Chasing Lincoln's Killer - William Trabue

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer Report

By James Swanson

Characters -

• Abraham Lincoln -  Despite having little time in the as a character (prologue) he is referenced several times in the book with quote from or about him. From this and being a historically accurate one may infer that the same characteristics. Among these being charitable, intelligent, athletic, hands on, and a great overall leader. However as a character in the book he didn’t develop before he was killed by John Wilkes Booth
• Lewis Powell -  Loyal companion of John Wilkes Booth who was physically imposing and was tasked with assassinating Secretary of State Steward. He had previously fought in the Civil War in the Confederate Army. Powell was known for having a violent temper which made him ripe for viciously attacking the Secretary of State. Even though he decide against killing him he seriously injured the Secretary of State.
• John Wilkes Booth - Was once america's favorite actor and he was a handsome, fashionable, well-mannered, and well-dressed man about town. He could win people over easily with his charm and good looks. He was also deeply invested in the Confederate cause and hated Abraham Lincoln and all he stood for. Originally plotted to kidnap the president in 1864 to sway the outcome of the war in the Confederate’s favor, however soon after the war ended in 1865 he became depressed and looked for an opportunity (which he found with Ford’s Theatre).
• David Herold - Most loyal companion of John Wilkes Booth who was knowledgeable with the geography of Washington and surrounding countryside. Had better outdoorsman skills that Wilkes did and Wilkes often relied on him especially in their twelve day escape attempt.

Main Conflict -

• The main conflict of this story is the manhunt for those who had conspired against and threatened the state with attempts at assassination as well as successful assassinations. More in particular John Wilkes Booth was the main target for capture (alive). There are three key points of the plot, the murder of Lincoln, the fleeing of Wilkes and his accomplices and the capture and death of the whole group (except Wilkes who died from a gunshot wound).

Quotes -

• “As Lincoln spoke, Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, a free black woman, standing a few steps from the president, remarked that the lamplight made him ‘stand out boldly in the darkness.’ The perfect target” (7-8). This foreshadows the death of Lincoln if the reader hadn’t already realized it, also it should be quite factual with the events that occured.
• “Booth scrambled to center stage, turned to the audience, and stood up straight. Though every second was precious to his escape, he knew that this was his last appearance on the American stage”(43). This expresses his realization of being a now fugitive so he took one last stand and said the virginia state motto as well as “the south has been avenged”. This is relevant for the historical context of this book, which follows very closely the actual accounts of events.
• “Whatever papers Booth read, they all condemned him for his heinous act. Even worse, Booth saw the beginning of a change in how Abraham Lincoln was viewed by America. Lincoln was transformed from a controversial and often unpopular war leader into a martyr and hero. Stories reported in the papers condemned Booth by name in the most unforgiving, vicious language.” (138). This express that the unexpected occured for Booth. He expected Lincoln to go down in history as a controversial leader and not a martyr. With the historical context this holds true to what actually happened. Which is why I chose these three quotes that prove the historical context of the story.

Historical Perspective -

• The main three events in the story with plot hold true to the actual events of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the fleeing of John Wilkes Booth, as well as the capture and killing of those who had carried out or conspired to kill members of the U.S. political system. This is relevant to the historical context as well as the success of the book itself.

Success of the Book

• The author of this book has several other books that take in the account of other historical murders such as, Manhunt, and many others such as chasing Martin Luther King Jr.’s killer as well as the account of JFK's assassination. All of these books are highly rated and that also applies to this book about Abraham Lincoln’s killer.

Author’s Facts and Statistics

• The author used a library of thousands of rare and often unique original documents, manuscripts, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia to closely follow the historical events of the story