Was Manhunt’s George Sanders Really Involved In President Lincoln’s Assassination?

This article contains spoilers for Manhunt.

During the fourth episode of Apple TV+’s Manhunt, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton is not only working on tracking down John Wilkes Booth, but also, is searching for who formed the plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln, and he ends up on the tail of George Sanders, a real man who truly played a hand in Lincoln’s death. In the episode, Stanton discovers that Sanders has ties to the new Confederate base in Montreal, and furthermore, has been the mastermind behind plots like the Manhattan Fire Plot, the rise of Southern gold over the Union dollar, and Lincoln’s assassination.

Although John Wilkes Booth was the man who fired the gun that killed Abraham Lincoln, Manhunt shows that the president’s death was not a random, unexplainable act by one man, but instead, was a purposeful plan devised by the Confederates. So in Manhunt episode 4, even though Stanton has not found Booth yet, as he and David Herold make their way to Richmond, Stanton succeeds at trapping George Sanders, who has long used his wealth and influence to help the Confederacy. Unfortunately though, Sanders’ connections make it difficult to truly capture him for good.

The Real George Sanders Was Thought To Be Behind President Lincoln’s Assassination

George Sanders had ties to the Confederacy

As it turns out, George Sanders’ involvement in Manhunt was not fictionalized to increase the show’s drama.

Even early in his career, Sanders showed signs of revolutionary tendencies. Though he worked in the government under Franklin Pierce’s administration, he was also thought to be an anarchist, and allegedly had been part of plans to assassinate other heads of state like Napoelon III. During the Civil War, Sanders had strong ties to Montreal, and even traveled to Europe to further the South’s cause.

Although Sanders’ involvement in the April 14 assassination of Abraham Lincoln was never truly confirmed or officially admitted by Sanders, many believed, and still believe, that he was heavily ingrained in the plot. Charles Hingham wrote a book called “Murdering Mr. Lincoln,” wherein he asserted that Sanders was the driving force behind Lincoln’s murder. According to Hingham, Sanders thought Lincoln had the potential to become a dictator due to the ongoing habeus corpus state in the South. Therefore, when John Wilkes Booth arrived in Montreal, Sanders convinced him to carry out the assassination in the name of the Confederacy.

What Happened To George Sanders In Real Life?

George Sanders never saw repercussions for his crimes

Despite Stanton’s drive to get George Sanders arrested in Manhunt, the real life Sanders never saw any repercussions for his alleged actions against President Lincoln. Though many tried to capture him, Sanders ultimately escaped the United States and found refuge in Canada. Soon after, he traveled to Europe, and became an advisor to France during the Prussian siege. Eventually, Sanders returned to America and died in 1873. Although Manhunt makes Sanders out to be a villain, he ultimately never has to pay for his crimes.