Hanging of Mary Surratt, Lewis Paine, David Herold, and George Atzerodt.
Library of Congress
The four conspirators sentenced to death in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln were hanged on a stifling summer day, July 7, 1865, almost in the shadow of the seat of the federal government, as evidenced in this panoramic photo of the aftermath. The condemned—Mary Surratt, Lewis Paine, David Herold, and George Atzerodt—were executed at the Washington Arsenal, known today as Fort Lesley J. McNair.
Visible in the background of this Alexander Gardner photograph are the unfinished Washington Monument, a glimpse of the White House, and the Smithsonian Castle. Gardner and his team used two cameras through the open windows of the building on the left to photograph the executions. Then he hustled to the roof of the arsenal building for this final image. The bodies hang in their nooses, white shrouds covering their heads, and their wooden coffins have been moved to the base of the gallows as the witnesses begin leaving the courtyard. The building at left still stands, but the courtyard has been replaced by tennis courts.
Bob Zeller is president of the nonprofit Center for Civil War Photography, which is devoted to collecting, preserving, and digitizing Civil War images.
