Manhunt

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer The introduction of this book outlines for the reader just who exactly Abraham and Mary Lincoln were. Abraham Lincoln himself was an honest, fair man who happened to rely heavily on superstition, and he believed strongly in the power of dreams. His wife, Mary, was a woman who often held séances in the White House and more often than that found herself with a shopping bag. However, they were both equally devoted to each other and their country. On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln and his wife decided to see a play called Our American Cousin in the Ford Theater. A family friend, Henry Rathbone and his fiancé, Clara Harris, accompanied them that night. This is the night that Lincoln was assassinated. Prior to his assassination, you learn about John Wilkes-Booth, the assassin himself. He was an employee at the Ford Theater and while he was not in the play, Our American Cousin, he was a very good actor and new all the lines and cues to the play. Booth had wanted to do something about Lincoln for some time, and the second he found out that Lincoln would be in his very own theater he immediately devised a master plan to illuminate the President. Later that day, Booth met with some other southern conspirators who were to participate in his scheme. These men were Lewis Powell, David Herold, John Surratt Jr. Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, and George Atzerodt. At this point the conspiracy was no longer set out to simply kill President Lincoln, but his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, and his Secretary of State, William Seward, as well. In preparation for the assassination, Booth decided to pack both a .44 caliber pistol and a Rio Grande camp knife. Booth was easily able to walk through security at the play and was so close to the moment he had been waiting years for. He waited in a vestibule outside the presidential box and wedged a pine bar in the door so it could not be opened. Booth had waited for