Arguably the nation's most famous assassin, John Wilkes Booth was an accomplished actor ... Fiercely opposed to abolition, he attended the hanging of John Brown. He was outspoken in his hatred ...

The hanging site would be free of all civilians ... Also watching in the crowd was the actor John Wilkes Booth, who had joined the Richmond Grays in order to view the execution.

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.