Sumith Prasad
Apple TV+’s ‘Manhunt’ is a historical series that unfolds during one of the most eventful periods in the history of the United States. President Abraham Lincoln gets assassinated by John Wilkes Booth not long after the conclusion of the Civil War, which marks the Union’s victory over the Confederate States of America. The show begins with several events that happen around the assassination and progresses with the manhunt to capture Booth, who disappears after the murder. Monica Beletsky, who created the period thriller based on James L. Swanson’s ‘Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer,’ succeeds in showing how the country was right before and after Lincoln!
From Washington, D.C. to Virginia
‘Manhunt’ is predominantly set in Washington, D.C., where the president’s residence, the White House, is located. Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln gets shot, is less than a mile’s walk away from the White House. The residence where Lincoln dies is Petersen House, a federal-style row house located east of the White House that belonged to William A. Petersen. Lewis Powell attacks Secretary of State William H. Seward after barging into his house on Lafayette Square, which is located within President’s Park, north of the White House.
Andrew Johnson is sworn in as the president of the country after the assassination of Lincoln in Kirkwood Hotel (also known as Kirkwood House), which is situated at the northeast corner of the intersection of 12th Street West and Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the Capitol with the White House. Mary E. Surratt Boarding House, where Booth and his accomplices conspired to kill Lincoln, is located in the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C. After killing Lincoln, Booth initially escapes to the state of Maryland to hide in the house of Samuel Mudd, near the census-designated place of Waldorf in Charles County.
Edwin Stanton conducts a raid on the property of John Harrison Surratt Jr. in Surrattsville, which is presently known as Clinton in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The property is now Surratt House Museum, located at 9110 Brandywine Road in Clinton. As the series continues, we can expect the narrative to take place also in Virginia, especially since Booth left Maryland for the state in real life. By the end of the pursuit, in reality, the authorities located Booth on Richard H. Garrett’s farm, which is located south of Port Royal, Virginia. Booth died on the porch of the farmhouse on the property.
The Significance of 1865
‘Manhunt’ mainly takes place in 1865, the year Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in real life. In the show, Booth kills the president on April 14 of the year, only for him to die the next day. The pilot episode of the series is a combination of varying storylines that are set in different periods before the assassination. “Everyone knows the assassination is coming so it’s not really a story in the pilot about what is going to happen. It’s more about how did it happen? And why did it happen? When is it going to happen? And so, I feel that I was able to build some suspense in a situation where we already know what’s going to happen,” Monica Beletsky told Creative Screenwriting about the storylines.
One of these storylines takes place on April 9, 1865, the day General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant. Another storyline is set a year before the assassination to depict David Herold’s meeting with John Surratt. Booth and David meet Dr. Mudd on April 15, the day Lincoln dies. In reality, Booth arrived at Richard H. Garrett’s farm on April 24, 1865. He then died after a confrontation with the authorities two days later on April 26.
Read More: What Happened to Abraham Lincoln’s Family After His Death?
