12-day chase for Lincoln's killer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

12-day chase for Lincoln's killer - Essay Example David Herold helped Lewis Powell into the house of Secretary for State William H. Seward and later fled due to the commotion and rendezvoused with John Wikes Booth outside Washington. John Surratt was a friend of John Wilkes Booth while Mrs. Mary Surratt was his mother. She ran the boarding house where the conspiracy to murder Lincoln and other officials was hatched. George Atzerodt was supposed to kill the Vice President Andrew Johnson but was unable to muster the courage to do so. He spent the evening drinking instead. Lewis Powell entered the house of William H. Seward in hopes of killing him but failed to do so. James W. Pumphrey arranged the horse used by Wilkes to escape from the theatre after assassinating Lincoln. Wilkes hopes to decimate the leadership of the Union by assassinating the top three officials in the government. He believed that this would buy the Confederacy some time to react. 2. Jones’s hid both John Wilkes Booth and David Herold for a full five days in Zekiah Swamp that was near his house. Later he gave them provisions to cross the Potomac River. Thomas Jones was a Confederate supporter so he hid John Wilkes Booth and David Herold. However, as the manhunt gained momentum, Thomas Jones felt it necessary to move the assassins to another location. 3. The Washington Press labelled Booth as a villain and a coward among other deplorable and condescending names. However, Booth noted in his journal that no matter what the newspapers said, he had acted boldly and would not repent on his actions.