Object Details
associated person
Lincoln, Abraham
Description
Once captured, the Lincoln conspirators were closely and constantly guarded. During their trial, iron keys locked their prison cells.
John Wilkes Booth’s attack on Lincoln was part of a larger plot to assassinate national leaders and throw the North into turmoil. The conspirators also planned to murder Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Besides Booth, eight individuals were charged. Because the plot was considered an act of war, a military commission tried the accused. The court sentenced four suspects to be hanged, and the others to prison.
Transfer from the War Department, 1904
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
War Department
associated date
1865
ID Number
PL.010238a
catalog number
10238a
accession number
42272
Object Name
key
Physical Description
iron (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 10 7/8 in x 4 in x 7/8 in; 27.6225 cm x 10.16 cm x 2.2225 cm
used in
United States: District of Columbia, Fort Lesley J. McNair
Related Publication
Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
See more items in
Political History: Political History, General History Collection
Government, Politics, and Reform
Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Assassination
Prisons
related event
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_524528