Prison Hoods of the Abraham Lincoln Conspirators
name: label: associated person
content: Lincoln, Abraham
notes: label: Description
content: On April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford Theatre, pointed a derringer pistol at the back of the President Abraham Lincoln’s head and fired. John Wilkes Booth’s attack on Lincoln was part of a larger plot to assassinate national leaders and throw the North into turmoil. The conspirators also planned to murder Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Besides Booth, eight individuals were charged. Because the plot was considered an act of war, the military assumed control of the proceedings.
label: Description
content: In a vengeful act against the accused, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered that the imprisoned conspirators wear hoods at all times. These canvas hoods with rope ties were made for this purpose. The accused wore the hoods in their cells and on their way to trial. The court sentenced four suspects, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt, to be hanged, and Dr. Samuel Mudd, Michael O’Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, and Edman Spangler to prison.
label: Description
content: In 1904 the War Department transferred to the Smithsonian the hoods, shackles, and prison keys associated with the imprisonment of Lincoln’s assassins. They did not record which prisoner wore which hood.
label: Description
content: Transfer from the War Department, 1904
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: referenced
content: Assassination
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, General History Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: War Department
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PL.010245a
label: catalog number
content: 10245
label: accession number
content: 42272
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Hood
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, canvas (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rope (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: hood: 41.5 cm x 35 cm; 16 5/16 in x 13 3/4 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 in x 13 in x 12 in; 35.56 cm x 33.02 cm x 30.48 cm