49 Facts About Boston Corbett

Thomas H "Boston" Corbett was an American Union Army soldier who shot and killed US president Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

Boston Corbett was largely considered a hero by the media and the public.

Boston Corbett was born in London and immigrated with his family to New York City in 1840.

Historians have theorized that the mental issues Boston Corbett exhibited before and after the Civil War were caused by this exposure.

Boston Corbett later married, but his wife and child died in childbirth.

Boston Corbett became despondent over the loss of his wife and began drinking heavily.

Boston Corbett was unable to hold a job and eventually became homeless.

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".

In 1857, Corbett began working at a hat manufacturer's shop on Washington Street in downtown Boston.

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.

Boston Corbett began working as a street preacher and would sermonize and distribute religious literature in North Square.

Corbett soon earned a reputation around Boston for being a "local eccentric" and religious fanatic.

Boston Corbett then ate a meal and went to a prayer meeting before seeking medical treatment.

Boston Corbett carried a Bible with him at all times and read passages aloud from it regularly, held unauthorized prayer meetings and argued with his superior officers.

Boston Corbett condemned officers and superiors for what he perceived as violations of God's word.

Boston Corbett was sent to the guardhouse for several days but refused to apologize for his insubordination.

Boston Corbett's sentence was eventually reduced and he was discharged in August 1863.

Boston Corbett re-enlisted later that month as a private in Company L, 16th New York Cavalry Regiment.

Boston Corbett was immediately shot in the arm with buckshot by one of the guards.

Boston Corbett was pushed back among our men and laid under a tree.

Boston Corbett stepped out of the ranks, having been unable to stand silent any longer.

Boston Corbett crossed the deadline, filled his canteen in the stream and gave the wounded man a drink.

The guards continually threatened him with death, but Boston Corbett ignored them and went about his business.

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.

Boston Corbett was released in an exchange in November 1864 and was admitted to the Army hospital in Annapolis, Maryland, where he was treated for scurvy, malnutrition and exposure.

Boston Corbett later testified for the prosecution in the trial of the commandant of Andersonville, Captain Henry Wirz.

Boston Corbett was positioned near a large crack in the barn wall.

Boston Corbett's pulse weakened as his breathing became more labored and irregular.

Boston Corbett was immediately arrested and was accompanied by Lt.

When questioned by Secretary Edwin Stanton about Booth's capture and shooting, both Doherty and Boston Corbett himself agreed that Boston Corbett had, in fact, disobeyed orders not to shoot.

However, Boston Corbett maintained that he believed Booth had intended to shoot his way out of the barn and that he acted in self-defense.

Boston Corbett received offers to purchase the gun he used to shoot Booth.

Boston Corbett gave lectures about the shooting of Booth accompanied by illustrated lantern slides at Sunday schools, women's groups and tent meetings.

Boston Corbett was never asked back due to his increasingly erratic behavior and incoherent speeches.

Hoover, a man who later befriended Boston Corbett, recalled that Boston Corbett believed "men who were high in authority at Washington at the time of the assassination" were hounding him.

Boston Corbett said the men were angry because he had deprived them of prosecuting and executing John Wilkes Booth themselves.

Boston Corbett believed the same men had gotten him fired from various jobs.

Boston Corbett's paranoia was furthered by hate mail he received for killing Booth.

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.

Boston Corbett then drew his pistol on the men but was removed from the reunion before he could fire it.

In 1878, Boston Corbett moved to Concordia, Kansas, where he acquired a plot of land through homesteading upon which he constructed a dugout home.

Boston Corbett continued working as a preacher and attended revival meetings frequently.

In January 1887, Boston Corbett was elected Assistant Doorkeeper in the Kansas House of Representatives where he frequently had run-ins with the public and elected officials, often brandishing his revolver.

Boston Corbett jumped to his feet, brandished a revolver and began chasing the officers out of the building.

Boston Corbett then rode to Neodesha, Kansas, where he briefly stayed with Richard Thatcher, a man he had met while they were prisoners of war.

When Boston Corbett left, he told Thatcher he was going to Mexico.

Rather than going to Mexico, Boston Corbett is believed to have settled in a cabin he built in the forests near Hinckley, in Pine County in eastern Minnesota.

Boston Corbett too was proven to be an imposter and was sent to prison for perjury, and then to the Government Hospital for the Insane.

In 1958, Boy Scout Troop 31, of Concordia, Kansas, built a roadside monument to Boston Corbett located on Key Road.