Existing comment:
Inside Garrett's Tobacco Barn:
Booth, needing to rest his broken leg, arrived at Garrett's farm in Port Royal, Virginia, on April 24, 1865. Booth was insulted to learn from a Richmond newspaper that the United States government was offering only $140,000 for his capture. "I would sooner suppose more like $500,000," he remarked to his hosts.
The Garretts became suspicious of their uninvited guests, thinking that they might be thieves. The second evening, Booth and Herold were told to sleep in the tobacco barn, which the Garretts locked to prevent them from stealing their horses.
The Conspirators Cornered:
Acting on information supplied by Willie Jett, Edward Doherty and the soldiers of the 16th New York Cavalry arrived at the Garrett farm before dawn on April 26. The soldiers threatened Richard Garrett with hanging unless he revealed the whereabouts of the wanted me.
Garrett's son John pointed to the tobacco barn less than 200 feet away. The soldiers quickly surrounded the barn, but Booth and Herold refused to surrender.
When negotiations failed, the soldiers piled brush and kindling against the wooden structure, preparing to set it aflame. At length, David Herold emerged, but Booth refused to leave.
Smoking Him Out:
Around 3:00am, the barn was set ablaze. Through cracks in the wall, the soldiers could see the assassin leaning heavily on a crutch, with a gun in his right hand. Suddenly a shot rang out. Booth, mortally wounded with a bullet through his neck, crumpled to the ground. |