George Andrew Atzerodt was a German American repairman, Confederate sympathizer, and conspirator in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He was assigned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson, but lost his nerve and made no attempt. Atzerodt was tried by a military tribunal, sentenced to death for conspiracy, and hanged along with three other conspirators.
Atzerodt in 1865
Execution of Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt on July 7, 1865, in the courtyard of Washington Arsenal (now Fort McNair). Digitally restored.
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died of his wounds the following day at 7:22 am in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated. His funeral and burial were marked by an extended period of national mourning.
John Wilkes Booth assassinating Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theatre
Carte de visite of the actor John Wilkes Booth, c. 1865
The Surratt boarding house, where the conspirators planned
Ford's Theatre
