Boston Corbett Thomas P . " Boston " Corbett ( 1832 – presumed dead 1894 ) was an American Union Army soldier who shot and killed Abraham Lincoln ' s assassin , John Wilkes Booth . He disappeared after 1888 , but circumstantial evidence suggests that he died in the Great Hinckley Fire in 1894 , although this remains impossible to substantiate . Early life . Corbett was born in London , England . His family emigrated to New York City in 1839 . He became a hatter in Troy , New York . It has been suggested that the fumes of mercury used in the hatter ' s trade caused Corbett ' s later mental problems . Family and " rebirth " . Corbett married , but his wife died in childbirth . Following her death , he moved to Boston , and continued working as a hatter . He was confronted by a street preacher one night and his message persuaded him to join the Methodist Episcopal Church he did and he changed his name to Boston , the name of the city where he was converted . In an attempt to imitate Jesus , he began to wear his hair very long . On July 16 , 1858 , in order to avoid the temptation of prostitutes , Corbett castrated himself with a pair of scissors . He then ate a meal and went to a prayer meeting before he sought medical treatment . Military career . Enlistment in the Union army . In April 1861 , early in the American Civil War , Corbett enlisted as a private in Company I of the 12 Regiment New York Militia . He was discharged in August , at the end of the regiment ' s 3 month enlistment . Corbett re - enlisted in September 1863 as a private in Company L , 16th New York Cavalry Regiment . Captured by Confederate Colonel John S . Mosby ' s men at Culpeper , Virginia on June 24 , 1864 , Corbett was held prisoner at Andersonville prison for five months , when he was exchanged . On his return to his company , he was promoted to sergeant . Corbett later testified for the prosecution in the trial of the commandant of Andersonville , Captain Henry Wirz . Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth . Corbett was a member of the 16th New York Cavalry sent , on April 24 , 1865 , to apprehend John Wilkes Booth , the assassin of Abraham Lincoln , who was still at large . Two days later the regiment surrounded Booth and his accomplice , David Herold , in a tobacco barn on the Virginia farm of Richard Garrett . The barn was set on fire in an attempt to force them out into the open . Herold surrendered , but Booth remained inside . Corbett was positioned near a large crack in the barn wall . Corbett claimed in an 1878 interview that he saw Booth aim his carbine . At that point , Corbett shot Booth with his Colt revolver despite Secretary of War Edwin M . Stanton ' s orders that Booth should be taken alive . Eyewitness Lieutenant Edward Doherty , the officer in charge of the soldiers who captured Booth and Herold , stated that " the bullet struck Booth in the back of the head , about an inch below the spot where his shot had entered the head of Mr . Lincoln . " His spinal cord was severed , and he died two hours later . Corbett was immediately arrested for violation of his orders , but Stanton later had the charges dropped . Stanton remarked , " The rebel is dead . The patriot lives . " Corbett received his share of the reward money , amounting to $ 1 , 653 . 84 . In his official statement , Corbett claimed he shot Booth because he thought Lincoln ' s assassin was preparing to use his weapons . This was contradicted by the other witnesses . When asked later why he did it , Corbett answered that " Providence directed me " . Corbett ' s later years . Immediate post - war life . After his discharge from the army in August 1865 , Corbett went back to work as a hatter , first in Boston , later in Connecticut , and by 1870 in New Jersey . His life was marked by increasingly erratic behavior . In 1875 , he threatened several men with a pistol at a soldier ' s reunion in Caldwell , Ohio . In 1878 , he moved to Concordia , Kansas . Madness . In 1887 , because of his fame as Booth ' s killer , Corbett was appointed assistant doorkeeper of the Kansas House of Representatives in Topeka . One day he overheard a conversation in which the legislature ' s opening prayer was mocked . He jumped to his feet and brandished a revolver . No one was hurt , but Corbett was arrested and sent to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane . On May 26 , 1888 , he escaped from the asylum . He went to Neodesha , Kansas , and stayed briefly with Richard Thatcher , whom he had met when they were both prisoners of war . When he left , he told Thatcher he was going to Mexico . His " madness " may have been the result of exposure to mercury , an element commonly used in hat manufacturing . It is so well known for this side effect that it has given rise to the expression " mad as a hatter " . Presumed fate . Rather than going to Mexico , Corbett is believed to have settled in a cabin he built in the forests near Hinckley , in Pine County in eastern Minnesota . He is believed to have died in the Great Hinckley Fire of September 1 , 1894 . Although there is no proof , the name " Thomas Corbett " does appear on the list of dead and missing . Memorials . In 1958 , Boy Scout Troop 31 of Concordia , Kansas , built a roadside monument to Boston Corbett . It is on Key Road in Concordia . A small sign also was placed to mark the dug hole where Corbett for a time had lived . In popular culture . In its next - to - the - last episode titled " The Unmasked " ( June 17 , 1962 ) , the ABC / Warner Bros . western television series " Lawman " , starring John Russell and Peter Brown , presents an entirely fictitious portrayal of Corbett . Played by character actor Dabbs Greer , Corbett is living under the name " Joe Brockway " and is depicted as a hotel owner in Laramie , Wyoming . In the story line , two former Confederate soldiers from Georgia , played by Barry Atwater and Charles Maxwell , arrive in Laramie in search of " Brockway " ; they claim he is the key to the settlement of an estate to which they are all a party , but they have actually been sent to kill him for his role in the death of Lincoln ' s assassin .