Object Details
associated person
Lincoln, Abraham
Description
These wrist irons confined the Lincoln conspirators. Emotions were so strong that the defendants were bound—with the exception of Mary Surratt, the only woman—even during the trial.
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
U.S. War Department. Bureau of Ordnance
ID Number
PL.010239a
catalog number
10239a
accession number
42272
Object Name
wrist irons
Object Type
handcuffs
Physical Description
iron (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 13 3/4 in x 3 in x 1 1/2 in; 34.925 cm x 7.62 cm x 3.81 cm
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
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_524530