| George Andreas Atzerodt | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | June 12, 1835 Thuringia, Germany |
| Died | July 7, 1865 (aged 30) Washington, D.C. |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to assassinate the president |
| Penalty | Death by hanging |
| Status | Deceased |
George Andreas Atzerodt (June 12, 1835 – July 7, 1865)[1][2] was a conspirator, with John Wilkes Booth, in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He was executed along with the other co-conspirators by hanging.
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Early life
Atzerodt emigrated from Germany in 1843. As an adult, he opened his own carriage repair business in Port Tobacco, Maryland.
The conspiracy
Some years after opening his carriage repair business, Atzerodt met John Wilkes Booth in Washington, D.C. Atzerodt was willing to join in a conspiracy to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln, as he later admitted in his trial, which took place May 1, 1865. According to the prosecution, Booth assigned Atzerodt to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson on April 14, 1865. On that morning, Atzerodt booked room 126 at the Kirkwood House in Washington, where Johnson was staying. However, he could not muster the courage to kill Johnson, so he began drinking at the hotel bar. He presumably got drunk, and spent the night walking the streets of Washington. During his stay at the hotel, Atzerodt had asked the bartender about Johnson's whereabouts. This aroused suspicion the next day, after Lincoln was assassinated. An employee of the hotel contacted the police regarding a "suspicious looking man in a gray coat".[3]
The military police then conducted a search of Atzerodt's room on April 15 and found that he did not sleep in it the night before. Additionally, he had a loaded revolver concealed under his pillow, as well as a concealed bowie knife. The police also found a bank book belonging to Booth in the room. Atzerodt was arrested on April 20. He was apprehended at the house of his cousin, Hartman Richter, in Germantown, Maryland.
Trial and execution
Atzerodt's attorney, Captain William Doster, stated to the court that he intended "to show that George Atzerodt was a constitutional coward; that if he had been assigned the duty of assassinating the Vice President, he could never have done it; and that, from his known cowardice, Booth probably did not assign to him any such duty."[4] However, this was to no avail. Atzerodt, as well as three other convicted conspirators (Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell and David Herold), were hanged in Washington, D.C. on July 7, 1865. Of the four, he was the quickest to die, breaking his neck on impact. George Atzerodt's last words were: "May we all meet in the other world. God take me now."[4] He is interred in Old Saint Paul's Cemetery.
References
- ^ "Abraham Lincoln's Assassination - George Atzerodt". Abraham Lincoln Research. December 29, 1996. http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln27.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Linder, Douglas. "The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 1865". Law.umkc.edu. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/lincolnconspiracy.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Pitman, Benn ; The assassination of President Lincoln and the trial of the conspirators ... Clark, N.J. : Lawbook Exchange, 2006. ISBN 9781584776000 ; p. 144.
- ^ a b Linder, Douglas. "The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 1865 - George Atzerodt". Law.umkc.edu. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/atzerodt.html/lincolnconspiracy/lincolnconspiracy.html.
External links
- Biography and Images of George Atzerodt, Assassination Conspirator. University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law. Accessed December 9, 2004.
- George Atzerodt at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2009-04-14
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