by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: January 01, 2010   Last Updated: January 26, 2010

Thomas "Boston" Corbett was known as much for his eccentric antics as for being the man who shot the man who shot President Abraham Lincoln.

Born in 1832 in London, England, some sources list his birth name as Thomas H. Corbett; others have him as Thomas P. Corbett.

In 1839, his family emigrated to Troy, New York, where he would learn the hatter's trade. He worked for haberdashers in cities all over New England.

It was while he was in New York City, and still relatively young, that he married. Not much is known of his bride or their marriage beyond her death delivering a stillborn daughter.

While he was likely already unstable from inhaling fumes of the mercury solution used in his trade to separate fur from the pelt, the loss of his wife and child left him unhinged.

He began drinking heavily and moved to Boston, Massachusetts. It was on the streets of Boston that he found religion when he heard evangelists preaching. His conversion was so extreme, however, that his loud, often incoherent exhortations embarrassed his fellow evangelists. They no longer wished to be associated with him and asked him to leave their company.

Before leaving, he abandoned the name Thomas and began calling himself Boston, in commemoration of the city of his 'rebirth.' He also began wearing his hair quite long, in an apparent imitation of Jesus.

On 16 July 1858, so that he would not succumb to the temptations presented by prostitutes, he used a pair of scissors to castrate himself. He ate a full meal and attended a prayer meeting before he sought medical attention.

Though other hat-makers gave him jobs, they, too, soon grew tired of his eccentric behaviour. He frequently disrupted the assembly line, dropping to his knees to recite fervent, drawn-out prayers whenever one of his co-workers mentioned drinking or uttered the slightest profanity.

When the American Civil War broke out, Corbett eagerly enlisted; during the course of the war, he would go on to re-enlist for multiple tours of duty.

Prior to his first induction, he preached a wild sermon in which he declared his intentions to shoot and kill any Southerner on site after praying for G-d to have mercy on their souls. Such statements shocked the women in the audience.

It was during a day of running drills in Franklin Square, New York, that Corbett's eccentric behaviour became known to his commanding officer.

Colonel Butterfield had grown frustrated by the awkwardness of his raw recruits and let loose some profanities.

Corbett broke from the

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