Booth Brothers: Drama, Fame, and the Death of President Lincoln
Soldiers from the Richmond Grays gathered at the execution of John Brown a crusader who turned to violence in his effort to abolish slavery in the United States Someone provided him with a gray Richmond militia uniform To the delight of the soldiers the young actor boarded the train and joined them on their journey When the other soldiers asked who would take his place on stage that night Booth said he neither knew nor cared John Wilkes Booth was relishing the rank of make-believe private His skills as an actor served him well as he camped with his new military acquaintances For their amusement he spent each evening reciting dramatic poems and bits and pieces of plays John was so engaging and charming that a reporter there to cover the execution even wrote a story about him for the Richmond Enquirer newspaper Amongst them I notice Mr J Wilkes Booth a son of Junius Brutus Booth who though not a member as soon as he heard the tap of the drum shouldered his musket and marched with the Grays 1 Far away from Charlestown Edwin Booth’s fiancée Mary Devlin didn’t share the
reporter’s admiration for her future brother-in-law Replying to Edwin’s letter describing his brother’s action she wrote Your news concerning the mad step John has taken I confess did not surprise me Tis a great pity he has not more sense but time will teach him 2 While John entertained troops and played soldier Edwin Booth had begun to settle down into a stable life at least a life as stable as an actor could have at the time He traveled most of the year performing Shakespeare like his father before him As a rising star of the stage he began to make powerful friends One year before the execution of John Brown 24-year-old Edwin was invited to the home of Dr Samuel Howe and his wife Julia Ward Howe The Howes had just seen him perform at the Boston Theater Dr Howe ran a school for the blind and his wife would soon gain fame for writing the song The Battle Hymn of the Republic They were among Boston’s elite social families They were also dedicated abolitionists Their home called Green Peace had served as a stop on the Underground Railroad It provided safe harbor for runaway slaves for more than 10 years While others in their social circles turned up their noses at the thought of rubbing elbows with common actors the Howes considered Edwin Booth a great artist of the stage Julia Howe wrote about him in her diary In every word and every gesture the touch of genius made itself felt 3 In the fall of 1858 Julia threw the first of several parties in Edwin’s honor to introduce the young actor to Boston society Their friendship would last throughout their lives Through the Howes Edwin Booth’s social circle overlapped with John Brown’s The Howes had hosted Brown at their home and Dr Howe had met with him on several occasions He also had introduced Brown to others who shared their views on slavery and politics The Howes along with their wealthy friends provided much of the money Brown needed to arm his supporters and obtain land in Harper’s Ferry In fact Dr Howe was one of the Secret Six a group of Brown’s most reliable financial backers
The Howes while supporting Brown’s abolitionist cause may have chosen to stay ignorant of the more violent details of Brown’s plan While one brother rubbed elbows with abolitionists in high society the other stood guard nearby as the Howes best hope for fighting slavery was taken from his jail cell In Charlestown John Brown handed his silver watch to his jailer John Avis to thank him for his care Head held high Brown was led to the back of the wagon that carried him to the gallows His own coffin a long wooden box served as his seat After he mounted the steps to the execution site Brown’s neck was secured in a noose Just before his head was shrouded with a white hood Brown took his last glimpse of this earth He saw a tight circle of soldiers surrounding him No armed mob came to free him The platform under Brown’s feet dropped open and he died by hanging John Wilkes Booth later wrote I saw John Brown hung And I blessed the justice of my countrys sic laws I may say I helped to hang John Brown and while I live I shall think with joy upon the day when I saw the sun go down upon one trator sic less within our land 4 While Brown did not live to see slavery abolished he left John Avis a note that would prove prophetic It read I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood I had vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done 5 Just as Brown predicted blood would indeed flow soon The first shots of the Civil War the bloodiest chapter in American history were mere months away Many people considered John Brown a hero and crusader against slavery while others regarded him as a villain and murderer He was 59 years old when he was executed in Virginia
CHAPTER 3 FAMILY AND COUNTRY DIVIDED W ith both brothers walking in their famous father’s acting footsteps another problem had arisen There wasn’t room for two famous Booth actors Edwin decided they would split the country between them He would tour the North and its rich urban cities such as New York and Boston John Wilkes could have the South Brother Junius the oldest of the Booths had settled in California years earlier during the Gold Rush While he too had taken up acting there were vast territories of mountains and plains separating him from his young brothers ambitions A deep division between the North and South was brewing in the country as well Slavery was splitting what were then the 33 states of the United States of America Fifteen of the states were slave states allowing people to be bought sold and enslaved within their borders The slave states ran from Maryland all the way down to Florida to the south and Texas to the west The northern states were known as free states but even in those places the laws related to runaway slaves former slaves and slaves transported across state lines were often complicated and unfair The presidential election of 1860 was especially divisive due to the issue of slavery and states rights Some wanted an expansion of slavery and more rights for slave owners Others wanted slavery outlawed throughout the country The disagreement led to a split in the Democratic Party which divided along free and slave states into the Northern Democratic Party and the Southern Democratic Party A new party called the Constitutional Union Party also formed This fragmenting of political groups left the
