On Friday, May 12, 1865 in Washington, D.C. the eight accused Lincoln assassination conspirators pleaded not guilty to both specifications and charges before the nine man, military commission sitting as their court. The trial would end on June 30, with guilty verdicts for all. Four received life sentences; four received death sentences, including Lewis Paine who had attacked Secretary of State William Seward, George Atzerodt who had abandoned his attack on the then Vice President Johnson, David Herold who aided Booth, and Mary Surratt who ran the boarding house where Booth met with some of his fellow conspirators. On July 7, 1865 in Washington, the four were hanged. Michael O’Laughlin died of yellow fever while a prisoner; Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Samuel Arnold were eventually pardoned and released.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.