Death & Punishment

Leading the Federal agents around the house, Garrett indicated that Booth and Herold were in the tobacco barn. Both fugitives attempted to flee, however they found they were trapped as Garrett had locked them in to prevent them from stealing horses. As Doherty's men surrounded the barn, "negotiations" began between Booth and Baker. After an hour, Baker threatened to set the barn on fire. At this point, Herold asked to be let out. Emerging, he was taken and tied to a nearby tree. Around 4:00 AM, Conger set the barn alight. As he was moving towards the door, wielding a pistol and carbine, Booth was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett. The bullet pierced his spine paralyzing him. Dragged from the burning barn, Booth died shortly after dawn on April 26, 1865. His body and Herold were taken to Washington that night and later transferred to the monitor, USS Montauk which was anchored off the Washington Navy Yard.

On May 9, 1865, a military commission was convened at the Washington Arsenal to try eight of the conspirators. These included Herold, Powell, Atzerodt, Mudd, Spangler, O'Laughlin, Arnold, and Mary Surratt. Warrants were also issued for John Surratt and Thomas Harbin, however they were not captured. Surratt was arrested in 1866, and tried separately. In deciding the cases, a simple majority was needed for a guilty verdict and two-thirds for a death penalty. The trial lasted around seven weeks and verdicts were read on June 30. Of the eight, Herold, Atzerodt, Powell, and Mary Surratt were sentenced to death. They were hung at the arsenal on July 7, with Mary Surratt becoming the first woman to be executed by the US Government. O'Laughlin, Arnold, and Mudd were given life sentences and sent to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Mudd escaped the death penalty by one vote. Ned Spangler, who had done nothing more than hold Booth's horse for a few moments, was given six years at Fort Jefferson. Of the four sent to prison, three, Mudd, Spangler, and Arnold were pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869, during the waning minutes of his administration. O'Laughlin died at Fort Jefferson of yellow fever. While Surratt was tried after his capture, he not convicted and lived a free man until his death in 1916.