Washington, D.C., 1865 - Michael O'laughlen, One Of The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators (U.S. Civil War) Black Coffee Mug

Washington, D.C., 1865 - Michael O'Laughlen, One of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators (U.S. Civil War) Michael O'Laughlen was an Irish-born American citizen who served as a Confederate soldier during the U.S. Civil War. He is particularly known for his role in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, making him one of the conspirators involved in this historic event. Born around 1837 in County Tipperary, Ireland, O'Laughlen immigrated to the United States as a child and eventually settled in St. Louis, Missouri. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, being captured by Union forces in 1864 and imprisoned at Fort Warren on Georges Island in Boston Harbor until early 1865. After his release from prison, O'Laughlen reunited with John Wilkes Booth, who was planning to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, Booth carried out the assassination at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and O'Laughlen is believed to have aided Booth by helping him escape the city after the crime. In the days following the assassination, O'Laughlen fled to Canada and then to England, where he was eventually captured by British authorities in 1867. Extradited back to the United States, O'Laughlen stood trial for his involvement in the conspiracy. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment due to a technicality regarding the jury's verdict. O'Laughlen spent the rest of his days behind bars at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida, where he died on March 21, 1876. The life and actions of Michael O'Laughlen serve as a reminder of the tumultuous events that surrounded the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln during one of America's darkest periods, the U.S. Civil War.