1. Boston Corbett shot and mortally wounded Booth when his regiment surrounded the barn Booth was hiding in.
57 Facts About Boston Corbett
1. 2.
Boston Corbett drifted around the United States before he was committed to Topeka Asylum for the Insane after being declared insane in 1887.
3.
Boston Corbett was born in London, England, on January 29,1832, and immigrated with his family to the US in 1840.
4.
Historians have theorized that the mental issues Boston Corbett exhibited before and after the Civil War were caused by this exposure.
5.
The couple migrated, and on June 9,1855, Boston Corbett became an American citizen, taking the oath in a Troy courthouse.
6.
Boston Corbett had a hard time finding and keeping work in Richmond, Virginia, in large part because of his vociferous opposition to slavery.
7.
Boston Corbett's wife became ill, and, as they were returning to New York City by ship, she died at sea on August 18,1856.
8.
Boston Corbett became despondent over the loss of his wife and, according to friends, began drinking heavily.
9.
Boston Corbett reportedly encountered some evangelical temperance Christians and was detained by them until he sobered up, undergoing a religious epiphany in the process.
10.
In 1857, Corbett began working at a hat manufacturer's shop on Washington Street in downtown Boston.
11.
Boston Corbett was reported to be a proficient milliner but was known to proselytize frequently and stop work to pray and sing for co-workers who used profanity in his presence.
12.
Boston Corbett began working as a street preacher and would sermonize and distribute religious literature in North Square.
13.
Corbett soon earned a reputation around Boston for being a "local eccentric" and religious fanatic.
14.
Boston Corbett ate a meal and attended a prayer meeting before someone was sent for medical treatment.
15.
Boston Corbett regularly attended meetings at the Fulton and Bromfield Street churches where his enthusiastic behavior earned him the nickname "The Glory to God man".
16.
Boston Corbett was described as friendly and open, helpful to those he saw in need but quick to condemn those he thought were out of step with God.
17.
Boston Corbett routinely gathered up drunken sinners from the New York streets and took them to his room, where he would sober them up and feed them, restoring their health and trying to help them find work.
18.
Boston Corbett continually expended all his own money and frequently borrowed from friends.
19.
Boston Corbett always carried a Bible with him and read passages aloud from it regularly, held unauthorized prayer meetings, and argued with his superior officers.
20.
Boston Corbett condemned officers and superiors for what he perceived as violations of God's word.
21.
Boston Corbett was sent to the guardhouse for several days but refused to apologize for his insubordination.
22.
Boston Corbett's sentence was eventually reduced, and he was discharged in August 1863.
23.
Boston Corbett re-enlisted later that month in Company L, 16th New York Cavalry Regiment.
24.
Boston Corbett was to be a prisoner of war at Andersonville Prison.
25.
Boston Corbett was immediately shot in the arm with buckshot by one of the guards.
26.
Boston Corbett was pushed back among our men and laid under a tree.
27.
Boston Corbett stepped out of the ranks, having been unable to stand silent any longer.
28.
Boston Corbett crossed the deadline, filled his canteen in the stream and gave the wounded man a drink.
29.
The guards continually threatened him with death, but Boston Corbett ignored them and went about his business.
30.
The cheers of the soldiers at this brave deed could have been heard one mile away, but Boston Corbett seemed to think it was not out of the ordinary.
31.
Boston Corbett read passages from the Scriptures to me, and spoke words of sound and wholesome advice, from which I began to learn that he was one who had the courage of his convictions.
32.
Boston Corbett later testified for the prosecution in the trial of the commandant of Andersonville Prison, Captain Henry Wirz.
33.
Boston Corbett's regiment had barely left the Capitol after the funeral parade when orders caught up with Canadian-born Lt.
34.
Boston Corbett took time to request permission to attend night meetings at McKendree Chapel, where the leader allowed Boston Corbett to lead in prayer over the President's death.
35.
Boston Corbett was positioned near a large crack in the barn wall.
36.
Colonel Everton Conger came past Boston Corbett, igniting clumps of hay and slipped them in the cracks in the wall, hoping to burn Booth out.
37.
Boston Corbett claimed that he saw Booth aim his carbine, prompting him to shoot at Booth through the crack with his Colt revolver, mortally wounding him.
38.
Boston Corbett was taking aim with the carbine, but at whom I could not say.
39.
Boston Corbett stepped forward and admitted he shot Booth, giving Doherty his gun.
40.
Doherty, Baker and Conger questioned Boston Corbett, who said he had intended to merely wound Booth in the shoulder but that either his aim slipped or Booth moved when Boston Corbett fired.
41.
Doherty told Boston Corbett to ride to neighboring farms to find breakfast for the men.
42.
Boston Corbett testified in the trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, testifying on May 17,1865.
43.
Boston Corbett was largely considered a hero by the public and press.
44.
Boston Corbett received offers to purchase the gun he used to shoot Booth.
45.
Boston Corbett gave lectures about the shooting of Booth accompanied by illustrated lantern slides at Sunday schools, women's groups and tent meetings.
46.
Boston Corbett was never asked back due to his increasingly erratic behavior and incoherent speeches.
47.
Boston Corbett said the men were angry because he had deprived them of prosecuting and executing John Wilkes Booth themselves.
48.
Boston Corbett believed the same men had gotten him fired from various jobs.
49.
Boston Corbett's paranoia was furthered by hate mail he received for killing Booth.
50.
Boston Corbett became fearful that "Booth's Avengers" or organizations like the "Secret Order" were planning to seek revenge upon him and took to carrying a pistol with him at all times.
51.
Boston Corbett then drew his pistol on the men but was removed from the reunion before he could fire it.
52.
In 1878, Boston Corbett moved to Concordia, Kansas, where he acquired a plot of land through homesteading upon which he constructed a dugout home.
53.
Boston Corbett continued working as a preacher and attended revival meetings frequently.
54.
Boston Corbett jumped to his feet, brandished a revolver, and began chasing the officers out of the building.
55.
Boston Corbett then rode to Neodesha, Kansas, where he briefly stayed with Richard Thatcher.
56.
When Boston Corbett left, he told Thatcher he was going to Mexico.
57.
Boston Corbett is portrayed by William Mark McCullough in the series Manhunt.