Existing comment:
Shackles
1865
worn by Lincoln assassination conspirators
The Confederate army surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, signaled the end of four long years of civil war. Northern victory preserved the Union and ended slavery, and President Lincoln prepared to rebuild the nation. But five nights later Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth fatally shot the president at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC. The attack was part of a larger failed plot to murder national leaders and throw the Union into turmoil. Booth was later killed by a federal officer, and eight co-conspirators were arrested and jailed, where they wore these arm and leg shackles. Four were hanged and the other sent to prison. |