3. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 331. The U.S. Senate failed to confirm Sander’s appointment as consul.
4. Testimony of Hosea B. Carter, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 2:405–9.
5. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 180.
6. Ibid, pp. 178–79.
7. OR, sen. 1, vol. 35, pt. 2, p. 254.
8. According to the testimony of detective Eaton G. Horner, Samuel Arnold stated that Booth had “letters of introduction to Dr. Mudd and Dr. Queen.” See Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:430.
9. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 335.
10. Statement of account for John Wilkes Booth with Jay Cooke and Company, November 16–March 16, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Chicago Historical Society.
11. Civil twilight began at 5:04 A.M. on the morning of April 15, 1865, or approximately one hour after Booth arrived at Dr. Mudd’s house. U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department, “Sun and Moon Data for One Day,” April 15, 1865, Waldorf, Maryland,
12. Testimony of John C. Thompson, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 2:269.
13. Jack D. Brown et al., eds., Charles County Maryland: A History (Hackensack, N.J.: Custombook, 1976), p. 109.
14. Samuel Alexander Mudd married Sarah Frances Dyer November 26, 1857. Father Peter B. Lenaghan performed the service. In all, nine Mudd children were baptized at St. Peters Church, four prior to 1865, and five after 1865. The earliest was baptized November 7, 1858, and the last February 3, 1878.
15. Statement of Samuel A. Mudd, NARA, M-599, reel 5, frames 0212–0239. Hereafter referred to as Mudd Wells statement.
16. Ibid.
17. Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:30–32.
18. Rhodehamel and Taper, eds., Right or Wrong, p. 123.
19. Testimony of Thomas Gardiner, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:363.
20. Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 3:433.
21. Ibid, p. 435.
22. Edward Steers Jr., His Name Is Still Mudd (Gettysburg, Pa.: Thomas Publications, 1997).
23. Washington Star, August 3, 1865, p. 1, col. 1.
24. Benn Pitman, The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators (Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach and Baldwin, 1865), p. 326.
25. Affidavit of Samuel A. Mudd, in Clara E. Laughlin, The Death of Lincoln (New York: Doubleday, Page, 1909), pp. 215–20.
26. James O. Hall, “You Have Mail...,” Surratt Courier 25, no. 7 (July 2000): 8–9.
27. The Harbin interview by George Alfred Townsend occurred in 1885 and appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, April 18, 1892.
28. On reaching the Virginia shore on Sunday, April 23, Booth and Herold made their way to the home of Elizabeth Quesenberry, a member of the Confederate Underground. Quesenberry sent word to Harbin to come at once and take charge of the two fugitives. Harbin arrived and soon passed Booth and Herold to William Bryant, one of Harbin’s men. Harbin instructed Bryant to take the two men to their next destination, the home of Dr. Richard Stuart known as Cleydael.
29. Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:362.
30. Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:363.
31. Osborn H. Oldroyd, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Washington, D.C.: O.H. Oldroyd, 1901), p. 259.
32. Alfred Isacsson, “Some Points Concerning John Harrison Surratt, Jr.,” Surratt Courier 20, no. 8 (August 1995): 8–9.
33. James O. Hall, The Surratt Family and John Wilkes Booth (Clinton, Md.: Surratt Society, 1984), p. 9.
34. David W. Gaddy, “The Surratt Tavern—A Confederate ‘Safe House’?” in In Pursuit of. . ., ed. Verge, p. 129.
35. Hall, Surratt Family, p. 9.
36. Baltimore American, July 10, 1865, col. 3.
37. Betty J. Ownsbey, Alias “Paine” (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland and Company, 1993).
38. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 340.
39. Ownsbey, Alias “Paine,” p. 17.
40. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 339.
41. The spelling changed from Payne to Paine.
42. Richard Smoot, The Unwritten History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Clinton, Mass.: W.J. Coulter, 1908), pp. 7–8. The only extant copy of this small pamphlet is in the Rare Book Room of the Library of Congress.
43. Trial of John H. Surratt, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1867), 1:273.
44. Ownsbey, Alias “Paine,” p. 39.
45. Trial of John H. Surratt, 1:275.
46. Testimony of Louis J. Wiechmann, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:73–74. See also testimony of Honora Fitzpatrick, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 2:89–91.
47. Louis J. Wiechmann, A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865, ed., Floyd E. Risvold (New York: Alfred E. Knopf, 1975), p. 432.
7. A Shift in Plans
1. Terry Alford, remarks at the Fifth Annual Ford’s Theatre Symposium, “Lincoln’s Assassination: Old Assumptions, New Insights,” Washington, D.C., August 3, 1998.
2. Frequently confused by many writers as taking place at Soldiers’ Home. For an accurate account of this episode see William Hanchett, “The Ambush on the Seventh Street Road,” in In Pursuit of. . ., ed. Verge, pp. 151–63.
3. Chaconas, “Unpublished Atzerodt Confession.”
4. Arnold, Memoirs, p. 149. See also Trial of John H. Surratt, 1:510.
5. Benning’s Bridge was located four and a half miles to the southeast of the Seventh Street (Campbell) Hospital. Once across the bridge it is another ten miles south to Surrattsville. Riding hard, Booth and his cohorts could reach the bridge in thirty minutes and be in Surrattsville in two hours’ time.
6. John H. Surratt, “The Rockville Lecture,” reproduced in Wiechmann, True History, pp. 428–41.
7. Kimmel, Mad Booths, pp. 204–5.
8. “An Address by President Lincoln,” Philadelphia Inquirer, March 18, 1865, p. 1, col. 1.
9. Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the treasury (1861–64), later chief justice of the Supreme Court (1864–73).
10. Wiechmann, True History, p. 432.
11. Arnold, Memoirs, p. 150.
12. Wiechmann, True History, pp. 432–33.
13. Arnold, Memoirs, p. 150.
14. George J. Olszewski, Historic Structures Report: Restoration of Ford’s Theatre (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1963), p. 121.
15. On March 23, Booth sent a telegram to Louis Wiechmann from New York City. Rhodehamel and Taper, eds., Right or Wrong, p. 142.
16. Rhodehamel and Taper, eds., Right or Wrong, p. 143.
17. Ibid.
18. Chaconas, “Unpublished Atzerodt Confession,” p. 3.
19. Atzerodt’s brother John also worked for McPhail but had been in Charles County searching for Booth. It was John Atzerodt who sent word to McPhail that brother George had ties to Montgomery County, Maryland, where his cousin owned a farm. It was at this farm that Atzerodt was taken into custody in the early morning hours of April 20.
20. On May 1, 1865, while in custody, George Atzerodt gave a seven-page statement to Maryland provost marshal James L. McPhail that was taken down by McPhail’s assistant, John L. Smith. This statement disappeared only to resurface in 1977 when Joan L. Chaconas, a past president of the Surratt Society of Clinton, Maryland, and of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, uncovered the statement among the personal papers of Captain William E. Doster, the court-appointed defense attorney for Atzerodt. A photocopy of the statement was obtained by Chaconas and subsequently published in the Surratt Courier (13, no. 10), the newsletter of the Surratt Society located in Clinton, Maryland. The original statement was purchased by Floyd E. Risvold.
21. Chaconas, “Unpublished Atzerodt C
onfession,” p. 3.
22. Watson was arrested in Baltimore on March 18, 1864, suspected of blockade running. He was eventually released after taking the oath of allegiance and made his way to New York City. Tidwell, Gaddy, and Hall, Come Retribution, p. 415.
23. Ownsbey, Alias “Paine,” pp. 65–66.
24. Chaconas, “Unpublished Atzerodt Confession,” p. 4.
25. The circumstances and persons believed involved in this plot were first discussed in Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, pp. 418–21.
26. Harney appears on one payroll for “Engineer Service—Preparation of Torpedoes” for the period April-June 1864.
27. Mike Wright, “The Infernal Machine,” Invention and Technology 15, no. 1 (summer 1999): 44–50.
28. Report of Zedekiah McDaniel, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 3:517–20.
29. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 163.
30. Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 3:520.
31. Old Capitol Prison morning report, April 13, 1865, NARA, RG 393.
32. Rains was in command of the Torpedo Bureau.
33. Otto Eisenschiml, ed., Vermont General: The Unusual War Experiences of Edward Hastings Ripley (1862–1865) (New York: Devin-Adair Company, 1960), pp. 306–7. Ripley did not reveal the full name of Snyder.
34. Tidwell, Hall, and Gaddy, Come Retribution, p. 420.
35. Keckley, Behind the Scenes, p. 177.
36. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:404.
37. Testimony of Thomas T. Eckert on May 30, 1867, Judiciary Committee, House of Representatives, Impeachment Investigation, 39th Cong., 2d sess., and 40th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1867), 674. Here-after referred to as Impeachment Investigation.
8. A Day of Jubilation
1. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:410.
2. Ibid., 8:410 n. 1.
3. Don E. Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), p. 86.
4. Van Alen had written to Lincoln on at least seven prior occasions on various political matters. He appears to have been sufficiently acquainted with Lincoln and his wife to invite them to stay at his home when visiting in New York. See Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 10.
5. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:413.
6. Nicolay and Hay, eds., Complete Works, 8:94.
7. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:223.
8. Ibid, 8:223 n. 1.
9. Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words, p. 114.
10. Johnston surrendered to Sherman on April 26. One month later, on May 26, Kirby Smith surrendered what remained of his forces to Major General E.R.S. Canby. On May 29 President Johnson granted amnesty and pardon to all persons who directly or indirectly participated in the rebellion. All property rights were restored except for slaves. On April 2, 1866, Johnson issued his proclamation declaring the insurrection officially closed. See E.B. Long and Barbara Long, The Civil War, Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865 (New York: Doubleday, 1971), pp. 682–96.
11. Frederick Seward was representing his father who was still in bed recovering from a serious carriage accident.
12. Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words, p. 398.
13. Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words, pp. 397–98.
14. New York Times, May 7, 1865, p. 1, col. 4.
15. William C. Davis, Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour (New York: Harper Collins, 1991), p. 655.
16. Beale, ed., Welles Diary, 2:282–83.
17. Julia Dent Grant, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant, ed., John Y. Simon (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975), p. 155.
18. Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, ed., E.B. Long (Cleveland: World Publishing Company, 1952), p. 565.
19. Donald C. Pfanz, The Petersburg Campaign: Abraham Lincoln at City Point, March 20–April9, 1865 (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989), p. 15.
20. Ver Lynn Sprague, “Mary Lincoln—Accessory to Murder,” Lincoln Herald 81, no. 4 (winter 1979): 238–42.
21. Ibid, p. 240.
22. Julia Grant, Personal Memoirs, ed., Simon, p. 146. The officer was Adam Badeau, one of two staff officers to escort Mary Lincoln and Julia Grant. Badeau describes the incident in Grant in Peace from Appomattox to Mount McGregor: A Personal Memoir (New York: C.L. Webster, 1887), pp. 352–60.
23. Sprague, “Accessory to Murder,” p. 238. Otto Eisenschiml, Why Was Lincoln Murdered? Roscoe, The Web of Conspiracy.
24. Roscoe, The Web of Conspiracy, p. 20.
25. John Sleeper Clarke was a popular comic actor who married Asia Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s older sister, on April 28, 1859.
26. Washington Evening Star, February 11, 1865, p. 2, col. 4.
27. Reck, A. Lincoln, pp. 42–43. The “oath of Dec. 8, 1863” was the result of an amnesty proclamation signed by the president on December 8, 1863. The proclamation granted a pardon to all persons previously engaged in the rebellion who now wished to “resume their allegiance to the United States” and who signed the oath of allegiance. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 7:53–56.
28. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:412.
29. Francis E Browne, The Everyday Life of Abraham Lincoln, (Hartford: Park Publishing Company, 1886), p. 704.
30. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 6:506.
31. Fehrenbacher and Fehrenbacher, eds., Recollected Words, p. 112.
32. Thomas P. Lowry, Don’t Shoot That Boy (Mason City, Iowa: Savas Publishing Company, 1999), p. 3.
33. Ibid, p. 216.
34. Ibid, p. 122.
35. Gideon Welles, “Lincoln and Johnson,” Galaxy, April 1872, p. 56.
36. Browne, Everyday Life, p. 704.
37. At 4:40 A.M. on the morning of April 15, Stanton ordered Assistant Secretary of War Charles A. Dana to wire the United States marshal in Portland, Maine, to arrest Jacob Thompson immediately. Thompson did not come and was not arrested. See Turner, Beware the People Weeping, p. 125.
38. Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 47.
39. C. Percy Powell, ed, Lincoln, Day by Day: A Chronology, 1809–1865, 3 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission, 1960), vol 3.
40. Lincoln had a deep fascination with all things mechanical, especially weaponry. He was mechanically inclined and is the only president to have received a patent. See Report of the Commissioner of Patents, for the Year 1849, pt. 1, Arts and Manufactures (Washington, D.C.: Office of Printers to House of Reps, 1850), p. 262. Lincoln’s patent was for an “improved method of lifting vessels over shoals.” Although a patent was issued, it was never licensed or used.
41. Several instances appear in Powell, ed., Day by Day, vol. 3.
42. Quoted in Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 49.
43. Justin G. Turner and Linda Levitt Turner, eds., Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters (New York: Fromm International Publishing Corporation, 1987): pp. 284–85.
44. In 1860, Isham Haynie campaigned on behalf of Democratic candidate for president Stephen A. Douglas. During the first two years of the war he served in the western theater. He was present at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and wound up commanding the First Brigade, Third Division, of McPherson’s Seventeenth Corps stationed in Memphis, Tennessee. Haynie resigned in March of 1863 after the Senate failed to approve his appointment as brigadier general of volunteers. Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Blue (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964), pp. 222–23.
45. There is disagreement as to which book Lincoln actually read from, the other choice being The Nasby Papers by Petroleum V. Nasby (David Ross Locke). According to Governor Oglesby, “Lincoln got to reading some humorous book—I think it was by ‘John Phoenix.’” Katherine Helm, The True Story of Mary, Wife of Lincoln (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1928), p. 256. John Phoenix was the pen name of George W. Derby, member of the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. His satirical book was titled, Phoenixiana; or, Sketches and Burlesques (D. Appleton and Company, 1856)
. See “The Last Book Lincoln Read,” Lincoln Lore, no. 1704 (February 1980): 11–12.
46. Helm, Wife of Lincoln, p. 256.
47. Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 56.
48. William H. Crook, Through Five Administrations, ed., Margarita Spalding (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1907).
49. Crook, Five Administrations, p. 66.
50. Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 55.
51. Crook, Five Administrations, pp. 74—75.
52. Turner and Turner, eds., Letters, p. 285.
53. William Hanchett, “Persistent Myths of the Lincoln Assassination,” Lincoln Herald 99, no. 4 (winter 1997): 175.
54. Ibid, p. 176.
55. Crook’s quotation of Lincoln’s statement that there were those who wanted to take his life is even featured on the dust jacket of a recent book: Richard Bak, The Day Lincoln Was Shot (Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1998).
56. Reck, A. Lincoln, p. 54.
57. Ibid, p. 57.
58. A search of the playbills, tickets, and newspapers for the April 14, 1865, evening performance failed to discover the scheduled time for the play that evening. Times for a matinee (3:00 P.M.) and evening performance (8:00 P.M.) for Saturday, October 1, 1864, are listed in: Olszewski, Restoration of Forays Theatre, p. 117.
59. Basler, ed., Collected Works, 8:413.
60. Smith Stimmel, “Experiences As a Member of President Lincoln’s Bodyguard, 1863–1865,” North Dakota Historical Quarterly 1, no. 2 (January 1927): 32.
61. Testimony of Henry R. Rathbone, in Poore, Conspiracy Trial, 1:195.
9. Decision
1. Benjamin P. Thomas, Lincoln’s New Salem (Springfield: Abraham Lincoln Association, 1934), p. 48.
2. Wolfgang Mieder, The Proverbial Lincoln (New York: Peter Lang, 2000), p.1.
3. Powell, Day by Day, 3:173.
4. Abraham Lincoln to James W. Hackett, August 17, 1863, Basler, ed., Collected Works, 6:392.
5. Ibid.
6. For a listing of ten of these occasions see Olszewski, Restoration of Ford’s Theatre, p. 105. In addition to these, Lincoln also attended performances on December 14, 15, 17, 1863, and February 10, 1865.
7. Ibid.
8. Washington Evening Star, February 11, 1865, p. 2, col. 6.
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