Michael O ' Laughlen Michael O ' Laughlen , Jr . ( 3 June 1840 in Baltimore , Maryland - 23 September 1867 in Dry Tortugas National Park , Florida ) was a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln . O ' Laughlen ' s last name was often misspelled by the press and others as O ' Laughlin , but he was born Michael O ' Laughlen ( pronounced " Oh - Lock - Lun ) . Early life . O ' Laughlen was one of John Wilkes Booth ' s earliest friends as the Booth family lived across the street from the O ' Laughlens . O ' Laughlen learned the trade of manufacturing ornamental plaster work . He also learned the art of engraving . At the outbreak of the Civil War O ' Laughlen joined the Confederate Army but was discharged in June 1862 . He returned to Baltimore and joined his brother in the feed and produce business . Conspiracy . O ' Laughlen was one of Booth ' s earliest recruits . In the fall of 1864 O ' Laughlen agreed to become a co - conspirator in the plot to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln . He began spending time in Washington DC with Booth picking up his expenses . On the night of March 15 , 1865 , O ' Laughlen met with Booth and other conspirators at Gautier ' s Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue to discuss the possible abduction of the President . Basically , the plan was to abduct Lincoln and take him to Richmond , Virginia for the purpose of making the Union government exchange prisoners with the Confederacy . Booth learned that Lincoln was scheduled to attend a matinee performance of the play " Still Waters Run Deep " at the Campbell Hospital on the outskirts of Washington on March 17 , 1865 . Booth , O ' Laughlen , and the other co - conspirators planned on intercepting the president ' s carriage . The group lay in wait along the road . Finally , a polished carriage came into view and the gang prepared itself . But the president had changed plans and the carriage was possibly that of Chief Justice Salmon P . Chase . Booth ' s attempt to kidnap Lincoln had failed . O ' Laughlen returned to Baltimore . Late in March Booth proposed another kidnap plan . This time Lincoln was to be captured at Ford ' s Theatre , handcuffed , and lowered by rope to the stage . Then the president would be taken to Richmond . However , Booth was not able to convince his co - conspirators that this plan was feasible . According to O ' Laughlen , this was the end of his plotting with Booth . However , O ' Laughlen did return to Washington DC the day before Lincoln ' s assassination . It is unclear whether this was due to the conspiracy or simply to spend time with friends in Washington . At the trial , there was conflicting testimony about O ' Laughlen ' s movements on the day of the assassination . Whatever the case , O ' Laughlen voluntarily surrendered on Monday , April 17 , 1865 . O ' Laughlen was tried along with Mary Surratt , Lewis Powell , George Atzerodt , David Herold , Samuel Arnold , Edmund Spangler and Samuel Mudd . The government attempted to prove he had stalked Ulysses S . Grant on the nights of April 13 and April 14 with the intent to kill and murder . This was not proven , but there was no doubt O ' Laughlen was a willing conspirator through late March . He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison . Prison . O ' Laughlen was sent to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas with Spangler , Arnold , and Mudd . He contracted yellow fever on September 19 , 1867 . Four days later , he seemed to be feeling better , but he wasn ' t O ' Laughlen . Sentries reported he was up and about . But suddenly he collapsed , and Dr . Mudd tended to him most of the night . Dr . Mudd tried his best to save him , but O ' Laughlen became yet another victim of the yellow fever outbreak that swept through the prison . After death . On 13 February 1869 , President Andrew Johnson ordered O ' Laughlen ' s remains to be turned over to his mother . His body was then sent north to Baltimore . He was buried in Baltimore in Green Mount Cemetery . John Wilkes Booth and Samuel Arnold were also buried in the same cemetery . In popular culture . He is a character in " " . Among the film ' s many historical inaccuracies , O ' Laughlen is portrayed as a middle - aged man ( he was actually 24 years old in April 1865 ) , and a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle .