The Capture and Death of John Wilkes Booth: Was the Right Man Identified?

Despite the official account that John Wilkes Booth was killed by Union forces on April 26, 1865, alternative theories have persisted for more than 150 years. Several political figures, eyewitnesses, and even close associates of Booth upheld that he escaped and lived for decades under an assumed identity. This paper evaluates these claims through the lens of medical evidence. Re-examination of the 1865 autopsy findings, including distinctive physical markers such as surgical scars, dental work, tattoos, and fracture patterns, demonstrates that the individual killed at Garrett's farm was indeed Booth, rather than an impostor. Discrepancies in eyewitness accounts of the laterality of injuries and physical features are more plausibly explained by well-characterized psychological phenomena. These include left-right confusion, hindsight bias, and memory distortion under conditions of extreme stress. Although DNA testing could, in theory, provide further confirmation, it is unlikely to alter entrenched beliefs. Conspiracy theorists have already disregarded the contemporaneous autopsy evidence. Ultimately, the medical record and corroborating scientific evidence support the historical conclusion that Booth died on April 26, 1865. Overall, this case illustrates how inherent limitations in human cognition can generate apparent inconsistencies, which in turn sustain alternative historical narratives despite compelling medical and forensic documentation.