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Pamela · 08-30-2015, 12:11 PM

Yes, about Ewald, that's how I found him. If Weichmann was draft dodging he didn't say so. In a nutshell, he left St Charles after 3 yrs because he believed he wasn't advanced fast enough, he spent some time in Pikesville, Md (omg I grew up there) with his childhood pastor, went to Little Texas for a short time to visit a pastor friend , then responded to an ad for the position at ST Matthews and got the position. Probably he wanted to get out of the boonies. During this time and up to the time of the assassination he corresponded with pastors with a view towards continuing his education but the main one he needed approval from (a bishop) was located in Richmond and communications were very slow. He finally got permission from the bishop and was authorized to resume studies at St Mary's in Baltimore, a school he visited on the same trip in which Surratt visited the China dealer to hook up with Powell. Surratt didn't share with him what his business was. Weichmann's book has a very organized table of contents which is helpful. Oops, kind of a big nutshell?

Yes, I will give him your regards.

Gene C · 08-30-2015, 01:17 PM

I believe part of Weichmann's decision to apply for the War Department clerkship was also financial.

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 08-30-2015 01:38 PM by L Verge.)

(08-30-2015 01:17 PM)Gene C Wrote: I believe part of Weichmann's decision to apply for the War Department clerkship was also financial.

Quite right, Gene. I had understood that his reason for dropping out of college was financial. His teaching stint at St. Matthews Institute for Boys was $35/month, and the clerkship in the Commissary General's Office was $80/month. Many sources will also tell you that he parlayed that job - and his trial testimony - into more government positions until the Democrats took over.

His time in Little Texas, when he accompanied John Surratt and then decided to stay awhile, ended up costing the U.S. some money. It was while here that he introduced Surratt to Henri B. Ste. Marie, who would later become a "bounty hunter" in search of Surratt on the continent. That gentleman then applied for the reward later, and I think the government settled with him for about $10,000(?). That wasn't enough, so he sued again. The case became some kind of example for contract law issues. That's as far as my anti-legal brain could go before I started feeling nauseous -- with my apologies to our lawyers.

There is a great article about this in a Fordham Law Review. I loved reading it because it goes into great detail, giving mounds of material on the whole assassination issue before it even comes to the Ste. Marie legal issues.

Jim Page · (This post was last modified: 08-30-2015 01:45 PM by Jim Page.)

Speaking of Pikesville, I always wanted to buy that old movie theater there and open it as a venue for good food, good local art, and good acoustic music. Sort of like Franklin's in Hyattsville, but with music. I'd be the one deciding what was "good."

Another one of my bright ideas that went nowhere.

--Jim

Anita · 08-30-2015, 03:15 PM

(08-29-2015 09:23 PM)tom82baur Wrote: My interest in Lincoln, the assassination, and the Civil War was rekindled by the purely serendipitous discovery of Louis Weichmann's book at a local tag sale back in the mid 1980s. I read it immediately, and I was just stunned by it. Shortly thereafter, Ken Burn's Civil War masterpiece appeared on PBS, and I was hooked!

This is my first post here, although I have been a lurker for some 6 months, and I wish to pay due respect to all the contributors! I am the administrator for our local Civil War Roundtable Facebook page, and I have made numerous links to this forum, mainly in regard to the Assassination thread, since that has been so much in the news these past few months.

I continue to be fascinated with Weichmann's role, and, while I confess to being generally sympathetic to him, I think that the jury is still out. My overall impression of his book is that.... to paraphrase The Bard: "Methinks he doth protesteth too much."

But I don't think that we have discovered the whole truth of the matter yet. I find it distressing to see the discussion start to move away from a strict discussion of the facts that have emerged so far, to something that diminishes that. It is my fervent wish that we can step back, take a deep breath, and get back to doing what this forum does so... excellently: post the facts, as best they can be determined! And let the chips fall where they may.

I heartily applaud the forum contributors on all sides, and I cannot express the depth of my appreciation for what I have learned, thanks to you ALL, over the past few months. Please keep up the good work. Kudos!

Welcome Tom! I've been a member of the forum for a while and thank you for posting these remarks. I too have learned so much and appreciate that we have a forum where we can exchange information based on research in an environment of respect for diverse viewpoints

BettyO · 08-30-2015, 03:40 PM

Quote:This is my first post here, although I have been a lurker for some 6 months, and I wish to pay due respect to all the contributors! I am the administrator for our local Civil War Roundtable Facebook page, and I have made numerous links to this forum, mainly in regard to the Assassination thread, since that has been so much in the news these past few months.

Welcome, Tom! I remember we met at the Conference this year - we're delighted that you've joined us on the Forum!

Eva Elisabeth · 08-30-2015, 04:30 PM

(08-30-2015 03:15 PM)Anita Wrote:
(08-29-2015 09:23 PM)tom82baur Wrote: My interest in Lincoln, the assassination, and the Civil War was rekindled by the purely serendipitous discovery of Louis Weichmann's book at a local tag sale back in the mid 1980s. I read it immediately, and I was just stunned by it. Shortly thereafter, Ken Burn's Civil War masterpiece appeared on PBS, and I was hooked!

This is my first post here, although I have been a lurker for some 6 months, and I wish to pay due respect to all the contributors! I am the administrator for our local Civil War Roundtable Facebook page, and I have made numerous links to this forum, mainly in regard to the Assassination thread, since that has been so much in the news these past few months.

I continue to be fascinated with Weichmann's role, and, while I confess to being generally sympathetic to him, I think that the jury is still out. My overall impression of his book is that.... to paraphrase The Bard: "Methinks he doth protesteth too much."

But I don't think that we have discovered the whole truth of the matter yet. I find it distressing to see the discussion start to move away from a strict discussion of the facts that have emerged so far, to something that diminishes that. It is my fervent wish that we can step back, take a deep breath, and get back to doing what this forum does so... excellently: post the facts, as best they can be determined! And let the chips fall where they may.

I heartily applaud the forum contributors on all sides, and I cannot express the depth of my appreciation for what I have learned, thanks to you ALL, over the past few months. Please keep up the good work. Kudos!
Welcome Tom! I've been a member of the forum for a while and thank you for posting these remarks. I too have learned so much and appreciate that we have a forum where we can exchange information based on research in an environment of respect for diverse viewpoints

I second Anita's words and welcome!

Pamela · 08-30-2015, 10:14 PM

Tom, here's my preferred Shakespeare quote for Weichmann, " Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." Translated to, Not that I loved the Surratts' less but that I loved my country more.

Welcome Anita!

Jim, so Pikes theater isn't a theater anymore? Too bad, not that I'm in that area ever anymore! You had a good idea, though.

Laurie, Erich responded, so I hope to get some answers soon, I said hello for you, and I'm sending him all my research, providing he apologizes for dissing Lou. Just kidding.

tom82baur · 08-30-2015, 11:14 PM

(08-30-2015 03:40 PM)BettyO Wrote:
Quote:This is my first post here, although I have been a lurker for some 6 months, and I wish to pay due respect to all the contributors! I am the administrator for our local Civil War Roundtable Facebook page, and I have made numerous links to this forum, mainly in regard to the Assassination thread, since that has been so much in the news these past few months.

Welcome, Tom! I remember we met at the Conference this year - we're delighted that you've joined us on the Forum!

Hi, and thank you all for the warm welcome! Betty, I regret to say that I was not at the Conference this year, so I think you may have me mixed up with another "Tom". Although I spent my college years in DC--- and I love the whole area---- I haven't visited there in about 4 years. I am looking for an excuse to return! I live in Connecticut. Smile

BettyO · 08-31-2015, 05:32 AM

No problem, Tom! I could have sworn that you were at the conference....too many "Toms" I guess - but welcome -

Thanks for the link to your CW Roundtable discussion group - I've bookmarked it!

Susan Higginbotham · 08-31-2015, 08:26 AM

Didn't someone make a statement to the effect that John Surratt had visited Weichmann after hours at the War Department? I'm sure I read it, but I haven't been able to track down the source. Does anyone know?

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 08-31-2015 11:00 AM by L Verge.)

(08-31-2015 08:26 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: Didn't someone make a statement to the effect that John Surratt had visited Weichmann after hours at the War Department? I'm sure I read it, but I haven't been able to track down the source. Does anyone know?

I may be wrong, but I think Surratt made that claim in his Rockville lecture. You might also have read it in Guy Moore's often overlooked work The Case of Mrs. Surratt (1954). Fr. Alfred Isacsson's dissertation also makes the claim that "Louis Weichmann was associated with Surratt in this work of carrying dispatches...Weichmann pilfered copies of dispatches from the War Department, where he worked and would turn them over to Surratt."

John Brophy and Henri B. de Ste. Marie also made statements that Weichmann was pro-Southern in his leanings. Michael Schein (John Surratt: The Lincoln Assassin Who Got Away) mentions that the latter sent notice to the U.S. Consul-General in Montreal shortly after the assassination in which he expressed surprise that Weichmann had not been arrested too because of his strong secessionist feelings.

Susan Higginbotham · 08-31-2015, 12:51 PM

(08-31-2015 10:59 AM)L Verge Wrote:
(08-31-2015 08:26 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: Didn't someone make a statement to the effect that John Surratt had visited Weichmann after hours at the War Department? I'm sure I read it, but I haven't been able to track down the source. Does anyone know?

I may be wrong, but I think Surratt made that claim in his Rockville lecture. You might also have read it in Guy Moore's often overlooked work The Case of Mrs. Surratt (1954). Fr. Alfred Isacsson's dissertation also makes the claim that "Louis Weichmann was associated with Surratt in this work of carrying dispatches...Weichmann pilfered copies of dispatches from the War Department, where he worked and would turn them over to Surratt."

John Brophy and Henri B. de Ste. Marie also made statements that Weichmann was pro-Southern in his leanings. Michael Schein (John Surratt: The Lincoln Assassin Who Got Away) mentions that the latter sent notice to the U.S. Consul-General in Montreal shortly after the assassination in which he expressed surprise that Weichmann had not been arrested too because of his strong secessionist feelings.

Thanks! You were right; it was the Rockville lecture. Of course, John Surratt isn't an unimpeachable source, but it's interesting that Weichmann didn't refute this claim in his book (at least not that I saw through a skim). I also find it interesting that Colonel Foster, writing about Weichmann before the conspiracy trial, stated that "Large quantities of envelopes, with the official frank of the office of the Commissary General of Prisoners, was [sic] found in his room."

Pamela · 09-01-2015, 06:59 PM

(08-31-2015 08:26 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: Didn't someone make a statement to the effect that John Surratt had visited Weichmann after hours at the War Department? I'm sure I read it, but I haven't been able to track down the source. Does anyone know?

Maybe you read it in the Evidence, p1083-1084:

Gilbert J. Raynor

"Am in the employ of Col. Hoffman. In the office, Mr. Foster sits on my right, and on my left sits Mr. Stith, and Mr. Weichmann sits directly back of me...I was writing at my one evening and he came there (Weichmann) and Surratt came with him. There were two or three of us there, and he introduced Surratt to us. I know nothing of him besides that. I never have seen him since...

I voted the Republican ticket last fall . I inferred that he was a Republican also, from his conversation in the office. (Weichmann) Seemed more vehement in his expressions against the South and Secessionist than any man in the office.

Have heard him talk about the sentiments of the Surratt's where he boarded. He spoke of them as having secession sympathies. He spoke of the ladies of the house most particularly. I never heard him say that of this young man. He came to the office one morning in a very great state of excitement & said that a young lady at the house had slapped him in the face on account of having a political quarrel with her. "

Susan Higginbotham · 09-01-2015, 07:02 PM

(09-01-2015 06:59 PM)Pamela Wrote:
(08-31-2015 08:26 AM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote: Didn't someone make a statement to the effect that John Surratt had visited Weichmann after hours at the War Department? I'm sure I read it, but I haven't been able to track down the source. Does anyone know?

Maybe you read it in the Evidence, p1083-1084:

Gilbert J. Raynor

"Am in the employ of Col. Hoffman. In the office, Mr. Foster sits on my right, and on my left sits Mr. Stith, and Mr. Weichmann sits directly back of me...I was writing at my one evening and he came there (Weichmann) and Surratt came with him. There were two or three of us there, and he introduced Surratt to us. I know nothing of him besides that. I never have seen him since...

I voted the Republican ticket last fall . I inferred that he was a Republican also, from his conversation in the office. (Weichmann) Seemed more vehement in his expressions against the South and Secessionist than any man in the office.

Have heard him talk about the sentiments of the Surratt's where he boarded. He spoke of them as having secession sympathies. He spoke of the ladies of the house most particularly. I never heard him say that of this young man. He came to the office one morning in a very great state of excitement & said that a young lady at the house had slapped him in the face on account of having a political quarrel with her. "

Thanks!