Michael O'Laughlen

Michael O'Laughlen, Jr. (June 3, 1840 – September 23, 1867) was a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. O'Laughlen's last name was often misspelled by the press and others as O'Laughlin, but he was born Michael O'Laughlen (pronounced Oh-Lock-Lun).

O'Laughlen was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was one of John Wilkes Booth's earliest friends as the Booth family lived across the street from the O'Laughlens. O'Laughlen learned the trade of manufacturing ornamental plaster work. He also learned the art of engraving. At the start of the Civil War O'Laughlen joined the Confederate Army but was discharged in June 1862. He returned to Baltimore and joined his brother in the feed and produce business.

O'Laughlen was one of Booth's earliest recruits. In the fall of 1864 O'Laughlen agreed to become a co-conspirator in the plot to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln. He began spending time in Washington, D.C. with Booth picking up his expenses. On the night of March 15, 1865, O'Laughlen met with Booth and other conspirators at Gautier's Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue to discuss the possible abduction of the President. Basically, the plan was to abduct Lincoln and take him to Richmond, Virginia for the purpose of making the Union government exchange prisoners with the Confederacy.

Booth learned that Lincoln was scheduled to attend a matinee performance of the play Still Waters Run Deep at the Campbell Hospital on the outskirts of Washington on March 17, 1865. Booth, O'Laughlen, and the other co-conspirators planned on intercepting the president's carriage. The group lay in wait along the road. Finally, a polished carriage came into view and the gang prepared itself. But the president had changed plans and the carriage was possibly that of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. Booth's attempt to kidnap Lincoln had failed. O'Laughlen returned to Baltimore.

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