On April 24 , 1865 , Corbett 's regiment was sent to apprehend John Wilkes Booth , the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln , whom Booth fatally shot on April 14 , 1865 . On April 26 , the regiment surrounded Booth and one of his accomplices , David Herold , in a tobacco barn on the Virginia farm of Richard Garrett . Herold surrendered , but Booth refused . The barn was set on fire in an attempt to force him out into the open , but Booth remained inside . Corbett was positioned near a large crack in the barn wall . In an 1878 interview , Corbett claimed that he saw Booth aim his carbine , prompting him to shoot Booth with his Colt revolver despite Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton 's orders that Booth should be captured alive . Lieutenant Edward P. Doherty , the officer in charge of the soldiers who captured Booth and Herold , stated that " the bullet struck Booth in the back of the head , about an inch below the spot where his shot had entered the head of Mr. Lincoln . " Booth 's spinal cord was severed , and he died two hours later
fatally shot
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Boston Corbett