The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is one of the most significant occurrences in the history of the United Sates and an enduring subject of interest and study. One reason for the interest is the aura of controversy surrounding much of the story as presented.
There was never any question as to who shot Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth had made certain that the entire world knew that he was the assassin. The only question was, did he have help? One theory was that the act was a crazy plot by a few renegades to restart the war. Another theory was that the Confederate Secret Service had assisted Booth. A third theory was that the Union army, with the help of Lafayette Baker and Edwin Stanton, was also involved. After reading the evidence in the National Archives, there can be little doubt that the betrayal of Abraham Lincoln involved all of the above.
This book relies entirely on primary sources, United States Archives and Official Records and shows that there was a conspiracy with the Union Army and various others to aid Booth in assassinating Lincoln. This book traces the assassination from Ford's Theater, the escape and killing of the man purportedly Booth, trial, execution and aftermath.
Captain Robert Arnold is a retired Naval Officer who was an Instructor in Advanced Trauma Life Support for the Department of defense. He was also a member of Fleet Surgical Team Four, and has had several deployments ranging from the Arctic Circle to the Indian Ocean. While a civilian, Captain Arnold practiced General Surgery and was the Assistant Coroner for Jefferson County for five years. He has utilized these experiences and the actual witness statements in the National Archives instead of the frequently used newspaper accounts of the day to reconstruct the events concerning the assassination of President Lincoln and the escape of John Wilkes Booth. This account is significantly different than previously published accounts. Capt. Arnold is now retired and resides in Louisville, Ky. with Betty, his wife of 60 years.
Keywords: Lincoln, Booth, Herold, Stanton, Baker, Conspiracy, Assassination, Trial, Execution, Ford, John Wilkes, Abraham, Maryland, Washington DC