Who, When, Why What

[John Stanton]

I want to start with WHEN. In the late 70's I was working in the Pentagon and I bought a farm on the Potomac, to raise horses. As we built the house, we dug up buckles, bullets, shrapnel, eating utensils, etc. and a cast iron cooking pot with a large flat rock cover. Wot's dat? Now for WHO. Two guys came by to chat and see what I found, one was called Jim Hall and the other was Bill Tidwell. It started with "I heard you found ...,. They I. D'd the farm as "Cawood's Camp". (More often refered to as The Tennant Farm.) That's who owned it. (Mercer Tennant)
I am a yankee by birth, but am a Virginian by choice. I needed to know who came here? What became of them? Why did they come here? So, my interest is not solely The Assassination, but more like Who MADE it happen. Now, when I give talks to local gatherings, I emphasize the fact, that "if you people where here at that time, living in the house you are in, we would be talking about you tonight". That gets them "involved" with the story being told. They become part of history. I tell them stories that they never knew. I told a McDaniel descendant about his G G G something , fed Booth a meal. He told me honestly "I never heard that before. That made my day. I also have to be careful, some don't want it known that they supported the other guys. I almost forgot. The POT with the rock lid. It was a mail drop. (So said Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy.) Some of the relics that we dig up today, are LIVE. Complete with fuse . I call the Navy and they come and get it. Like the 14" mortar shell uncovered by my grand son, last year. That one was difficult and went "high order, as they monkeyed with it. I want to tell the story of this farm, this area, these people, and the ones who passed this way as they went about fighting a war. I have more "details" now, than I have time to talk about them. Example: The Confederate spy who worked in the front office of the U. S. Secret Service and ruined the Wistar Raid and the Dahlgren raid. - but it's coming. Stay tuned.