Everton Judson Conger (April 25, 1834 – July 12, 1918) was an American officer during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

who was instrumental in the capture of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, in a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

barn twelve days after Lincoln was shot.

Biography

Everton Conger was born in Huron County, Ohio, in 1834. He was the son of Rev. Enoch Conger, a Presbyterian minister. In 1856, he moved to Fremont, Ohio, where he established a dental practice. Conger enlisted in the

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the Civil War, initially as a private in the three-months 8th Ohio Infantry. When his term of enlistment expired, he returned to Fremont. On October 16, 1861, he married Emma "Kate" Boren, with whom he had five children. He later became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

3rd West Virginia Cavalry The 3rd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1864, the regiment had an important part in the Battle of Moorefield, where a surprise attack led by General William W ...

and eventually rose to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry. He suffered three severe wounds during combat and was assigned to detached duty in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, joining General Lafayette Baker's intelligence service as a detective. Booth escape route

Following the

assassination of President Lincoln On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head ...

on April 14, 1865, Conger was ordered to accompany a detachment of 25 Union soldiers from the 16th New York Cavalry Regiment, led by Lieutenant

Edward P. Doherty Edward Paul Doherty (September 26, 1838 – April 3, 1897) was a Canadian-American American Civil War officer who formed and led the detachment of soldiers that captured and killed John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of US President Abraham Lincol ...

. The soldiers pursued Booth through Southern Maryland and across the Potomac and

Rappahannock Rappahannock may refer to: Education *Rappahannock Academy & Military Institute (1813–1873), a school in Caroline County, Virginia *Rappahannock Community College, a two-year college located in Glenns and Warsaw, Virginia *Rappahannock County ...

rivers to Richard Garrett's farm, just south of

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

, Caroline County,

. Booth and his accomplice, David E. Herold, had been led to the farm by William Storke "Willie" Jett, formerly a private in the

9th Virginia Cavalry The 9th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. History Virginia’s 9th Cavalry Regiment ...

, whom they had met before crossing the Rappahannock. Conger tracked down Jett and interrogated him, learning of Booth's location at the Garrett farm, and led the soldiers there. Arriving early in the morning of April 26, 1865, the soldiers found Booth and Herold hiding in a tobacco barn. Although Herold surrendered, Booth refused. Conger set fire to the barn and Sergeant Boston Corbett mortally wounded Booth by shooting him in the neck. Booth was dragged from the barn and died on the porch of the Garrett farmhouse.

Conger removed Booth's personal effects, including a diary. Conger was given $15,000 as a reward for the successful operation. The city of Fremont gave him a pair of inscribed silver-handled pistols in recognition for his role in tracking down Booth. Conger moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, built a home, and practiced law in Carmi. Later he was appointed a

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

judge in the Montana Territory. He eventually moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

to live with his daughter, dying there in 1918. He was buried in Montana.

Notes

External links

White County, Illinois Personalities and Famous People
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061009150851/http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/content/files/Northwest_Ohio_Narratives/booth.doc Rutherford B. Hayes library {{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Everton 1834 births 1918 deaths Illinois lawyers Montana Territory judges Union Army colonels People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln People from Huron County, Ohio People from Carmi, Illinois People of Ohio in the American Civil War People of West Virginia in the American Civil War People from Fremont, Ohio 19th-century American judges

Biography

See also

Notes

External links