WATCH: Abraham Lincoln Shot on April, 14, 1865

On the evening of April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. Mortally wounded, Lincoln lingered until the following morning, when he was pronounced dead at 7:22 AM. Booth sought to avenge the collapse of the Confederacy, and the assassination of Lincoln was to be just one element in a broader plan that Booth had concocted to decapitate the federal government. Secretary of State William Seward was gravely wounded by one of Booth’s co-conspirators, but Vice Pres. Andrew Johnson’s would-be assassin lost his nerve.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. "assassination of Abraham Lincoln". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Apr. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Abraham-Lincoln. Accessed 14 April 2022.