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While the audience reeled with laughter, a gunshot was heard in the box.  Then the audience looked up to see a young man leap out and land awkwardly on the stage, brandishing a knife, and shouting to the audience ''“Sic semper tyrannis!”'' before escaping across the stage.  Major Rathbone, his left arm bloodied from the dagger, leaned out of the box yelling “Stop that man!” to no avail.  Booth would exit the back of the building, mount his horse, and escape out of the city.

While the audience reeled with laughter, a gunshot was heard in the box.  Then the audience looked up to see a young man leap out and land awkwardly on the stage, brandishing a knife, and shouting to the audience ''“Sic semper tyrannis!”'' before escaping across the stage.  Major Rathbone, his left arm bloodied from the dagger, leaned out of the box yelling “Stop that man!” to no avail.  Booth would exit the back of the building, mount his horse, and escape out of the city.

Inside it was pandemonium.  Mary Lincoln had been screaming.  Charles A. Leale, a 23 year-old surgeon who was employed by the [[Army]] hospital and familiar with gunshot wounds, was in the audience that night and was the first doctor on the scene.  Running his hands through Lincoln’s hair, he discovered a half-inch hole in the back of his head, whereby Leale pushed his little finger in and removed a clot, relieving pressure on the brain.  Together with the assistance of another doctor, Charles S. Taft, they managed to get the president breathing on his own, but it was already obvious to them that the wound was fatal.

Inside it was pandemonium.  Mary Lincoln had been screaming.  Charles A. Leale, a 23-year-old surgeon who was employed by the [[Army]] hospital and familiar with gunshot wounds, was in the audience that night and was the first doctor on the scene.  Running his hands through Lincoln’s hair, he discovered a half-inch hole in the back of his head, whereby Leale pushed his little finger in and removed a clot, relieving pressure on the brain.  Together with the assistance of another doctor, Charles S. Taft, they managed to get the president breathing on his own, but it was already obvious to them that the wound was fatal.

The entourage carrying the mortally wounded President proceeded slowly down the staircase in Ford's Theatre and then exited to 10th Street. Dr. Leale described the events which followed:  

The entourage carrying the mortally wounded President proceeded slowly down the staircase in Ford's Theatre and then exited to 10th Street. Dr. Leale described the events which followed:  

==The funeral==

==The funeral==

The death of Lincoln trigged an outpouring of grief that the whole of the country had never seen before.  Within an hour of the return of Lincoln’s body to the White House, black cloth, crepe, and ribbons began sprouting from buildings across Washington.  “It seemed,” said one citizen, “as if the whole world had lost a dear, personal friend.”  25,000 people would pass by the casket on April 18; churches were filled nation-wide the next day, when funeral services took place.  Lincoln and his son Willie, who had died two years before, were placed onboard a special train on the 21st where they would make the long, 1,700-mile trip to [[Springfield, Illinois]], and burial in [[Oak Grove Cemetery]].  Along the way, there would be stops in [[Philadelphia]], in New York, in [[Cleveland]], [[Chicago]], and various other cities, mirroring the trip Lincoln took on his way to Washington for his first inauguration.  Each of the them would have their own services. (TL 26, pg. 118-131)

The death of Lincoln trigged an outpouring of grief that the whole of the country had never seen before.  Within an hour of the return of Lincoln’s body to the White House, black cloth, crepe, and ribbons began sprouting from buildings across Washington.  “It seemed,” said one citizen, “as if the whole world had lost a dear, personal friend.”  25,000 people would pass by the casket on April 18; churches were filled nationwide the next day, when funeral services took place.  Lincoln and his son Willie, who had died two years before, were placed on board a special train on the 21st where they would make the long, 1,700-mile trip to [[Springfield, Illinois]], and burial in [[Oak Grove Cemetery]].  Along the way, there would be stops in [[Philadelphia]], in New York, in [[Cleveland]], [[Chicago]], and various other cities, mirroring the trip Lincoln took on his way to Washington for his first inauguration.  Each of the them would have their own services. (TL 26, pg. 118-131)

The remains of Booth took a different route.  His body was wrapped in a saddle blanket and loaded onto a wagon for a trip to the Potomac, where a steamer awaited to take him to the Washington Navy Yard.  The day after Lincoln was buried Booth was hoisted to the quarterdeck of USS ''Montawk'', and there, stretched on a plank, it was identified by acquaintances, witnesses, and doctors possitively as that of the actor before being secretly buried within the Old Penitentiary on the Washington Arsenal grounds. [http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln83.html]

The remains of Booth took a different route.  His body was wrapped in a saddle blanket and loaded onto a wagon for a trip to the Potomac, where a steamer awaited to take him to the Washington Navy Yard.  The day after Lincoln was buried Booth was hoisted to the quarterdeck of USS ''Montawk'', and there, stretched on a plank, it was identified by acquaintances, witnesses, and doctors possitively as that of the actor before being secretly buried within the Old Penitentiary on the Washington Arsenal grounds. [http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln83.html]

==Alleged conspiracies==

==Alleged conspiracies==

Because the death of Lincoln on the eve of Union victory in the Civil War shocked the nation, it inevitably spawned a litany of theories as to who was involved in the plot to kill him, beyond Booth's small cadre of accomplices.  Most are based upon assumption and supposition; some are based upon the fantastic; but nearly all base themselves within one of three main theories: a conspiracy with direct involvment of the Confederate government; a grand conspiracy involving the highest levels of the United States Department of War; and a theory that Booth was ordered to kill Lincoln by the [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]].

Because the death of Lincoln on the eve of Union victory in the Civil War shocked the nation, it inevitably spawned a litany of theories as to who was involved in the plot to kill him, beyond Booth's small cadre of accomplices.  Most are based upon assumption and supposition; some are based upon the fantastic; but nearly all base themselves within one of three main theories: a conspiracy with direct involvement of the Confederate government; a grand conspiracy involving the highest levels of the United States Department of War; and a theory that Booth was ordered to kill Lincoln by the [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic Church]].

===Confederate Grand conspiracy===

===Confederate Grand conspiracy===

In 1886, a former (and possibly defrocked) Roman Catholic priest named Charles Chiniquy published ''Fifty Years in the Church of Rome'', an account of his life, and the trials he faced, while serving the Catholic Church.  Although he devoted little to Lincoln, he emphatically stated that "...the president, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated by the priests and [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] of [[Rome]]."  For Chiniquy it began when he asked Lincoln to defend himself in a "personal impropriety" lawsuit brought against him by a friend of his former [[bishop]] near [[Kankakee, Illinois]], in the 1850s.  When the verdict was read, and Chiniquy emerged the victor, he pointed out the faces of his accusers and told Lincoln that he read "a sentence of death."  He would visit the White House three times while Lincoln was in office, or so he claimed; he quoted Lincoln as having said "This war would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits.  We owe it to [[Pope]]ry that we now see our land reddened with the blood of her noblest sons."  What Chiniquy faced between himself and his former Catholic superiors prior to 1860 may or may not be true; what is known is that, according to White House records, Chiniquy was never in the building.  He did write to Lincoln on occasion, but nothing close to a level of friendship that was described in his book.  Contradicting completely what Chiniquy had written, the [[Illinois]] lawsuit case ''Spink v. Chiniquy'' was trivial; it was nothing more than simple slander, and as with most of his cases, Lincoln settled this one out of court on amicable terms to both parties. [http://www.geocities.com/chiniquy/lincoln_writings_2.html][http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/16.2/steiner.html]

In 1886, a former (and possibly defrocked) Roman Catholic priest named Charles Chiniquy published ''Fifty Years in the Church of Rome'', an account of his life, and the trials he faced, while serving the Catholic Church.  Although he devoted little to Lincoln, he emphatically stated that "...the president, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated by the priests and [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] of [[Rome]]."  For Chiniquy it began when he asked Lincoln to defend himself in a "personal impropriety" lawsuit brought against him by a friend of his former [[bishop]] near [[Kankakee, Illinois]], in the 1850s.  When the verdict was read, and Chiniquy emerged the victor, he pointed out the faces of his accusers and told Lincoln that he read "a sentence of death."  He would visit the White House three times while Lincoln was in office, or so he claimed; he quoted Lincoln as having said "This war would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits.  We owe it to [[Pope]]ry that we now see our land reddened with the blood of her noblest sons."  What Chiniquy faced between himself and his former Catholic superiors prior to 1860 may or may not be true; what is known is that, according to White House records, Chiniquy was never in the building.  He did write to Lincoln on occasion, but nothing close to a level of friendship that was described in his book.  Contradicting completely what Chiniquy had written, the [[Illinois]] lawsuit case ''Spink v. Chiniquy'' was trivial; it was nothing more than simple slander, and as with most of his cases, Lincoln settled this one out of court on amicable terms to both parties. [http://www.geocities.com/chiniquy/lincoln_writings_2.html][http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/16.2/steiner.html]

In 1891 Benedict Guldner, a Jesuit priest in New York City, had written to Lincoln's former personnal secretary John G. Nicolay and asked for information about what he called a "libellous pamphlet" then circulating in Germany and "originally written in this country...in which the author maintains that the assassination of President Lincoln was the work of Jesuits." Nicolay had consulted with Lincoln's other personal secretary, John Hay, as both were by then aware of the writings of Chiniquy and the Roman Catholic conspiracy.  Both declared the pamphlet - and the conspiracy allegations - to be blatently false.  Nicolay replied to Guldner:

In 1891 Benedict Guldner, a Jesuit priest in New York City, had written to Lincoln's former personnal secretary John G. Nicolay and asked for information about what he called a "libellous pamphlet" then circulating in Germany and "originally written in this country...in which the author maintains that the assassination of President Lincoln was the work of Jesuits." Nicolay had consulted with Lincoln's other personal secretary, John Hay, as both were by then aware of the writings of Chiniquy and the Roman Catholic conspiracy.  Both declared the pamphlet - and the conspiracy allegations - to be blatantly false.  Nicolay replied to Guldner:

:''"To [y]our first question whether in our studies on the life of Lincoln we came upon the charge that 'the assasination of President Lincoln was the work of Jesuits', we answer that we have read such a charge in a lengthy newspaper publication. To your second question, viz: 'If you did come across it, did the accusation seem to you to be entirely groundless?', we answer Yes. It seemed to us so entirely groundless as not to merit any attention on our part."'' [http://www.geocities.com/chiniquy/lincoln_writings.html]

:''"To [y]our first question whether in our studies on the life of Lincoln we came upon the charge that 'the assasination of President Lincoln was the work of Jesuits', we answer that we have read such a charge in a lengthy newspaper publication. To your second question, viz: 'If you did come across it, did the accusation seem to you to be entirely groundless?', we answer Yes. It seemed to us so entirely groundless as not to merit any attention on our part."'' [http://www.geocities.com/chiniquy/lincoln_writings.html]