John Wilkes Booths Assassination

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, shortened his life drastically by shooting the president. Thus, bringing upon himself an early death, but by doing this he also left a lasting legacy. John Wilkes Booth was the man who shot President Lincoln, he put up a good chase until the officials found him and he was shot. People do not often think of this man’s capture, but of what he did, shooting a president. John Wilkes Booth had a childhood that may have had some effect on his future actions, and his actions cost him his life.

Although Booth grew up to be an assassin, people most likely, would not have seen John Wilkes Booth as a boy and thought that he would grow up to be one. John Wilkes Booth was

(Ever thus to tyrants) the South is avenged,” ("Lincoln Assassin John Wilkes Booth Dies”). In order to make his escape he had to stop at multiple places. These stops were extremely crucial in order for his escape to be a success. Booth stayed at places like Doctor Samuel Mudd’s house, to get his leg wrapped after he hurt it jumping out of the presidential box (President Lincoln sat here) at Ford’s Theater. He also stayed at Mary Surratt’s boarding house. He was even so desperate as to stay in a pine thicket at one point (“Manhunt: Tracing the Escape Route of John Wilkes Booth”). After all this running, the soldiers caught Booth on Richard H. Garrett’s farm in the barn (Clark, Champ"The Death of John Wilkes Booth, 1865”). According to James Swanson’s book Manhunt Booth ran for twelve days before finally being captured. Of course, the officials found Booth. He was hiding in the Garrett’s barn and when given the chance to come out of the barn without a fight (“John Wilkes Booth."Encyclopedia of World Biography) he refused being so stubborn. In Clark Champ’s article “The Death of John Wilkes Booth, 1865” he states that when offered the chance to come out Booth’s partner Harold took the chance and surrendered. When Booth refused to come out of the barn the soldiers set the barn on fire ("John Wilkes Booth." Encyclopedia of World Biography). This was where his great demise

In Terry Alford’s article “ the Death of John Wilkes Booth” he tells us that Booth was carrying with him a diary, a knife, two pistols, and a check from Canada for 60 pounds (about $44 United States’ dollars) (Terry Alford “Death of John Wilkes Booth”). The government then buried Booth in Baltimore, Maryland’s Green Mount Cemetery ("John Wilkes Booth-Find A Grave Memorial”). This is one side of the story of how he died. There is another side that says that Booth really never did die, but that he escaped from the barn and lived to be an old unknown man. The government later discarded this idea after people who knew Booth testified that it really was him who died ("John Wilkes Booth-Find A Grave