Lincoln Shot, Seward Killed: The Last 150 Years

“Love one another.”​

- Last words of William Seward, 1872​

In some form or another, that was the headline of every newspaper in the days following Friday, April 14. As the fires of the Civil War died, so did its champion. Abraham Lincoln died from an assassin's bullet, the first victim of a conspiracy to topple the government. His Secretary of State, William Seward, became the second.

The conspiracy, today called the Good Friday Plot, was headed by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known and talented actor. He was accompanied by Lewis Powell and David Herold, who were Seward’s killers, and George Atzerodt, who was supposed to kill Andrew Johnson. Atzerodt lost his nerve and got drunk instead.

The murder of William Seward was definitely the more gruesome of the two. The man was bedridden after a carriage incident on April 5. On the night of his death, he was restricted to his home in Lafayette Park, near the White House. David Herold guided Lewis Powell to this building. Powell pretended to be bringing medicine to Seward and insisted he be the one to bring it.
Powell was stopped at the top of the stairs by Seward's son, Frederick. Fred demanded the medicine be handed over to him. Powell then lunged at him and stabbed, with the butler William Bell crying, "Murder! Murder!" before running away.

Seward's daughter Fanny was in Seward's room and heard the commotion. She poked her head out the door and said, "Fred, Father is awake now." Now Powell knew where the Secretary of State lay. He shot Fred point-blank. As Frederick fell over, Powell burst into Seward’s room. He stabbed Fanny and shoved her to the side and fired two shots in quick succession into William Seward. The first bullet hit Seward in the head. The second hit his neck brace. Before Powell could do anything else, Private George Robinson tackled the assassin. Robinson was with Seward as an assistant and a guard. They wrestled as Robinson reached for his gun.


Fanny and William Seward, 1861

Woken by the gunshots, Augustus Seward ran into the room. He worked with Robinson and Fanny, trying to subjugate Powell. Augustus managed to grab Lewis's gun and clubbed him with it. Powell ran away and leaped down the staircase, landing on his ankle sideways. Outside, David Herold had fled when he heard screams. Pvt. Robinson kept Powell down while Fanny went to get help. Augustus hurried to his brother and father.

Both were dead at the scene.

Well color me intrigued.

IOTL, Robinson was there on hospital duty. He was an invalid and not able to put up much of a fight though he made a good show considering his condition, though the struggle with Frederick after the pistol misfired may have slowed Payne down a bit. Though I would trade Lincoln for Seward, too bad to lose either of them.

This will have big ramifications...

One of which: what does this mean for Alaska?
It seems Russia was fairly eager to sell it... will it still be purchased since it will no longer be able to be 'Seward's Folly'?
I would think Russia would still try to sell it (and sorely hope that the US would buy it...).

Other wise, this looks interesting... I will be reading...

I really want to know what the butterflies are after this before i comment detail.

This looks interesting.

#2: A Queer Man

“This Johnson is a queer man.”​

Timeline of the Good Friday Plot

April 14

• John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln in Ford's Theatre.
• Lewis Powell kills William and Frederick Seward. He is later arrested the same day.
• George Atzerodt gets drunk and does not go through with killing Vice President Andrew Johnson.
• Edward Stanton launches a manhunt on Booth.

April 15

• Lincoln dies. Andrew Johnson becomes President.
• Booth, travelling with David Herold, go to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd to have his broken leg set.

April 17-18

• Michael O'Laughlen, Edman Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Mary Surratt are arrested for possible connections to the conspiracy.

April 19

• Lincoln's funeral is held.

April 20

• George Atzerodt is arrested in northwestern Maryland.

April 26

• David Herold and John Wilkes Booth are discovered. Herold surrenders. Booth is killed.

May 12

• Eight defendants stand trial for President Lincoln's murder. George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell, and David Herold are found guilty and hanged. Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlen, Edman Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Mary Surratt are sentenced to imprisonment.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln and William Seward left Andrew Johnson bewildered. It was never intended for him to ascend to the Presidency. Yet here he was, thrust into power over the course of a night. And he was furious. How dare the South, his home no less, commit such an atrocity! They'll all pay in blood if that's what he had to do! They’ll drown in it!

And yet, there was a nagging voice in the back of his head that just wouldn't keep quiet. These are his people. What was it Abe said? "With malice towards none, with charity towards all". Surely, surely the former Confederates realized their cause was lost. Booth had been captured and killed in that barn. Powell has been slamming his head against the iron walls of a monitor ever since he was captured. Damn that man, he won’t say a thing. It was best for Johnson to pay no mind to that Rebel oaf. Among his first decisions would have to be to replace the late Secretary of State. This was something big. He needed a figure that would not be divisive. A sensible moderate, as Johnson liked to think of himself as. The President considered General Grant, but no, he was needed in the military. Perhaps, hell, perhaps Charles Sumner. Throw the Radicals a bone. That'll get that thorn out of Johnson's side in the Senate. But that'll just put him ever closer in the Cabinet. No good there.

John Adams Dix was another name often floated around for Cabinet appointments. He was the Secretary of the Treasury for a scant few months at the tail end of James Buchanan's term. And a Senator some twenty years ago. He had organized the Dix-Hill cartel, a system of exchanging Union and Confederate prisoners, and helped put down the New York Draft Riots. But most importantly of all, he was not a controversial figure. He was rather well-known and respected. Johnson made the decision to appoint him to the position. He called up a special session of the Senate to approve him. It took a few days, but Dix was approved and confirmed.



Johnson was also giving thought to the fate of the ex-Confederacy, the Restoration as Abe had called it. The Radicals were advocating madness. Fools like Thad Stevens and Sumner spoke of nig--ahem--the Negro race as if they were as good as whites. Their focus was solely on giving the Negro the vote. This was absurd of course, and the majority of Congress would agree with Johnson. He was right after all. Franchise is a state matter, not federal. Does not the Tenth Amendment say that all rights not given to the Federal Government are given to the states? This country needed a reunification, not more division! Were the Radicals trying to incite a second war? His Cabinet seemed to agree with him. Lincoln had proposed a moderate plan as well, but those Radical fools had tried to put a stop to that. Well, Johnson wasn’t going to let them try and pull anything on him. Johnson was going to unite this nation with a plan of his own! Andy Johnson will make moderate, sensible heads prevail!

On May 29, he made two proclamations on Reconstruction. One recognized the government of Francis Pierpont in Virginia. Pierpont was the Governor of Union-controlled Virginia, most of which was now West Virginia. The other proclamation provided amnesty to all ex-Rebels that held property of $20,000 at least. It appointed William Woods Holden Governor of North Carolina and authorized elections. For the other states, constitutional conventions were called.

Johnson received considerable support for these proclamations. To him, that could only mean the public were behind his plan for a speedy restoration. It could only go uphill for Andy Johnson.

Doctor Evulz said:

On May 29, he made two proclamations on Reconstruction. One recognized the government of Francis Pierpont in Virginia. Pierpont was the Governor of Union-controlled Virginia, most of which was now West Virginia. The other proclamation provided amnesty to all ex-Rebels that held property of $20,000 at least. It appointed William Woods Holden Governor of North Carolina and authorized elections. For the other states, constitutional conventions were called.

Click to expand...

Shouldn't the appointment of Holden be moved to the first proclamation, not the second? I give it qualified support; Holden ran in 1864 on an open platform of reunion. His appointment will definitely embolden Southern unionists...

... with unfortunate consequences for the freedmen. I foresee a Radical Republican backlash such as iOTL, and Holden and Pierpont might both be caught in it.

Evan said:

Shouldn't the appointment of Holden be moved to the first proclamation, not the second? I give it qualified support; Holden ran in 1864 on an open platform of reunion. His appointment will definitely embolden Southern unionists...

... with unfortunate consequences for the freedmen. I foresee a Radical Republican backlash such as iOTL, and Holden and Pierpont might both be caught in it.

Click to expand...

The OTL proclamations was pretty much identical, and Holden was included in the second, if I'm not mistaken.