Lincoln Assassination

Harold Holzer is Roger Hertog Fellow at the New-York Historical Society and one of the nation's leading authorities on Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War era. He is chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and has written, co-written, or edited forty-seven books, most recently Lincoln and the Power of the Press.Craig L. Symonds is Professor Emeritus at the U.S. Naval Academy and the author of many books on Civil War and naval history. He won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize in 2005, The Lincoln Prize (with James M. McPherson) in 2009, and the Dudley Knox Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Naval History in 2014.

"Unlike other scholars who couch assassin John Wilkes Booth's motivations in the politics of the time (his romanticization of the South and anguish at its perceived oppression), Holzer locates Booth's disenchantment within the bosom of the idiosyncratic, theatrical Booth clan." -- -Georgette Gouveia Westchester County Business Journal "Can there possibly be anything new to add to the millions of words already written about Abraham Lincoln's assassination and its aftermath? The answer is a resounding yes, and much of it is contained in this slim but enormously informative and thought-provoking volume. Exploring topics such as the identity of those who kept vigil at the President's deathbed, the joy that some Americans felt when they learned what Booth had done, and the character of the judge who presided over the conspirators' trial, this collection of essays offers welcome - and yes, new - insight into a tragedy whose history-shaping impact remains undiminished after 145 years." -- -Richard Moe, President National Trust for Historic Preservation "The nine essays in The Lincoln Assassination--all of them excellent--explore, in the words of the introduction, 'the legal, cultural, political, and even emotional consequences of the assassination.'" -The Federal Lawyer "Once again, the Lincoln Forum has assembled some of the finest historians and most compelling historical writers, this time to produce a lively collection of essays that manages to challenge many of our assumptions about Lincoln's assassination and the subsequent military trials of the conspirators. I learned a great deal from this volume and expect that every reader will come away with something new." -- -Matthew Pinsker author of Lincoln's Sanctuary:Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home "These wide-ranging thought provoking essays present a striking analysis of the contemporary impact and the memory of the murder of President Abraham Lincoln, the first American president to be assassinated while in office. These powerful, thoroughly researched presentations, with several impressive illustrations, provide important information about one of our nation's most critical and memorable times, a time still significant in American social and political life." -- -James Oliver Horton author of The Landmarks of African American History and co-editor of Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory "A brilliant addition to the Lincoln assassination bookshelf! This collection of essays, by some of the foremost authorities in the field, is a refreshingly new look at an endlessly captivating but tragic moment that changed America forever. Beginning with a creatively perceptive look at the history of the public response to Lincoln's death, each excellent essay offers new and original research and interpretation of the plot, capture, trial and execution of the assassination co-conspirators. While illuminating the historical truth, these essays also simultaneously expose the myths and trappings of distorted histories that have long shaped an enduring national memory of that horrific event. Engaging and written with flair, there is something here to please and excite everyone!" -- -Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D. Simmons College

• List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1 1. Lincoln's Deathbed in Art and Memory: The "Rubber Room" Phenomenon Harold Holzer and Frank J. Williams 2. Abraham Lincoln's New York City Funeral Richard E. Sloan 3. Not Everybody Mourned Lincoln's Death Thomas P. Lowry 4. Lincoln's Chief Avenger: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt Elizabeth D. Leonard 5. The Lincoln Assassination in Law and Lore Frank J. Williams 6. Writing History in a Vacuum: The Lincoln Assassination Thomas R. Turner 7. "Let the Stain of Innocent Blood Be Removed from the Land": The Military Trial of the Lincoln Conspirators Edward Steers Jr. 8. Process versus Truth in the Case of the Lincoln Conspiracy Michael W. Kauffman 9. The Martyr and the Myth: The Lincoln Nobody Knows Richard Nelson Current List of Contributors Members of the Lincoln Forum Index