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Lincoln’s Assassination Playbill From Ford’s Theatre
On the evening of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, arrived at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., to attend a performance of the popular British comedy Our American Cousin. The Civil War had effectively ended days earlier with Robert E. Lee’s surrender, and the president was in unusually high spirits. Joining the Lincolns in the presidential box were Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clara Harris.
The Play: Our American Cousin
Our American Cousin, written by English playwright Tom Taylor, was a lighthearted farce about a boorish but good-natured American, Asa Trenchard, who travels to England to claim an inheritance and clashes with his aristocratic relatives. The play was a favorite of the era, known for its broad humor, exaggerated characters, and witty dialogue. Its most famous line, “You sockdologizing old man-trap!” consistently drew loud laughter from audiences.
That night, the play’s cheerful tone stood in sharp contrast to the tragedy about to unfold. The audience was relaxed and laughing, and the actors were moving through the third act. The well-known laugh line was deliberately chosen by assassin (and nationally famous actor) John Wilkes Booth, who knew the theater intimately after many stage appearances there and understood exactly when the crowd’s laughter would mask the sound of a gunshot.
Ironically, Lincoln had actually seen Booth perform at Ford’s Theatre two years previously. Imagine his shock if he had turned around and see one of America’s most famous actors coming at him with a pistol.
The Assassination
At approximately 10:15 p.m., during the loudest burst of laughter in Act III, Booth slipped into the unguarded presidential box. He quietly opened the door, raised a single-shot derringer pistol, and fired point-blank into the back of Lincoln’s head. The laughter from Our American Cousin covered the shot, and for a moment many in the audience believed the commotion was part of the performance.
Booth then leaped from the box to the stage, catching his spur on a flag and landing awkwardly. He reportedly shouted “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Latin for “Thus always to tyrants”) before escaping through a rear door. The comedy on stage turned to chaos as the audience realized the president had been shot.
Aftermath
Lincoln was carried across the street to a private home, where he died the next morning. The play Our American Cousin became forever linked to one of the most tragic moments in American history, its lighthearted humor frozen in time as the backdrop to a national nightmare.
Of course, there is always one conspiracy or another being talked about when it comes to Lincoln’s assassination. Fortunately, none are as ridiculous as this one…
