LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. CORBETT, THOMAS P ("BOSTON"), Slayer of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth . Autograph letter signed ("Boston Corbett Sergt, Co. L, 16th N.Y. Cavalry"), to Mr. Harrington, Lincoln Barracks, Washington, D.C., 11 May 1865. 1 full page, 8vo, framed with a portrait after negative by Matthew Brady . BOSTON CORBETT GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF BOOTH'S DEATH, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE EVENT Corbett (1832-?), a Union soldier from 1861 and for a time a prisoner of war at Andersonville, was one of a party of 26 cavalrymen from the 16th New York Infantry under the command of Edward Doherty, who pursued Booth and his accomplice, David E. Herold, after the assassination of Lincoln. At Garrett's farm in Virginia, Booth and an accomplice were cornered in a barn, which was set afire. When Booth refused to surrender, Corbett, aiming through a crack in the barn wall, shot him. Suddenly famous in the wake of Booth's shooting, in this letter he furnishes an account of Booth's shooting and death: "...I would say that Booth was shot on the morning of the 26th of April 1865 near Port Royal, Virginia at which place we crossed the Rappahannock in pursuit, He lived but a short time after he was shot, perhaps 3 hours, and at about Seven O'clock that morning he died..." Letters of Corbet dated close to the event are rare.
LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. CORBETT, THOMAS P ("BOSTON"), Slayer of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth . Autograph letter signed ("Boston Corbett Sergt, Co. L, 16th N.Y. Cavalry"), to Mr. Harrington, Lincoln Barracks, Washington, D.C., 11 May 1865. 1 full page, 8vo, framed with a portrait after negative by Matthew Brady . BOSTON CORBETT GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF BOOTH'S DEATH, TWO WEEKS AFTER THE EVENT Corbett (1832-?), a Union soldier from 1861 and for a time a prisoner of war at Andersonville, was one of a party of 26 cavalrymen from the 16th New York Infantry under the command of Edward Doherty, who pursued Booth and his accomplice, David E. Herold, after the assassination of Lincoln. At Garrett's farm in Virginia, Booth and an accomplice were cornered in a barn, which was set afire. When Booth refused to surrender, Corbett, aiming through a crack in the barn wall, shot him. Suddenly famous in the wake of Booth's shooting, in this letter he furnishes an account of Booth's shooting and death: "...I would say that Booth was shot on the morning of the 26th of April 1865 near Port Royal, Virginia at which place we crossed the Rappahannock in pursuit, He lived but a short time after he was shot, perhaps 3 hours, and at about Seven O'clock that morning he died..." Letters of Corbet dated close to the event are rare.
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Create an alert![LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. CORBETT, THOMAS P (](http://www.christies.com/images/no-image-340.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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