They Have Killed Papa Dead! : The Road to Ford's Theatre, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance

by PITCH, ANTHONY

• ISBN13: 9781586421588
• ISBN10: 1586421581
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-30
• Publisher: Steerforth

Summary

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is a central drama of the American experience. Its impact is felt to this day, and the basic story is known to all. Anthony Pitch's thrilling account of the Lincoln conspiracy and its aftermath transcends the mere facts of that awful night during which dashing actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head and would-be assassin Lewis Payne butchered Secretary of State William Seward in the bed of his own home."They Have Killed Papa Dead!"transports the reader to one of the most breathtaking moments in history, and reveals much that is new about the stories, passions, and times of those who shaped this great tragedy. Virtually every word of Anthony Pitch's account is based on primary source material: new quotes from previously unpublished diaries, letters and journals authentic contemporary voices writing with freshness and clarity as eyewitnesses or intimate participants new images, a new vision and understanding of one of America's defining moments. With an unwavering fidelity to historical accuracy, Pitch provides new confirmation of threats against the president-elect's life as he traveled to Washington by train for his first inauguration, and a vivid personal account of John Wilkes Booth being physically restrained from approaching Lincoln at his second inauguration. Perhaps most chillingly, new details come to light about conditions in the special prison where the civilian conspirators accused of participating in the Lincoln assassination endured tortuous conditions in extreme isolation and deprivation, hooded and shackled, before and even during their military trial. Pitch masterfully synthesizes the findings of his prodigious research into a tight, gripping narrative that adds important new insights to our national story.

Author Biography

Anthony S. Pitch is the author of a number of books including The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814, a selection of the History Book Club and winner of the Arline Custer Memorial Prize and Maryland Historical Society’s annual book award. He has been featured on outlets ranging from NPR to The History Channel to C-Span to Fox News and is a highly sought-after public speaker. A former journalist in England, Africa, and Israel, Pitch has been a broadcast editor for the Associated Press and a senior writer for US News and World Report’s Books division. He lives in a Washington, DC, suburb.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xv
"Lincoln Shall Not Pass through Baltimore Alive"	p. 1
A Presidential Envelope Marked "Assassination"	p. 27
"An Excellent Chance to Kill the President!"	p. 42
"The Last Speech He Will Ever Make"	p. 74
"Like Banquo's Ghost, It Will Not Down"	p. 95
"The President Is Shot!"	p. 111
A Singular Night of Horrors	p. 123
"They Have Killed Papa Dead!"	p. 133
An Autopsy and Embalming in the White House	p. 160
A Visceral Preference for Vengeance	p. 164
"I Am Right in the Justness of My Cause"	p. 174
Escape in the Dead of Night	p. 184
"Betrayed into the Hands of the Government"	p. 191
"Keep an Eye on Mrs. Surratt's House"	p. 201
"We Know as Much of Your Operations as the Almighty"	p. 215
A Funeral Surpassing All Others in Solemnity	p. 224
Escape	p. 233
"You Must Get Him Across"	p. 249
"I Don't Want to Know Anything About You"	p. 264
"I Am Worth Just $175,000 to the Man Who Captures Me"	p. 274
"Tell My Mother I Die for My Country"	p. 284
A Secret Burial at Midnight	p. 294
"What My Imagination Pictured the Inquisition to Have Been"	p. 302
Weeks of Deprivation and Solitude	p. 318
"The Trial Concluded at Last"	p. 337
"The Posse Comitatus of the Court Is Not Able to Overcome Armies"	p. 343
"I Could Have Jumped upon the Shoulders of Each as They Hung"	p. 361
"A Perfect Hell"	p. 367
"Why This Flight, and Why This Concealment?"	p. 374
Epilogue: The Scramble for Rewards	p. 397
Acknowledgments	p. 401
Notes	p. 407
Selected Bibliography	p. 469
Index	p. 483
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