WHO Encouraged Booth To Kill Lincoln

[L Verge]

I do not believe in one event triggering Booth's desire to kill Lincoln. If you have previously tried to struggle through Come Retribution (and most of us do struggle through at least the first ten or so chapters...), please go here to read a more succinct version of events during the last two years of the war: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/o...7860211fe7

That said, I think the final fuse was lit on Booth's dynamite vision on April 2, Evacuation Sunday in Richmond, Virginia, and quickly followed by Grant's taking the city on April 3. Six days later, Booth learns that Lee has surrendered; then he learns on April 10 that the Harney mission has failed and that the bomb expert was captured. On April 11, he hears Lincoln's controversial speech, and the die is cast. My personal belief is that Herold was sent into Southern Maryland on the afternoon of April 12 to alert the faithful underground and returns to D.C. in the early morning of April 14 -- and the rest is history.

I am not sure of the date, but there was one point where Booth saw chained Confederate POWs being led through the streets of D.C. and became enraged. To me, that's part of the timeline leading up to assassination also. By this time, Booth's anger and ego take over and Plan B - assassination - went into motion.