JWB: Barn

Booth told Garret that he as a confederate soldier who was wounded and making his way back from the war. They received him openly. The next day they are all outside, the men hide because a calvary races by them. Now Garret is starting to be confused and concerned that they would steal their horses. They invited them a second night, but that they must leave in the morning and they were to stay in the Tobacco barn instead of the house. One of Garret's sons locks the men in the barn, without them knowing, so that they wouldn't steal a horse in the middle of the night.

2 am, April 26, 1865….25 men from the NY 16th Calvary arrived at the Garret farm, under the command of Lieutenant Edward Daughtry. The surround the farm house and demand the family to come outside. No one was saying anything. And then the oldest son cries, "whoever you're looking for it's probably those guys who are locked in the barn!"

The Barn has wide planks with wide gaps in-between for curing tobacco leaves. Garret and his neighbors stored furniture in it during the civil war and that's why his barn, unlike most in the area, has a lock on it. The soldiers force the same son, Jack Garret, to unlock the barn. The soldiers surround the barn, they say is the pair doesn't surrender they will burn the barn to the ground. Booth says, you better come in and get me/you brave boys, come in and get me. After about 10 minuets of the soldiers screaming, David Harold tells Booth that he's had enough. At first Booth says that he will kill him before he lets him out of the barn. But in a moment he changes his mind, he calls Harold a coward and tells Harold to go. Before Harold leaves, Booth grabs him and whispers, "whatever you do, don't tell them i have arms." Booth still has two pistols and the spencer carbine they picked up 12 days ago at the home of Mary Surratt. Booth was disappointed with Harold's decision, but yelled "this man had nothing to do with me."

Though the soldiers are told to take Booth alive, those who were there that night said their desire for revenge made it practically a mob scene. They light the barn in effort to get him to come out. Despite the flames starting to reach the ceiling, Booth still refuses to surrender. Booth said, "Alright my boys, prepare a stretcher for me.

Booth with no where else to go, drops his crutch and starts moving towards the door with the spencer carbine pointed at the door. We guess he was going to shoot his way out. Then outside, Boston Corrbett sees Booth raise the carbine, he levels his pistol between the slats of the tobacco barn and takes aim for his arm, but shoots him on the right side of the neck. Booth being paralyzed, he is carried to the front porch and for the next couple of hours he goes in and out of consciousness. He was shot through the neck vertebra. He asked them several times to kill him. And in his final moments, he said "Tell mother, I did it for my country." And he then asked them to lift up his hands, so he could say "useless, useless" and die.