Mary Surratt 1820 – 1865

Biography

Mary Surratt was born on January 1, 1820, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, during a pivotal time in American history. Her life spanned the turbulent decades leading up to and through the Civil War, a period that would ultimately define her legacy in ways she could not have foreseen.

On July 7, 1865, Mary Surratt was executed by hanging at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. Her death came in the immediate aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, an event that would forever link her name to one of the nation’s most tragic and controversial moments. The circumstances surrounding her involvement remain subjects of historical examination and debate.

Following her death, Mary Surratt was laid to rest at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where she remains interred. Her life and death continue to be remembered as significant chapters in American Civil War history, representing the profound complexities and human costs of that turbulent era.