overall: 10 7/8 in x 4 in x 7/8 in; 27.6225 cm x 10.16 cm x 2.2225 cm
Object Name:
key
Used in:
United States: District of Columbia, Fort Lesley J. McNair
Associated date:
1865
Description:
Once captured, the Lincoln conspirators were closely and constantly guarded. During their trial, iron keys locked their prison cells.
John Wilkes Booth’s attack on Lincoln was part of a larger plot to assassinate national leaders and throw the North into turmoil. The conspirators also planned to murder Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Besides Booth, eight individuals were charged. Because the plot was considered an act of war, a military commission tried the accused. The court sentenced four suspects to be hanged, and the others to prison.
