The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Blood on the Moon

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is one of the most familiar stories in our nation's history, usually told as a tale of a lone deranged actor who struck from a twisted lust for revenge. This is not only too simple an explanation; Blood on the Moon reveals that it is completely wrong.

John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth was neither mad nor alone in his act of murder. He received the help of many, not the least of whom was Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd, the Charles County physician who has been portrayed as the innocent victim of a vengeful government.
Booth was also aided by the Confederate leadership in Richmond. As he made his plans to strike at Lincoln, Booth was in contact with key members of the Confederate underground, and after the assassination these same forces used all of their resources to attempt his escape. Had it not been for all this assistance, John Wilkes Booth would not have gone far as he did, for as long as he did.

Important role of Samuel Mudd

Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln presents the most up-to-date research into public and private archives and makes clear the important role of Samuel Mudd and members of the Confederate Secret Service in John Wilkes Booth's crime and escape. Edward Steers Jr. finally puts to rest the many myths and popular misconceptions surrounding these key players and accurately depicts what happened during the days leading up to and immediately after Abraham Lincoln's murder.
Blood on the Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Edward Steers Jr.

Lincoln's Assassins

On April 14, 1865, the president of the United States went to the theater. Five days earlier Lee had surrendered to Grant. The Civil War was over and the North held a jubilee. On that night John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln, and soon the murderer was hunted down and killed by federal troops. But the story of the Lincoln assassination does not end with his state funeral and the death of his killer. Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution resurrects these events by presenting an unprecedented visual record of more than 200 contemporary photographs, documents, prints, woodcuts, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and artifacts, many hitherto unpublished.
Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution by James L. Swanson

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John Wilkes Booth