George Atzerodt
George Atzerodt | |
---|---|
Executed | |
Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to assassinate Andrew Johnson |
Criminal penalty | Death |
George Andrew Atzerodt (June 12, 1835 – July 7, 1865)
Early life
Atzerodt was born in
Conspiracy
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In January 1865, some years after opening his failed carriage repair business, Atzerodt was introduced to John Wilkes Booth in Washington, D.C., by John Surratt.[7] Atzerodt was willing to join in Booth's earlier conspiracy to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln, as he later admitted in his trial.
According to the prosecution, Booth assigned Atzerodt to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson on April 14, 1865. On that morning, Atzerodt booked room 126 at the Kirkwood House in Washington, where Johnson was staying. At 10:15 P.M. That night, the same moment John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater, Lewis Powell attacked the already injured Secretary of State William Seward, but Atzerodt could not muster the courage to kill Andrew Johnson. Instead, he began drinking at the hotel bar, becoming heavily intoxicated, and lost his nerve. He spent the rest of the night drunkenly walking the streets of Washington. He dropped his knife in a nearby gutter; a sharp-eyed woman saw this and reported it to the police immediately.
During his stay at the hotel, Atzerodt had asked the bartender about Johnson's whereabouts. That aroused suspicion the next day, after Lincoln was assassinated. An employee of the hotel contacted the police regarding a "suspicious looking man in a gray coat".[8]
The military police then conducted a search of Atzerodt's room on April 15 and found that he had not slept in it the night before. Additionally, he had a loaded revolver concealed under his pillow as well as a concealed Bowie knife. The police also found a bank book belonging to Booth in the room. Atzerodt was arrested on April 20, at the house of his cousin, Hartman Richter, in Germantown, Maryland.
Trial and execution
Atzerodt's trial began on May 1, 1865. Atzerodt's
After the conviction, Atzerodt offered a confession to Reverend Butler, a minister who came to his cell to offer him comfort. Butler said that Atzerodt admitted going to the meeting in March to help plan the kidnapping of Lincoln while he attended a play at a hospital.
Atzerodt said he first heard about Booth's plan to assassinate the President just two hours before the shooting. Atzerodt said that Booth really wanted David Herold to assassinate Vice President Johnson because he thought that Herold had "more pluck" than Atzerodt did. Atzerodt said Booth wanted him to "back up" Herold and "give him more courage".[9]
Atzerodt and three other convicted conspirators (
Depiction in media
Atzerodt appears in the season 1 episode "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" of Timeless, portrayed by Travis MacDonald. In the episode, he makes an attempt to assassinate Johnson but is stopped by Rufus and other soldiers and arrested by the authorities.[10]
References
- ^ "Abraham Lincoln's Assassination – George Atzerodt". Abraham Lincoln Research. December 29, 1996. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Linder, Douglas. "The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 1865". Law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2002-02-03. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Hamner, Christopher. "Booth's Reason for Assassination Archived December 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Teachinghistory.org. Accessed 12 July 2011.
- ^ Jim (8 September 2010). "Port Tobacco Archaeological Project".
- ISBN 9781455600106. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ISBN 9781589795129. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
george atzerodt speak english.
- ^ Jampoler, Andrew C. A., The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows, Naval Institute Press, 2009. p
- ISBN 978-1-58477-600-0; p. 144.
- ^ a b c Linder, Douglas. "The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 1865 – George Atzerodt". Law.umkc.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24.
- ^ Marshall, Neil (2016-10-10), The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Timeless, Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, retrieved 2024-01-19
External links
- Biography and Images of George Atzerodt, Assassination Conspirator. University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law. Accessed December 9, 2004.
- Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Research Site