In April 1865, the four-year-long American Civil War finally came to an end. On the 3rd, US President Abraham Lincoln came to Richmond, the capital of the Confederation, and when he saw the devastated city, he said with emotion, "Thank God for letting me live to this day, for four years, I have been living in a nightmare, and now the nightmare is over." ”
At this time, Lincoln did not know that his life had only ten days left.
On 12 April, confederations of the Northern Virginia Corps surrendered to Grant and the Civil War ended.
It was the most glorious day of Lincoln's life and the greatest in the history of the United States, and his prestige surpassed that of any U.S. president since Washington.
In his second presidential inaugural address on March 4, Lincoln decided to give the Greatest leniency and kindness to the South over the next four years, "Don't be malicious toward anyone... Be generous to all, let us strive to complete the work that is being done, to heal the wounds of the country... Do everything that can create a just, lasting peace. ”
On the 14th, at the last cabinet meeting held on the day of the assassination, Lincoln refuted the demand for the hanging of Confederate President Davis and the commander-in-chief, General Lee, and demanded that people be tolerant and reconciled.
What Lincoln did not expect was that an assassination against him was already on the string, and the reason was to avenge the defeat of the South.
On the evening of the 14th, Lincoln and his wife went to ford's theater to watch "Our American Cousins", and at 10:25, a man sneaked into the president's box, and John Pike, the guard who was supposed to guard the box, had already secretly run out to watch the play, so the Assassins were not stopped.
The Assassin's name was John Wilkes Booth, and he came from a famous family of actors, the Booth family.
He was a fanatical supporter of the South during the Civil War, saying in a public speech as early as 1863 that he "wanted the president and those dog-fucking officials to go to hell." ”
On the morning of the 14th, Booth went to ford's theater to pick up the mail, overheard that the president was going to watch the performance with the first lady, General Grant and others in the evening, and immediately decided to carry out the assassination.
As Booth pushed open the box door, the theater audience was laughing at a humorous line, and no one noticed that a deadly killer appeared behind the president.
Booth fired a fatal shot at the president in the back of the head with a Philadelphia-made Delinger pistol, and Lincoln fell down, and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln screamed.
At this point, Major Reisborn, who was in the same box as the president, reacted and jumped out of his seat to try to grab Booth, but the latter pulled out a sharp dagger and scratched the major's arm.
He immediately flipped over the box and jumped, and because the spurs on his boots hooked the curtain outside the box, Booth lost his balance and fell on the stage, causing one leg to break.
However, booth actually stood in the center of the stage, raised the blood-dripping dagger, and performed a final improvisation to the terrified audience.
He shouted "sic semper tyrannis" in Latin (meaning that this is always for the tyrant, the tyrant who deserves it)
This is a line from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, which is said to have been said after Brutus assassinated Caesar.
Booth then ran out of the side door of the stage and fled to Virginia on a prearranged horse, where he was spotted by The Northern cavalry at Wright Farm 12 days later and killed on the spot for refusing to surrender.
The next morning, at 7:22 a.m., Lincoln swallowed his last breath and the bells of Washington rang in unison.
Strangely enough, on the night of April 11, Lincoln dreamed that he was dead and displayed in the East Hall of the White House for worship.
Now, the dream really happened.
A citywide search ensued, and on April 17, Mary Surat, who had provided accommodation for Booth, was arrested. In addition, there were Powell, AtzelRoth, Herold, and Samuel Mader, who attempted to assassinate Secretary of State Seward, and Samuel Mader, the doctor who healed Booth's wounds, and Edelman Spengler, a carpenter who led Booth's horse outside the theater.
On May 1, 1865, the United States Federal Military Court tried eight defendants. The trial officially began on May 10 and lasted about 7 weeks.
On June 30, the military tribunal ruled that Mary Ann. Surat, Powell, Atzelrot and Herold were sentenced to death by hanging.
Among them, Mary. Surat became the first woman to be executed since the founding of the United States.
At noon on July 7, the four were hanged at Fort McNair, Washington, at temperatures as high as 38 degrees Celsius and more than 1,000 people witnessed the hanging of the four at the scene.
At 1:30 p.m., after the hanging verdict was read, the floodgates at the feet of the four men opened, and the four died one after another in the following minutes.
Despite Surat's last words, "Don't let me fall," they were hung for 25 minutes before being put down.