LogFAQs > #944415242

After shooting Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth jumped from the presidential box onto the stage, injuring his leg. He then yelled "Sic semper tyrannis!" (Thus always to tyrants) and fled by a stage door into the alley where a horse was waiting for him. He made his way south to Virginia, where 10 days after the assassination he hid in a tobacco barn. A detachment of Union soldiers managed to track him down. Booth refused to surrender so they set fire to the barn. He was then shot in the neck by one of the soldiers, severing his spinal cord and paralyzing him. He died three hours later. His last words were "Useless, useless."

The assassination of Lincoln was only one part of the conspiracy. Lewis Powell attempted to shoot Secretary of State William H. Seward, but his revolver misfired and he instead attempted to stab Seward. Seward had recently suffered a broken jaw and the splint he wore prevented the blade from puncturing his jugular vein, saving his life.

George Atzerodt was supposed to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson, but he lost his nerve and got drunk instead.

Powell and Atzerodt were found guilty and were hanged, as were fellow conspirators Mary Surratt and David Herold. Three others were given life sentences and another received six years in prison. They were pardoned four years later by President Johnson.

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Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
Minutus carborata descendum pantorum.