John Surratt

[John Fazio]

(07-30-2013 07:13 PM)Rhatkinson Wrote:  John,

That was an excellent post. You have raised several fascinating points and I wonder if you would be so kind as to post your thoughts on what you believe to be the true story of the assassination? It would be a great book actually, but I would very much enjoy your synopsis on the issues of what you believe to be the truth concerning Booth's plan, his backing in Richmond, Surratt's location on 4/14, and the prior knowledge of CSA informants on the night that Lincoln was killed.

Thanks,
Heath

Heath:

I got part of the wallpaper up and had a go at the itch, so here's the synopsis you requested. In my opinion:

1. The Civil War, and therefore the assassination and attempted decapitation of the government, can be traced back to 1619, the year the first slaves were brought here. Slavery was the root of all evil, but it had many dimensions, including political, economic, social, cultural and moral ones. Climate, geography and demographics all played into it.
2. Lincoln's life was in danger from the moment he was nominated by his party. He received 10,000 threats against his life from that day through 4-14-65 and many attempts were actually made on his life.
3. Black flag warfare characterized the entire war and even preceded it. After the Wistar and Dahlgren-Kilpartrick Raids, the gloves were completely off and the brass knuckles were completely on. Lincoln was in Confederate crosshairs from March, 1864.
4. Booth and his action team were only one of many teams and individuals in action against Lincoln and his government.
5. Booth and his team were not good people, to put it mildly. The ones who came closest to that description were Sam Arnold and Michael O'Laughlen.They might have led decent lives, but they were weak and always needed money. Mrs. Surratt and Dr. Mudd were religious hypocrites and were both guilty.
6. Kidnapping was an elaborate ruse to conceal the Confederate Government's true purpose, which was multiple assassinations. Neither that government nor Booth and his team ever intended to kidnap anyone.
7. There are great unknowns which deserve exploration in connection with Ford's Theatre, Francis P. Burke, the brace and mortise, the peephole in the Box 7 door, the door locks and Booth's entry to the box, exactly what happened in the box, Booth's descent to the stage and declamations, Booth's broken leg, Booth's exit from the theater and escape and especially John F. Parker, Charles Forbes and Silas T. Cobb. I will say, quickly, that Burke drank with Parker and Forbes in Taltavul's; Booth did the carpentry on 4-14; Booth made a dry run into the presidential box; Booth got past Forbes with an authorization to allow John Wilkes Booth to join the President, signed by Lincoln, a Confederate Secret Service forgery; Parker wasn't where he was supposed to be, most probably because he was next door drinking, but he was not corrupted; Booth was lucky--Rathbone almost had him stopped; Booth did not leap 12 feet directly to the stage from the box; Booth said several things in the box, from the balustrade and as he crossed the stage; Booth broke his leg when he landed awkwardly on the stage; Booth and Herold got past Cobb with a gratuity, though prior arrangement by bribery and/or Mosby men in the wings are distinct possibilities.
8. Spangler was completely innocent.
9. The death of the Presdient is best expressed by Walt Whitman and William Cullen Bryant.
10. Attempts were made on the lives of Lincoln, Johnson, Seward, Stanton and Grant, at the least, with possibilities elsewhere, but insufficient evidence.
11. Powell headed for Baltimore. Atzerodt was to follow Booth and Herold into Maryland, but chickened out and sought safety with relatives. Herold did not accompany Powell to Seward's. Atzerodt did not go to the Kirkwood and go into the bar to bolster his courage. He, and probably Herold, went there to kill Johnson if conditions were favorable. They weren't. Booth probably planned all along to stop at Mudd's. There is some evidence to suggest that Booth's and Herold's ultimate goal may have been Baltimore, but the greater likelihood is that they planned to leave the country by ship (Atzerodt was to have joined them) and seek refuge in a country that had no extradition treaty with the United States, such as Spain.
12. The trial was not a farce. It was, rather, an enormous undertaking at an enormously difficult time under enormously difficult circumstances. The commissioners acquitted themselves quite well and, except in the case of Spangler, justice was served.
13. The Confederate Government and its Secret Service, including the Canadian Cabinet, with the assistance, perhaps, of some Copperheads, conspired to decapitate the Federal Government because kidnapping offered no hope at all for that government, whose fortunes were sinking rapidly, and multiple assassinations offered at least some hope.

John

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(08-02-2013 08:13 AM)L Verge Wrote:  I love Starkey's book, but couldn't finish Higham's. However, I do not consider either author a true expert in the field of the Lincoln assassination (sorry if that irritates anyone). I also worked with Mr. Higham while he was working on his book. I ended up transferring him over to Joan Chaconas on my staff because she has much more patience in dealing with people who refuse to accept documentation when it doesn't fit their theory.

Laurie:

I think both men played fast and loose with facts, especially Higham. Some of the things he has in his book are off the wall, such as accepting as credible the testimony of Rhodes and use of the brace to secure, not the door to the passageway, but the Box 7 door!!!!

John