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Justice or Vigilante Vengeance?
Thomas "Boston" Corbett immigrated to America from London while still a boy. He worked as a hatter in New York until, devastated by his wife's death in childbirth, he moved to Boston. There he took the name of his adopted city. When war broke out, Corbett joined the Union army, where he rose to the rank of sergeant.
On the morning of April 26, 1865, claiming that "Providence directed me," Corbett aimed his Colt revolver at John Wilkes Booth and fired from a distance of no more than 12 feet. Corbett later claimed that he thought Booth was preparing to fire upon the soldiers.
Sergeant Boston Corbett, photographed circa 1865.
After the war, Corbett enjoyed a period of celebrity as "the man who avenged Lincoln." His share of the $100,000 reward offered by Secretary of War Stanton was $1,653.84.
The Death of John Wilkes Booth:
Boston Corbett's bullet partially severed Booth's spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. The wounded man was carried from the barn. "Tell mother, I die for my country," he whispered.
Federal agents rifled through Booth's pockets and discovered, among other items, his diary, compass, and knife. The originals are displayed in the basement museum across the street in Ford's Theatre.
Print showing the autopsy of Booth's body aboard the USS Montauk.
Photographer Alexander Gardner created a record of the autopsy, but Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton ordered the photographs destroyed.
This wood engraving, showing Booth being dragged from Garrett's barn, appeared on the cover of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on May 13, 1865.
"Useless, Useless"
Dawn was approaching. It had been almost three hours since Booth was shot, and his strength was ebbing. Lying on the front porch of the Garrett farmhouse, he spoke his last words. "My hands," he gasped. They were raised for his inspection. "Useless," muttered Booth. "Useless."
Shortly after seven o'clock, John Wilkes Booth died. His body was sewn into a saddle blanket and returned to Washington by steamboat. |