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

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

who was instrumental in the capture of

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

, 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, in a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

barn twelve days after Lincoln was shot.

Biography

Everton Conger was born in

Huron County, Ohio Huron County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,565. Its county seat is Norwalk. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1815. Huron County is included in the Norwal ...

, in 1834. He was the son of Rev. Enoch Conger, a Presbyterian minister. In 1856, he moved to

Fremont, Ohio Fremont is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Sandusky River about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo and west of Sandusky, Ohio, Sandusky. The population was 15,930 at the 2020 United St ...

, where he established a dental practice. Conger enlisted in the Union army 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry. He suffered three severe wounds during combat and was assigned to detached duty in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play '' Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Li ...

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. The soldiers pursued Booth through Southern Maryland and across the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers to Richard Garrett's farm, just south of Port Royal, 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, 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. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 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. Each district cov ...

judge in the

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

. He eventually moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

to live with his daughter, dying there on July 12, 1918. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Dillon, 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 Justices of the Montana Supreme Court

Biography

See also

Notes

External links