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John Wilkes Booth:
The youngest member of America's most celebrated theatrical family, 26-year-old John Wilkes Booth was noted for his dashing good looks and trademark athleticism on stage. A native of Maryland, Booth was familiar to Washington audiences for his performance in Richard II and other Shakespeare tragedies. In July 1864, Booth clandestinely met with Confederate agents at the Boston hotel. He backed a plan to kidnap Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for the release of southern prisoners with which to replenishing Confederate ranks.
On Inauguration Day, 1865, the actor and five of his co-conspirators stood a few feet away as :Lincoln spoke of binding up the nation's wounds. With Lee's surrender a month later, the kidnapping plans changed. If he could not have victory on the battlefield, Booth decided, he would have revenge at the point of his own gun. |