John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor, but is now most known for assassinating President Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth was originally studying military when he decided to quit and follow his brothers (Junius Jr. and Edwin) into the theater business. John Wilkes Booth’s first act was in Shakespeare’s Richard III. He was doing plays there for a year when he moved to the Marshall Theatre in Richmond, Virginia. John Booth gained a reputation at this theatre for his incredible performances and good looks. Since John was a native to Maryland, he was appalled at John Brown’s Raid and witnessed his hanging. Lincoln had attended one of Booth’s performances, The Marble Heart performed at Washington Ford’s Theatre, and it would be his last. On April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth got into the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre and shouted “Revenge for the South!” and shot Lincoln from behind. John then jumped over the railing and badly hurt his leg. He then got up and shouted “Sic semper tyrannus!” (Thus always I bring death to tyrants). John then ran out the back of the theatre and rode his horse and rode away. That is a summary of John Wilkes Booth.
(Image Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes_Booth
(Image Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkes_Booth
Military Technology
During the Civil War a lot of new military advancements were made. This article will explain some of them. Before the Civil War American soldiers used muskets that could only hold one round at a time and took a while to reload. These muskets also only shot around 250 yards. At this range these muskets were extremely ineffective and their “effective range” was only around 80 yards. When the Civil War came along, a new type of gun was being produced called a “Rifle.” These rifles had a much longer effective range of 1,000 yards and were much more accurate. The one flaw with these rifles was that the ammunition it was firing was around the same diameter as the gun’s barrel. Which meant that it took a much longer time to reload. Another form of technological advancement was the Balloon. The balloon was a hydrogen filled airship that was used to spy on Confederate encampments. Another thing that was introduced during the Civil War was the Telegraph. The telegraph was extremely important because it allowed for instantaneous communication between President Abraham Lincoln and Union generals. The Confederates did not have technological and industrial ability to use this advancement.
(Image Source) http://www.civil-conflict.org/civil-war-weapons/civil-war-weapons.htm