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For many their view of history comes from those
seemingly long days in school where the basic framework of
important events is taught. One such historic event is
Lincoln's assassination. Abraham Lincoln, along with his wife
Mary, attended a production of Our American Cousin at
Ford's Theatre in Washington City on the night of April 15,
1865. During the second act John Wilkes Booth entered
the box where the Lincolns were seated and fired one shot. The
following morning Lincoln died in the bedroom of a residence
across the street from the theatre. Federal soldiers
trailed Booth into Southern Maryland and later cornered him
in a barn on a Virginia farm. In the siege, as the barn
was burning, Booth was shot by a soldier and would die several
hours later. Thus ends the basic summary of the familiar
tale. However, with careful detail these same events
unravel into a compelling story.
Regardless of what some may think, it is important that history
be preserved, whether in the form of museum artifacts or in
our literature. James Swanson has taken the latter direction
and delivered a marvelous work of historical writing with Manhunt. He
recounts the hours and days following the events at Ford's,
making them come vividly to life. The thoughts and movements
of all the key players are interwoven, giving the reader a
stunning view of the action of each moment. There
are parts of the story that to many readers may come as a surprise. The
relationship of Booth to Dr. Samuel Mudd is covered in detail,
including the network of individuals who helped Booth flee. The
hours at Lincoln's deathbed as physicians worked relentlessly
to save his life are treated with both compassion and enough
detail to give the feeling of almost being in the room at the
moment. Seward's attempted assassination and the immediate
response to locate Booth are carefully entwined into the events
of that night. The extent of a much larger conspiracy
is painted clearly.
Booth was chased for 12 days and eventually was captured in
Virginia. It becomes intriguing during those final moments
as Booth lay dying, to listen as he interacts with his captors.
Swanson's prose goes so far as to put us on that porch with
the soldiers. The book is enjoyable to read and the material
is handled with the proper scholarship.
A salient element in Manhunt has more to do with
what is not discussed than what is. Through his narrative,
Swanson brings the reader to the realization of just how close
this country came to face an even greater tragedy than war
or death. The war was over, Lincoln was dead, but the
fears and suspicions enveloping the nation's capital almost
ended the democracy Lincoln gave his life to save. Through
these events, Swanson helps readers understand how this aftermath
almost brought our country to an end. Manhunt puts
us in the middle of the fragile balance as it played out during
12 days in the spring of 1865. Lincoln?s
passion to preserve the Union at all costs came at a very high
cost, indeed--the loss to the nation of the President himself..
Steve Pennington, P.E., is an independent author and
a professional civil engineer living in Fairfax County, Virginia,
where he is writing a biography of Benjamin Wright,
chief engineer of the Erie Canal and founder of the American
Society of Civil Engineers.
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