Camp Gagnon – "Lincoln’s Assassination: Step 1 in HIDDEN Government Overthrow"

Host: Mark Gagnon
Guests: Christos Bacadaporos
Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of Camp Gagnon's History Camp, Mark Gagnon deep-dives into the true story behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Shattering the "lone wolf" narrative taught in schools, Mark explores the shadowy and organized plot that aimed to decapitate the U.S. government in 1865—not just eliminate a President. From John Wilkes Booth’s upbringing and Confederate sympathies to the chillingly coordinated attacks on multiple government leaders, the episode unpacks conspiracy, execution, aftermath, and the strange echoes of history that followed.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Beyond the Textbook Lincoln Assassination

• Most know the basics: Booth kills Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, but "that's just the version we're taught one day in history class" [00:00].
• Reality: It was a coordinated conspiracy, with multiple targets, multiple attackers, and ambitions that rocked the entire American government.

2. John Wilkes Booth: Origins, Motives, and Racist Obsessions

• Booth’s Family & Name Symbolism:
  • Born to Mary Ann Holmes and famed actor Junius Brutus Booth, himself named after Caesar’s assassin. "It's almost as if he was, like, destined to, you know, assassinate..." [03:35].
• Career, Fame, and Southern Convictions:
  • Booth was a superstar actor of his era—making almost as much money as President Lincoln.
  • Resentful of his brother Edwin’s greater respect in the theater world—"He wanted Edwin's level of respect" [04:53].
• Confederate Sympathies and Radicalization:
  • Though from Maryland (a Union state), Booth actively supported the Confederacy, smuggling supplies to troops, joining militias, aiding capture of John Brown, and "was a real racist Southern Confederate ideologue" [07:26].
  • Booth despised Lincoln as a "tyrant"—his hatred was deeply political and personal.
  • By 1864, Booth was plotting to kidnap Lincoln; as the Confederacy unraveled, "he wanted to do something much darker: assassination” [20:14].

3. Fascinating Family Coincidences

• Edwin Booth, John’s brother, once saved Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, from a deadly train accident [09:48].
• All three Booths performed together in a rendition of Julius Caesar in 1864, with John playing Marc Antony, "the character in the play who avenges Caesar's assassination" [11:26].

4. Plotting and Preparation: From Kidnap to Murder

• Conspirator Network:
  • The core plotters assembled at Mary Surratt's boarding house: John Surratt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt—variously connected by Southern sympathies, roles, and oddball personalities [13:36].
• Kidnap Plans Fizzle:
  • Repeated failed attempts, logistics issues, and changing Lincoln's schedule led Booth to escalate from kidnapping to a plan for simultaneous assassinations [16:36].
• Shift to Assassination:
  • After Lee’s surrender, with the South losing, Booth plots to kill Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, Secretary of State Seward, and General Grant [17:50].

5. April 14, 1865: The Night of Chaos

• Booth’s Preparation:
  • Booth visits Ford's, drills a peephole in the presidential box door, learns Lincoln (and possibly Grant) will attend, and finalizes the plot with co-conspirators [19:37].
• Security Lapses:
  • Lincoln’s bodyguard is slack—a reputation for unreliability and even leaves the box to drink, coincidentally in the same bar as Booth [20:40].
• Theatre Scene:
  • Lincoln is in high spirits; his last words to his wife during the play: "She won't think anything about it" (referring to being seen holding hands) [22:35].

Assassination:

• Booth enters the unguarded box at 10:15pm amid laughter, fires a single shot into Lincoln’s head, leaps to the stage, shouts "Sic semper tyrannis!", and breaks his leg in the process [24:10].
• Booth flees, with the initial audience confusion—many thought it was part of the show—giving him precious seconds to escape.

6. The Coordinated Attacks That Nearly Were

• Lewis Powell’s Attack on Secretary Seward:
  • Powell, under false medical pretenses, enters Seward’s home, attacks the Secretary, and slashes his face and neck (his jaw splint fortuitously saves his life). Multiple family members and staff are injured, Powell flees, shouting "I'm mad, I'm mad" [28:45].
• The Failed Attack on Vice President Johnson:
  • Atzerodt, assigned to Johnson, loses his nerve, gets drunk in the hotel bar, asks suspicious questions, and ultimately fails to act—"He was kind of entranced by John Wilkes Booth's fame" [31:37].
  • Booth leaves a cryptic note for Johnson: "Don't wish to disturb you. Are you at home? J. Wilkes Booth"—historians still debate the intention [33:27].

7. The Pursuit and Aftermath

• Booth & Herold’s Escape:
  • Cross the Navy Yard Bridge into Maryland (past Union guards), pick up supplies from Surratt’s Tavern, then seek sanctuary with Dr. Samuel Mudd to fix Booth’s injured leg [35:05].
• Booth’s Disillusionment:
  • Hiding in swamps, Booth expects to be lauded as a hero but finds universal condemnation—“I, for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common cutthroat” [36:50].
• Final Stand at Garrett’s Farm:
  • Union cavalry surrounds Booth at Garrett's farm on April 26. Herold surrenders, but Booth refuses. The barn is set ablaze; Sergeant Boston Corbett shoots Booth, leaving him paralyzed. Booth’s last words: “Useless, useless” [38:50].
  • Booth dies at age 26; his corpse is first buried in secrecy, then later reinterred in Baltimore.

8. Justice for the Conspirators

• Swift & Brutal Legal Response:
  • Key plotters (Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, Mary Surratt, Dr. Samuel Mudd) all apprehended—often through incriminating blunders (like returning to Surratt’s house covered in blood) [41:10].
  • Military commission trial, not civilian court—"Lincoln's assassination was an act of war" [45:08].
  • Powell, Herold, Atzerodt, Mary Surratt executed together on July 7, 1865 [46:25]. Notable final words:
    • Mary Surratt: "Please don’t let me fall" [46:40]
    • George Atzerodt: “May we meet? In another world. God take me now.” [48:07]
  • Mudd sentenced to life but later pardoned after aiding during yellow fever epidemic at Fort Jefferson [51:05].
  • John Surratt (Mary’s son) flees, serves in the Papal Zouaves, is later captured but never convicted [52:02].

9. Lingering Mysteries, Coincidences, and Conspiracies

• Lincoln/Kennedy Synchronicities:
  • Mark recites a list of bizarre parallels—Congress years, assassins, successors’ names, and more. “Lincoln was killed in Ford’s Theater, Kennedy was killed in a Lincoln” [56:01].
• The Booth Mummy Urban Legend:
  • Stories that Booth escaped—claims of imposters, carnival mummies, and conspiracy theories featuring drifter “David George” in Oklahoma [58:46].
• Legacy Reflections:
  • The Booth name lives on in Manhattan’s Booth Theatre and a statue of Edwin Booth—"the brother of the guy that killed one of America's most infamous presidents" [01:00:25].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This wasn’t a one man act. It was an organized plot. And the story that followed is far darker than the ones we’re taught in history class.” — Mark Gagnon, [00:26]
• "He was named after the man that killed the president of ancient Rome." — Mark on Booth’s father [03:00]
• “He smuggled medical supplies to Confederate troops during his travels...He was like, you know, we are a white nation. We got to protect this.” — Mark on Booth’s actions and beliefs [07:24]
• “But Booth never ran. The fire grew; Sergeant Boston Corbett fired a single shot...Booth said, ‘Useless, useless.’ He died a few hours later.” [38:40]
• "Atzerodt tried to hide in the attic, but a search party found him under a pile of strawberries." — Mark, on botched plots and failed getaways [44:55]
• “Please don’t let me fall.” — Mary Surratt’s final words [46:40]
• “Lincoln was killed in Ford’s Theater, Kennedy was killed in a Lincoln.” — Mark, on eerie coincidences [56:30]
• “Everyone knows me as Abraham Lincoln's son, but no one truly knows Robert Lincoln, not even me.” — Robert Todd Lincoln, as relayed by Mark [54:42]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:00] – Introduction: Rethinking the standard story of Lincoln’s assassination
• [03:35] – Booth’s background, family, and formative influences
• [09:48] – Booth’s brother saves Lincoln’s son—ironic intersections
• [13:36] – The conspirators assemble; early kidnapping plots
• [17:50] – Shift from kidnapping to assassination after Confederate surrender
• [22:35] – Ford’s Theater, altered security, and Lincoln’s last night
• [24:10] – The assassination: sequence and immediate chaos
• [28:45] – Simultaneous attacks: Powell at Seward’s, Atzerodt’s failed try at Johnson
• [35:05] – Booth and Herold’s escape, medical aid from Dr. Mudd
• [38:50] – Booth’s death at Garrett’s farm
• [41:10] – Capture and prosecution of the conspirators
• [46:40] – Execution of the main conspirators; notable final words
• [51:05] – Dr. Mudd’s imprisonment and later pardon
• [52:02] – John Surratt’s escape, adventures, and acquittal
• [54:42] – The tragic life of Robert Todd Lincoln
• [56:01] – Lincoln/Kennedy coincidences and pop culture
• [58:46] – The "Booth mummy" lore and conspiracy theories

Additional Insights & Listener Engagement

• Mark encourages listeners to comment with more “weird synchronicity stuff,” reveals he reads all comments, and even teases merch giveaways for top comments [01:01:58].
• The discussion ends with a reflection on the enigmatic legacy of the Lincoln assassination and its persistent hold on American imagination.

Summary

This episode not only dismantles the myth of Booth as a lone assassin but uncovers a complex, multi-limbed plot against the U.S. government. The tale brims with fascinating irony, tragedy, and even dark humor—from the Booth family connections to Shakespearean foreshadowing, and the botched assassination attempts, to the long, strange afterlife of conspiracies and mummified impostors. Listeners come away with a richer, more textured understanding of the event that changed America forever—and a sense of the eccentric, lively historical commentary that makes Camp Gagnon’s History Camp a unique stop for history lovers.

End of Summary