Into the Abyss

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln represents a defining moment in the history of the United States. Coming during the closing days of the Civil War, the former country lawyer from Illinois had just guided the nation through some of its darkest hours only to fall victim to an assassin's bullet. Carried out by one of the most popular stage actors of the day, the death of Lincoln sparked the largest manhunt the nation had ever seen. The first assassination of a sitting U.S. president was, however, just the primary component of a much larger plot designed to plunge the Federal Government into chaos by eliminating its most powerful officials. Among other avenues relating to this crucial historical event, this book relates: Various Confederate plots to abduct President Lincoln, the initial kidnapping plot hatched by John Wilkes Booth and its evolution into a scheme of assassination, the intense manhunt for those involved in the assassination conspiracy, the elaborate funeral services held over a thirteen-day period as the body of Abraham Lincoln made its way from Washington D. C. to Springfield, Illinois, the prosecution of the conspirators by a military tribunal, and the execution of six conspirators.