Boston Corbett
Boston Corbett | |
---|---|
Birth name | Thomas H. Corbett |
Nickname(s) | The Glory to God man Lincoln's Avenger |
Born | January 29, 1832 London, England |
Disappeared | c. May 26, 1888 (aged 56) Neodesha, Kansas |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 12th New York State Militia 16th New York Cavalry Regiment |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Signature |
Sergeant Thomas H. "Boston" Corbett (January 29, 1832 – disappeared c. May 26, 1888) was an English-born American soldier and milliner who killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln on April 26, 1865. Known for his devout religious beliefs and eccentric behavior, Corbett was reportedly a good soldier and had been a prisoner of war at Andersonville Prison. Corbett shot and mortally wounded Booth when his regiment surrounded him in pursuit. For his actions, Corbett was largely considered a hero by the American media and public.
Corbett drifted around the United States before he was committed to Topeka Asylum for the Insane after being declared insane in 1887. Corbett escaped and disappeared in 1888.
Early life and education
Corbett was born in
Family and religion
After working as a milliner in Troy, Corbett returned to New York City.[3] In the early 1850s, Corbett met Susan Rebecca, who was thirteen years his senior, and they married. The couple migrated and on June 9, 1855, Corbett made his transition from British citizen to American, taking the oath in a Troy courthouse. Corbett had a hard time finding and keeping work in Richmond, Virginia, in large part because of his vociferous opposition to slavery. His wife took ill, and as they were returning to New York City by ship, Susan died at sea on August 18, 1856. The body continued on to New York, where the death was recorded and Susan was buried. Following her death, he moved to Boston. Corbett became despondent over the loss of his wife and, according to friends, began drinking heavily.[4] He was unable to hold a job and eventually became homeless.[1][5] After a night of heavy drinking, he was confronted by a street preacher whose message persuaded him to join the Methodist Episcopal Church. Corbett reportedly encountered some evangelical temperance Christians and was detained by them until he sobered up, undergoing a religious epiphany in the process.[6]
In 1857, Corbett began working at a hat manufacturer's shop on
Military career
Enlistment in the Union Army
On April 19, 1861, early in the
Andersonville
Despite his religious-oriented eccentricities, Corbett reportedly was a good soldier. On June 24, 1864, after Confederate States Army troops led by John S. Mosby in Culpeper, Virginia had captured a good number of Corbett's comrades, Corbett continued to fire at the enemy from behind a persimmon tree and in a ditch with a seven-shooter repeating rifle. Three attempts were made to capture him before success was finally had when he ran out of ammo. Once Corbett was overtaken, one of the junior officers leapt from his saddle, enraged at Corbett's persistence, knocked the Spencer rifle from Corbett and aimed a pistol at his head. Captain Chapman objected, "Don’t shoot that man! He has a right to defend himself to the last!" Corbett related later to friends that the man who saved his life was Mosby, though this is dubious.[20]
Corbett was to be a prisoner of war at Andersonville Prison. While on the way to Andersonville, the following incident happened, told by a fellow prisoner of Corbett's named William Collins:
At Macon there were about a thousand prisoners who had arrived ahead of us. The train we were on unloaded our thousand making 2000 in all. We were taken to an old pasture or common near the railroad tracks where a furrow was ploughed around it for a deadline. There was a small stream of water close to the guard line and the prisoners made a rush for it, most of them had no water for many hours, but the guards kept them back. One of the more venturesome than the rest got through the line and attempted to fill his canteen. He was immediately shot in the arm with buckshot by one of the guards. He was pushed back among our men and laid under a tree. The wounded man was suffering greatly and called for water to ease his pain, but none had any in his canteen. Boston Corbett stepped out of the ranks, having been unable to stand silent any longer. He crossed the deadline, filled his canteen in the stream and gave the wounded man a drink. The guards continually threatened him with death, but Corbett ignored them and went about his business. Despite their threats he returned unharmed and rejoined the ranks of prisoners. The cheers of the soldiers at this brave deed could have been heard one mile away, but Corbett seemed to think it was not out of the ordinary. It was the bravest deed that I had seen during the war. We arrived at Andersonville prison the next day.[citation needed]
Corbett met Richard Thatcher, a fellow POW who described Corbett as having "qualities that challenged my admiration, even more than the heroism he was capable of displaying in the battlefield. He read passages from the Scriptures to me, and spoke words of sound and wholesome advice, from which I began to learn that he was one who had the courage of his convictions."[21] Corbett, among others, led prayer meetings and patriotic rallies to boost morale, according to John McElroy's eyewitness account in his 1879 memoir Andersonville.[22]
After five months, Corbett was released in a
Pursuit and death of John Wilkes Booth
"Finding the fire gaining upon him (Booth), he turned to the other side of the barn, and got toward where the door was, and as he got there I saw him make a movement toward the door. I supposed he was going to fight his way out. One of the men, who was watching him, told me that he aimed the carbine at me. He was taking aim with the carbine, but at whom I could not say. My mind was upon him attentively to see that he did no harm, and when I became impressed that it was time I shot him. I took steady aim on my arm, and shot him through a large crack in the barn."
Corbett's testimony, May 17, 1865.[30]
Doherty, Conger and several soldiers rushed into the burning barn and carried Booth out. Assessing his condition, Corbett and others felt a cosmic justice in that Booth's entry wound was in the same spot he shot Lincoln.
Dragged to the porch of Garrett's farmhouse, Booth asked for water.[39] Conger and Baker poured some into his mouth, which he immediately spat out, unable to swallow; his wounds prevented him. Booth asked to be rolled over and turned facedown; Conger rejected the idea. "Then at least turn me on my side," Booth pleaded; the move did not relieve Booth's suffering. Baker said, "He seemed to suffer extreme pain whenever he was moved...and would several times repeat, "Kill me!"[41] At sunrise, Booth remained in agony and his breathing became more labored and irregular. Unable to move his limbs, he asked a soldier to lift his hands before his face and uttered his last words as he gazed at them, "Useless ... Useless." Booth then began gasping for air as his throat continued to swell, and he made a gurgling sound, before he expired from asphyxia. Booth died approximately two to three hours after Corbett shot him.
Doherthy told Corbett to ride to some neighbouring farms to find breakfast for the men. Corbett did so but first "rode off to a spot when I could be alone and pray, and when I had gone through my usual morning prayer, I asked the Lord in regard to the shooting. At once, I was filled with praise, for I felt a clear consciousness that it was an act of duty in the sight of God." Corbett found supplies for half the men and they finished their meal before Booth died.[42] Conger and Corbett rode off to Washington.[43]
Fame
According to Johnson, Corbett was accompanied by Lt. Doherty to the War Department in Washington, D.C. to meet Secretary Edwin Stanton about Booth's shooting. Edward Steers writes that it was "not against orders. Conger (said)..."They had no orders either to fire or not to fire."[44] Corbett maintained that he believed Booth had intended to shoot his way out of the barn and that he acted in self-defense. He told Stanton, "...Booth would have killed me if I had not shot first. I think I did right."[45] Corbett maintained that he did not intend to kill Booth, but merely wanted to inflict a disabling wound, but either his aim slipped or Booth moved at the moment Corbett pulled the trigger.[39] Stanton paused and then stated, "The rebel is dead. The patriot lives; he has spared the country expense, continued excitement and trouble. Discharge the patriot."[45] Martelle says that "no other source mentions such a meeting...Johnson's memoir, which came out a half-century later, is just another part of the lore."[46] Corbett was greeted by a cheering crowd. As he made his way to Mathew Brady's studio to have his official portrait taken, the crowd followed him asking for autographs and requesting that he tell them about shooting Booth. Corbett told the crowd:
I aimed at his body. I did not want to kill him....I think he stooped to pick up something just as I fired. That may probably account for his receiving the ball in the head. [W]hen the assassin lay at my feet, a wounded man, and I saw the bullet had taken effect about an inch back of the ear, and I remembered that Mr. Lincoln was wounded about the same part of the head, I said: "What a God we have...God avenged Abraham Lincoln."[32]
Corbett testified in the trial for the Lincoln assassination conspirators, testifying on May 17, 1865.[30]
Corbett was largely considered a hero by the public and press. Initial newspaper reporters described him as a simple and humble man devoted, possibly excessively to his faith, and had eccentricities but also did his duty well.[46] One newspaper editor declared that Corbett would, "live as one of the World's great avengers."[47] For his part in Booth's capture, Corbett received a portion of the $100,000 reward money, amounting to $1,653.84 (equivalent to $33,000 in 2023).[48][49] His annual salary as a U.S. sergeant was $204 (equivalent to $4,000 in 2023). Corbett received offers to purchase the gun he used to shoot Booth. He refused stating, "That is not mine—it belongs to the Government, and I would not sell it for any price."[50] Corbett also declined an offer for one of Booth's pistols as he did not want a reminder of shooting Booth.[50]
Negative responses
Later newspapers accounts began to offer some criticism of Corbett's actions, that he had acted wilfully and against orders when he shot Booth (no orders were actually issued on whether Booth should be taken alive).[43] Richard Garrett, the owner of the farm on which Booth died, and his 12-year-old son Robert said years later that Booth had never reached for his gun.[51] Steers disputes this, noting that this contradicts original accounts.
Post-war life
Southern sympathizers sent letters threatening to kill Corbett, so he kept a gun nearby at all times to defend himself.
R. B. Hoover, a man who later befriended Corbett, recalled that Corbett believed "men who were high in authority at Washington at the time of the assassination" were hounding him. Corbett said the men were angry because he had deprived them of prosecuting and executing John Wilkes Booth themselves. He also believed the same men had gotten him fired from various jobs.[55] Corbett's paranoia was furthered by hate mail he received for killing Booth. He became fearful that "Booth's Avengers" or organizations like the "Secret Order" were planning to seek revenge upon him and took to carrying a pistol with him at all times. As his paranoia increased, Corbett began brandishing his pistol at friends or strangers he deemed suspicious.[48]
While attending the Soldiers' Reunion of the Blue and Gray in Caldwell, Ohio, in 1875, Corbett got into an argument with several men over the death of John Wilkes Booth. The men questioned if Booth had really been killed at all which enraged Corbett. He then drew his pistol on the men but was removed from the reunion before he could fire it.[55] In 1878, Corbett moved to Concordia, Kansas, where he acquired a plot of land through homesteading upon which he constructed a dugout home. He continued working as a preacher and attended revival meetings frequently.[56] Throughout the rest of his life, he began to become paranoid that Booth family or friends would come and kill him, causing him to go insane.[citation needed]
Disappearance
Due to his fame as "Lincoln's Avenger", Corbett was appointed assistant doorkeeper of the
Conjecture arose that rather than going to Mexico, Corbett may have settled in a cabin he built in the forests near Hinckley, in Pine County in eastern Minnesota and that he died in the Great Hinckley Fire on September 1, 1894. This conjecture was based on speculation about the name "Thomas Corbett" appearing on the list of dead, and a secondhand account by someone who said the fire victim had claimed to be Boston Corbett.[58][59] Scott Martelle cited it as "too tenuous a connection to credit."[60][a]
Imposters
In the years following Corbett's disappearance, several men came forward claiming to be him. A few years after Corbett was last seen in Neodesha, Kansas, a patent medicine salesman in Enid, Oklahoma, filed an application using Corbett's name to receive pension benefits. After an investigation proved that the man was not Boston Corbett, he was sent to prison. In September 1905, a man arrested in Dallas also claimed to be Corbett. He too was proven to be an imposter and was sent to prison for perjury, and then to the Government Hospital for the Insane.[62]
Legacy
Scott Martelle who wrote the 2015 biography, "The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth" called Corbett "the closest to an average, everyday person...a regular, run-of-the-mill American—albeit a strange one—who did his job as a hatter, and then as a soldier".[60]
Memorials
In 1958, Boy Scout Troop 31, of Concordia, Kansas, built a roadside monument to Corbett located on Key Road. A small sign was also placed to mark the dugout where Corbett had lived for a time.[63]
Portrayals
A fictional version of Corbett appears in the novel Andersonville (1955). Dabbs Greer played an entirely fictitious version of Corbett in the Lawman episode "The Unmasked" (1962), in which Corbett is living under the name "Joe Brockway" as a Wyoming hotel owner, being searched for by two former vengeful Confederate soldiers. Corbett is portrayed by William Mark McCullough in the series Manhunt (2024).[b]
See also
- Edward P. Doherty
- Everton J. Conger
- Lafayette C. Baker
- List of people who disappeared
- Henry Rathbone, wounded by Booth during Lincoln's assassination; he was declared insane after killing his wife
Notes
- ^ Writer Dale L. Walker proposed Corbett as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.[61]
- ^ Coincidentally, McCullough previously portrayed John Wilkes Booth in the documentary Lincoln's Last Day (2015).
References
- ^ a b c Jameson 2013, pp. 128
- ^ a b c Walker & Jakes 1998, p. 159
- ^ a b Johnson 1914, p. 45
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. pp. 7–8.
- ^ Walker & Jakes 1998, p. 160
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 9.
- ^ Johnson 1914, pp. 45–46
- ^ Swanson 2007, p. 329
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 10.
- ^ Harper's Weekly, May 13, 1865
- ^ Kauffman 2004, p. 310
- ^ Johnson 1914, p. 46
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 11.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 13.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 22.
- ^ Walker & Jakes 1998, pp. 160–161
- ^ a b c Walker & Jakes 1998, p. 161
- ^ Jameson 2013, p. 129
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 38.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 42.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 50.
- ^ John McElroy (1897). Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons. Vol. 4. Toledo: D. R. Locke. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- ^ Chamlee & Chamlee 1989, p. 289
- ^ Chipman 1891, p. 40
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 98.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 101.
- ^ Swanson 2007, pp. 324–335
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 102.
- ^ Terry Alford, Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8131-7275-0.
- ^ a b c Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 103.
- ^ a b Goodrich 2005, pp. 227–228
- ^ "The Death of John Wilkes Booth, 1865". Eyewitness to History/Ibis Communications. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
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.
- ^ "American Experience | The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln". PBS. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
- ^ Goodrich, p. 211.
- ^ Smith, pp. 210–213.
- ^ Clemmer, Mary. Ten Years in Washington: Life and Scenes in the National Capital as a Woman Sees Them. Cincinnati: Queen City Publishing Company, 1874.
- ^ Jameson 2013, p. 135
- ^ a b c Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 104.
- ^ Swanson 2007, p. 340
- ^ Swanson, p. 139.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 105.
- ^ a b Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 106.
- ISBN 0-813-19151-3.
- ^ a b Goodrich 2005, p. 227
- ^ a b Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 110.
- ^ Goodrich 2005, p. 228
- ^ a b Goodrich 2005, p. 291
- ^ Swanson 2007, p. 358
- ^ a b Basler 1965, pp. 57–58
- ^ Nottingham 1997, p. 148
- ^ Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 118.
- ^ ""Boston Corbett, Camden History"".
- ^ a b Frazier, Robert B. (January 3, 1967). "The Strange Fate Of Boston Corbett". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 5. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Sparks et al. 1889, p. 382
- ^ a b Johnson 1914, p. 51
- ISSN 1079-3690. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^ Lincoln Herald, Volume 86, Lincoln Memorial University Press., 1984, pp. 152–155
- ^ Kubicek, Earl C, "The Case of the Mad Hatter", Lincoln Herald, Volume 83, Lincoln Memorial University Press, 1981, pp. 708–719
- ^ a b Martelle, Scott (2015). The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth. Chicago Review Press. p. 189.
- ISBN 978-0-312-86848-2.
- ^ Johnson 1914, pp. 52–53
- ^ "He Killed Lincoln's Killer, Then Lived In a Hole". Roadside America. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
Sources
- Basler, Roy (1965). The Assassination and History of the Conspiracy. New York: Hobbs, Dorman & Company, INC. ISBN 978-1-432-80265-3.
- Chamlee, Roy Z.; Chamlee, Roy Z. Jr. (1989). Lincoln's Assassins: A Complete Account of Their Capture, Trial, and Punishment. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-89950-420-9.
- Chipman, Norton Parker (1891). The Horrors of Andersonville Rebel Prison: Trial of Henry Wirz, the Andersonville Jailer; Jefferson Davis' Defense of Andersonville Prison Fully Refuted. Bancroft Co.
- Goodrich, Thomas (2005). The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-11132-6.
- Jameson, W. C. (2013). John Wilkes Booth: Beyond the Grave. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-589-79832-8.
- Johnson, Byron Berkeley (1914). Abraham Lincoln and Boston Corbett: With Personal Recollections of Each; John Wilkes Booth and Jefferson Davis, a True Story of Their Capture. B. B. Johnson.
- Kauffman, Michael W. (2004). American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies. Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50785-4.
- Nottingham, Theodore J. (1997). The Curse of Cain: The Untold Story of John Wilkes Booth. Theosis Books. ISBN 978-1-580-06021-9.
- Sparks, Jared; Everett, Edward; Lowell, James Russell; Lodge, Henry Cabot (1889). The North American Review, Volume 149. Making of America Project. University of Northern Iowa.
- Swanson, James L. (2007). Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. ISBN 978-0-06-051850-9.
- Walker, Dale L.; Jakes, John (1998). Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-86848-2.