Killing Lincoln Page #4

---

[chuckles].

That's what I said, Harry

and it's what I meant.

Now let's just hope he's

not paraded through the

streets as the Romans

did their captives, huh?

Thank you, Raybold.

Harry Ford:
Well, I'll

be sure to ask the

President his plan

in that regard.

John Wilkes Booth:

The President?

You mean the buffoon who

walked into Jeff Davis'

house in Richmond, threw

his legs over the chair

and spit tobacco juice

all over the place?

[men laughing].

Harry Ford:
He

don't chew tobacco,

John or I woulda put

a spittoon in the

Presidential

Box tonight.

A messenger for Mr.

Lincoln called this

morning for tickets.

For them and General

and Mrs. Grant.

Maybe we'll have

Robert E. Lee

and old Jefferson

Davis himself in

another box, both

of them in chains.

John Wilkes Booth:

I thought he was

attending

Grover's tonight.

[singing "Honor

to Our Soldiers"].

Tom Hanks:
Booth goes

to Pumphrey's stable

to reserve a horse,

then to write a letter,

a confession,

an explanation,

a manifesto,

signed by him on

behalf of himself,

Lewis Powell, David Herold

and George Atzerodt.

Meanwhile, Mr. and

Mrs. Lincoln take a

carriage ride, alone.

According to

Mary Todd Lincoln,

she has never

seen her husband so

supremely cheerful.

They talk about

the past,

about the death

of their son,

Willie, three

years before,

about the future,

traveling abroad and

Lincoln's plan to

return to his

law practice.

Lincoln tells Mary that

on this particular day

he feels that the war

has come to a close.

They end up at the

Washington Navy Yard,

where Lincoln summons

a young naval officer,

William H. Flood.

William H. Flood:

Mrs. Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln:
Mother,

the last time we saw

young Flood here, we

were in Springfield.

I was a lawyer and

he was but knee-high

to a grasshopper.

His mother was kin

with Governor Carlin.

Mary Todd Lincoln: Oh, I

remember Priscilla Flood.

Abraham Lincoln:
And his

father served with me

in the Illinois

State Legislature.

A Democrat, but, uh, a

friend and a good man,

despite his fervent

support of my opponent

for the presidency.

William H. Flood:

Sins of the father, sir.

Abraham Lincoln:

Never a sin to stand up

for what you believe.

Now, Flood, tell me,

which is the vessel

with the history?

William H. Flood:

Well, Mr. Lincoln,

they've all been

mussing around

under fire quite a lot,

but I guess you mean

the Montauk over there.

She's got the

hardest hitting.

Been in the

tightest spots.

Abraham Lincoln:

The very one, Flood.

Show her to me.

Mother?

Tom Hanks:
At 4:30, a

group of Confederate

prisoners of war is

being escorted from the

Navy Yard and up

Pennsylvania Avenue

when Booth encounters

his friend,

the actor John Mathews.

John Wilkes Booth:

Great God,

I have no longer

a country!

John Mathews:
What's

the matter, John?

John Wilkes Booth:

Mathews,

I have a favor to ask you.

Will you grant it?

I may have to leave

town tonight and

I have a letter here,

which I desire to

be published in

the National

Intelligencer.

Please attend to it for

me unless I see you

before 10 o'clock tomorrow.

John Mathews:
Why, there

goes General Grant.

John Wilkes Booth: Where?

Come on!

Tom Hanks:
General and

Mrs. Grant will later

recall the horseman

who peered into their

carriage twice on its way

to the train station.

The actor John Mathews

will be on stage

that evening at

Ford's Theater.

The next day he will

burn the letter.

The signed confession

given to him by

John Wilkes Booth.

Abraham Lincoln has

less than 15 hours to live.

[audience laughter].

Lord Dundreary:
You see,

I gave her a draught

that cured the

effect of the draught.

And that draught was a

draft that didn't pay

the doctor's bill.

Florence Trenchard:

Good gracious!

What a number

of draughts.

Florence Trenchard:

You have almost a

game of draughts.

[audience laughter].

Florence Trenchard:

What's the matter?

Lord Dundreary:
That

was a joke, that was.

Florence Trenchard:

Where's the joke?

Lord Dundreary:

She don't see it.

[audience laughter].

Florence Trenchard: Why,

anybody can see that.

[audience applauding].

[orchestra plays

"Hail to the Chief"].

[applause continues].

Tom Hanks:
At

roughly 8:
30 PM,

the Lincolns arrive

at Ford's Theater,

driven by coachman

Francis Burke and

footman Charles Forbes.

Abraham Lincoln:

Mr. Forbes, Mr. Parker,

I hope that you both

might enjoy the play.

Tom Hanks:
Since

November of 1864,

four officers of the

Metropolitan Police

have been detailed to

protect the President.

On this night,

John Parker is on duty.

As last-minute

replacements for

General and Mrs. Grant,

Mrs. Lincoln invites her

dear friend,

Clara Harris,

in the company

of her fianc,

Major Henry

Reed Rathbone.

[audience applause].

Tom Hanks:
The famously

self-educated Lincoln

is an enthusiastic

lover of theater.

But during the war

he is drawn to comedy,

telling Noah Brooks that

"a farce, or comedy,

is best played;

a tragedy is best

read at home."

A last-minute meeting

with Lewis Powell,

David Herold

and George Atzerodt

has just concluded.

The coordinated attack

that Booth outlined on

April 13th is to go

into effect immediately.

At 10:
15 Lewis Powell

is to kill

Secretary of State Seward

in his home on

Lafayette Square.

David Herold will

guide Powell out of

the city via

the Navy Yard Bridge.

George Atzerodt is

to kill

Vice President Johnson

at the

Kirkwood House Hotel.

The only change in the

plan is that Booth

will not be attending

"Aladdin" at Grover's!

Harry Ford:

Hello, John.

Tom Hanks:
He will kill

Lincoln at Ford's Theater.

Murcott:
I am harmless

except to myself.

Florence Trenchard:

Speak on, sir.

I hear you.

Tom Hanks:
It is

still early in act two.

Booth has calculated that

the appointed time of

beginning of act three of

"Our American Cousin"

and there will be an

intermission

between the acts.

Booth retrieves his horse

from Pumphrey's stable.

[knock at door].

John Wilkes Booth:

Mister Spangler,

hold this mare for

me 10 or 15 minutes.

Mind you, she's a

bad little b*tch.

Edman Spangler:

I can't, Mr. Booth.

It's almost intermission.

I gotta shift scenery.

John Wilkes Booth:

May I cross backstage?

Edman Spangler:
You're

gonna have to cross under.

And I can't

keep the horse.

Just go with him,

DeBonay and tell Peanuts

to come here and

hold this damned horse.

Florence Trenchard:

Mr. Asa Trenchard,

our American cousin.

This young gentleman has

carried off the prize by

three successive

shots in the bull's eye.

Actress:
I

congratulate you sir

and am happy

to see you.

Why have you left the

archery, Florence?

Florence Trenchard:

Because after Mr. Asa's

display, I felt in no

humor for shooting.

[footsteps].

Tom Hanks:
Booth

heads next door to

Peter Taltavul's

Star Saloon.

Whether or not

Francis Burke,

the man who drove the

Lincoln carriage and

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes