On the evening of April 14, 1865, in the context of a wider conspiracy to assassinate key government figures, Lewis Powell, also known as Lewis Paine, targeted William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State. Powell had been directed to Seward’s home as part of a plan orchestrated by John Wilkes Booth to eliminate prominent leaders of the United States government following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Powell and other conspirators intended to create chaos in the nation’s capital at a time when the Civil War was coming to an end, and Southern angst was surging. As Powell approached Seward's home, he forced his way in, confronting Seward, who was bedridden from a carriage accident. The attack was brutal; Powell inflicted multiple stab wounds upon Seward, who was unable to defend himself, while also assaulting others in the house.The attempt on Seward's life was one of several coordinated attacks that included an assassination attempt on Vice President Andrew Johnson. While Booth succeeded in killing Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, Powell’s assault on Seward did not end with the Secretary’s death, as he survived his extensive injuries. Powell fled the scene but was later apprehended and tried, ultimately facing execution. The attack underscored the atmosphere of violence and division that characterized the end of the Civil War. It also highlighted the fragility of the United States’ political leadership at that time.