Abraham Lincoln awoke to subdued cries. Downstairs in the East Room, he saw a catafalque bearing a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Soldiers stood guard as mourners filed past.
"Who is dead in the White House?" demanded Lincoln. "The President," replied a soldier. "He was killed by an assassin."
That morning, John Wilkes Booth learned Abraham Lincoln would attend Ford's Theatre. With those few words, a plan took shape-and history was changed.
How John Wilkes Booth Assassinated Abraham Lincoln is the story of two men-one determined to preserve the Union, the other to avenge the South. Their lives intersected for one brief, violent moment... and changed the course of America forever