How Did John Wilkes Booth Break His Leg? It Happened the Night of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

On April 21, 1865, The New York Times published a letter given to them by John Wilkes Booth's brother-in-law, John S. Clarke. It had been exactly a week since the famous actor shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln while he and his wife were watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Clarke had received this letter along with a package in November 1864, five months before the assassination. It was further proof that Booth had been planning to kill the president for quite some time.

The letter itself is primarily focused on Booth's disdain for the war and for Lincoln, who, in his opinion, was the sole cause of the bloodshed. He writes fondly of the Union and claims the South is merely fighting for states' rights while suggesting enslaved people should be grateful to white Americans for elevating them.

It's this hate, bigotry, and rage that brought Booth to Ford's Theatre the night he killed Lincoln on April 14, 1865. That evening did not go smoothly. Booth ended up breaking his leg, though experts don't agree on how it happened. Let's take a look at their theories.

The Civil War officially ended April 9, 1865, with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. All over the country, people who defended and fought for the Union were celebrating. Lincoln had been working tirelessly and decided to treat himself to one of his favorite activities, a night at the theater. The comedy Our American Cousin was playing up the street at Ford's Theatre and he had a ticket for himself, as well as his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and two guests.

Not everyone was in such a good mood. Booth was angry at the loss and had been drinking all day. When Booth found out Lincoln would be at the theater he knew like the back of his hand, the actor realized this was his only chance to kill him. There were also co-conspirators involved who had their own targets, but Booth was determined to assassinate the president himself.

On that night, he waited until the performance started and rode his horse into the alley behind the theater. Because he was a famous actor, no one questioned his appearance and no one noticed when he crept up the stairs to the president's balcony. Booth knew the play well and was waiting for a particular line that always got a big laugh. When that moment arrived, he took out the Deringer pistol and shot the president in the back of his head. He also stabbed Major Henry Rathbone, who was attempting to grab Booth.

As far as he could tell, there was only one way to escape and that was to leap from the balcony onto the stage. That's precisely what Booth did, and as he landed, he turned to the shocked crowd and screamed "Sic semper tyrannis," which is written on the Virginia state flag. It means "Thus always to tyrants." This is when most historians believe Booth broke his leg.

According to the National Park Service, some experts believe Booth hurt himself while riding his horse away from the crime scene. Based on his injuries, they theorize that his horse might have fallen and landed on the desperate actor. One thing that supports this idea is the fact that Booth's horse was injured on its left side. All we know for sure is that Booth wrote in his diary that "in jumping broke my leg."

Six hours after shooting Lincoln, Booth and co-conspirator David Herold arrived at the house of Dr. Samuel Mudd in what is now Waldorf, Md. He treated the actor's leg and gave both men a place to sleep for the night, per Ford's Theatre. Mudd would later tell police that he did not recognize Booth despite the fact that they spent time together both in D.C. and his home in Maryland.

Mudd would later be arrested and convicted as a conspirator along with seven other people. Four would go on to receive the death penalty while Mudd and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1869, Mudd was pardoned by Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson, and lived out the rest of his life on his farm in Maryland until he died of pneumonia in 1883.