They Have Killed Papa Dead!: The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance

Ho hum I murmured as I ordered this new book on the Lincoln murder. How wrong I was for this book by Anthony Pitch is the best tome I have ever read on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln our greatest president. Patch is a Washington tour guide who leads folks to the sites pertaining to the tragic death of Lincoln. We follow him through these 400 intensenly sad, exciting, tragic and revealing pages as our eyes focus on the events of 1865. Lincoln was the first president who was assassinated and the nation was thunderstruck at his death. On the night of April 14, 1865 at about 10 PM the president was shot by John Wilkes Booth the hubristic actor and ladies man before about 1600 spectators of "Our American Cousin"in Ford;s Theatre. Booth leaped to the stage and escaped with his accomplice the callow David Herold as they sought to escape to Virginia. Booth was a rabid Confederate supporter who wanted to murder Lincoln. Booth was also a racist who favored slavory and the southern way of life. John Wilkes Booth at 26 years of age became the most infamous murderer in American history. Pitch begins the tale by recounting how assassination was a threat Lincoln had to deal with through the illiad of woes which was his term of office. Lincoln's train had to be rerouted through Baltimore as he prepared to be inaugurated. Only the quick thinking of Detective Allen Pinkerton and others kept his from harm from rabid secessionists in the Maryland City. He also was shot at one night as he rode his horse to the Soldiers Home. Booth had threatned harm the day of the first inauguration as Lincoln emerged to take the oath via the East Portico of the White House. Booth wanted to kidnap Lincoln and drew conspirators to his mad scheming. This plan was abandoned when the actor decided he would star in the drama of death by killing Lincoln at Fords Theatre during a time of celebration in Washington following the surrender of Lee's army at Appamattox Court House. Anthony Pitch paints the tragic picture of Lincoln's mortal wounding, the long night spent by the dying president in the Peterson Boarding House across the street from Ford's and the inconsolable wailing and grief of Mary Todd Lincon. Lincoln died at 7:22 Am on April 15th. Edwin Stanton the Secretary of War is reputed to have said, "Now he belongs to the Ages" (or angels). Edwin Stanton was implacable in his search for the guilty murderers. He made sure no leniency would be etended to those captured. When the conspirators were taken into custody they were treated with great harshness. They had to wear uncomfortable bags over their heads; suffered solitary confinement and were given a minimum diet. They were also restricted in their contacts with family and friends. Even though they were all civilians they were tried by a military court consisting of nine judges. On that same night conspirator Lewis Payne had sought to murder the injured Secretary of State William Seward. He entered Seward's home

It is almost impossible to find fault with this book. The author has written a readable, detailed history of Lincoln's Assassination. I expect this book to become the standard secondary source on the subject, while raising the bar on assassination histories to an almost impossible height in the process. We have an excellent overview of the kidnapping plot and the change to murder by Booth. Each of the assassins, conspirators and helpers has a full portrait. The attack on Lincoln and Seward is detailed, as is the escape of each of the attackers. The pursuit, capture, interrogation and confessions of the participants are well reported. The indictment, military trial, imprisonment and execution are almost a book within the book. The author covers the questions raised by the military trial, the defense lawyers actions and press coverage in an evenhanded non-judgmental way giving us a full picture of the events. All of this detail stays in a story that always is moving and never drags. Somehow, the author manages to work the details into the story without burdening it. These details form a personal interaction with the participants that most histories lack. The account of the assassination and the hours following are very well done. The author captures the uncertainly, fear and anguish Washington feels as the event unfolds. This is powerful writing, showing how different America was and how upsetting things were. Lincoln was the first President murdered which adds to the horror and fear. We tend to overlook this 145 years later but this is an important fact that the details impress on us. While this is a different America, some things do not change. Throughout the book are little asides about the scramble for the reward. We are treated to a series of people looking for an advantage or to push their contribution at the expense of others. This is neatly summed up in an epilogue on the distribution of the reward, the winners and losers. This can be an uncomfortable read and a sad one. Lincoln left a widow, a grown son, one young son and a grieving nation. The book's title comes from a statement Tad Lincoln made to one of the White House staff. My only reservation is the first chapter on the Baltimore Plot of 1861, which adds little to the book. This is a weak beginning to an otherwise excellent book. The book contains three good sets of photographs and illustrations. A decent set of maps at the start of the book provides all the orientation you will need. An impressive set of footnotes, over 60 pages, and a good Bibliography. This is the "must read" book on the Lincoln Assassination! This book works as an introduction and a comprehensive history that will appeal to all students of this event.

It might wll be asked: Why another Lincoln Assassination book? What new could be said, without conjecturing up some fantastic, unlikely, "previously unknown" secret conspiracy? The author has succeeded in creating something new and interesting, while sticking towards a traditional narrative of the Lincoln Assassination, without wild claims of vast secret conspiracies that only he has had the wit and good fortune to uncover. What he has done instead was to thoroughly examine a vast amount of primary source material -- especially private letters, diaries, etc. -- to seek out those small, vivid details of the moment that do so much to bring the whole tragedy to life. Even if you have read other Lincoln Assassination books, this new volume is worth your attention.

Anthony S, Pitch has given us a much needed addition to the Lincoln assassination story. His writing is superb, the footnotes are detailed, the bibliography is comprehensive, and his primary source work is outstanding. He has added much that was not known about Booth's whereabouts during the second Lincoln Inaugural. He has uncovered new information about the assassination. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln.

This outstanding, very readable account of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent manhunt, trial and punishment of the guilty is a monumental work of research and writing. Anthony Pitch so completely combines his formidable skills as a journalist and historian here that he has fashioned a book that will please the everyday reader, as well as the scholar. His treatment of the actual assassination of the beloved president is so poignant that it may make you weep. His riveting account of the manhunt for Booth and his accomplices reads like a modern-day thriller. This book may well stand as the definitive work on the Lincoln assassination. For nine years the author plowed through obscure documents -- many of them revealed here for the first time -- enabling him to construct an incredibly detailed (and richly annotated) book of this landmark event in U.S. history. The book also is instructional in portraying how an aggrieved, bereaved nation responds to the aftermath of such a national tragedy. One of the best American history books I've read in recent years.