The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy

375 Pages·2005·2.3 MB·English

by  Thomas Goodrich

Civil War / U.S. History
Goodrich $35.00
A gripping account of one of the most shocking
The
events in American history—the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln. Darkest
solemn funeral train. The “Goodrich has done an impressive amount of Dawn
conspirators brought to justice.
research . . . [his] account of the funeral trip is
Coming just days before the
enlightening, and never before described in such Lincoln, Booth, and the
surrender of the Confederate
detail.” —John R. Sellars, Library of Congress Great American Tragedy
Army at Appomattox, the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln
“Among the hundreds of books published Thomas Goodrich
has become etched in the national
about the assassination of our 16th president, GL T
consciousness like few other
The Darkest Dawn is exceptional. It portrays the rin “While waves of laughter echoed
events. The president who had e
steered the nation through its contemporary reactions of so many, and vividly aco h Lincoln, Booth, through the theater, James Ferguson
conveys a ‘you-are-there’ feeling. Goodrich helps t kept his eyes focused on Abraham
bloodiest crisis is cut down before Aln e
readers appreciate the magnitude of the nation’s Lincoln. Although the president
the end, just as it appears that the mourning for Abraham Lincoln, our greatest m, and the joined the crowd with a ‘hearty
B
bloodshed has ended. The story D
has been told many times, but political leader.” ero Great American laugh,’ his interest seemingly lay
—Frank J. Williams, Chief Justice of the io more with someone below. With his
rarely with the immediacy of The Supreme Court of Rhode Island, founding Chair cath a right elbow resting on the arm of his
Darkest Dawn. Thomas Goodrich n Tragedy
brings to his narrative the care of The Lincoln Forum, and member of the U.S. T, a r chair and his chin lying carelessly on
of the historian and the flair of Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission rn k his hand, Lincoln parted one of the
ad flags nearby that he might see better.
the fiction writer. The result is a g e “As the laughter subsided, Harry
gripping account, filled with detail eth s
d Hawk stood on the stage alone with
and as fresh as today’s news. ye t his back to the presidential box.

Before he could utter another word,
Thomas Goodrich is author of D
a sharp crack sounded. As the noise
Black Flag: Guerilla Warfare on
echoed throughout the otherwise
the Western Border, 1861–1865 a
silent theater, many thought that
and The Day Dixie Died: Southern
w it was part of the play. But just as
Occupation, 1865–1866 (with
quickly, most knew it was not.”
Debra Goodrich).
n —from The Darkest Dawn
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Jacket design by Eric J. Carter
1-800-842-6796
It was one of the most tragic
events in American history: the
famous president, beloved by
many, reviled by some, murdered
while viewing a play at Ford’s
Theater in Washington. The
INDIANA Thomas Goodrich frantic search for the perpetrators.
The nation in mourning. The
THE DARKEST DAWN
i
ii
The
Darkest
Dawn
Lincoln, Booth,
and the Great
American Tragedy
thomas goodrich
Indiana University Press
bloomington and indianapolis
iii
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
© 2005 by Thomas Goodrich
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on
Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goodrich, Th.
The darkest dawn : Lincoln, Booth,
and the great American tragedy / Thomas Goodrich.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-253-32599-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865—Assassination.
2. Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865. I. Title.
E457.5.G66 2005
973.7'092—dc22
2004015980
1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05
iv
Tearfully—and joyfully—have we
witnessed these events.
—Horatio Nelson Taft, May 30, 1865
v
vi
CONTENTS
Preface ix
PART I
Prologue: The Omen 3
1. Three Electric Words 9
2. The White City 13
3. The Last Man 17
4. Star of Glory 23
5. The President and the Player 31
6. Sic Semper Tyrannis 39
7. Towards an Indefinite Shore 45
8. The Clown and the Sphinx 51
9. One Bold Man 57
PART II
10. A Night to Remember 83
11. Terror on Lafayette Park 91
12. The Last Bullet 95
13. Murder in the Streets 105
14. A Spirit So Horrible 113
15. The Darkest Dawn 117
16. Hemp and Hell 129
17. This Sobbing Day 141
vii
18. Black Easter 151
19. A Double Disaster 157
20. In Dungeons Dreadful 167
21. The Wrath of God and Man 173
22. The Curse of Cain 179
23. The Mid-week Sabbath 187
24. Oh! Abraham Lincoln! 195
25. The Fox and the Hounds 201
26. Blade of Fate 209
27. The Bad Hand 217
28. The Hate of Hate 225
29. The Heart of Israel 231
30. Dust to Dust 239
PART III
31. Old Scores 247
32. The Living Dead 259
33. The Most Dreadful Fate 267
34. Beads on a String 275
Epilogue: The Haunted Stage 289
Acknowledgments 299
Notes 301
Bibliography 343
Index 357
viii
PREFACE
With the possible exception of one or two screaming infants,
I was undoubtedly the most disgruntled and agitated person in the au-
dience. While the excited, noisy chatter among the pre-teens and tour
groups rose to a roar as the curtain call approached, I sat mostly mute.
Deb and I had come to Washington the day before to conclude research
on a book we’d been pounding out for nearly a year, The Day Dixie
Died. The story unrolls with Lincoln’s assassination and describes the
horrific conditions in the South following the Civil War, caused in large
part by the murder of the sixteenth president. We still had plenty of
material to go over, perhaps several days’ worth of work, and, as anyone
who has spent time in the capital knows, D.C. in high season is anything
but cheap. Hence, the meter was ticking. Every minute tarried added
to our bills—and my woes.
At almost any other time I would have loved to be sitting in Ford’s
Theater—it had been a desired destination of mine for years. And at
almost any other time I would have died to view a live performance on
this historic stage—it is what every American historian dreams of. But
today? Time was short, we needed to be busy, and here we were in a
noisy theater playing tourists for a matinee musical of dubious quality.
A half-hour run through the Ford’s museum below would now mush-
room into a half-day downtime in the theater above.
“Excuse me, sir,” said a lady who had approached us earlier as we
stepped from the theater onto the busy sidewalk. “I have these two tick-
ets to Reunion that we can’t use. . . . It’s about the Civil War. Would you
like to buy them?”
Before I had time to think and answer “No, thanks,” Deb was count-
ing out twenty dollars. The good lady was no scalper—the tickets were
clearly marked “$10” each. But as I sat in the packed theater, not only was
ix