So the book gets off to an inauspicious start. But it quickly recovers and becomes a gripping, compelling read. It’s a sweeping narrative that begins with a dramatic recounting of the Baltimore Plot and other early threats against Lincoln, and ends with the fate of the surviving assassination conspirators years later.
In between, we get a detailed look at how Booth and his co-conspirators initially came together for the complicated, rather harebrained plot to kidnap Lincoln and spirit him away to Virginia - a plan that abruptly shifted to an assassination plot. The description of the assassination itself captures the chaos and confusion, the rumors and the scramble for information. And we get a fly-on-the-wall look at the concurrent attempt on William Seward’s life, the attempts to stabilize a mortally-wounded Lincoln, and the all-night death watch.
From there, chapters alternate among Lincoln’s funeral and burial, the investigation in Washington, and Booth’s harrowing escape attempt, his capture and death. Then the book’s last act focuses on the co-conspirators, their arrests, trial and punishments. Pitch never comes out and says it forthrightly, but on the question of certain conspirators’ guilt, he appears convinced that Samuel Mudd was guilty of nothing other than having associated with Booth before unwittingly encountering him again after the assassination, and that Mary Surratt was far more complicit than she claimed - and that neither of them did themselves any favors by acting suspiciously under questioning and not being forthcoming about what they actually knew.
The writing is consistently compelling and dramatic, and Pitch manages to pull a number of quotes from letters and testimony recalling conversations that took place, and crafts it all into dialogue that makes the book read like a real-life thriller. I mostly didn’t mind, but at times, the timeline could get a little jumbled, as he carries a subplot to its eventual conclusion in one chapter and then jumps back in time to pick up another thread in the next chapter - for example, in one case, a chapter on Lincoln's funeral and departure for Springfield a week after his death is followed by a chapter describing Booth’s whereabouts six hours after the assassination.
This tendency is not too distracting, though, until the very end of the book, which wraps up kind of oddly and, again, out of sequence. The penultimate chapter focuses on John Surratt’s capture in Europe and the fizzling out of the case against him, followed by a concluding and anticlimactic epilogue focusing on which informants ended up getting reward money. A better conclusion - which also happened to be the last in sequence to actually occur - might have been the third-to-last chapter, in which outgoing president Andrew Johnson ends up pardoning the remaining imprisoned accomplices and releases the remains of Booth and his executed co-conspirators to their families. "The man who had succeeded to the presidency responded with a rare show of the compassion that had come naturally to his predecessor," that chapter concludes.
So I found the title, the prologue and the concluding chapters a bit lacking. But just about everything in between more than makes up for it. This is a book that 12-year-old me might have devoured. Instead, it took just a few more years to get the full story - and the wait was worth it.
I was reminded of that book (which I hope still exists somewhere, maybe in a box in my parents’ basement), when reading this one. It was the pictures that stuck with 12-year-old me - in the case of Pitch’s book, it was the pictures he painted with his words that stick with me now, as he managed to fill in all the fascinating details of the assassination and its aftermath that I didn’t or couldn’t appreciate back then.
I know some others have mentioned this, so let’s get it out of the way - the book’s title is a little off putting. It’s a quote from Tad Lincoln, who was himself only 12 at the time of the assassination, so I can’t criticize his reaction. But as a book title, what’s presumably meant to be heartrending comes across as kind of cloying, and doesn’t really fit the tone of the book, which is more about the assassination plot and the plotters than it is about how the assassination affected the Lincoln family. Add to that the book’s prologue, in which Pitch appears a little self-congratulatory, as he describes how hard he worked researching the book and how successful he was in finding new material to include.
So the book gets off to an inauspicious start. But it quickly recovers and becomes a gripping, compelling read. It’s a sweeping narrative that begins with a dramatic recounting of the Baltimore Plot and other early threats against Lincoln, and ends with the fate of the surviving assassination conspirators years later.
In between, we get a detailed look at how Booth and his co-conspirators initially came together for the complicated, rather harebrained plot to kidnap Lincoln and spirit him away to Virginia - a plan that abruptly shifted to an assassination plot. The description of the assassination itself captures the chaos and confusion, the rumors and the scramble for information. And we get a fly-on-the-wall look at the concurrent attempt on William Seward’s life, the attempts to stabilize a mortally-wounded Lincoln, and the all-night death watch.
From there, chapters alternate among Lincoln’s funeral and burial, the investigation in Washington, and Booth’s harrowing escape attempt, his capture and death. Then the book’s last act focuses on the co-conspirators, their arrests, trial and punishments. Pitch never comes out and says it forthrightly, but on the question of certain conspirators’ guilt, he appears convinced that Samuel Mudd was guilty of nothing other than having associated with Booth before unwittingly encountering him again after the assassination, and that Mary Surratt was far more complicit than she claimed - and that neither of them did themselves any favors by acting suspiciously under questioning and not being forthcoming about what they actually knew.
The writing is consistently compelling and dramatic, and Pitch manages to pull a number of quotes from letters and testimony recalling conversations that took place, and crafts it all into dialogue that makes the book read like a real-life thriller. I mostly didn’t mind, but at times, the timeline could get a little jumbled, as he carries a subplot to its eventual conclusion in one chapter and then jumps back in time to pick up another thread in the next chapter - for example, in one case, a chapter on Lincoln's funeral and departure for Springfield a week after his death is followed by a chapter describing Booth’s whereabouts six hours after the assassination.
This tendency is not too distracting, though, until the very end of the book, which wraps up kind of oddly and, again, out of sequence. The penultimate chapter focuses on John Surratt’s capture in Europe and the fizzling out of the case against him, followed by a concluding and anticlimactic epilogue focusing on which informants ended up getting reward money. A better conclusion - which also happened to be the last in sequence to actually occur - might have been the third-to-last chapter, in which outgoing president Andrew Johnson ends up pardoning the remaining imprisoned accomplices and releases the remains of Booth and his executed co-conspirators to their families. "The man who had succeeded to the presidency responded with a rare show of the compassion that had come naturally to his predecessor," that chapter concludes.
So I found the title, the prologue and the concluding chapters a bit lacking. But just about everything in between more than makes up for it. This is a book that 12-year-old me might have devoured. Instead, it took just a few more years to get the full story - and the wait was worth it.
February 1, 2015
I bought this book and sat on it for a long time. I could not take it seriously based upon the title. Well, this is truly a case of not judging a book by its cover. This is the most detailed and complete single book I’ve read about Lincoln’s last days, the drama regarding the manhunt, trial, and punishment of the conspirators. And, I have read many. As you can see, I’m struggling with this commentary but know this is the book for you if you want to know all the details regarding the topics I mentioned. There were so many new facts throughout. My recommendation is to not let the title fool you. This is a seriously researched, well-written book.
April 7, 2021
Well written and researched book mostly on the post-assassination period. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about the period but I think I learned (or at least was reminded) of some things. Includes an Index, Notes and a Selected Bibliography. I can't stand those books that neglect these things.
Really appreciated the depth of research and the quality of the writing. I think i had left off at about 150 pp in but when I picked it back up I just couldn't put it down again.
Really appreciated the depth of research and the quality of the writing. I think i had left off at about 150 pp in but when I picked it back up I just couldn't put it down again.
December 30, 2012
I am still thinking about Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. I highly recommend reading "They Have Killed Papa Dead!": The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance immediately afterwards, just as I have done. Wow, there is a lot more to his assassination than we have been told in school! Very interesting stuff. I recommend reading it. It is complicated and packed with primary source information. Lots to think about, even if not all can be proven in a court of law. Who else wanted Lincoln killed?! Trial proceeding in both 1865 and 1867 are thoroughly covered. In the first, eight are accused of trying to kill Lincoln, Johnson, Seward and Grant. Four are hanged, and this is after the death of John Wilkes Booth. You think the story is over, but two years later there is another trial!
Due to the fact that there is so much primary source information, due to the density of historical details, it is hard to absorb all the facts in an audiobook format. I ask myself, do I need to go back and reread this? Yes, if I want to remember every name and every date and every reference, but you know I was able to follow the clear line of thought supported by historical facts. I I have no complaints whatsoever with the narration by Milton Bagby. Excelletnin fact. Another difficulty is that several characters had more than one name. Lewis Powell is the same person as Paine / Payne!
The last chapter takes you on a whirlwind tour outside America. I was hanging on for dear life following John Surratt’s actions and other possible culprits/theories. No, I am not going to tell you more. I actually got annoyed…… there was so much being thrown at me. I wanted it to go slower. On the other hand it is clearly explained and engagingly written, even if I felt my head was exploding.
This book continues where “Team of Rivals” lets off. Perhaps if I had read the paper book it would even have gotten more stars. I am really, really wondering if both these two books shouldn’t be given four stars! They have taught me so much. They keep me thinking. DO read this book immediately after “Team of Rivals”. Should I change the stars?
Due to the fact that there is so much primary source information, due to the density of historical details, it is hard to absorb all the facts in an audiobook format. I ask myself, do I need to go back and reread this? Yes, if I want to remember every name and every date and every reference, but you know I was able to follow the clear line of thought supported by historical facts. I I have no complaints whatsoever with the narration by Milton Bagby. Excelletnin fact. Another difficulty is that several characters had more than one name. Lewis Powell is the same person as Paine / Payne!
The last chapter takes you on a whirlwind tour outside America. I was hanging on for dear life following John Surratt’s actions and other possible culprits/theories. No, I am not going to tell you more. I actually got annoyed…… there was so much being thrown at me. I wanted it to go slower. On the other hand it is clearly explained and engagingly written, even if I felt my head was exploding.
This book continues where “Team of Rivals” lets off. Perhaps if I had read the paper book it would even have gotten more stars. I am really, really wondering if both these two books shouldn’t be given four stars! They have taught me so much. They keep me thinking. DO read this book immediately after “Team of Rivals”. Should I change the stars?
February 18, 2018
I read some other reader reviews of this book and saw some people were put off by the title, but the title was exactly why it caught my eye on the shelf of Half Price Books. I knew this wasn’t just any other book on Lincoln.
I have read plenty of Lincoln and probably wasn’t really excited about buying another one, but something real stuck out with this.
The truth is it is a pretty unique addition to the Lincoln canon. Pitch lived in Washington DC and spent 7 years going to the Library of Congress and National Archives. He had the unique position of living 20 miles away and was able to do a level of research that no one else could expect to, because of travel and time restrictions.
Because he had access to journals, letters and newspapers of the day, he was able to get as many angles as a modern day biography, but a feat that is rare for an event over 150 years old. I echo what another reader reviewer said, it creates a certain level of ‘worldbuilding’ that is impossible in most historical tomes.
Because of his research, we get observations from actual witnesses to the events. We get contemporary opinion. We get insight from the major players and those that are once or twice removed (friends, neighbors).
The book takes on the whole story of Lincoln’s assassination. There are the precautions of Lincolns inaugural to prevent assassination attempts. There’s the Booth conspiracy which is handled probably as much as in detail as anywhere, which starts as a plan to kidnap Lincoln and evolves. The cast are drifters, cowards, mentally challenged and the charismatic Booth leading them all. There is the escape from Ford Theater and the Manhunt. There are the desperate doctors trying to save the President. The trial and hanging of the conspirators. The escape and eventual capture of John Surratt who makes it all the way to the Vatican.
I consider myself very well versed in this story, but there is so much here to take in. I found so much of it fascinating. For me, it was all interesting, but I learned a lot I did not know- such as Samuel Mudd eventually making his way out of prison and into local politics, and how the Booth family reacted to the assassination. Also, the horrible treatment of the conspirators is pretty shocking. Even if this was a national incident where they were likely guilty, it has to be said they were treated inhumanely.
Each of these topics make for compelling reading. There's Seward and Stanton and Grant and Andrew Johnson. There's plenty of lesser known figures as well that you might be introduced to for the first time.
It is a fascinating book and adds so much to Lincoln’s story. It’s a huge undertaking and it’s a bit of a lot to take in (400 pages). For me, it flowed pretty well. I thought the pre-Booth assassination rumors were an interesting place to start, and sort of transitions weirdly into Booth’s involvement, but still fascinating. The Booth manhunt is bogged down in details. The only part for me that dragged. I suspect that particular event was action-driven and so was better served to be handled that way as in Swanson’s book. Still, Pitch’s angle is one that again is fascinating and little known. The reward offered for the capture of the conspirators probably created more infighting and negative consequences than its intended goal to get everyone working together. Pitch details how the reward eventually gets paid out, and the politics that went into the decision making.
This was a fascinating book as I suspected from the striking cover when I first saw it, but it really was an unique book on Lincoln. It covers a lot of territory that has been well worn but gives it fresh eyes. There is a quote on the book from a USA Today review which makes it sound like it only focuses on the sensationalist details, but that’s the wrong impression. Instead it gives it a level of detail that drops you down in to the 1860s. For all those reasons, I recommend this highly.
I have read plenty of Lincoln and probably wasn’t really excited about buying another one, but something real stuck out with this.
The truth is it is a pretty unique addition to the Lincoln canon. Pitch lived in Washington DC and spent 7 years going to the Library of Congress and National Archives. He had the unique position of living 20 miles away and was able to do a level of research that no one else could expect to, because of travel and time restrictions.
Because he had access to journals, letters and newspapers of the day, he was able to get as many angles as a modern day biography, but a feat that is rare for an event over 150 years old. I echo what another reader reviewer said, it creates a certain level of ‘worldbuilding’ that is impossible in most historical tomes.
Because of his research, we get observations from actual witnesses to the events. We get contemporary opinion. We get insight from the major players and those that are once or twice removed (friends, neighbors).
The book takes on the whole story of Lincoln’s assassination. There are the precautions of Lincolns inaugural to prevent assassination attempts. There’s the Booth conspiracy which is handled probably as much as in detail as anywhere, which starts as a plan to kidnap Lincoln and evolves. The cast are drifters, cowards, mentally challenged and the charismatic Booth leading them all. There is the escape from Ford Theater and the Manhunt. There are the desperate doctors trying to save the President. The trial and hanging of the conspirators. The escape and eventual capture of John Surratt who makes it all the way to the Vatican.
I consider myself very well versed in this story, but there is so much here to take in. I found so much of it fascinating. For me, it was all interesting, but I learned a lot I did not know- such as Samuel Mudd eventually making his way out of prison and into local politics, and how the Booth family reacted to the assassination. Also, the horrible treatment of the conspirators is pretty shocking. Even if this was a national incident where they were likely guilty, it has to be said they were treated inhumanely.
Each of these topics make for compelling reading. There's Seward and Stanton and Grant and Andrew Johnson. There's plenty of lesser known figures as well that you might be introduced to for the first time.
It is a fascinating book and adds so much to Lincoln’s story. It’s a huge undertaking and it’s a bit of a lot to take in (400 pages). For me, it flowed pretty well. I thought the pre-Booth assassination rumors were an interesting place to start, and sort of transitions weirdly into Booth’s involvement, but still fascinating. The Booth manhunt is bogged down in details. The only part for me that dragged. I suspect that particular event was action-driven and so was better served to be handled that way as in Swanson’s book. Still, Pitch’s angle is one that again is fascinating and little known. The reward offered for the capture of the conspirators probably created more infighting and negative consequences than its intended goal to get everyone working together. Pitch details how the reward eventually gets paid out, and the politics that went into the decision making.
This was a fascinating book as I suspected from the striking cover when I first saw it, but it really was an unique book on Lincoln. It covers a lot of territory that has been well worn but gives it fresh eyes. There is a quote on the book from a USA Today review which makes it sound like it only focuses on the sensationalist details, but that’s the wrong impression. Instead it gives it a level of detail that drops you down in to the 1860s. For all those reasons, I recommend this highly.
December 13, 2022
I felt compelled to read "another" book about Lincoln and am very glad I did. The author is an engaging writer who uses his research and first-hand sources to tell a story of rich detail. There was much for me to learn. The parts where those directly and indirectly involved in the assassination were discussed were all very new to me. The death of Lincoln was a catastrophic climax of the Civil War. The government used methods both legal and illegal to find the murderer and his accomplices. Ultimately, we know that Lincoln's fight for freedom died with him as the nation tried to forget the Civil War and accept the price of the many years of Jim Crow.
December 18, 2021
I tried to be restrained on my five star ratings, but this book certainly deserved one. The cover and the title certainly retarded my taking it seriously, however I was very wrong. The author crafts a wonderful narrative while at the same time delivering to the reader a drove of historically accurate information that only compliments the story. A great book and I will check out his other books.
September 8, 2011
An extremely well-researched, if a bit long-winded, examination not only of the Lincoln assassination, but of the antecedents to it going back to Lincoln's election. As someone who's read a lot about this particular part of Lincoln's life, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a wealth of detail that I hadn't already known. The author's approach to looking at the primary sources of people secondary to the President has filled in a lot of the gaps that other books have missed.
There's nothing new in this book on the big details and major plot points of the assassination, but you'll definitely get a much better understanding of Washington during that time and of all the background details that were never fully explained before. If the story of Lincoln's assassination were a novel, this book would be the "world-building" component, helping the reader to really understand the event and how it reverberated throughout the city and the country.
There's nothing new in this book on the big details and major plot points of the assassination, but you'll definitely get a much better understanding of Washington during that time and of all the background details that were never fully explained before. If the story of Lincoln's assassination were a novel, this book would be the "world-building" component, helping the reader to really understand the event and how it reverberated throughout the city and the country.
November 10, 2013
Overall, I was not impressed with this book. There were a few new revelations in this book based upon some recently revealed letters, diaries, etc. found by the author. However, the writing style was not tight and left me somewhat cold. I did feel the trial of the Lincoln conspirators was interesting and the author did a good job covering that. But, I cannot recommend this book.
January 25, 2009
Good detailed book on the players, events and follow up on Lincoln's assassination. Read or rediscovered some details I had either not read before or had forgotten. Fast read for sure.
May 31, 2020
The book was good. What I think Pitch did best was give a great illustration of Washington, DC in April 1865. What he did more than other authors writing about the Lincoln assassination is use original sources from regular DC citizens, so there's a lot of depth to his story. He describes the illuminations celebrating the defeat of Richmond and Lee's surrender wonderfully. Throughout the book, no matter what he was talking about, he used diaries and letters to give readers a fabulous picture of what was going on--it's a great book to get the feel of life in Washington at the end of the Civil War. And Pitch gets kudos for that; I really liked that aspect of it.
I also really enjoyed that Pitch managed to cover the entire assassination--from threats on Lincoln coming into the city for his first inauguration to John Surratt's trial to Johnson pardoning the three surviving conspirators before he left office. The problem is that the book is only 400 pages long. For example, in writing about the trial, he goes into a lot of detail about what the people on trial had to deal with, which is great, and impressions of the media and spectators, also interesting, but lacks details of what actually went on during the trial. You know, evidence. Testimony. That sort of thing. If I have one big question about the Lincoln assassination and its aftermath, it's "Why did they wind up putting on trial the people they did?" Specficially I'm talking about poor Ned Spangler, who worked at Ford's Theatre. Booth rode up to the theatre, told Spangler to hold the horse, Spangler handed the reins to someone else. The end! So how did he wind up on trial and not, say, Thomas Jones, who harbored Booth and Herold in a pine thicket for days, knowing full well what Booth did? I mean, nobody probably knows at this point. Clearly I need to write the book about this pressing topic. But anyway. I'd like to know the content of the trial a bit, not just that women in the crowd were fascinated by Lewis Payne/Powell.
Plus, the book loses points with me for not going into detail about Boston Corbett, the soldier who killed Booth. Seriously, the dude castrated himself. How do you leave that out of a book? It's just wrong, I tell you.
And Pitch continues to come across as a little too self-congratulatory. In the acknowledgments, he goes on about how it took him 9 years and he wanted to quit, but his daughter, who doesn't care about history!, and his agent were both all, "No! You must keep going! I'm only partway through the manuscript and am moved to tears!" Look, I get it. These books are a labor of love. Give yourself a pat on the back and move on.
So, in general, points for giving readers a good idea of the region and for covering all aspects; I did learn new stuff, particularly about the chase of John Surratt. But, overall, it didn't go into enough depth. Points for being a good overview, though.
I also really enjoyed that Pitch managed to cover the entire assassination--from threats on Lincoln coming into the city for his first inauguration to John Surratt's trial to Johnson pardoning the three surviving conspirators before he left office. The problem is that the book is only 400 pages long. For example, in writing about the trial, he goes into a lot of detail about what the people on trial had to deal with, which is great, and impressions of the media and spectators, also interesting, but lacks details of what actually went on during the trial. You know, evidence. Testimony. That sort of thing. If I have one big question about the Lincoln assassination and its aftermath, it's "Why did they wind up putting on trial the people they did?" Specficially I'm talking about poor Ned Spangler, who worked at Ford's Theatre. Booth rode up to the theatre, told Spangler to hold the horse, Spangler handed the reins to someone else. The end! So how did he wind up on trial and not, say, Thomas Jones, who harbored Booth and Herold in a pine thicket for days, knowing full well what Booth did? I mean, nobody probably knows at this point. Clearly I need to write the book about this pressing topic. But anyway. I'd like to know the content of the trial a bit, not just that women in the crowd were fascinated by Lewis Payne/Powell.
Plus, the book loses points with me for not going into detail about Boston Corbett, the soldier who killed Booth. Seriously, the dude castrated himself. How do you leave that out of a book? It's just wrong, I tell you.
And Pitch continues to come across as a little too self-congratulatory. In the acknowledgments, he goes on about how it took him 9 years and he wanted to quit, but his daughter, who doesn't care about history!, and his agent were both all, "No! You must keep going! I'm only partway through the manuscript and am moved to tears!" Look, I get it. These books are a labor of love. Give yourself a pat on the back and move on.
So, in general, points for giving readers a good idea of the region and for covering all aspects; I did learn new stuff, particularly about the chase of John Surratt. But, overall, it didn't go into enough depth. Points for being a good overview, though.
December 5, 2019
One of THE most thorough accounts I have ever read concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The author gives so much detail from written accounts that fill in for the reader what is missing from other books on the life and death of Lincoln. There are actual journal entries written by Booth himself after the murder as well as more detail about the man himself and, surprisingly, for me, previously unknown backstories as well as facts about the conspirators AND I had not known previously about others in Lincoln's cabinet who were likewise targeted for assassination on that dreadful night. I was blown away by the audacity of the people involved, their ignorance, their pompous pride and willingness to follow a man who hardly had even half a plan of how to go about it. For example, initially Booth had planned only to kidnap Pres. Lincoln but changed his mind at the very last minute. Along with the poor planning and barely thought-out reasoning behind such a heinous deed, the conspirators seemed to share a rapidly devolving form of mental illness evidenced by their obnoxious behavior prior to the assassination. There were other glaring anti-social traits which seemed almost designed to draw attention to themselves. The fact they succeeded at all is shocking beyond comprehension. Thankfully their "victory" was very short-lived.
October 21, 2020
This was an excellent study of a very well known event in history...the assassination of Lincoln at Ford's Theater in April 1865. While I have read several books on this subject, I found this one fascinating because it focused not so much on the President, but the conspirators who carried out the deed and others who were involved in the earlier plot to kidnap Lincoln and hold him for ransom. It also discussed in depth, the escape of Booth and Herold, their desperate attempts to find safety in Virginia and their eventual capture at the Garrett farm and the death of Booth from a gunshot wound to the neck. The author goes on to describe in detail the rounding up of the other key conspirators, their confinement under rather brutal conditions and the trial which resulted in the death sentences for four of them and severe penalties for others such as Dr. Samuel Mudd. Pitch then describes the escape of the son of Mrs. Surratt, John who fled to Canada and then on to Rome and eventually Egypt where he was apprehended and brought back to justice in Washington. However, by the time of his trial in 1867, emotions around the assassination had cooled and he was never to spend time in prison.
In addition to a very interesting story, the author provides many photos and sketches of persons and events involved in this drama.
In addition to a very interesting story, the author provides many photos and sketches of persons and events involved in this drama.
August 29, 2021
I learned so much! This book reads like a Dateline piece! I struggled at times with all the names, but by the end of the book I had most sorted out. Interesting to ponder how the limitations of the speed of communication certainly impacted how the arrests and trials turned out. I am so impressed by the thorough research and the weaving of the decisions and actions of all the people were written.
It’s also interesting to ponder how the Jan 6, 2021 events could have turned out so differently if there hadn’t been so much instant coverage and communication. At the same time I noticed parallels with how the media and opposing political points of view can skew the interpretations of reality then and now.
It’s also interesting to ponder how the Jan 6, 2021 events could have turned out so differently if there hadn’t been so much instant coverage and communication. At the same time I noticed parallels with how the media and opposing political points of view can skew the interpretations of reality then and now.
February 25, 2022
I’m grateful that the last 40% was footnotes and references. There is a vast array of conspirators, associates and pursuers. I had many pages of Wikipedia open to keep track of them all. One of the drawbacks of Kindle is that they often lack such references, or they are difficult to access. A good book for Lincoln and civil war buffs but I fear my powers of concentration are diminishing in my old age. Definitely opened my eyes to a better understanding of Washington and that period in our history.
December 8, 2022
A Story Very Well Told
Who would think that the story of the planning for, the enactment of, and society's response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln could be entertaining? The details discovered and presented by the author render the story of Lincoln's assassination a work worth reading. This is not a dry journaling of the facts, but a story that comes alive on the page and in the reader's mind. In addition, no errors in grammar or type were detected. A good solid piece of work.
Who would think that the story of the planning for, the enactment of, and society's response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln could be entertaining? The details discovered and presented by the author render the story of Lincoln's assassination a work worth reading. This is not a dry journaling of the facts, but a story that comes alive on the page and in the reader's mind. In addition, no errors in grammar or type were detected. A good solid piece of work.
February 16, 2022
It took me a lot of time to finish this book about the assassination of President Lincoln and the subsequent killing and capture of the conspirators. It discusses the trial and eventual verdict of each one of the conspirators It is also the first book on this subject that showed the amount of money that was given as a reward for participating in that event. It is written in an active voice and kept my interest, but other books grabbed me occasionally and I would put it down for a time
February 25, 2021
It was a great book on the history of all that happened. Way more than I ever knew, but found that if I put it down, wasn’t really all that interested in picking it up again. Then when I did restart it I didn’t want to put it down. Almost quit once, but I read a few more words and it caught me up again.
May 14, 2021
Thorough and we'll documented
I am one of those who are obsessed with the history of Lincoln's assassination. This is one of the best I have read. Personal enough to read like a novel, yet so well documented it seems also like a history book. Includes details I had never read before. Highly recommended.
I am one of those who are obsessed with the history of Lincoln's assassination. This is one of the best I have read. Personal enough to read like a novel, yet so well documented it seems also like a history book. Includes details I had never read before. Highly recommended.
March 11, 2021
This book describes in detail what each person involved in Lincoln’s assassination was doing from the planning of the plot to their capture, trial, and punishment. It reads like a good novel, putting the reader right into the story.
December 22, 2022
This was an interesting read - but such a long slog. I was anxious for it to be over. I did feel like it was interesting to see how the present isn't that different from the past in terms of partisan politics...but I still only finished it because it was recommended by a friend.
January 8, 2025
John Surrat got away
Entertaining book that sometimes is slows down a bit but nice read nonetheless. My only complaint is that John Surrat wasn't hanged but can't blame the author for that
Entertaining book that sometimes is slows down a bit but nice read nonetheless. My only complaint is that John Surrat wasn't hanged but can't blame the author for that
September 23, 2018
I love history and this entertaining book showed me the history of Lincoln's assassination and the details of what happen to everyone involved. I highly recommend the book.
April 7, 2019
An amazing and detailed account of the Lincoln assassination. I’ve read this story many times but this particular book offered many new details. Highly recommended.
October 23, 2019
Interesting info about after tha assasination
March 22, 2022
excellent research
The research in this book is phenomenal! I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Lincoln and post Civil War era.
The research in this book is phenomenal! I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Lincoln and post Civil War era.
April 28, 2022
Well researched. A lot of unknown details.
April 18, 2012
This was a thoroughly interesting read for me. The civil war was a bloodbath, yet inevitable it seems. And it wasn't fought that long ago, about 150 years. I find it fascinating that there are photos, letters, media accounts, and first hand historical accounts from the people who were there. So much information, and of course so much information about the great President Abraham Lincoln, who presided over the war against the south.
Lincoln was re-elected for a second term right at the end of the war, and was assassinated 4 months into his second term by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was beloved, by the people who voted for him, beloved and respected by his political colleagues, friends, union soldiers and generals, and even some southerners.
His assassination rocked the United States. People cried in the streets, black people who particularly loved him were devasted en masse. The media cried for vengence, and there was a huge amount of money offered for the finding of his murderer, John Wilkes Booth as well as for the men who plotted with Booth.
Booth,who was a nationally known actor as was his brother and father, was obsessed with destroying Lincoln and with bringing justice for the south of whom he was a fanatical son. Booth hated Lincoln with all his being, he "despised Lincoln with a fury, blaming him for all the misery and suffering in the South. He called him a tyrant." "Booth could never forgive the president for undermining the slave holding culture of the south and fomenting expectations among blacks. In Booth's eyes blacks were inferior."
So the story unfolds detailing the original plot to kidnap Lincoln, then the sudden change of plan and the shooting of Lincoln in Ford's Theatre by Booth. At the same time and part of the same plot, there was a horrific murder attempt on Secretary of State Seward, and grievous injuries to Seward's two sons who fought the attacker trying to kill their father.
Rumours circulated Washington just a few hours later that the President and many heads of state departments had been murdered and the government was helpless. First there was chaos in Washington and then the city was draped in black and mourning of the much loved president began in earnest.
The details of Lincolns actual death 14 hours after he was shot, the autopsy, the manhunt, the funeral, the tracking and finding of Booth and four other suspects is riveting. The trial became a national event with the public and celebraties attending. Everyone wanted to the see the four accused of murder and treason. All four were hung at the same time, and included the first woman ever hung in the U.S., Mary Surratt. The hangings were witnessed by the public and journalists alike.
The details surrounding this historic event and the description of the times in which this occurred is a treasure trove for history buffs. For example, the coincidental event where John Wilkes Booth's brother Edwin, saved the life of Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, many years previous by lifting him up from train tracks and onto the platform from where he fell.
Or how, Booth while in hiding, eagerly awaited the newspapers which he read "voraciously to follow the repercussions in Washington and gauge public opinion of himself....The more Booth read from the papers the closer he came to remorse for harming innocents he had not even targeted... He regretted Seward had not been killed but said he was sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that his sons Frederick and Augustus had been wounded."
Lincoln was re-elected for a second term right at the end of the war, and was assassinated 4 months into his second term by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln was beloved, by the people who voted for him, beloved and respected by his political colleagues, friends, union soldiers and generals, and even some southerners.
His assassination rocked the United States. People cried in the streets, black people who particularly loved him were devasted en masse. The media cried for vengence, and there was a huge amount of money offered for the finding of his murderer, John Wilkes Booth as well as for the men who plotted with Booth.
Booth,who was a nationally known actor as was his brother and father, was obsessed with destroying Lincoln and with bringing justice for the south of whom he was a fanatical son. Booth hated Lincoln with all his being, he "despised Lincoln with a fury, blaming him for all the misery and suffering in the South. He called him a tyrant." "Booth could never forgive the president for undermining the slave holding culture of the south and fomenting expectations among blacks. In Booth's eyes blacks were inferior."
So the story unfolds detailing the original plot to kidnap Lincoln, then the sudden change of plan and the shooting of Lincoln in Ford's Theatre by Booth. At the same time and part of the same plot, there was a horrific murder attempt on Secretary of State Seward, and grievous injuries to Seward's two sons who fought the attacker trying to kill their father.
Rumours circulated Washington just a few hours later that the President and many heads of state departments had been murdered and the government was helpless. First there was chaos in Washington and then the city was draped in black and mourning of the much loved president began in earnest.
The details of Lincolns actual death 14 hours after he was shot, the autopsy, the manhunt, the funeral, the tracking and finding of Booth and four other suspects is riveting. The trial became a national event with the public and celebraties attending. Everyone wanted to the see the four accused of murder and treason. All four were hung at the same time, and included the first woman ever hung in the U.S., Mary Surratt. The hangings were witnessed by the public and journalists alike.
The details surrounding this historic event and the description of the times in which this occurred is a treasure trove for history buffs. For example, the coincidental event where John Wilkes Booth's brother Edwin, saved the life of Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, many years previous by lifting him up from train tracks and onto the platform from where he fell.
Or how, Booth while in hiding, eagerly awaited the newspapers which he read "voraciously to follow the repercussions in Washington and gauge public opinion of himself....The more Booth read from the papers the closer he came to remorse for harming innocents he had not even targeted... He regretted Seward had not been killed but said he was sorry, from the bottom of my heart, that his sons Frederick and Augustus had been wounded."
August 13, 2012
I'd have preferred to give this 3.5 stars. This was a good, but not spectacular account of the assasination of Lincoln and the manhunt, trials and executions of the assassins.
My major complaint with this book is that there were several times that the author did not sufficiently introduce new people to the story. While I understand that there were A LOT of people involved in this bit of history, it became difficult to keep everyone straight while reading. I found myself having to go back several times to see if I'd missed an introduction, but I hadn't.
One of the things I found fascinating about this book was the speed of the judicial process. The accused were found, tried, and in 4 cases, executed within four short months. Given the complexity and importance of the case, I expected a 2012-style trial that lasts for months while the prosecutor and defense present every conceivable argument in favor of their side. The fact that a military trial was conducted seemed to me, based on the evidence provided by the author, a clear violation of the defendents rights.
I was also surprised by the lack of involvement on Andrew Johnson's part. If I were Johnson, I'd want to be heavily involved in the murder trial of my predecessor. But Johnson refused to get involved, which I found quite confusing.
I'm very curious how a case like this would be tried in a 2012 courtroom. Obviously there would be round-the-clock TV coverage and the trial would last for months upon months. But would the 4 condemned criminals be executed? There seemed to me to be a lack of evidence for at least two of the defendents; particularly Mary Surrait. With Booth killed during the manhunt, it seemed to me that only Payne should have "qualified" for a sentence of death. I'm sure that the speed of the trial and subsequent executions were done simply to put the unpleasant mess behind them once and for all.
And lastly, how could John Surrait ultimately win his freedom while his mother got the noose? I'd have liked the author to delve into this in more detail. His account was purely factual and did not go into details as to the thinking behind the judicial systems lack of effort to convict John.
My major complaint with this book is that there were several times that the author did not sufficiently introduce new people to the story. While I understand that there were A LOT of people involved in this bit of history, it became difficult to keep everyone straight while reading. I found myself having to go back several times to see if I'd missed an introduction, but I hadn't.
One of the things I found fascinating about this book was the speed of the judicial process. The accused were found, tried, and in 4 cases, executed within four short months. Given the complexity and importance of the case, I expected a 2012-style trial that lasts for months while the prosecutor and defense present every conceivable argument in favor of their side. The fact that a military trial was conducted seemed to me, based on the evidence provided by the author, a clear violation of the defendents rights.
I was also surprised by the lack of involvement on Andrew Johnson's part. If I were Johnson, I'd want to be heavily involved in the murder trial of my predecessor. But Johnson refused to get involved, which I found quite confusing.
I'm very curious how a case like this would be tried in a 2012 courtroom. Obviously there would be round-the-clock TV coverage and the trial would last for months upon months. But would the 4 condemned criminals be executed? There seemed to me to be a lack of evidence for at least two of the defendents; particularly Mary Surrait. With Booth killed during the manhunt, it seemed to me that only Payne should have "qualified" for a sentence of death. I'm sure that the speed of the trial and subsequent executions were done simply to put the unpleasant mess behind them once and for all.
And lastly, how could John Surrait ultimately win his freedom while his mother got the noose? I'd have liked the author to delve into this in more detail. His account was purely factual and did not go into details as to the thinking behind the judicial systems lack of effort to convict John.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2016
Pitch writes an illuminating, documented history of the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, shortly after his second inauguration. The book begins with Lincoln's train ride to Washington to begin his Presidency in 1861 and the fears that he would never make it, because of the death threats and charged atmosphere of the country. Lincoln lived his whole Presidency under threat and had grown fatalistic. He had recurring dreams of his death and he put himself under pressure to end the war and establish guidelines for peace, always fearing that he wouldn't have time to do what was needed. John Wilkes Booth was a cannon poised to go off and only delayed by his need to set a scene that would make his name a legend. His actions and those of his associates are documented here along with the following hunt and trial. After covering the evidence given at the trials, Pitch discusses some of the conspiracy theories and unanswered questions that supported them. He also touches on the possibility of innocence surrounding Mary Surratt, noting its circumstantialness and its resting on the testimony of 2 men. It is amazing the amount of detail that Pitch located through unpublished letters, diaries and journals, including varying views of the same scene seen though various eyes. Very well done.
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