Lincoln's Assassin - Retracing John Wilkes Booth's Final Days 

My second channel - ru-vid.com

It's weirder to think about how John, a famous actor, assassinated Lincoln when you realize that the modern day equivalent would be like, Leonardo DeCaprio assassinating the president.

I LOVE it when you two collab. You guys deserve a history channel type show.

John Wilkes Booth lived a few minutes after being shot. He was shot thru the neck and was paralyzed. As he lay dying he asked to see his hands. A soldier lifted his arms so Booth could see his own hands. Booth’s final words were “useless. Useless.”

I actually like the two collaborations, you guys actually have a way of making the audience visualize it by your story telling as well as showing us the steps.

A quick side note: a short time prior to John Wilkes Booth shooting Abraham Lincoln, his brother Edwin Booth (also being widely known and rather famous during that time, as he was also an actor) actually saved the life of Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, after he had fallen off of a train platform and down in between the gap between the train and the platform itself. Booth didn't know the identity of who he had just saved, but it is worth noting that Edwin Booth was a staunch supporter of President Lincoln, having voted for him in the prior election. Seems that John Wilkes was the only Booth family member that was against a Lincoln Presidency. Anyway, it's a pretty interesting tidbit when you take a step back and look at the broad picture that is the Lincoln assassination. Anyway, this was such an awesome video with loads of info. American history is a passion of mine, and I appreciate that you guys showed a story that isn't always covered in detail. Great job!

My family and I went to Fords Theater back in about 1973 . My father was always taking us to many historical place’s back in the sixties and seventies. We visited the house where Lincoln died and also the Surratt House . Really good episode, enjoyed 👍

You two just made history come alive for me. I didn’t know Lincoln’s assassination was so interesting.

12 days and approx 85 miles- with a broken leg on horseback, staying the woods, and on top of it, rowboating to the wrong location, must have been brutal. Took my boys on Booth's trail for a school project some years back, really enlightening to think of the time he spend riding compared to us doing it round trip in 1 day

Interestingly enough, 87 men died on the night of April 23 in search of Booth. The Black Diamond was commissioned to search the Potomac in hopes of catching Booth crossing. Around midnight, the Black Diamond was at anchor with only one light showing (standard for a ship during picket duty) and a ship named The Massachusetts containing approximately 400 slammed into the Diamond on her port side striking the boiler. The explosion put over 100 people into the water and sank the Black Diamond within three minutes. Just goes to show the harried chaos that went on in the search of John Wilkes Booth.

"Sic semper tyrannous!" translates to "Thus, always to tyrants!" Booth didn't slash the orchestra conductor. He slashed and stabbed Lincolns guest in the theater box, Major Rathbone when Rathbone tried to fight and subdue Booth. In the melee, after Booth stabbed Rathbone, he jumped over the railing of the theater box and caught his spur on the American flag bunting, which festooned the outside of the box, and broke his ankle when he fell to the stage. It was then that he stood up and yelled, "Sic semper tyrannous!" and half ran and half limped out through the back of the stage and out the back of the theater to jump on his horse and gallop away.

This is most excellent. You walked the footsteps of Booth physically from the stage at Fords Theatre to where Booth breathed his last breath. Solid!

I love Lamont ! I remember his lives while chillin in his van/camper. He definitely blew his channel up!! Congratulations!!!! Nice collaboration

HIGHLY recommend reading “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer.” Really helps you visualize the assassination, the state of the country at the time, and the stories that comprised the entire affair.

Lamont calling it like it is and was “he was a drunken slob”. 😂. Love it. Great video. Had no idea Lincoln had a bodyguard that night or about the chair.

Lamont your calling is to be a HISTORY TEACHER!!!! Your friend & you did such a good job.

My Great Grandfather was a stage actor and acted with Edwin Booth and he knew John Wilkes. The night of the murder, my GG and Edwin heard the commotion as they were close by and ran toward the noise and into the theatre and my GG grabbed a playbill, that is still in the family.

This is a better way to learn history.😀

Booth also came to the home of a free black family that denied him entry. So, Booth forced the family out of their own home at gunpoint. The family had to sleep outside on the porch without covering on the hard wood. That's a little known part of Booth's escape. Thanks, Lamont!

Chris, that was an amazing exposé of the Lincoln assasination: I have read a number of books on this, but your walking me (with your buddy as you say) to the places where history was made was amazingly interesting, and brought the whole thing to life. You are very good talking to camera, and make everything interesting. Many American TV reporters cannot resist hamming it up and putting on their own show of themselves, but you remain calm and professional... you limit your words to essentials, which is great. Many thanks.

This was an EXCELLENT episode. Your indepth research was evidenced throughout the tour. Thank you for sharing.

Do you know that the interior you see today at Ford's theater is a restoration? The original was gutted and for many years the place was an office building. I was there in the mid-60s with my family and saw gutted.

It is really amazing that most all of these places still exist and can be visited. Thank you for putting in the effort and time in for retracing Booths footsteps. Really enjoyed this one.

So glad to find people who geek out over history as much as I do! Great video! Thanks!

Fascinating video. As ye were walking through the woods I was there with ye, could feel the nettles. I love when you colab with Lamont.

Another interesting fact: Cherie Booth (wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair) is a distant relative of John Wilkes Booth through her father, Anthony George Booth, who was also an actor.

19:45 "I think he got that from being an actor." My jaw actually dropped when Lamont said that! I'd never thought of Booth's ego like that before. Great point I plan on sharing. Also, I find it Ironic the fine for stealing artifacts is the same as Booth's bounty.

Thank you Lamont for sending this link. Very interesting. Absolutely love how thorough you both were in describing this.

Better than any documentary on the History channel. Thank You!

Wallace Simpson and her husband were originally to be buried at Green Mount Cemetery, but the Queen allowed them to be buried in England. That is an incredible beautiful cemetery.

Chris youre a wonderful historian and a steward of history!

History! You guys narrate this so well. Two of my favorites!

I'm English and love learning anykind of history. This is a fantastic video, so interesting and I've learnt so much. Brilliant channel, which I'm new too.

I live in the land of Lincoln. But he had quite the influence on the world. Awesome video ✊✌️

I watch both of Lamont's RU-vid channels as well as yours. Great collaboration for the both of you. I have to say that this is "the" most interesting vlog I've seen. Congrats.

I love both yours and Lamont’s channels! Please keep doing what you’re doing, you’re making a difference and educating the public. ❤️❤️❤️ -Rose from Georgia

Thank you. Well done documentary with the same fascination of these events as a first time tourist. You brought me along on your journey as if I, the viewer, was there with you like a friend sharing in the experience. Really great job of storytelling.

the assassination chair is truly amazing seeing that dried blood staining still there after all this time, just wow. Awesome video already!

Having you and Lamont together telling the amazing stories of this great nation is absolutely awesome!

Amazing job putting that story together. Thank you!

Thank you! To the both of you, This was very detailed . Great Job

Well done and thoroughly researched. Chris and Lamont, you’re two engaging historians. Don’t be surprised when teachers use this for instructional purposes.

I really hope the both of you continue to collaborate. Excellent content. Cheers guys.

You guys do such a great job!! I love how ya'll go to the actual locations while telling these stories!! It's a neat way of giving us viewers a unique experience!! Keep up the good work you guys!!!

Wow! Great job lads! Thank you for sharing and all the hard work!

This is one of those stories that you learn about early in Elementary school, so it stays with you and holds your interest for the rest of your life. Great job guys! I've lived in the Baltimore area all my life, but have yet to visit any of these places, for whatever reason. Living so close to touristy areas makes me tend to avoid them.

I am a huge Lincoln and Civil War junkie .I enjoyed the video thanks for sharing

Well done and thank you for posting this.

Two of the nicest guys in the world together. Wonderful

Chris & Lamont He leaned more here he said than in school! I dlid too! Excellent from beginning to end! I couldn’t thank you both enough for pumping education in my son and I heads!! ☺️

There's a game show that was on in the 50s where they would bring in a random person and celebrities had to figure out who they were by asking yes/no questions. They had a very old frail man who was in Ford's theater that night when he was 5 years old.

I really enjoyed these collaborations with lamont. Almost feels like I'm right with you going to these locations. We need more!

This was fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing with us!

Several points about this story. I have read extensively on the assassination. When you visit ford's theater , you are actually visiting a reconstruction of the interior. In 1893 the building interior collapsed killing 22 people . It was being use by the Government as a records office. So the building was reconstructed . I believe the only authentic thing around the box is the Washington portrait , which was like a Presidential seal at the time. The Chair Lincoln sat in had no blood and this is known by a document published by the Young Surgeon, Dr. Charles Leale who tended to him directly after the shooting. He searched Lincoln for a wound on the floor and couldn't find any. He eventually felt around his head and put his finger in the hole which had coagulated blood surrounding it. Major. Rathbone who was in the box with Lincoln was stabbed by booth and had a deep wound in his arm. Years later while living in Germany he would murder his now Wife Clara Harris and spend the rest of his days in an insane asylum . As for Dr' Mudd it has been proven that he did in fact know Booth and Booth had visited his House. The Mudd family for years have tried to clear him but History proves him guilty. Booth's last words were Useless , Useless. The guy that shot him was a man named Boston Corbett who-was a nut job who was almost charged for shooting booth. He shot through a hole in the wall without authorization . So many details about this case are endlessly fascinating. Adzelrodt while he was hanged never even attempted to kill Johnson he just hung out at the hotel bar and got Drunk

You and Lamont make a great duo. I live not too far away in Richmond, Va and followed in the footsteps of Booth on my own last spring, but you guys really knocked it out of the park with some parts of history that I didn't even know. Great Job!

Great job! You both do your research and are extremely knowledgeable about the Lincoln Assassination. That is definitely the best video I have seen about that incident, nice job!

One person who had prior knowledge of previous kidnap plot, and did nothing to prevent it, was Lafayette C. Baker, the chief of the War Department Bureau of Detectives[Which was essentially a secret police organization].

Wow, two of my favorite things, the history of the Lincoln assassination and the two of you collaborating! Needless to say, I loved this! You Guys did a great job! I have been to all of these places n I know a fair amount about the history. Waiting for the two of you to do another! I watch all of your (both of you) channels! ❤️

Loved this! Being taken along to the exact places brought the history to life. This is how history should be taught. I learned so much, thank you.👍

Thank You two guys for this historical tour as I really have enjoyed it along with many others. I would love to walk the same paths as you guys have done for this story of Wilkes final days.

I love it when you guys get together and do a video. Great job 👍

Chris, you guys are phenomenal! So interesting and chilling. I always look forward to every video you post💙🙏🏻🌟

This is a great video, appreciate the two of you leading us through this story, I am quite aware of the details and you've done a great job.

Hey this was outstanding guys great to actually see the locations involved. Cheers.

Love you two together. Awesome information. Thanks

Incredible story and really well done. You two always make a great team. Really great to see you together.

Decades ago I played Ford’s Theater. The guy who was running the place (his name was Berra, claimed to be a son or nephew of Yogi) took me inside the box where Lincoln was killed. Looks like a much higher jump from there looking down than from the floor or stage looking up.

Wonderful job on this one! Glad I found this channel.

Love watching history! Happy I found this channel..great job guys 😃

You and Lamont collaborate very well. Great team! Thanks for the informative videos.

I love this video... I can't say how much I love it you guys are rocking it.

thank you so much for this video. the Garrett Farm was my mother's ancestral home and i didn't have the guts to go back in the woods and look around. so glad that you guys are brave!! nuch enjoyed!

Loved this one! I've long been a fan of this history and you and Lamont have knocked it out of the park! Thanks Chris!

Booth was hit in the neck severing his spinal cord and paralyzing him from the neck down. He was laid on the Garrett's porch, the soldiers knew he would not survive. One of the soldiers asked him if he could do anything for him, Booth asked him to raise his arms so he could see his hands Booth looked at his hands and whispered "useless, useless." Then, he died.

This was so interesting, and you guys are great together! I love it when you team up!

I’ve read several books on the shooting and manhunt that occurred directly after. This is by far the best and most accurate RU-vid video I’ve seen. Including history channel and nat geo. Well done gentlemen.

Very interesting stuff Chris, I always enjoy seeing what you’ll be doing in any new video you make. It’s also cool to see you and Lamont collab together. Keep up the great work man!

Incredible you guys really know how to present history and to be as truthful as you can. Some funny stuff too. We want more stuff from you guys soon. I love Lamonte too every day and you whenever a video comes. Thanks for your hard work and driving. I will watch this later tonight and many times so good!!!

Great story guys! I am a Lincoln collector and researcher, and your story comes to life about Booth and his infamous conspiracy with the various places after the assassination.

Thank you both for this upload it was really interesting, if only school lessons were like this I would have learnt loads back in the days when I went to school.

My two favorite channels..thanks for sharing guys!!💯

You guys did a wonderful job in this video. We enjoyed every minute. We are glad to have found your channel 👍👍

That was an excellent narrative! You guys really did your homework on the facts. Well done. Make some more for us. Greetings from Arizona.

There's a good book about Booth and his actions/travels after he killed Lincoln called "Chasing Lincoln's Killer"- I highly recommend it, it does a great job documenting everything that went down at all these different sites you guys featured in this video

Awesome man 👏 We got to tour the Fords theatre this past July which was great but man y’all took it the extra mile with this video. SO COOL and great job 😎👍👍

Brilliant stuff! Absolutely loved this!

I love when you and Lamont collaborate together makes the stories so interesting

Great job. We usually enter DC area via 301 which takes us by where Booth died and pretty much traces his escape route by Clinton until we hit 495 which then takes us to our destination.

Well done Gentlemen. Seen and read so much on this, but your video was particularly interesting with it's chronological on-the-ground view. Very interesting. One can almost hear the spirits.

Great Job! You two make the Best videos!! I watch alot of stories on social media, and you are truly the best!!

Thank You Guys, I Love Watching Both Of You, This Was Awesome Both Together, So Interesting,👍❤

Outstanding ! Well done lads. Big fan of both channels.

What a good team thanks for another great video 😁

I’m a big history buff. You both did an amazing job. Kudos for narrating this in such details. Thank you

You all make a great team & I loved the video. Awesome! You all should some more like this one. Thank you & God bless you both.

Another great collab video! Keep it up fellas, you do a great job!

You guys do an incredible job, you cover so many smaller details and locations. Keep it up.

Very eerie sitting in that theater. I love history told in story format. Much more interesting and memorable.

What a great effort! Thank you so much, this was great.

Lamont is a really good story teller.He has the voice and the gravitas for it.