Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

“Booth struck the bar table with his fist and regretted a lost opportunity. ‘What an excellent chance I had, if I wished, to kill the President on Inauguration day! I was on the stand, as close to him nearly as I am to you.’”

Swanson states in his author’s note that all of the quotations he provides in the text are based on written eyewitness accounts. This includes this statement from Booth to a friend given a few days after the inauguration of President Lincoln. Booth, being a celebrity, had stood on the dais behind the president when he was sworn in.

“As Booth left the White House grounds and walked toward Lafayette Square, he spoke to another companion, Lewis Powell: ‘That is the last speech he will ever give.’”

Booth, Herold, and Lewis were in attendance when Lincoln addressed the crowd of celebrants on April 11 from the window of the North Portico of the White House. In the speech, Lincoln confirmed his commitment to extend suffrage to (some) Black men. Hearing this further incensed Booth and led him to make this prophetic statement to his coconspirator Lewis Powell.

“John Wilkes Booth awoke Good Friday morning, April 14, 1865, hungover and depressed. The Confederacy was dead. His cause was lost and his dreams of glory over.”

Swanson uses poetic, literary language to describe Booth’s feelings on the morning of the assassination. This insight into Booth’s probable state of mind helps inform the reader about his motivations for taking the actions he did on that day.