What happened to john Wilkes booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln?

Answer 1

John Wilkes Booth shot the President, in the State Box, jumped over the opening ledge of the state box, and was aimed to land upon the stage, below. As he was jumping out of the box and onto the stage, Booth caught the spur of his boot on the bunting below the box, which were hung underneath the opening of the box. When the spur of his boot was snagged, this caused him to miss his landing, and his jump, resulted into a fall onto the stage. He then proceeded to flee from the theater, where he had already arranged for a rented horse from the local stable, (a stagehand by the name of Edmund Spangler who Booth had befriended, had been waiting with a horse at around 9:30, at the back of the theater.)

Booth then rode out of Washington DC and met up with fellow conspirator David Herald, in Maryland. They stopped at Lloyd's tavern that was leased from Mary Surratt in Surrattsville, had a drink and headed to Dr. Samuel Mudd's home. Booth needed medical attention for his leg, and the two arrived at Dr. Mudd's home at around 4am.

Dr. Mudd determined that Booth's leg had been broken and made a splint for it, as well as, a pair of crutches for Booth. The two at Dr. Mudd's home for about a day, and then Booth hired a man to lead the two to Samuel Cox's house. Colonel Samuel Cox had harbored sympathies for the confederate cause. Cox led the two to a man named Thomas Jones who led Booth and Herald through the Zekiah Swamp, and eventually across the Potomac River, over approximately a 5-6 day period.

Herald and Booth were in Virginia, and made their way into Port Royal, Virginia. On April 26, 1865, the Union Calvary had followed leads that two men fitting Booth and Herald's description were seen near the Rappahannock River, in Port Royal, Virginia. At approximately 2am, the Calvary eventually made their way to a tobacco farm owned by a Richard Garrett. Herald and Booth were sleeping in the farmer's barn. A Lieutenant detective from the Calvary yelled out to the two to surrender. After a few moments, Booth said he'd never surrender, then a few minutes later, Booth yelled out "Oh, Captain, there's a man in here who wants to surrender awful bad.", and Herald's voice then could be heard saying that he wanted to surrender. Herald came out slowly, and was slammed to the ground by the Calvary, and subsequently tied to a tree.

Still Booth would not come out. Using straw and brush, the cavalry set the barn on fire. Booth was visible to the soldiers because the barn was full of cracks and knotholes.

Sergeant Boston Corbett fired at Booth, hitting him in the neck. Booth was not dead but had been paralyzed. He was then dragged from the burning barn, and the Calvary moved Booth a couple of times, finally placing him on the porch of the farmer's house. Booth died at about 7am, on the same morning, April 26, 1865.

Answer 2

Booth shot the President, in the State Box, jumped over the opening ledge of the state box, and was aimed to land upon the stage, below. As he was jumping out of the box and onto the stage, Booth caught the spur of his boot on one of the flags, which were hung underneath the opening of the box. When the spur of his boot was snagged, this caused him to miss his landing, and his jump, resulted into a fall onto the stage. He then proceeded to flee from the theater, where he had already arranged for a rented horse from the local stable, (a stagehand by the name of Edmund Spangler who Booth had befriended, had been waiting with a horse at around 9:30, at the back of the theater.)

Booth then rode out of Washington DC and met up with fellow conspirator David Herald, in Maryland. They stopped at Lloyd's tavern that was leased from Mary Surratt in Surrattsville, had a drink and headed to Dr. Samuel Mudd's home. Booth needed medical attention for his leg, and the two arrived at Dr. Mudd's home at around 4am.

Dr. Mudd determined that Booth's leg had been broken and made a splint for it, as well as, a pair of crutches for Booth. The two at Dr. Mudd's home for about a day, and then Booth hired a man to lead the two to Samuel Cox's house. Colonel Samuel Cox had harbored sympathies for the confederate cause. Cox led the two to a man named Thomas Jones who led Booth and Herald through the Zekiah Swamp, and eventually across the Potomac River, over approximately a 5-6 day period.

Herald and Booth were in Virginia, and made their way into Port Royal, Virginia. On April 26, 1865, the Union Calvary had followed leads that two men fitting Booth and Herald's description were seen near the Rappahannock River, in Port Royal, Virginia. At approximately 2am, the Calvary eventually made their way to a tobacco farm owned by a Richard Garrett. Herald and Booth were sleeping in the farmer's barn. A Lieutenant detective from the Calvary yelled out to the two to surrender. After a few moments, Booth said he'd never surrender, then a few minutes later, Booth yelled out "Oh, Captain, there's a man in here who wants to surrender awful bad.", and Herald's voice then could be heard saying that he wanted to surrender. Herald came out slowly, and was slammed to the ground by the Calvary, and subsequently tied to a tree.

Still Booth would not come out. Using straw and brush, the cavalry set the barn on fire. Booth was visible to the soldiers because the barn was full of cracks and knotholes.

Sergeant Boston Corbett fired at Booth, hitting him in the neck. Booth was not dead but had been paralyzed. He was then dragged from the burning barn, and the Calvary moved Booth a couple of times, finally placing him on the porch of the farmer's house. Booth died at about 7am, on the same morning, April 26, 1865.

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Supervisor note: The response below has been allowed to remain as a "second opinion" however it should be noted that this second answer mostly represents one of several conspiracy theories rather than specifically answering the question about what happened to Booth after the assassination.

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Second Responder (Davis family)

There are at least two versions of this story. The governments version that you just read and the one told by the people that believe that Booth didn't die at the Garrett farm.

There were two plots to kill Lincoln on April 14. One was by Vice-president Andrew Johnson and the other was by the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Each one knew nothing of the others plan. Edwin Stanton's assassin was James William Boyd. Andrew Johnson's assassin was John Wilkes Booth.

Lafayette Baker was the head of the National Detective Police. He interviewed James William Boyd when he was a prisoner of war. Baker recruited Boyd in Edwin Stanton's plot to assassinate Lincoln. Boyd became involved with Stanton's plan to assassinate Lincoln in order to get out of prison. Stanton had him released from prison and Boyd went to work for Baker.

One of Boyd's jobs was to map the best escape route out of Washington. Boyd made the map and gave Baker a copy. Boyd's map included people and places where a Confederate soldier would find people willing to give assistance. Marked on the map were: The Surratt tavern, Dr. Mudd's home, Samuel Cox's home, Elizabeth Quesenberry's home, Dr. Stuart's home, and the Garrett's home.

On April 14, Boyd had been a free man for several months and on the day of the assassination Boyd saw no benefit to himself to kill Lincoln, he left Washington.

Late in the afternoon of April 14th, Andrew Johnson convinced Booth to kill Lincoln. Then, Booth went to the Nights of the Golden Circle to get their support. They gave Booth their support and told Booth to kill Lincoln, Johnson and Seward. Booth had misgivings about killing Johnson. Booth knew George Atzerodt would not kill anyone. He assigned Atzerodt to kill Johnson, knowing he would not do it. Booth assigned Lewis Payne to kill Seward. If one assassin killed before the others, the whole town would be alerted and that would make it very difficult for the others to escape. All the killing had to occur at the same time. Ten-fifteen was selected as the time for the killings.

The stage hand, Edmund Spangler, was a Lincoln hater and a good friend to Booth. He was recruited by Stanton to turn out the lights of the theater so after the assassination the killer could drop down to the stage below in total darkness, mingle with the crowd, and walk out. Spangler was not given the name of the assassin. When Booth asked Spangler for his assistance, he thought Booth was the assassin and told Booth he could turn out the lights. Booth told Spangler to turn out the lights at exactly 10:15.

At 10:15, Booth was outside Lincoln's box waiting for the lights to go out. When the lights didn't go out, he couldn't wait any longer. Booth had to take action with the lights on. Booth walked in the open door to the president's box and shot the President. Booth then jumped over the railing onto the stage below. He ran from the theater. A stagehand by the name of Peanut John was waiting with a horse in the back of the theater.

Booth then rode to the Navy Yard Bridge, gave the password he got from Vice-president Johnson and crossed into Maryland. Harold followed about five minutes behind. He also knew the password to get over the bridge. In the darkness of night, Booth's horse tripped and fell with Booth still in the saddle. The horse rolled over Booth's foot, breaking it. Booth also hurt his back. David Harold caught up to Booth and together they rode to Surrattsville, Maryland. They stopped at Lloyd's tavern and exchanged horses. Booth needed medical attention for his leg and back. Booth and Dr. Mudd were friends, so Booth and Harold headed for the doctor's home. The two arrived at Dr. Mudd's home a couple of hours before sunrise.

Dr. Mudd made a splint for Booth's broken leg. There was little he could do for Booth's back. Booth needed rest. Booth slept the rest of the night and part of the next day. Dr. Mudd told Booth he could get assistance from Samuel Cox. Booth and Harold left for Samuel Cox's house.

Colonel Samuel Cox was a man that helped escaped confederate prisoners return to the South. Boyd once lived near Mr. Cox and knew him well. Boyd was at Mr. Cox's house when Harold and Booth arrived. Mr. Cox asked Boyd to lead Booth and Harold to a good hiding place in the pine thicket. After Booth and Harold were well hidden, Boyd informed Booth that Mosby's raiders were at the Rappahannock river crossing and for three hundred dollars he could make arrangements for a meeting. Booth agreed. Boyd went to find Mosby's men and then he would wait for Booth and Harold to catch up to him on the other side of the Potomac.

Mr. Cox also asked his son to find Thomas Jones and ask him to take Booth and Harold through the Zekiah Swamp to the Potomic River. Jones was a Confederate courier and he could help Booth and Harold cross the Potomac.

With Jones' help, Harold and Booth crossed the Potomac and were in Virginia when they were reunited with James William Boyd. The three made their way into Port Royal, Virginia.

Also heading to Port Royal was General James O'Beirne. He was hot on Booth's trail. Stanton received a telegram General James O'Beirne saying that he found Booth's trail and the capture of Booth was imminent. With O'Beirne's description of their route and location, Baker realized that they were following Boyd's map. Some how Boyd must be working with Booth. Stanton wired back and told General O'Beirne to do nothing further and return to Washington.

Stanton then selected two of his trusted men, Lieutenant Doherty and Colonel Conger to find Boyd and kill him. Lieutenant Doherty was to collect together a group of volunteer soldiers willing to go after Booth. Doherty looked for and found a know fanatic, Boston Corbett. Boston Corbett believed that God wanted revenge for Lincoln's assassination and he wanted to be God's instrument of death. Doherty assured him that he might get his chance if he would join up with him on his search to find Booth. Boston Corbett was the first to volunteer.

Because Boyd knew of Stanton's and Baker's involvement in a plan to assassinate Lincoln, he needed to be silenced (killed). Booth knew nothing of Stanton's plan and there was no need to kill him.

On April 25, the day before Doherty and his men arrived at the Garrett farm, Booth left the Garrett home for the Shenandoah Valley. That night, Harold and Boyd were sleeping in the Garrett barn when Doherty and his men arrived. Lieutenant Doherty yelled out for the two to surrender. Boyd said he would never come out without a fight, but Harold said he wanted to surrender. Harold was told to put his hands out. When he did, Lieutenant Doherty grabbed his hands and slammed him to the ground. Harold was taken to a tree and tied.

The Garrett barn was made to air dry tobacco and was full of ventilation cracks. Colonel Conger pushed burning straw through the barns open slats and set the barn on fire. In the bright light of the fire, Boyd was visible to Boston Corbett. Sergeant Corbett fired at the man he believed to be Booth, hitting him in the neck. Boyd was not dead but had been paralyzed. He was then dragged from the burning barn and placed on the porch of the farmer's house. Boyd died a few hours later on April 26, 1865. Stanton and Baker were very relieved that Boyd was dead and they began to falsify evidence to show that Booth was the man that died.

Booth, still very much alive went to stay with his wife, Izola. He stayed with her for about a year-and-a-half before moving to San Francisco.

Two years after Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson was hearing rumors of Stanton's failed attempt to assassinate Lincoln. He became afraid for his own life and fired the Secretary of War. At the time, it was believed that only way a cabinet member could be dismissed was from the person that hired him, in this case Abraham Lincoln. Since Lincoln was dead, it was believed that the Secretary of War had a life long appointment.

Stanton refused to relinquish his position. He barricaded himself in his office and rallied support from others. Some were Stanton's co-conspirators. They proceeded to fire Johnson by having him impeached. Johnson's impeachment failed by one vote, and as a result, Stanton's dismissal was upheld.

A short time later, Edwin Stanton was chosen as a candidate for vice-president, but died before his nomination.

Answer 3

He jumped from Lincoln's box seat area in Ford's Theater. His boot stirrup caught on draping, and he broke his leg when he landed on the stage. He yelled "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Latin for "Thus always to tyrants). He mounted his horse just outside the theater, and escaped Washington D.C. He fled into Virginia, where he thought he'd be considered a hero for assassinating Lincoln. After riding for hours, he and his co-conspirators made their way to the home of Dr. Mudd. He tended to Booth's broken leg. Booth & companion left the next day, and were on the run for at least a week (I can't remember the exact amount of time). He was eventually tracked down by troops, and was shot. He survived only a short time before he died.

Answer 4

After he shot the president he jumped from the box where Lincoln was and hit the stage. His spur caught on bunting in the box so he fell wrong and broke his leg. He limbed off the stage into the offstage corridor where he encountered another person who he tried to stab. A horse was waiting for him and he rode off into the night taking the only road out of Washington that wasn't blocked with troops. In his diary he wrote that by killing the president he would become a hero to the south and restart the war. The actual truth was the south was upset over the death of Lincoln and refused to give him help or hide him. Federal troops were hunting Booth and he hid in the woods and barns of West Virginia. He was finally located in a barn where troops cornered him and burned him out. A army sergeant by the name of Corbet shot Booth killing him. His body was put on a wagon and carried to an army armory where his body laid for a day on a deck of a ship. People began trying to take souvenirs from the body so he was buried in a dirt floor. His body was examined and it was noted his leg had been set. He had gone to a Dr. Mudd for help and the doctor will serve time at Devils Island for helping Booth. The conspirators with Booth in the plot will be tried and hung.

Answer 5

Well, it said on the History channel that he went into hiding and he lived in the woods for a while. You can check on that, though.

Answer 6

he ran away