On this day in 1865, which murderous actor was shot dead by Boston Corbett, a Union soldier in Port Royal, Virginia U.S.A.?
Boston Corbett Boston Corbett Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett (January 29, 1832 – presumed dead c. September 1, 1894) was a Union Army soldier who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Corbett was initially arrested for disobeying orders, but was later released on the orders of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who referred to Corbett as "the patriot" upon dismissing him. He was largely considered a hero by the media and the public. Known for his devout religious beliefs and eccentric behavior, Corbett drifted around the United States before disappearing around 1888. Circumstantial evidence suggests that he died in
Port Royal, Virginia farm at sunrise. Shot through the neck and instantly paralyzed, Booth died on the porch of the Garrett house (carried there after falling in the barn). One of his accomplices in the murder who was with him and captured at the Garrett farm, David Herold, was tried, convicted and hanged on July 7, 1865, along with other conspirators. Poet Judith Lomax lived in Port Royal for some years. Port Royal is located in northern Caroline County at (38.169799, −77.190763), on the south bank of the Rappahannock River. U.S. Routes 17 and 301 cross just southwest of the town limits. US