JWB still making news 148 yrs later

[BettyO]

Quote:I believe that when Booth shot Lincoln he thought that he would become a sort of David by killing the evil Goliath. He totally misjudged the prevailing attitude of the average southern person in April of 1865 who were fed up with 4 years of war. I wonder what he would have thought of the few people who still idolize him 148 years after his death?

Powell also seemed to think that he would be "given a promotion (by the Confederate Army) and have the undying affection of the Southern People" - or so he told Gillette. But I think that this is just the bravado, or naivety of youth. For all his military experience - he was still just a kid who seemed to believe (and do) what he was told by his superiors. Powell, however, at the end had the intelligence to see the error of his ways.