Lincoln's Assassination

Date Event
In New York City, John Wilkes Booth performs with his brothers Edwin and Junius for the only time
In Washington, Secretary of State Seward is injured quite badly when thrown from his carriage
John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln during the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theatre
Lewis Powell attempts to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward in Washington, DC
Fugitive John Wilkes Booth rides into Maryland and reaches the farm of Dr. Samuel Mudd at four a.m.
President Lincoln dies from the head wound John Wilkes Booth inflicted eight hours before
President Lincoln's body taken from Petersen's Boarding house to the White House two hours after death
Reckless remark over the death of President Lincoln leads to mob violence in Fall River, Massachusetts
John Wilkes Booth and David Herold continue their flight across Maryland then hide in a remote thicket
Mary Surratt and Lewis Powell are arrested in a late night War Department raid on Surratt's boarding house
Assassination conspirator Samuel Arnold is arrested in the morning at Fortress Monroe in Virginia
In Baltimore, assassination conspirator Michael O'Laughlin is arrested in the morning in Baltimore
- John Wilkes Booth and David Herold are hiding from their pursuers in a remote Maryland pine thicket
The funeral service for President Lincoln takes place in the White House East Room at noon
At the War Department, Secretary Stanton announced large rewards for the capture of the Lincoln conspirators
George Atzerodt, failed assassin in the John Wilkes Booth conspiracy, is captured in Maryland
The body of slain President Lincoln is laying in state in the United States Capitol rotunda
Doctor Samuel Mudd, who treated and sheltered John Wilkes Booth, is arrested at his Maryland farm
At eight o'clock in the morning President Lincoln begins his twelve-day journey home from Washington D.C.
At ten o'clock in the morning President Lincoln's remains reach Baltimore to lie in state there for several hours
- In Philadelphia, President Lincoln's remains lay in state at Independence Hall for two days
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Harrisburg and rolls across the Pennsylvania countryside to Philadelphia
President Lincoln's remains arrive in New York City to lay in state at City Hall
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Philadelphia before dawn and moves across New Jersey
President Johnson sets May 25th as a day of "special humiliation and prayer" for Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln's remains depart New York City after a massive procession across the city
Secretary Edwin Stanton intervenes to ensure African-American participation in New York's funeral procession
John Wilkes Booth is trapped in a Virginia barn, is shot, and dies of his wound just before dawn
- President Lincoln's funeral train makes its way across upstate New York to Buffalo
At Albany, thousands of citizens file past Abraham Lincoln's coffin in the State Capitol
President Lincoln's remains spend the day in Buffalo, New York before heading for Cleveland, Ohio
In Philadelphia, high political emotions start a brawl and get a prominent Philadelphia author arrested
President Lincoln's remains spend the day in Cleveland, Ohio, on their journey west
In Washington, John Wilkes Booth's accused fellow plotters are transferred to the Old Penitentiary for trial
For Christian religious reasons, President Johnson adjusts the day of mourning for Abraham Lincoln to June 1, 1865
In Columbus, Ohio, thousands view President Lincoln's remains during a day at the State Capitol
President Lincoln's casket lays in state at the State Capitol in Indianapolis, Indiana
At Richmond, Indiana, a crowd of thousands await the three a.m. arrival of President Lincoln's train
Reaching his home state, President Lincoln's remains arrive in Chicago to a remarkable reception
In Washington, President Johnson orders a military trial for John Wilkes Booth's accused fellow plotters
President Lincoln's remains reboard his funeral train for the last time in Chicago bound for Springfield, Illinois and home
Abraham Lincoln returns to Springfield, Illinois where his remains lay in state in the State House
In Springfield, Illinois, President Lincoln is laid to rest at the Oak Ridge Cemetery
In Washington, the officers of the military court for John Wilkes Booth's accused fellow plotters are named
In Washington, membership of the military court for John Wilkes Booth's accused fellow plotters is adjusted
In Washington, the accused Lincoln Assassination plotters all plead not guilty before their military court
Famed Maryland lawyer and statesman Reverdy Johnson meets with accused conspirator Mary Surratt in her cell
In Washington's Old Penitentiary, the taking of evidence in the Lincoln conspiracy trial begins
- In Washington's Old Penitentiary, the taking of evidence in the Lincoln conspiracy trial continues
In Washington's Old Penitentiary, the taking of evidence in the Lincoln conspiracy trial concludes
- In Washington's Old Penitentiary, final arguments are being made in the Lincoln conspiracy trial
In Washington's Old Penitentiary, the Commission in the Lincoln conspiracy trial begin their deliberations
In Washington D.C., the planned reopening of Ford's Theater causes public and governmental consternation
In Washington, President Andrew Johnson approves the sentences passed down to the Lincoln conspirators
In Washington's Old Penitentiary, the Lincoln conspirators are told their fate in their cells
Four condemned Lincoln assassination conspirators, including Mary Surratt, are executed in Washington, D.C.
On Secretary of War Stanton's orders, troops surround Ford's Theater and prevent its re-opening
President Johnson orders the surviving Lincoln conspirators to serve their sentences off the coast of Florida
In Washington, the War Department purchases Ford's Theater and begins to convert it as an office building
On Abraham Lincoln's birthday, historian George Bancroft delivers a memorial oration before Congress
Accused Lincoln conspirator is returned to the United States under arrest for murder.
Accused Lincoln conspirator John H. Surratt goes on trial in Washington DC for murder.
Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Date Title
Edwin Booth to Henry C. Jarrett, Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 1865
Edwin M. Stanton to Major General William T. Sherman, April 15, 1865
Henry W. Halleck to William T. Sherman, April 15, 1865
Maunsell Bradhurst Field to Editor New York Times, Letter accounting the Passing of President Abraham Lincoln, April 16, 1865
"The Consequence," Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1865
Henry Reed Rathbone, Deposition on the events of April 14, 1865, Ford's Theater, Washington D.C.
"The Great Calamity," Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1865
"The Murder of President Lincoln," New York Times, April 16, 1865
Report of Messrs. Brough and Garrett on arrangements for the transport of President Lincoln's remains to Illinois, April 18, 1865
William T. Sherman to William W. Halleck, April 18, 1865
Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, “The Calamity,” April 19, 1865
George Alfred Townsend, "The Obsequies in Washington," April 19, 1865
William T. Clark to Ida Clark, Washington D.C., April 19, 1865
Otto C. Bardon, Reminiscences of the Sultana Disaster, April 27, 1865
Chief Engineer Nathan Witringer, Reminiscences of the Sultana Disaster, April 27, 1865, written on April 14, 1886.
Entry by Kate Stone, April 28, 1865
Andrew Johnson, Proclamation, Reward for the Conspirators, Washington, D.C.
Charges and specifications against the Lincoln Conspirators on trial in Washington, D.C., May 8, 1865
Official Verdict of the Military Commission trying the Lincoln Conspirators, as endorsed by President Johnson, July 5, 1865
How to Cite This Page: "Lincoln's Assassination ," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/36583.