Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
An actor can't just leave the limelight! If he'd made it to Canada you can be sure he would have performed again!
I rather do tend to believe that he was hurt by the lack of
support in the South for his act, (which came off as a day late and a dollar short to most Southerners, of the ones who believed in assassination). The South did have a very strange code about such things, and guerilla warfare, 'Jessie Scouts' (the Southern versions of them), and other unconventional ways of dealing with their disadvantages did not 'sit well' with them, even when they resorted to such tactics.
If Booth acted again, he probably became someone else.
(He was pretty comfortable with that, in his chosen profession!)
Beowulf
__________________ If the South accepted Sectional Left Wing Republican Rule, their property would be devalued, by being outlawed unconstitutionally in the territories, and suffer terrorism by Brown's mob ,... their economy would be in shambles... The effect is that the South is not any longer an equal part of the Union.
If the South tried to gain independence from these Left wing Republicans, the North will destroy them all... and curse their memory for all eternity....
Assassination conspiracies may amuse some people and historical events then devolve into a version of "Clue" That's why its important to keep a cool head and study the evidence.
One of the first cover storys of the assassination was that Booth was probably a spy with the Confederate Secret Service. Therefore, Jefferson Davis knew.
This little smear usually has no historical backing other than phrases such as, "it has long been suspected....".
It is good to keep in mind that if there had been any proof of Jefferson Davis' involvement it would have been used as an excuse for the 2 1/2 years he spent in prison without charges. The South was decimated and most likely out of touch with spies at that point.
If not for the knife attack on Secretary of State William Seward there might not be enough evidence for a conspiracy- but there was. I actually saw a rare picture of Seward after the attack and his face was clearly mutilated. I believe it was Pierce that attacked him.
The mulitple terrorist attack aspect is probably the one way we haven't looked at the assassination!
One of the first cover storys of the assassination was that Booth was probably a spy with the Confederate Secret Service. Therefore, Jefferson Davis knew.
This little smear usually has no historical backing other than phrases such as, "it has long been suspected....".
It is good to keep in mind that if there had been any proof of Jefferson Davis' involvement it would have been used as an excuse for the 2 1/2 years he spent in prison without charges. The South was decimated and most likely out of touch with spies at that point.
If not for the knife attack on Secretary of State William Seward there might not be enough evidence for a conspiracy- but there was. I actually saw a rare picture of Seward after the attack and his face was clearly mutilated. I believe it was Pierce that attacked him.
The mulitple terrorist attack aspect is probably the one way we haven't looked at the assassination!
Such smears are quite commonplace on the History Channel, if you are sensitive to them (and of course I absolutely look for such things!) and you are right!
It has long been suspected... is the most common approach to what in court is called 'leading the witness'
and IMHO 'jury tampering'
I like Frank Conner's idea that EDWIN STANTON was not on the menu, and because of this, the South was not invited to the assassination, nor knew anything about it! (He would have been second billing, at least, on such a ticket! Sometimes people attend events simply for the opening act!)
Beowulf
__________________ If the South accepted Sectional Left Wing Republican Rule, their property would be devalued, by being outlawed unconstitutionally in the territories, and suffer terrorism by Brown's mob ,... their economy would be in shambles... The effect is that the South is not any longer an equal part of the Union.
If the South tried to gain independence from these Left wing Republicans, the North will destroy them all... and curse their memory for all eternity....
Mudd received a gift of bottles of booze from Booth months before the murder. An odd thing to do for a person one hadn't met!
Can you tell me where you heard this? As I am becoming a docent (aka tour guide) at the Samuel Mudd house, I have been reading up on him and doing some research. And the more that I read, the more that I think he was completely innocent. The evidence doesn't hold water.
Both Mudd and his wife both assert that the first time that they met Booth was when he was touring Charles County in November of 1864. They were introduced at St. Mary's Church by their friend John Thompson of Baltimore (a hotbed of secession and home to J. Wilkes Booth). He was most likely planning out a route to take the president south when he and his cohorts kidnapped him (a plan which did not materialize). Booth did stay the night, and then left. Mudd did admit this, though reluctantly, for fear it would make him look guilty. And the fear was jusitfied, as their was a witch hunt going on. They wanted some person/s to blame.
When Booth showed up on April 15th, he was in disguise. Now, if you are coming to the house of a man in on a conspiracy, whom you see as a compatriot, would you disguise yourself? Now, I can see doing such to avoid recognition by others, but, it is early in the morning, it is dark, and there is likely to be nobody on the road at this hour. Now, knowing that Mudd is a doctor, why not go to him and ask for help? If he is a part of the plot, he knows who you are, no need to hide it. But Booth continually tried to hide his face and he disguised himself. I say that says a lot right there. He barely knew Mudd, and probably didn't trust him; not the way you would act to a friend.
Mudd also reported his suspicions at church after Booth left. Now some might say this is a bit strange in itself, but one must realize that there are extenuating circumstances. Mudd has heard of the assassination and knows that the perpetrators are on the loose. He thinks that the men who stopped at his house, Tyson and Tyler, might be them, and it being late, they may return to tie up any loose ends. So at church, he tells his brother, who tells the detectives, and they come to ask questions. They find the boot later, see it is Booths, and they eventually arrest Mudd. For what? Doing his job and following the Hippocratic oath, which doctors are sworn to uphold.
Also, from what Booth said in his diary, we know that the assassination was quite spur of the moment and was not his original plan. He knew he could get close to the president, and Ford's theatre was the perfect opportunity. He had access and was known; he would not stand out as being strange or a threat.
I suggest you read The Life of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd by his daughter Nettie, and listen to his side of the story. I think many write him off. His letters do not sound like those of a guilty man. He bears his punishment, though he is tormented by the separation from his family. And if you are in the Maryland, Virginia area, come by the Mudd house; its still standing and a museum open to the public. You can see the house as it was that morning when Booth showed up, and even see the couch he was examined on. Love to give you the tour someday!!
__________________ "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Of the conspirators I always felt sorry for Samuel Arnold. All he did was hold onto Booth's horse while Booth went inside to kill the President. The prosecution made him out to be a dimwit because he didn't try to hide- actually not hiding would imply to me he had no idea what Booth was going to do.
DJ, Arnold was one of the original kidnap conspirators, along with Michael O'Laughlen. They were out of the plot and though part of the original plot, were not part of the assassination. They were swept up in the ensuing pursuit of Booth.
The man who held Booth's horse originally was a man by the name of Edmand "Ned" Spangler, a stage hand at Ford's Theartre. He had to go do work, so he handed the reins to young boy known as Johnny Peanut. It was rumored that Spangler stopped Booth's pursuers, but this is most likely a falsity. One must realize that there was $100,000 out for information leading to the arrest of Booth and his accomplices. That was alot of money, and even a portion of that was a good deal more than most people had. They would do anything for that money.
Spangler was convicted and sent to Fort Jefferson, along with Mudd, O'Laughlen and Arnold. He was later pardoned, returned to Maryland and ended up living with the Mudds for a time, before he passed away. He is buried in the old St. Peter's Church cemetery, not to far from where I live. Just an innocent man, caught in the whirlwind.
__________________ "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
showing that he knew Booth. Whether everyone in on the kidnapping had signed on for the killing- I don't know. But there was clearly a conspiracy.
The damage to the Constitution was done, so killing Lincoln only served to elavate him to Sainthood. Now, if the man had been taken out BEFORE the war, there might have been a peaceful transition for the South to leave slavery. No war.
After the fact was just for show... and Booth's ego!
George Atzerodt, in a confession offered shortly before his execution, saw Mudd as playing a significant role in the original plan to kidnap the President and take him to Richmond. "I am certain Dr. Mudd knew all about it," Atzerodt said. "Booth sent liquors and provisions for the trip with the President to Richmond about two weeks before the murder to Dr. Mudd's."
Both of those sites seem just a bit iffy on the whole thing, if you ask me. Alot of it seems more into the conspiracy theory more than anything else. Atzerodt's confession makes mention of Mudd once, and doesn't say anything else about the plot to kidnap Lincoln or Mudd's alleged involvement in that either.
In the Mudd link, it makes mention of the testimony of one Marcus Norton, who testified that a man whom he identified as Mudd, burst into his room in the National Hotel looking for a man named "Booth." What doesn't jive is the fact that the time of his allegedly seeing Mudd, the 3rd of March, 1865, could not be true, as Mudd was at home in Charles County taking care of his sick sister. Washington is thirty miles away from where Mudd lived; a six hour journey. If, he was going into the city to get something, he would be gone a whole day, and have no time to take care of Mary. Within two hours of the time that it was alleged that Norton saw Mudd, no less than eight witnesses put him at home, thirty miles away.
And even with Atzerodt's alleged confession, it still doesn't explain Booth showing up in disguise, and not, at least, identifying himself to Mudd. If Mudd was in on the plot, wouldn't he have Booth's confidence? Obviously, Mudd wasn't in on much, if anything, of a conspiracy to kidnap or murder Lincoln. The evidence just isn't there.
__________________ "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
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