Prison Hoods of the Abraham Lincoln Conspirators

Lincoln, Abraham

On April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford Theatre, pointed a derringer pistol at the back of the President Abraham Lincoln’s head and fired. John Wilkes Booth’s attack on Lincoln was part of a larger plot to assassinate national leaders and throw the North into turmoil. The conspirators also planned to murder Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Besides Booth, eight individuals were charged. Because the plot was considered an act of war, the military assumed control of the proceedings.