On April 15, 1865, an actor named John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Although Lincoln lost his life, two other men became collateral damage in Lincoln’s death. First, a man named Henry Rathbone—a former Union officer who befriended Lincoln. Rathbone is seen pointing at Booth in a famous painting of the Lincoln assassination.
Lincoln’s death had a traumatic effect on Rathbone. He murdered his wife and survived a suicide attempt. He spent his final days in a mental institute and died in 1911.
The second man to suffer a near similar fate was another former Union soldier named Thomas “Boston” Corbett who served in the U.S. Army from 1861 to 1865. He was born in London, England in 1832. In 1839, he immigrated to New York with his family. He became a hatter. It’s believed the mercury used in making hats back in the day may have caused him mental issues. Hence, the infamous mad hatter reference. Friends and acquaintances described Corbett as having mental issues.
For instance, after his wife died during childbirth, Corbett used a pair of scissors to castrate himself. He wanted to avoid the local prostitutes. If that isn’t unusual, then what is? He became known as Lincoln’s avenger. A fitting nickname since he killed John Wilkes Booth after Booth assassinated President Lincoln.
Corbett was assigned to an army unit designated to capture Booth alive so he could stand trial. But Corbett either didn’t get the memo or just didn’t care. Corbett and other soldiers found Booth hiding in a barn. The soldiers set the barn on fire to lure Booth out. Armed with a colt revolver, Corbett fired through a crack in the barn’s wall and shot Booth who later died in a hospital.
Corbett, a religious fanatic, claimed God ordered him to kill Booth. Authorities arrested Corbett for killing Booth, but the charges didn’t stick. He was released without consequences and even received some reward money for killing Booth. During court testimony, Corbett claimed Booth tried to draw on him so he fired back in self-defense.
But like Henry Rathbone, fate treated Corbett with much cruelty.
After leaving the military, Corbett tried to capitalize on his fame as a lecturer. But it didn’t work out because he rambled like a madman. He then tried his hand at becoming a preacher. Again, it didn’t work because his parishioners found his sermons too intense. Corbett was paranoid because he feared that friends of Booth would seek revenge against him for killing Booth.
Corbett’s last known job was as an assistant doorkeeper in Topeka, KS to the state legislator. Again, this job didn’t end well as Corbett became angered by negative comments and drew his pistols in the statehouse. The incident got him placed in the Topeka Asylum for the Insane.
On May 26, 1888, Corbett found a horse near the asylum’s entrance and rode out. He then stayed in Neodesha, Kansas with an old war buddy named Richard Thatcher. After a short stay with Thatcher, he said he was moving on to Mexico.
No one ever saw Corbett alive again.
So what happened to him? Did he make it to Mexico? Most likely not. Those were still the Wild West days. He may have fallen victim to Indians, bandits or wild animals. And not to mention the harsh winters. Other than a few people falsely claiming to be Corbett, his disappearance remained a mystery.
The last true sighting may have occurred in September 1894 when a fire destroyed over 200,000 acres of forest near Hinckley, Minnesota. The fire killed more than 400 people. Thomas Corbett appeared on the casualty list. But was it Lincoln’s avenger? Rumors soon circulated that Boston Corbett had died in the fire.
But it’s never been proven. Today, his disappearance remains unsolved.
It’s been said war is Hell. It’s unknown how much the Civil War affected Corbett or if he suffered from mercury poisoning that may have turned him into a neurotic psychopath. Still, he was a hero who fought for a noble cause and killed John Wilkes Booth. It’s just a shame he never received a proper military burial in Arlington National Cemetery or another military graveyard. As a veteran, he earned the right.
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and avid reader. He can be contacted through his website at www.themarcabe.com, through Facebook: www.facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. And be sure to listen to his podcast at www.spreaker.com/show/the-marcabe.