Fort McNair, Washington DC, USA
(Alexander Gardner / Library of Congress)
The assassination of Lincoln in April 1865 by John Wilkes Booth was part of a conspiracy to bring down the Union government. The plot would have seen the simultaneous killing by conspirators of the President, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Only Booth succeeded.
While Booth was killed before he could stand trial, other conspirators were taken and imprisoned. Three months after the assassination, on July 7, four of them – Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt – were hung at Fort McNair. The scene was captured by Scottish photographer Alexander Gardner.
The gallows was constructed specifically. Mary Surratt, whose Washington boarding house was a primary location in the conspiracy, became the first woman to be executed by the US federal government.
‘Atzerodt, who seemed to grow excited as his moments approached, just before the white cap was placed over his head, attempted, in a gasping manner, to address the spectators. His parched lips would not obey, and it was distressing to see him convulsively endeavouring to make himself intelligible. At last he managed to get out the words “Gentlemen, take warnen”.’
The Louisiana Democrat, July 26, 1865
