"Union army. When the end came the South had a shattered economy, 300,000 dead, hundreds of thousands wounded, and millions impoverished, but three million former slaves were now free. On April 14, 1865, four days after the news of Lee's surrender reached Washington, an air of celebration pervaded the capital. That evening, President Lincoln attended a performance of ""Our American Cousin"" at Ford's Theatre. During the third act, a Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth shot and killed Abraham Lincoln. As he fled the scene, he yelled ""Sic semper tyrannis"", the Virginia state motto. John Wilkes Booth was tracked, twelve"
"Friday, April 14, 1865, Booth went to Ford's Theatre to get his mail. While there, he was told by John Ford's brother that President and Mrs. Lincoln would be attending the play ""Our American Cousin"" at Ford's Theatre that evening, accompanied by Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. He immediately set about making plans for the assassination, which included making arrangements with livery stable owner James W. Pumphrey for a getaway horse and an escape route. Booth informed Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt of his intention to kill Lincoln. He assigned Powell to assassinate Secretary of State William H. Seward and"
"Our American Cousin (opera) Our American Cousin is an opera in three acts by American composer Eric Sawyer with libretto by poet John Shoptaw that depicts the assassination of Abraham Lincoln from the standpoint of the actors presenting Tom Taylor's play of the same name at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. It aims to offer something new in the realm of American contemporary opera, an American myth told in an unfamiliar way, with both poetic and musical language drawing from the past but refracted through the present. The opera's narrative is the collaborative invention of Shoptaw"
"Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theatre located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. It is famous for being the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After being shot, the fatally wounded 56-year old president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning. The theater was later used as a warehouse and office building, and in 1893 part of it collapsed, causing 22 deaths. It was renovated and re-opened as a theater in 1968. During the 2000s, it was renovated again, opening on February"
"April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford's Theatre as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Booth was a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate army, he had contacts with the Confederate secret service. In 1864, Booth formulated a plan (very similar to one of Thomas N. Conrad previously authorized by the Confederacy) to kidnap Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners. After attending an April 11,"
"Laura Keene Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is most famous for being the lead actress in the play ""Our American Cousin"", which was attended by President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., on the evening of his assassination. Keene was born Mary Frances Moss in Winchester, England. She was the fourth and final child of Tomas and Jane Moss (""née"" King). Her aunt was British actress Elizabeth Yates. At"
"it as a historic house museum since 1933, the rooms furnished as on the night Lincoln died. Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theatre located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. It is famous for being the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After being shot, the fatally wounded 56-year old president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning. The theater was later used as a warehouse and office building, and in 1893 part of it collapsed, causing 22 deaths. It was renovated"
"Edmund Spangler Edman ""Ned"" Spangler (August 10, 1825 – February 7, 1875) was an American carpenter and stagehand who was employed at Ford's Theatre at the time of President Abraham Lincoln's murder on April 14, 1865. He and seven others were charged in conspiring to assassinate Lincoln and three other high level government officials. Spangler was the only one found not guilty of the conspiracy charge. Even so he was found guilty of helping Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, escape and sentenced to six years of hard labor. Spangler was born in York, Pennsylvania, one of four sons of William"
"fiancee Clara Harris accepted an invitation to see a play at Ford's Theatre from President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. The couple, who had been friends with the President and his wife for some time, were invited after Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia, Thomas Eckert, and several others had declined Mrs. Lincoln's invitation. During the play, noted stage actor John Wilkes Booth surreptitiously entered the Presidential box and fatally shot Lincoln in the head with a pistol. As Rathbone attempted to apprehend Booth, Booth slashed Rathbone's left arm with a dagger from the"
"in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore. He moved to the island of Jersey in 1911, and died there in 1916. He was buried at the La Croix old cemetery in Grouville. Harry Hawk Harry Hawk (April 28, 1837 – May 28, 1916) was an American actor and comedian, remembered as the only performer on stage at Ford's Theatre at the moment Abraham Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865. William Henry Hawk was born in Philadelphia in 1837 to William J. Hawk and his wife, but the family moved to Chicago when he was young. He began theater work as"
"1865, speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for blacks, an incensed Booth changed his plans and became determined to assassinate the president. Learning that the President and Grant would be attending Ford's Theatre, Booth formulated a plan with co-conspirators to assassinate Lincoln and Grant at the theater, as well as Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward at their homes. Without his main bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln left to attend the play ""Our American Cousin"" on April 14. At the last minute, Grant decided to go to New Jersey to visit his children instead of attending the"
"door being there, or of the lock being out of order. I did not notice any hole in the door. Gifford usually attended to the carpentering in the front part of the theater, while I did the work about the stage. Mr. Gifford was the boss carpenter, and I was under him. Edmund Spangler Edman ""Ned"" Spangler (August 10, 1825 – February 7, 1875) was an American carpenter and stagehand who was employed at Ford's Theatre at the time of President Abraham Lincoln's murder on April 14, 1865. He and seven others were charged in conspiring to assassinate Lincoln and"
"Charles Sabin Taft Charles Sabin Taft (August 1835 – December 18, 1900) was a bystander physician who was pressed into service during the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, Taft was watching ""Our American Cousin"" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., which President Abraham Lincoln was attending. Taft had a good view of those in the presidential box. He observed that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln often called her husband's attention to aspects of the action onstage, and ""seemed to take great pleasure in witnessing his enjoyment."" After Lincoln was shot, Taft was boosted up from the stage"
"cigarettes. Samuel J. Seymour Samuel James Seymour (March 28, 1860 – April 12, 1956) was the last surviving person who had been in Ford's Theatre the night of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. He was from Maryland and lived in Arlington, Virginia. Seymour, a carpenter and contractor, lived most of his later life in Baltimore, Maryland. He died April 12, 1956, at the home of his daughter in Arlington, Virginia, survived by five children, 13 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. He was buried at Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery. On April 14, 1865, when he was"
"Many were adaptations of French plays, but these and his original works cover a range from farce to melodrama. Most fell into neglect after his death, but ""Our American Cousin"" (1858), which achieved great success in the 19th century, remains famous as the piece that was being performed in the presence of US President Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated in 1865. Taylor was born into a newly-wealthy family at Bishopwearmouth, a suburb of Sunderland, in north-east England. He was the second son of Thomas Taylor (1769–1843) and his wife, Maria Josephina, ""née"" Arnold (1784–1858). His father had begun as"
"Samuel J. Seymour Samuel James Seymour (March 28, 1860 – April 12, 1956) was the last surviving person who had been in Ford's Theatre the night of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. He was from Maryland and lived in Arlington, Virginia. Seymour, a carpenter and contractor, lived most of his later life in Baltimore, Maryland. He died April 12, 1956, at the home of his daughter in Arlington, Virginia, survived by five children, 13 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. He was buried at Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery. On April 14, 1865, when he was five"
"Lutz, died on 18 April 1869. On 4 November 1873, Keene died of tuberculosis at the age of 47 at Montclair, New Jersey. She is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Laura Keene Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is most famous for being the lead actress in the play ""Our American Cousin"", which was attended by President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., on the evening of his assassination."
"after the end of the war, Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth during the play ""Our American Cousin"". The next morning, at 7:22 am, President Lincoln died in the house across the street, the first American president to be assassinated. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton said, ""Now he belongs to the ages."" By 1870, the District's population had grown 75% from the previous census to nearly 132,000 residents. Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. The situation was so bad that some members of Congress suggested moving the capital"
"the play that Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. Sothern's role was Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. At first, he was reluctant to accept the role; it was so small and unimportant that he felt it beneath him and feared it might damage his reputation. He mentioned his qualms to his friend, Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the leading role of Asa Trenchard in the play. Jefferson supposedly responded with the famous line: ""There are no small parts, only small actors."" On 15 October 1858, ""Our American Cousin"" premiered in New York."
"to the president's box. becoming either the second or third physician to reach the President. Charles Sabin Taft Charles Sabin Taft (August 1835 – December 18, 1900) was a bystander physician who was pressed into service during the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, Taft was watching ""Our American Cousin"" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., which President Abraham Lincoln was attending. Taft had a good view of those in the presidential box. He observed that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln often called her husband's attention to aspects of the action onstage, and ""seemed to take great pleasure"
"War, Abraham Lincoln, while watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., was assassinated by a nationally popular stage-actor of the period, John Wilkes Booth. Victorian burlesque, a form of bawdy comic theater mocking high art and culture, was imported from England about 1860 and in America became a form of farce in which females in male roles mocked the politics and culture of the day. Criticized for its sexuality and outspokenness, this form of entertainment was hounded off the ""legitimate stage"" and found itself relegated to saloons and barrooms. The female producers, such as Lydia Thompson were replaced"
"opposition to all measures, however popular at the time, that did not appear to him either wise or just. He visited Lincoln at the White House often and grew a friendship with him. He was also a good friend of his predecessor in the Senate, William H. Seward. His son William Hamilton Harris (1838-1895) was a brevet lieutenant colonel in the Army Ordnance Department. His daughter Clara Harris and his stepson/future son-in-law Henry Rathbone were the Lincolns' guests at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, when the president was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth. Booth stabbed Rathbone in"
"David Herold David Edgar Herold (June 16, 1842 – July 7, 1865) was an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth’s injured leg. The two men then continued their escape through Maryland and into Virginia, and Herold remained with Booth until the authorities cornered them in a barn. Herold surrendered, but Booth was shot and died a few hours later. Herold was sentenced to death and hanged with three other conspirators at the Washington Arsenal, now"
"later in his life. Hazelton died in Los Angeles, California. Joseph Hazelton Joseph H. Hazelton (ca. 1853 – October 8, 1936), aka Joseph Hazleton, was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1922. As a boy program giver at Ford's Theatre, he witnessed the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. In 1933, Hazelton gave a lecture at May Company Exposition Hall in Los Angeles and talked about watching Booth shoot Lincoln. An article in ""Good Housekeeping"" in its February 1927 edition, titled ""This Man Saw Lincoln Shot,"" was the"
"where he exchanges a few words with Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. Six days later, Grant receives General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. On April 14, Lincoln is meeting members of his cabinet to discuss future measures to enfranchise blacks, when he is reminded that First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theatre. That night, while Lincoln's son Tad is watching ""Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp"" at Grover's Theatre, the manager suddenly stops the play to announce that the President has been shot. The next morning Lincoln dies; Secretary of"
"on December 1 for $500 a year, and moved into town the same day. Mrs. Surratt lived in her townhouse with her daughter, Anna, and son, John. Over the next five months, she rented rooms to a number of people, including Louis J. Weichmann, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell. These three men, John Surratt, and John Wilkes Booth subsequently conspired to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln in March 1865. When that plot failed, they decided to assassinate the president instead. Lincoln was fatally shot at Ford's Theatre on the evening of April 14, 1865. As part of the plot to kidnap"
"Harry Hawk Harry Hawk (April 28, 1837 – May 28, 1916) was an American actor and comedian, remembered as the only performer on stage at Ford's Theatre at the moment Abraham Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865. William Henry Hawk was born in Philadelphia in 1837 to William J. Hawk and his wife, but the family moved to Chicago when he was young. He began theater work as a call boy, or stagehand, at McVicker's Theatre in Chicago. After two years, he left to work for John E. Owens at the Variety Theatre in New Orleans. His first stage"
"Joseph Hazelton Joseph H. Hazelton (ca. 1853 – October 8, 1936), aka Joseph Hazleton, was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1922. As a boy program giver at Ford's Theatre, he witnessed the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. In 1933, Hazelton gave a lecture at May Company Exposition Hall in Los Angeles and talked about watching Booth shoot Lincoln. An article in ""Good Housekeeping"" in its February 1927 edition, titled ""This Man Saw Lincoln Shot,"" was the basis for a leaflet that Hazleton released to raise funds"
"his death, a funeral was held at his house and officiated by two clergymen from the Central Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, and he was buried in Loudon Park Cemetery. John T. Ford John Thompson Ford (April 16, 1829 – March 14, 1894) was an American theater manager in the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Ford's Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassination. Ford was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was the son of Elias and Anna (""née"" Greanor) Ford. His ancestors were early Maryland settlers and some of them took part in the American Revolution."
"to his mother's home in New York to visit his brother. While visiting Brooklyn, Whitman contracted to have his collection of Civil War poems, ""Drum-Taps"", published. The Civil War had ended and a few days later, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the performance of a play at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln died the following morning. Whitman was at his mother's home when he heard the news of the president's death; in his grief he stepped outside the door to the yard, where the lilacs were blooming. Many years later, Whitman recalled"
"play. Lincoln's bodyguard, John Parker, left Ford's Theater during intermission to drink at the saloon next door. The now unguarded President sat in his state box in the balcony. Seizing the opportunity, Booth crept up from behind and at about 10:13 pm, aimed at the back of Lincoln's head and fired at point-blank range, mortally wounding the President. Major Henry Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. After being on the run for 12 days, Booth was tracked down and found on a farm in Virginia, some south of Washington. After refusing to surrender to Union"
"in the film ""Saving Lincoln"", which details the threats against Lincoln from Lamon's point of view. Ward Hill Lamon Ward Hill Lamon (January 6, 1828 – May 7, 1893) was a personal friend and self-appointed bodyguard of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Lamon was famously absent the night Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, having been sent by Lincoln to Richmond, Virginia. Lamon's relation with Lincoln has been traced by Clint Clay Tilton in ""Lincoln and Lamon"". Lamon was born near Winchester, Virginia, studied medicine for two years, and moved to Danville, Illinois, when he was 19"
"and his wife to Ford's Theater, but they declined as upon his wife Julia's urging, had plans to travel to Philadelphia. In a conspiracy that also targeted top cabinet members, and in a last effort to topple the Union, Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth at the theater, and died the next morning. Many, including Grant himself, thought that he had been a target in the plot. Stanton notified him of the President's death and summoned him back to Washington. Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as President on April 15. Attending Lincoln's funeral on April 19,"