The U.S. Army uses the staff ride as a tool for professional development, honing the critical thinking and decision-making skills of contemporary soldiers, and enabling them to learn and gain insights from the past. Army educators have employed staff rides to provide soldiers and civilians a better understanding of past military operations, the complexities and vagaries of warfare, and military planning.
The Lincoln Assassination Staff Ride offers significant political, strategic, legal, and military lessons. Revisiting the historic sites associated with the assassination’s planning, execution, and aftermath—including the site of the conspirators’ trial by military commission, viewed through the eyes of the actual participants— affords students insights into decision making under immense pressure and the human condition during times of crisis.
The Lincoln Assassination and the Wider Conspiracy: An Overview 1 Prelude to the Lincoln Assassination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Lincoln Assassination 5
Additional Assassination Attempts 11
Immediate Consequences: The Manhunt 14
Trial and Sentencing of the Conspirators 22
Aftermath and Analysis 28
Further Readings 33
Chronology 36
Army Reaction to the Assassination 41
Order of Presidential Succession in 1865 43
Military Commission for the Trial 46
Legacy and Collective Memory: The Changing Historical Narrative 47
Selected Biographical Sketches 54
Targets of the Conspiracy 54
Abraham Lincoln 54
Andrew Johnson 57
William H. Seward 60
Ulysses S. Grant 64
Conspirators 67
John Wilkes Booth 67
Mary E. J. Surratt 69
Lewis T. Powell 71
David E. Herold 73
George A. Atzerodt 75
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd 77
Michael O’Laughlen Jr. 79
Samuel B. Arnold 80
Edman “Ned” Spangler 82
John H. Surratt Jr. 84
Justice Seekers 86
Edwin M. Stanton 86
Joseph Holt 88
Thomas “Boston” Corbett 90
Suggested Stops and Discussion Topics 93
Stop 1. Ford’s Theatre 95
Stop 2. Petersen House 98
Stop 3. Surratt Boarding House 102
Stop 4. Old Arsenal Penitentiary 105
Stop 5. Surratt House 109
Stop 6. Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House 112
Maps No. 1. John Wilkes Booth’s Escape Route, Washington, D.C. 10
2. Booth and Herold’s Escape Route, Maryland 17 3.
Booth and Herold’s Escape Route, Potomac River 19 4.
Booth and Herold’s Escape Route, Virginia 20 5.
Booth and Herold’s Escape Route 94
Illustrations Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address xii
Lincoln Assassination 6
Booth’s Derringer 8
Booth’s Knife 8
Seward Assassination Attempt 12
Powell’s Revolver 13
Powell’s Knife 13
Booth’s Compass 18
Scene in the Courtroom 25
Conspirators’ Execution 27
Lincoln’s Funeral Procession 29
Booth’s Diary 37
Military Commission and Trial Prosecutors 46
Abraham Lincoln 54
Andrew Johnson 57
William H. Seward 60
Ulysses S. Grant 64
John Wilkes Booth 67
Mary E. J. Surratt 69
Lewis T. Powell 71
David E. Herold
73 George A. Atzerodt 75
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd 77
Michael O’Laughlen Jr. 79
Samuel B. Arnold 80
Edman “Ned” Spangler 82
John H. Surratt Jr. 84
Edwin M. Stanton 86
•• xi ••
Joseph Holt 88
Thomas “Boston” Corbett 90
Ford’s Theatre Petersen House 98
Surratt Boarding House 102
Grant Hall 105
Surratt House 109
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House112
Front cover: President Abraham Lincoln (right), John Wilkes Booth (left), Ford’s Theatre in 1865 (top), and the execution of the conspirators (bottom)
Back cover: Poster issued by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton advertising reward money for the capture of Booth and his accomplices, 20 April 1865
Historians, teachers, students, and members of the general public interested in learning about Army staff ride doctrine or the American Civil War.
Product Details
- Beard, A. Joseph
- Assassination
- Planning
- Execution
- Aftermath
