TOW #18 - Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly

Battle of Sailor’s Creek. Once a place of “outstanding beauty” with “verdant rolling hills” and “virgin forest”, it will soon be “defiled by the ugliness of war” (O’Reilly 67). Both the Union and Confederacy will suffer from huge casualties and deaths. Source: www.civilwar.org

Before revealing the secrets of the assassination of America’s beloved 16^th president to his readers, Bill O’Reilly dedicates an entire section of his book, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever, to set up the scene. By using vivid imageries and thrilling tone, O’Reilly captures the essence of all the conflicts that were going around at the time. I particularly like the action scenes such as “Down the hill they run, caps flying off, curses streaming from their mouths” (O’Reilly 71) because they make the story more captivating. The book starts at April of 1865, the time of Civil War. Lincoln, with only fourteen days to live, is burdened by the reality of the war. His favorite general, Ulysses S. Grant, is on his journey to capture the arguably greatest Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, in hopes to end the atrocious conflict once and for all. Grant let Lee go once out of military compassion once, but this time he will stop his enemies from reaching the Carolinas, where Lee’s enforcements and supplies are waiting. Lincoln visits City Point, Virginia, where the Union troops just recently won a significant battle. The president declares, “Thank God that I have lived to see this. It seems to me that I have been dreaming a horrid dream for four years, and now the nightmare is gone,” (O’Reilly 25) but he is wrong. There are only twelve days to go until a certain doom. Meanwhile, Lee’s troops march on without proper clothing, foods, and sleeps because of the constant fear of being surrounded by the union army. Many people give up the march because of the starvation, and to make the matters worse, the Battle of High Bridge and the Battle of Sailor’s Creek cost the Confederacy countless lives. With Lee on the verge of losing, Lincoln orders the final plan to end the Civil war to be executed. In the midst of all these chaos, John Wilkes Booth, the soon-to-be assassin of Lincoln, is gathering allies and making plans to kill the President. Lincoln has eight days to live. The clock continues ticking.