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Mementos
The tension between what people were willing to do for principles and what they would do for money is ever present in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. John Wilkes Booth and other Southern men believed that money should not motivate one’s actions, especially in matters of principle. On the other hand, at the end of the war, when the country was economically devastated, most could not be as cavalier about money as the wealthy actor Booth, who supported many of his co-conspirators financially. Similarly, while the manhunters were supposed to be motivated by a desire for justice, interest in the reward money that Seward offered may have been just as important.
Money Quotes in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
The Chasing Lincoln’s Killer quotes below all refer to the symbol of Money. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7
Quotes
When Jones went to the Confederate capital, Richmond, at the beginning of April 1865 to collect the money owed him by the Confederacy, he discovered that the army had evacuated the city and he went unpaid. He lost $2,300 owed to him for three years of service, along with all the money he had invested in Confederate bonds at the beginning of the war. All this meant Jones needed as much money as he could lay his hands on.
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Chapter 10
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As Jones grabbed the stern of the boat and shoved it off, a grateful Booth thrust a fistful of Union greenbacks at Jones. Jones refused the gesture, saying that he had not helped him for money. Under protest, he agreed to accept just eighteen dollars, the price he had paid for the boat.
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Chapter 11
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Young John Garrett, back from an errand at a neighboring farm, reported that the U.S. government was offering a $140,000 reward for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin. The family discussed the assassination with Booth, speculating on why the murderer did it. The actor, still masquerading as a Confederate soldier commented on his own crime and analyzed for the Garretts the motives of Lincoln’s killer!
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Chapter 13
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Another hunt, the one for reward money, began before Booth's corpse had even cooled. With Booth dead, and his chief accomplices under arrest, awaiting trial, it was time to cash in. Hundreds of manhunters rushed to claim a portion of the $100,000 reward offered by the War Department. Tipsters with the slightest connection to the twelve-day search for Lincoln's killer tried to get their piece of the reward.
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Money Symbol Timeline in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
The timeline below shows where the symbol Money appears in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...his backup weapon, Booth brought an elegant-looking bowie knife. He took few other supplies: some money, a compass in a velvet case, and pictures of five of his girlfriends.
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Chapter 7
...in the North of his pro-Confederate activities. He had also lost a great deal of money by buying Confederate bonds at the start of the war, and because his salary from...
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Chapter 9
...Booth, Herold, and John Surratt. Posters with the men’s photographs and the amount of reward money went up across the country.
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Chapter 10
...boat off, Booth tried to give him a handful of Union bills. Jones refused the money, saying he had not helped them in order to profit. At last, he accepted eighteen...
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Chapter 11
...to leave. Booth was disappointed in Stuart and later sent him a critical letter with money enclosed to pay for the meal that he had given them so unwillingly. This money...
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...with violence did Lucas allow them to stay the night. The next day, for twenty dollars, Lucas’s son Charlie drove the two men to Port Conway in a wagon. Booth and...
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...to the manhunt. He wanted to capture the killers and get the credit and reward money for it. He was even willing to steal other detectives’ tips for this reason. While...
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Chapter 13
Hundreds of manhunters sought to claim a piece of the reward money. In the end, sums ranging from $500 to $15,000 were awarded to Conger, Doherty, Lafayette...
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