Skip to main content

Primary sourceDocumentApril 20, 1865

Wanted Poster for the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators

U.S. War Department · April 20, 1865

A War Department reward poster offering $100,000 for the capture of John Wilkes Booth and two accomplices after Lincoln's assassination.

Documents the official manhunt for Lincoln's assassin and his accomplices.

Ask Abraham Lincoln about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A printed reward poster with photographs of three men, John Wilkes Booth, John Surratt, and David Herold, wanted for the assassination of Lincoln.
U.S. War Department, Wanted poster for the Lincoln assassination conspirators, April 20, 1865. Library of Congress / Smithsonian.

About this source

What it is

This is a broadside issued by the U.S. War Department on April 20, 1865, offering a large reward for the capture of John Wilkes Booth, John Surratt, and David Herold. It includes photographic prints of the three men and is held by the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian.

Why it matters

The poster shows the urgent manhunt that followed Lincoln's assassination. Its use of photographs to help identify suspects was an early example of photography being used for law enforcement.

Look closer

  • Why might the government have used actual photographs instead of drawn pictures?
  • What does the large reward amount suggest about how seriously officials treated the crime?
  • What information does the poster give, and what might it leave out about the men it describes?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Abraham Lincoln on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Abraham Lincoln sources

Meet the AI Abraham Lincoln →
Black-and-white photograph of a large, blurred crowd of men in top hats and dark coats at an outdoor event, with a flag on a pole in the background. Some figures are sharply visible, others motion-blurred.Speech

Primary source

Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln · 19 November 1863

Black and white seated portrait of a bearded man with short dark hair in a dark suit, bow tie, and white shirt, with a watch chain across his vest. He rests his hands on his knees against a pale backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Abraham Lincoln Photograph after Mathew Brady

Mathew B. Brady · 1864

Page 5 of the Emancipation Proclamation: handwritten closing text 'one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh', signed 'Abraham Lincoln', 'By the President', 'William H. Seward, Secretary of State', with a faded wafer seal on brown ribbons at upper left.Document

Primary source

Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln · 1 January 1863

Sepia carte-de-visite photograph of Abraham Lincoln, head and shoulders, in an arched mount with a printed caption reading President Lincoln, assassinated by Wilkes Booth, April 14th 1865. Handwritten notes on the album page.Photograph

Primary source

Carte-de-visite Portrait of Abraham Lincoln

19th century

Black-and-white photograph of a large crowd on the steps and platform of the United States Capitol in 1865, with a U.S. flag and a statue visible; dignitaries in top hats fill the platform, and a dense mass of spectators stands below.Speech

Primary source

Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln · 4 March 1865

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Abraham Lincoln now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions