History

“You have Doubtless heard of Booth the Murderer of President Lincoln” – Pvt. Emory Parady’s Letter Home by Steven G. Miller

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Dave Taylor

Thanks to my good friend Steve Miller for allowing me to republish the following short article and its included letter. The article contains a letter that was written by Emory Parady to his parents on April 28, 1865. Parady was a member of the 16th New York Cavalry and part of the detachment that traveled to Virginia in search of John Wilkes Booth.  In his letter, Pvt. Parady recounted the capture and death of Lincoln’s assassin. It’s a fascinating first-person account of the assassin’s end, written just two days after the event. I appreciate Steve sharing this part of his collection with us.

The month of April 1865 had been a busy one for Pvt. Emory Parady, a trooper in the Sixteenth New York Cavalry stationed in Vienna, VA, just outside Washington City. On the 9th of that month, he had celebrated his 21st birthday. The war was winding down, and it looked like he would soon be released from service. Any danger was likely passed.

Then, on the morning of the 15th, the regiment had gotten the terrible news that the president had been shot the night before. Parady and several hundred fellow members of the Sixteenth were deployed to capture John Wilkes Booth, the announced assassin. On the following day, the day before Easter, Parady and others were sent to Washington to help in the manhunt and to prepare for the state funeral on the 19th.

Parady was aware that his father, Edward Parady/Paradis, would be particularly upset by news of the assassination. The president was a great family favorite, and Emory had a four-year-old brother who had been christened Lincoln Parady. He might have been comforted by the fact that Emory had ridden as an escort to Lincoln’s body.

On the 24th, Pvt. Parady had volunteered as a member of a search party organized at the Lincoln Barracks. Lieut. Edward Doherty of the 16th, had received orders to proceed down the Potomac River accompanied by two War Department detectives. They had a fresh lead on Booth’s whereabouts.

The 29-man group landed in the Northern Neck of Virginia, and over the next several hours, they looked for Booth’s trail. Through a combination of hard-riding, determination, and good luck, they found Booth on the night of April 25-26th at the farm of Richard Garrett in Caroline County. He was trapped but would not surrender to the troopers. He was shot while resisting arrest and died a couple of hours afterward.

Back at the Lincoln Barracks on the 28th, located near the White House, Parady was able to write a letter to his parents detailing the death of the assassin. Perhaps that could give them some solace in the wake of the distressing events of the previous two weeks. This eyewitness account contains some important information concerning the identification of the man in the barn and the way he was killed. It presents clear and detailed contemporary evidence that confirms my opinion that the patrol ran down the correct man, not some Booth lookalike. Parady spelled out the circumstances of the shooting, gave us specifics on the time, place, action, and even the fact that the body had the ink-tattooed initials “J.W.B.” on the hand.

The text of this letter follows:

“Washington D.C. Apr. 28th, 1865

Dear Father & Mother

I will write again in hopes of hearing from you as it is so long since I’ve had intelligence it causes me much anxiety. Bert is the only one I heard of for a long time{.} he was well & stated he had not heard from you for several weeks & thought he would give up writing as he had no answers{.}

You have doubtless heard of Booth the Murderer of President Lincoln{.}

We caught him & Harrold on the morning of the 26th in a Barn. Fortunately they were locked in or they would {have} escaped when we surrounded the House as we thought they were there & after threatning the owner of the Places lif {sic} one of his sons (a soldier from Lees army) came up & told they were there or at least two suspicious characters & locked up in the Barn one by the name of John Wm. Boyd his reason for choosing that name was on account {of} the initials J.W.B. on his left hand{.} Harrold surrendered & Booth would not on any conditions{.} his only terms were if we moved back 50 paces from the Barn he would come out & fight us & told us if we shot him to shoot him through the Body through the heart says he {‘}Boys make a stretcher{.’}

We told him we would fire the Barn if he did not come out & give up his arms{.} he was armed with two Revolvers a Carabine seven shooter & two Bowie Knives the longest one was Bloody on both sides of the blade{.} we fired the {barn} as it was dark between 3 & 4 in the morning & he had the advantage of us as he could see us & we could not see him but as soon as the fire lit up he tried to stamp it out & found he could not so he walked ran back to the midle of the floor & was in the act of raising the caribine when crack went a Pistol & I with with {sic} Col Baker Chief detective rushed in & caried him out{.} he was shot through the Neck about 2 inches lower than Mr. Lincoln was{.} his last words were Mother! Mother My Mother{.} he could just whisper{.}

well I will close as I feel very dull today & if I when I see you I will tell you more about it{.} we were on the chase three days & three nights without sleep & hardly any thing to eat so you may judge I am not very livly today{.} We caught him across the Raphannock three miles from Port Royal.

no more at present
from Emory

address as before
Write soon”

Categories: History, Steven G. Miller | Tags: , , , , | 5 Comments

Who Attended Ford’s Theatre? by Joe Barry

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Dave Taylor

On this 161st anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, researcher and author Joe Barry shares with us a project he is working on to create a singular list of people who claimed to have attended that fateful performance. I’m grateful to Joe for sharing his research with us and for taking up the mantle of trying to document this event in such a way.

Who Attended Ford’s Theatre the Fateful Night of April 14, 1865?

by Joe Barry

Albert Berghaus illustration of inside Ford’s Theatre from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, May 20, 1865

Good Friday, April 14, 1865 was one of the most consequential days in American history. The exact details of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination have been contested by scores of eyewitnesses who offered contradictory testimony, and whose fading memories over the succeeding decades added further confusion. In light of this challenge, a comprehensive spreadsheet of the attendees at Ford’s Theatre provides an opportunity to clarify the record. Towards this goal, the first such list can be found here.

But first, how many people attended that evening? To determine a ceiling on the attendance, there are differing estimates of the maximum capacity of Ford’s Theatre. The National Park Service states that although owner John T. Ford claimed the theater could hold 2,500, the actual capacity was closer to 1,900. Given eyewitness testimony that audience members were able to change their seats, we know it was not at full capacity, and therefore the National Park Service estimates 1,700 attended that night. However, the National Park Service also conducted a deep historical study of Ford’s Theatre in 1963 to assist its restoration into the theater and museum we enjoy today. This study cited a capacity of 1,624 (602 in Orchestra level, 422 for the Dress Circle, and around 600 in the Family Circle). Therefore, a basic—if not completely satisfying—answer is there were well over 1,000 attendees at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.[1]

Ford’s Theatre Orchestra level diagram, National Park Service

Although the broad outlines of the assassination are well-known, particular details remain in debate:

  • What did John Wilkes Booth say, and did he say it in the president’s box, mid-flight, on stage, or while fleeing?
  • Did Booth injure himself upon landing on stage?
  • How did the audience respond in terms of rushing the stage and how orderly or disorderly were they?
  • What was the status of the employees backstage? Did Booth knock down and slash conductor William Withers, or merely brush past him? Did Edman “Ned” Spangler assist in Booth’s escape?
  • Who was present with the dying president in the box? Did Laura Keene cradle Lincoln?
  • Who helped Lincoln from the box to the Petersen House across the street?

For each of these questions, there is a general consensus formed by the majority view, as well as several outliers who challenge the consensus. This list allows us to place the eyewitness claims in one place, to evaluate sources, to find patterns based on their identity and location in the theater, and other details that may affect the veracity of their account.

Orchestra, Dress Circle, and Family Circle bench seats, National Park Service

Of course, a full Ford’s Theatre attendee list will include a lot of dubious and contradictory testimony. Skepticism is natural, healthy, and nothing new. In fact, with so many obituaries of attendees appearing in newspapers of the 1920s and 1930s, one reporter in 1932 joked: “Another man died the other day who helped carry the assassinated Lincoln from Ford’s theater in 1865. Now its somebody’s turn to say they crossed the Delaware with Washington.”[2]

This list benefits from valuable sources such as Timothy Good’s We Saw Lincoln Shot: One Hundred Eyewitness Accounts, Thomas Bogar’s Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford’s Theatre, The Lincoln Financial Foundation’s folders of eyewitness testimony, online sources such as Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com, and physical archives nationwide.

Work still remains to complete the details of the accounts, and to verify the sources. There is no pride in authorship, and the best results will come from a combined effort to chronicle as many people as possible. It is helpful, though, to have a common document to unify the research so that everyone can benefit from the shared effort. The list will be continually updated.

Given the number of attendees at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, hundreds of more accounts remain to be found from both online and archival sources. To be sure, there is a finite number of details we can glean from the existing record, barring any new discoveries. Still, many people researching their ancestors’ genealogies will find this a valuable resource. The joy is in hunt; here is to further research and discoveries!

Orchestra ticket stub for April 14, 1865, Freeman’s Auctions

[1] George J. Olzewski, “Restoration of Ford’s Theatre, Washington, D.C.,” National Park Service (Washington, D.C., 1963), 37-39; “Frequently Asked Questions: The Assassination,” Ford’s Theatre, https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/faq-the-assassination.htm, accessed March 29, 2026.
[2] “Evansville Courier and Press (Evansville, Indiana), Jun. 25, 1932, p. 4.

As an example of the work Joe is doing, here is a video of the supposed last witness to the assassination of Lincoln, Mr. Samuel Seymour of Maryland. Please note that the video is in a vertical format for social media.

If you’d like to read the article from American Weekly referenced by host Garry Moore in the clip above, check out this post about Mr. Seymour.

Categories: History, Joe Barry | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments

“The Day Lincoln Was Shot” in Massapequa, NY, on 4/15/26

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Dave Taylor

I have just been informed that on this coming Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Abraham Lincoln expert Richard Sloan will be hosting a rare public viewing of the 1956 CBS television special “The Day Lincoln Was Shot” at the Massapequa Public Library in Massapequa Park, New York (on Long Island). While I will be including this event in my weekly Lincoln assassination news and events dispatch on my Patreon tomorrow, I wanted to give this viewing a bit of wider attention. Last year, Richard conducted a similar showing of this rare drama from the Ford Star Jubilee program at the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg. Here’s a photo from that presentation that the Lincoln Forum put on Instagram:

As you can see, Richard’s presentation was very well attended and, from reports I heard, very well received. This is no surprise, as Richard is an expert on depictions of Lincoln in movies and television. He has previously graced this website with an excellent article about different movie lobby cards featuring Lincoln.

I, for one, have never seen “The Day Lincoln Was Shot” due to its rarity and would jump at the chance to take in Richard’s showing if I could. If you’re lucky enough to be in the NYC region, make plans to be at the Massapequa Public Library at 2:00 pm on this Wednesday, April 15. You can register for this free event here.

And, if you’re interested in learning about more Lincoln assassination events going on around the world, sign up for the LincolnConspirators Patreon. For just $3 or more a month, you get a weekly newsletter keeping you apprised of Lincoln assassination news and upcoming programs.

Categories: History, News, Richard Sloan | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

The Avenger and the Actor by Steven G. Miller

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Dave Taylor

The avenger of Abraham Lincoln, Boston Corbett, and actor William Holston

The Avenger and the Actor:

Did Sgt. Boston Corbett have an actor in his family in 1865?

By Steven G. Miller

The news of Lincoln’s assassination came as a blow to many groups, both North and South, but none, perhaps, took it as hard as the theatre community. The assassin was “one of theirs” and a well-known member of the famous family of the stage. There were threats made against theatres, and actors rightly feared for their personal safety. Playhouses in Washington were closed immediately for fear of retribution, but the shock and taint of possible association with Lincoln’s killer also caused theatre owners in the country’s largest city, New York, to shut their doors temporarily.

Theatre historian Thomas Allston Brown’s 1870 History of the American Stage reported that: “The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln occurred April 14. At a meeting of the managers of the New York theatres the following day, it was decided to close all places of amusement until Wed., April 26.”[1]

Of course, the Manhattan managers had no way of knowing that Wilkes Booth would be captured and killed on the very day they planned to reopen. In a bit of irony worthy of Shakespeare, the curtains went back up on Broadway a few hours after the assassin played out his final scene. Actors could now get back to work, but still with one wary eye on the mood of their audience.

The news broke on the 27th that Booth was dead and that the shooter, Sergt. Boston Corbett was a resident of New York City in his civilian life. On the following day, a small item appeared in the (New York) Evening Post in their entertainment news. This blurb combined a connection between the reopening of Wallack’s and the man who shot Lincoln’s assassin.

The Post stated:

“Mr. (William) Holston, lately of the Olympic Theatre, has left that establishment, and been engaged at Wallack’s, where he will appear Wednesday night. Mr. Holston, by the way, is the cousin of that loyal soldier, Sergeant Boston Corbett, who shot the assassin Booth and is equally with him an admirer of the late President.”[2]

This snippet was overlooked in the deluge of news about the death of the president, the search for Booth, and the subsequent trial of the Conspirators. It was only recently rediscovered, and this is likely the first mention of it in over 160 years.

Who was the actor Holston?

William Holston (Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery)

William Holston was a comedian and character actor who was gaining popularity in America in 1865. He was born in Camden, England, in 1830. Stage historian Brown wrote of him in 1870:

“HOLSTON, WILLIAM—This English actor made his debut in London, Eng. Sept. 15, 1856 at the Lycian Theatre as Blocus in “Perdita, or the Royal Milkmaid,” he came to America and appeared with considerable success at the Olympic and afterwards at Wallacks’ Theatre. Returned to England, where he is at present.”[3]

Was Holston related to Sgt. Boston Corbett? If so, how?

In March 1865, Boston’s father, Bartholomew Corbett, who was living in London, wrote a tribute to his older sister, Elizabeth, who had recently died. This piece was widely reprinted, usually under the headline, “An Extraordinary Yorkshire Woman.” Of the eighty-plus reprintings of this article – throughout the British Isles, various parts of the Empire, or American cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston – the author of the piece is usually not identified. In one, however, he is: Her obituary lists her as, “ELIZABETH HOLSTON (maiden name Corbett, sister of the naturalist, late of 61 Piccadilly).” 61. Piccadilly was the long-time location of “Corbett’s Natural History Museum.”[4]

My research into the Corbett family shows that Elizabeth Corbett married a tailor named James William Holston, who preceded her in death. The actor, however, was her grandson. His parents were James W. Holston, Jr., and his wife, Harriet. William Holston’s grandmother was Boston Corbett’s aunt. In other words, William Holston was Boston Corbett’s first cousin once removed.[5]

Were Boston and William in contact?

This is unclear, but it’s highly unlikely that they were. Obviously, William was aware of his cousin, and they were both in Manhattan between 1865 and 1870, but there is no mention of Holston in any of Corbett’s papers or any additional newspaper articles.

Corbett’s puritanical attitude would have made any communication uncomfortable, at best. His beliefs were discussed in an untitled article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, October 7, 1886. It referred to “a letter Boston Corbett is said to have written to an old comrade who had proposed to give a public entertainment upon an intense episode of the civil war.” “Keep out of the theater,” writes Corbett to his friend. “If Lincoln had never gone to the theater he would not have lost his life. Most of those who go there lose life, and soul, too.”

Another obvious question arises: Did Holston appear on stage with any members of the Booth family? There is no evidence he did, but Holston was in an 1870 performance in Baltimore which was co-produced by Edwin and Wilkes’ brother-in-law, John Sleeper Clarke. The New York theatrical paper, the Clipper, reported it:

“Of Baltimore Dramatic Affairs,” New York Clipper, March 26, 1870.

“Our correspondent, under date of March 18th, thus discourses: — Manager Ford, of the Holliday Street Theatre, has been delighting his patrons during the week with the resumption of specie payment and a trip to the great city of London at a very nominal charge. The “Lights and Shadows of the Great City of London,” as witnessed by so many Baltimoreans up to date, consists of a series of paintings of high excellence and fidelity to nature, executed by John Johnson, of London, and illustrating the prominent public buildings, squares, bridges, etc., of that metropolis. In conjunction with these views is a thrilling and emotional drama, the joint production of Henry Leslie, of London, and John S. Clarke, of Baltimore. The cast, an unusually strong one, is as follows: . . . William Holston, of England (first appearance), as Ralph Heron.”

Was Sleeper aware of the connection? Did Bos’ know of it? Is the answer buried out there in a newspaper archive waiting to be ferreted out? We may never know.

Just as a matter of interest, I became curious as to what Holston might have been up to on April 14th and 15th. Was he in preparation for the opening of the play at Wallack’s? Or, was he already engaged? It turns out that Holston was performing at The Olympic, as hinted at in the notice of his family connection to Sergt. Corbett. Both the Tribune and the Daily Herald mentioned it.

The blurb in the Tribune on April 15th said:

“Olympic Theater. “London Assurance” will be represented this afternoon for the least time at the Olympic during the present season. In the evening Mr. W. Holston’s benefit will take place. He is announced to appear in two parts which have elsewhere gained him much reputation—those of Jabe Bunny in “Black Sheep” and Daddy Hardacre, in the piece of the same name.”

An advertisement in the Daily Herald of the 14th lists a Saturday matinee for “London Assurance” and the evening “benefit of Mr. Holston.” Undoubtedly, the Saturday performances were cancelled, and Mr. Holson’s benefit, which would depend on ticket sales, was another victim of Booth’s attack. Perhaps he found some small comfort in knowing that a relative was responsible for killing the assassin responsible for the crime perpetrated on the American nation, Holston’s profession, and his personal finances.

What happened to Holston after 1865?

Holston travelled between America and England between the years 1865 and 1874. He appeared on the stage in New York, London, Newark, NJ, Springfield, MA, and Liverpool.

In 1874, he joined a theatre troupe that travelled to India for a series of engagements.[6] While there, unfortunately, his health took a dramatic turn for the worse. The record of what happened is not clear. He returned to England to recuperate, and on August 26, 1875, the New York Tribune reported:

“Mr. William Holston—an actor who won many admirers by his comical eccentricity when he was at Wallack’s—has been dangerously ill in Calcutta. He is now in retirement after a perilous surgical operation; but hopes are entertained that he will recover his health.”

His health did not get better, however, and he died on January 21, 1876. The Liverpool Intelligence lamented, “Mr. William Holston, well known both to metropolitan and provincial theatre goers as an excellent actor in character died in London last Friday.”[7]

Conclusion:

From the evidence that has surfaced, it appears that Boston Corbett, the soldier who shot Lincoln’s assassin, was related to William Holston, an actor who was scheduled to appear on stage in New York City in April 1865. Holston’s premier was delayed by the tragic news that Lincoln had been attacked in a theatre by a well-known actor. William Holston was the first cousin once removed to Corbett, and let it slip to a drama reporter that he was connected to the avenger. Later on, Holston appeared in a play that was stage-managed by Booth’s brother-in-law, John Sleeper Clarke. Holston doesn’t appear to have mentioned the connection to Cousin Boston again and, perhaps, wisely chose not to reveal his relationship to members of the Booth family.

[1] Brown, Thomas Allston, History of the American Stage; Consisting of Biographical Sketches of Nearly Every Member of the Profession that has appeared on the American Stage from 1733 to 1870. NY: Dick and Fitzgerald, 1870, pg. 255.
[2] Untitled, New York Post, April 28, 1865.
[3] Brown, ibid., pg. 182.
[4] “Obituary,” Morning Examiner (London, England), March 11, 1865.
[5] Bartholomew Corbett (1781-1866) and Elizabeth (Corbett) Holston (1772-1865) were siblings. Thomas (later, Boston) was the 4th of 5 children born to Bartholomew and Elizabeth (Wild) Corbett. Elizabeth (Corbett) Holston and her husband, James Holston (1781-1857), had 3 children. Their son, James William Holston (1810-?), was the father of William Holston (1830-1876), the actor. In other words, the actor was the first cousin once removed to Boston/Thomas Corbett.
The preceding information was gleaned from Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and the records of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, among other sources. Much of the material was published in Miller, Steven G., “Pursuing the Mysterious Family of Thomas (Boston) Corbett,” Lincoln Herald, Volume 118, Number 4, Winter, 2016.
Note: It’s tricky to keep all of the members of the family who were named Elizabeth straight. For instance, Boston (Thomas) was the son of Elizabeth Corbett. His aunt was Elizabeth (Corbett) Holston, and Boston even had an older sister named Elizabeth!
[6] An article titled “The Rise and Fall of the Calcutta Stage,” by “Mr. Dangle,” appeared in The Theatre magazine, Vol 1, No. 1, page 90. It discussed the efforts to bring a theatre company to India during 1874 and later. Called “The Corinthian Theatre Company,” it was organized by Mr. G. B. W. Lewis. The upshot of it was that “Mr. E. English arrived in Calcutta with a comedy and burlesque company, (which) contained the following artists… William Holston.”
[7] “Death Mr. Wm. Holston,” Liverpool Intelligence, January 26, 1876.— Mr. William Holston, well known both to metropolitan and provincial theatre goers as an excellent actor in character died in London last Friday.”

My deepest thanks to my friend Steve Miller for this excellent piece. You’re the best, Mr. Steve.

Categories: History, Steven G. Miller | Tags: , , | 7 Comments

The Many Coats of Abraham Lincoln with Reignette Chilton

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Dave Taylor

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre, he was wearing two coats. His outer layer was a custom greatcoat from the celebrated clothier Brooks Brothers. President Lincoln originally wore this greatcoat with the phrase “One Country, One Destiny” embroidered on the inside at his second inauguration, just a month before his murder. In 2019, researcher and author Reignette Chilton published a book called Lincoln’s Greatcoat: The Unlikely Odyssey of a Presidential Relic. In that book, Ms. Chilton documented the greatcoat’s journey from being a private possession of a White House doorkeeper’s family to a national treasure that long greeted visitors upon their entrance to Ford’s Theatre.

In January of 2026, Ms. Chilton released a new book delving into the other coat Lincoln wore on the fateful night of April 14, 1865. Beneath the elaborate Brooks Brothers greatcoat, Lincoln wore a regular suit coat, known as a frock coat. In the over 160 years since his death, three different frock coats have become associated with the tragedy at Washington. They exist in the collections of the Smithsonian, Ford’s Theatre, and the Chicago History Museum. But which is THE coat Lincoln was wearing when the fatal bullet was fired? In Lincoln’s Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic, Ms. Chilton dives deep into each frock coat and the evidence behind the claims. The journeys of these frock coats involve members of the Lincoln family, trusted White House staff, noted artists, wealthy collectors, auctioneers, lawyers, and more, as supporters of two of the coats fought bitterly to be recognized as the true assassination relic. It’s a historical mystery expertly solved through primary sources and comprehensive analysis.

I was fortunate to conduct a virtual interview with Reignette Chilton to discuss her background, research, and fascinating books, with an emphasis on the mysterious Lincoln frock coats. Reignette had so many interesting stories to share that we talked for over an hour and a half, and even then, we only scratched the surface of these relics. I hope you enjoy the interview.

If this interview has whetted your appetite for more (and I hope it has), go out and buy or borrow Lincoln’s Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic to learn which coat deserves to be called the last frock coat Lincoln ever wore.

Categories: History, News | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Other Reward Offers for John Wilkes Booth’s Capture By Steven G. Miller

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Dave Taylor

 “It is hard to get them all in court”

The Other Reward Offers for John Wilkes Booth’s Capture

By Steven G. Miller

One of the most famous broadsides in American History was the one issued by the War Department on April 20, 1865, announcing a $100,000 reward for the capture of John Wilkes Booth, David Herold, and John H. Surratt. This poster is one of the best-known features of the assassination of President Lincoln, and is easily identifiable by people who know little of the details of Booth’s deed and its aftermath.

One of the least-known aspects of the Lincoln Assassination is the existence, specifics, and disposition of other monetary offers for Booth’s capture. I’ve discovered that there were at least nine of them, and they were made by cities and states from “coast to coast.” All of these offers were repudiated, ignored, or combined with other schemes. The only one that was settled was the one made by the Secretary of War.

  • The first reward offer was made on the 15th of April by General Christopher Columbus Augur, the commander of the Twenty-Second Army Corps, the man in charge of the Defenses of Washington. He proclaimed that $10,000 would be given to the person or persons who aided in the arrest of the assassins.

Courtesy The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

  • Two days later, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Washington passed “Chapter 274 of the Special Laws of the Council of the City of Washington.” This Act stated: “Be it enacted by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council of the City of Washington, that the Mayor be, and he is hereby authorized and requested to offer a reward of twenty thousand dollars for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who were concerned in the assassination of President Lincoln, and attempted murder of Secretary Seward and family on the evening of the 14th inst. Provided that if more than one should be arrested and convicted, then said amount shall be apportioned accordingly. Approved April 17, 1865.”
  • Later that day, Colonel L.C. Baker, the infamous War Department detective-chief, published a handbill proclaiming a $30,000 Reward. It described John Wilkes Booth and offered a description of the “Person Who Attempted to Assassinate Hon. W.H. Seward, Secretary of State.” As a matter of explanation, Baker stated, “The Common Council of Washington, D.C. have offered a reward of $20,000 for the arrest and conviction of these Assassins, in addition to which I will pay $10,000.”

  • On some date unknown—possibly April 17—a $10,000 reward was supposedly offered by the Common Council of Philadelphia.
  • The City Council of Baltimore also offered $10,000 for the arrest of the assassin, a former hometown boy. An untitled squib, in the Davenport (IA) Daily Gazette, April 19, 1865, commented on the offer saying, “The feeling here (Baltimore) against Booth is greatly intensified by the fact that he is a Baltimorean, and it is desired by the people that one who has so dishonored the family should meet with speedy justice.”
  • On April 20th, Governor A.G. Curtin of Pennsylvania announced $10,000 for the capture of the assassin. However, this offer had a catch: the assassin had to be arrested on Pennsylvania soil.

  • On April 20, Edwin Stanton published his famous $100,000 reward, offering sums of $50,000 for Booth and $25,000 each for David Herold and John Surratt. A version of Stanton’s reward poster even had photos of the three major conspirators attached. Since this was in the days before the technique of printing halftone photos was developed, photographic prints of the three suspects were actually glued onto the printed piece. This is reportedly the first time actual photographs were added to a wanted poster. Copies of this broadside were distributed throughout Maryland and carried by search parties. The poster was also “re-composed” (re-typeset, in other words) and reprinted in New York City.

  • On some unspecified date, the State of California offered $100,000 in gold to the captors. The claim agents for Private Emory Parady, one of the captors of Booth and Herold, contacted the California officials, but nothing came of it, and nothing specific is known about this offer.
  • New York State supposedly offered a reward, too. Details are sketchy, but John Millington, another of the Garrett’s Farm patrol members, mentioned this in a 1913 letter to the National Tribune.

Most of these proposals died a quiet death and were forgotten in the aftermath of the arrest, trial, and execution of the conspirators. But attorneys pursued the offers made by the City of Baltimore, and the Washington City.

The Baltimore effort ended quickly. An article headlined “Capt. Doherty’s Story” in the August 22, 1879, New York Times explained what happened: “In the case of the claim against the City of Baltimore, which offered $30,000 {sic, should be $10,000} for the arrest of the assassin, Capt. Doherty did not sue to recover, the Mayor and Aldermen telling him point blank that they would not pay it, as the reward was offered under a previous administration. The claim has now lapsed by limitation.”

On November 24, 1865, the War Department issued “General Order No. 64”, which announced that a special commission would be set up to determine the validity of claims for the Reward and that all applications for a share had to be submitted by the end of the year.

It also announced that any other offered rewards were withdrawn. This applied to the $25,000 reward offered for John H. Surratt, who was still a fugitive, and to other amounts posted for members of the so-called Confederate “Canadian Cabinet.” When the final report of the commission was issued, the offers by General Augur and Colonel Baker had been incorporated into the Stanton offer of April 20th.

There was a great deal of wrangling involved in the settlement of the War Department $100,000 offer (as detailed in my article “Were The War Department Rewards Ever Paid?” February 1994, Surratt Courier), but that was minor as compared to the struggle over the reward offered by the officials of the City of Washington. A lawsuit was filed by the three National Detective Police officers in an effort to get the city fathers to live up to their promise. This fight involved a huge cast of characters and dragged on for over a dozen years. It took so long, in fact, that by the time it started moving through the courts, one of the major players was dead.

Here’s the story of that case:

On October 10, 1866, an equity case was filed in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in General Term by the three detectives and their attorneys. It was designated case “No. 790” and was known as “L.C. Baker, E.J. Conger and L.B. Baker v. The City of Washington, et al.” There were forty-six individuals involved in the suit, all of whom had gotten shares of the War Department reward for the capture of Booth, Herold, Atzerodt, and Payne. The stated purpose of the case was: “For Distribution of the Reward offered by the City of Washington for Assassins of Abraham Lincoln, President of the U.S.”

As I pointed out in my earlier article, the troopers of the Garrett’s Farm patrol monitored the progress of the suit. One of the men who captured Booth, former private Emory Parady, received periodic progress reports from his agents, attorneys Owen & Wilson of Washington. On December 26, 1866, for instance, they wrote: “The suit on the city is progressing — there are so many parties it is hard to get them all in court so we can try. Capt. Dougherty is in North Carolina & we have not got service upon him and there are several others of the same character. When they are all properly before the Court we shall call it up & have it tried.”

The filing of motions, gathering and introduction of affidavits took the rest of 1866, 1867, and all of 1868. During this process, one of the prime movers, Col. Lafayette C. Baker, died in Philadelphia on July 3, 1868. Finally, all of the papers were submitted, and the Court took the matter under consideration. On April 20, 1869, the D.C. Supreme Court announced their verdict. They dismissed the case against the City, ordering that the plaintiffs pay the court costs.

The decision was appealed. On April 25, 1870, a re-argument of the case was granted by a Special Term of the D.C. Supreme Court. On September 29, 1870, the court received an “Amended Answer of the Mayor & Board of Aldermen & Common Council – motion for leave to file made in the Court sitting in General Term.”

The New York Herald summed up the case in an article on September 30th. There were several plaintiffs, the Herald said; the three detectives, Capt. Doherty, attorneys representing the 26 soldiers of the Garrett’s Farm patrol, and three civilians involved in the planning or capture of Mrs. Surratt and Louis Powell. The Herald laid out the positions of the various parties pretty clearly: The attorney for the Corporation of Washington opined that the City had had no authority to offer the reward, and that “the parties claiming this reward did nothing more than, as good citizens, they should have done.” He also stated that they were merely following the orders of their officers.

The counsel for Prentiss M. Clark, one of the civilians involved in the Mary Surratt arrest, stated that police, detectives, and soldiers had no claim since they were only doing their normal duties. By this argument, then, only civilians who gave evidence would be entitled to a chunk of the reward. (Clark was a mere civilian at the time of the arrest, naturally.)

The attorney for the troopers responded that it was not part of their duty as soldiers to assist in the capture of offenders against the law, and, besides, they were not subject to any orders from the officials of Washington City.

In the official documents of the case, counsel for the defendants stated that “the Mayor, Board of alderman and Board of Common Council of the City of Washington did not and do not possess any legal authority to offer or to pay out of the monies of the tax payers of said city any sum whatsoever for the purposes mentioned in the (1865) ordinance.”

Edward Doherty responded with evidence that the mayor had issued a Message on June 30, 1868, indicating that he would seek permission from Congress (which then, as now, governed the District and Washington City) to raise $550,000 in bonds. These were to pay city debts. One of the debts specifically mentioned in the message by the mayor was the $20,000 reward, Doherty noted.

On October 15, 1870, the Special term of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia dismissed the appeal. They found in favor of the City of Washington, et al, and against Stedpole (the executor of the estate of L.C. Baker, deceased), et al.

A long period of silence ensued, but on October 12, 1875, an appeal was filed with the United States Supreme Court. The two individuals who put up the $550 bond for the filing were Prentiss Clark and George F. Robinson, the attendant who helped save Secretary William Seward’s life in 1865.

The appeal was labeled Case No. 691. Which was soon changed to case number 441, and then to 200. It was placed on the docket for October Term 1877, but not called. It carried over to October Term 1878.

The High Court finally dealt with it, but not in a way that the plaintiffs hoped: on November 15, 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the appeal “dismissed with costs” and ordered that the defendants get their costs from the complainants.

In the end, only the War Department paid any reward for the capture of the assassins of President Lincoln. In 1898, former Pvt. John W. Millington summed up the situation to a reporter in Sioux City, Iowa. The journalist stated: “Other rewards had been offered by different states, but Mr. Millington never saw any part of them and long ago came to the conclusion that most of them were in the nature of ‘grand stand plays’.”

Sources:
Boston Corbett-George A. Huron Papers, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas
“Lafayette C. Baker, Everton J. Conger and Luther B. Baker, v. City of Washington, et al,” Equity docket, Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, Equity Case 790, National Archives, Washington.
Miller, Steven G., “Were The War Department Rewards Ever Paid?” February 1994, Surratt Courier.
The Millington-Parady Papers, Steven G. Miller Collection.
“One of Booth’s Captors,” National Tribune (Washington, DC), June 26, 1913. (John Millington “wants to know why” the rewards offered by the governors of New York and Pennsylvania were never paid.)
“The Reward for the Discovery of the Lincoln Assassins,” New York Herald, September 30, 1870.
“Thirty-Three Years Ago. Anniversary of the Assassination of Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. A Resident of Sioux City Who Assisted in the Capture of the Murderer. Story of the Pursuit and the Final Scene When He Refused to Be Taken Alive and Was Shot,” The Sioux City (IA) Times, April 14, 1898.

I’m grateful to my friend Steve Miller for allowing me to republish this very interesting article he wrote about the rewards offered for the capture of John Wilkes Booth. This article was originally published in the September 2006 edition of the Surratt Courier.

Categories: History, Steven G. Miller | Tags: , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Kaw and the Last Lincoln Conspirator

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Dave Taylor

November is Native American Heritage Month. Years ago, I shared a paper I wrote about Holata Micco, a Seminole chief in Florida who was known as Billy Bowlegs to non-Native speakers. As a child, John Wilkes Booth sometimes went by the nickname of Billy Bowlegs among his friends due to his bowleggedness. As a teen, he even ended a letter with this moniker.

I wanted to mark Native American Heritage Month on the social media pages for Lincoln Assassination Tours. I considered rehashing my work on Holata Micco, but the connection between the noted Seminole chief and the future assassin of Lincoln is pretty contrived. I considered discussing the Piscataway tribes as it was through their ancestral lands that the assassin made his escape. In fact, one of the figures in the escape, Oswell Swann (who innocently escorted the fugitives to Rich Hill), is said to have been part Piscataway Indian.

In the end, however, I decided to take my motivation from a historic image. The March 9, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly contains a full-page drawing of the return of John Surratt to the United States after a year and ten months on the run.

The scene at the Washington Navy Yard was captured by Andrew McCallum, the same artist who, in 1865, had sketched the nearby home of David Herold.

A notable detail in the drawing showing John Surratt’s return is the presence of three Native Americans wearing headdresses.

The inclusion of Native Americans in this scene was not artistic license. The corresponding article in Harper’s contains the line, “There were not many persons besides the officials and guards present, only a few reporters and our artist, and a number of Indians of the Sioux delegation now at Washington, having been permitted to witness the scene.” Harper’s was partially right. A large delegation of Native Americans was present in Washington in February of 1867, but only some were from the Sioux tribe. While I initially held little hope of being able to identify the specific Native Americans who observed John Surratt’s arrival, I was fortunate that the Washington Chronicle newspaper had already done so.

I was even more fortunate to discover that the Kaw delegation was photographed during their time in Washington, providing me with a photo of the two chiefs who witnessed the disembarking. After doing more research on the Kaw people and their history, I was excited to write something about them.

In the end, I decided to create a video about the Kaw men who were present when John Surratt returned to face trial. I put the video on the Lincoln Assassination Tours‘ Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube pages. I hope you’ll consider following those platforms for more historical tidbits.

So, without further ado, here’s the video, The Kaw and the Last Lincoln Conspirator. I hope you enjoy it.

Categories: History, Lincoln Assassination Tours | Tags: , , | 5 Comments

Introducing LincolnAssassinationTours.com

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Dave Taylor

In 2009, between my junior and senior years of college, I took a trip with my dad to Washington, D.C. Having been born and raised in Illinois, I had never been to the nation’s capital before. As good Midwesterners, we had taken family trips to places like the Mall of America in Minnesota, Mackinac Island in Michigan, and even to parts of Canada to see Niagara Falls. However, our family vacations never extended to the East Coast (except for Disney World in Florida).

Thus, it was exciting when Dad and I flew to D.C. in May of 2009, just after college let out for the summer. As the youngest of my siblings and the only one still living at home, this was a nice, intimate trip for two (my mother opted out of this particular excursion). We visited all the iconic locations in and around the nation’s capital, including the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Ford’s Theatre, Arlington National Cemetery, the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, and more. We had the typical D.C. tourist experience and enjoyed it all.

But, in addition to seeing the “normal” D.C. sites, my dad and I also went off the beaten path a bit. This was primarily because, since around my freshman year of high school, I had become increasingly interested in the subject of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. I had devoured many books on the subject as I quickly became fascinated with this event in our history. While reading the books was gratifying, I felt drawn to visit and see some of the places mentioned in the books firsthand.

Although it cost us a bit more to rent a car, my patient father indulged my obsession, and near the end of the trip, we headed south out of Washington. Dad drove while I tried my best to be the navigator, armed with printed MapQuest directions. We visited and toured the Surratt House Museum in Clinton and the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum in Waldorf. We then went to the cemeteries containing the graves of Edman Spangler and Dr. Mudd. Then we hit the long haul down to the site of the Garrett farm, where John Wilkes Booth died. The median strip where the Garrett house once stood was still open to the public in those days, so Dad and I parked on the side of the highway and trekked in. When we got to the small clearing that marked the area where the assassin died on the Garrett porch, Dad took this photograph of me.

While we had witnessed and toured many iconic sites during our visit to D.C., my favorite part of the whole trip was standing in that nondescript wooded median strip in Virginia. Millions flock to D.C. each year to experience the majesty of the memorials, but how many people would ever stand where Dad and I stood, knowing the history that occurred at this otherwise forgotten patch of land? Reading about a historical event is one thing, but nothing can replace the power of visiting a historical site firsthand, especially one that is off the beaten path.

Fast forward to 2015. I’m living and teaching in Maryland, while devoting my free time to my interest in this history. Just before the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, I became the newest guide for the John Wilkes Booth escape route bus tours organized by the Surratt Society. This was after a year of training and taking the tour with the two other bus tour guides at the time, the late John Howard and Bob Allen. Becoming a narrator for the bus tour was incredibly exciting for me. I had moved to Maryland to be closer to where it all happened and to experience even more off-the-beaten-path history. As an educator who adores public history, guiding folks along the route used by the assassin became my favorite activity. People loved taking my tours, and I loved giving them. I loved discussing the history with other interested folks and seeing them marvel, as I once did, at being transported to the actual sites they had previously only read about. It truly was the perfect role for me, and I always looked forward to my turn to narrate the next tour. From 2015 to 2019, I narrated 20 bus tours for the Surratt Society (along with several other small group tours). After completing my last tour in September 2019, I couldn’t wait for the next season in April 2020.

With historian and author Ed Steers, who took my tour in April 2019.

We all know what happened right before that next season of tours was slated to start. The COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, and it was clear that it would be a long time before any bus tours would start up again. Progress was made with the COVID vaccine, and in time, life returned to normal for many. However, even as other tour companies resumed their efforts, the Surratt Society’s bus tours never returned after this shutdown. The reasons for this are as complex as the tour itself, and it has not been due to a lack of desire on the part of the Society. In the end, however, the organization has just been unable to restart the tours, despite its best efforts.

However, that drive in me to help people experience this monumental event in our history firsthand has not diminished. I know there is still a demand to explore this history beyond the pages of a book or website. That is why I am announcing the start of a new, personal venture. I am launching Lincoln Assassination Tours, a tour business designed around educating a new generation about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by taking them down the escape route of John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln Assassination Tours offers an approximately 10-and-a-half-hour chartered bus tour in which participants join the manhunt for Lincoln’s assassin. On a scenic, 170+ mile round-trip journey, guests will learn about the plot against Lincoln and his cabinet members by retracing the assassin’s escape route firsthand. The tour includes entry and visits to three museums (including the soon-to-be-opened museum of Rich Hill) and two private properties. All participants will also receive their choice from 40 catered box lunch options, included in the ticket price.

Whether you are like me in 2009, yearning to visit the sites associated with his history for the first time, or a seasoned veteran of escape route tours, I hope you will check out Lincoln Assassination Tours to learn more about us and our tour. At Lincoln Assassination Tours, we adhere to the same historical standards established by the Surratt Society over its decades of tours, while offering an updated and brand-new experience for everyone. Although this tour is not affiliated with the Surratt Society, I feel fortunate to have their blessing and support in this new venture. I wouldn’t be the historian I am today if they didn’t take a chance on me as their guide back in 2015.

Lincoln Assassination Tours is currently booking for our inaugural escape route tour on Saturday, March 14, 2026. This debut tour will be followed by two more tours, being offered on Saturday, April 18, 2026, and Sunday, April 19, 2026.  To celebrate the launch of this new endeavor, we are offering a special $20 discount on our March tour date.

For those who won’t be able to make our first set of tours in the spring of 2026, fear not. We are planning future tours for the fall of 2026 (and possibly more before then). The best way to stay up to date on new tours is to sign up for our email list. Near the bottom of the Lincoln Assassination Tours homepage is a box labeled “Join Our Email List.” By entering your email address in that box and clicking submit, you will receive an email every time we post a new update to the site. You can also keep up to date with us on social media. Lincoln Assassination Tours is on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

I’m very excited to start this new venture, helping folks experience the history behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination firsthand. Our initial focus for the time being will be the John Wilkes Booth escape route tours, but I have several ideas and plans for other tours as well. Sometime in the near future, we hope to offer walking tours, cemetery tours, and even some unique, one-off chartered tours.

I invite you all to take a look at the Lincoln Assassination Tours homepage, About page, and Frequently Asked Questions. When the time is right, I hope you’ll Register for a tour with us. I can’t wait to see you following in the manhunt for Lincoln’s assassin.

– Dave Taylor

Categories: History, Lincoln Assassination Tours, News | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

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