John Surratt

[L Verge]

John,

Please don't take offense when I say this, but "taking the time to read this" is not the problem - finding the time to digest it all and respond to some of your suppositions is the biggest problem! If your manuscript is of similar length as your postings, I think you will have to do a lot of editing and careful condensing. Anything that even comes close to the magnitude of your verbiage will likely turn off any publisher. That is my personal opinion, and I am really trying to be helpful.

That said, I have several thoughts - in random order. I believe that kidnapping was a viable thought to the Maryland planters and Judah Benjamin until the fall of Richmond. I also believe that assassination was always Plan B in their minds as well as Booth's.

As for Surratt's role? The murder plan did not require his assistance, but the transfer of Confederate prisoners and - most importantly - the Confederate treasury to Canada did. He was obeying Confederate orders at that point, not Booth's order. Surratt traveled around the northwestern portion of New York State during that time soliciting assistance from Copperhead units in that area. He had to know that there was a possibility of his cover being blown and Union forces descending upon him. The Copperheads, no doubt, had secret lines of their own in upstate New York.

In item #13 above, you mention the variety of incidents that you are ASSUMING to be assassination attempts. I might give credence to the shot en route to Soldiers' Home and the yellow fever-infected shirts. I don't think you can prove the other three assertions.

The idea of kidnapping Lincoln might be explained as a means to create chaos in the Union and pull necessary troops from key points in order to search for the captive President?

As for Ste. Marie, other than his being a stool pigeon, I write him off as being another jerk who wanted money.

I am not even going to attempt to tackle your first paragraph because it is a run-on gone wild. Create at least four separate paragraphs out of it, and I might attempt to understand it.

I apologize for sounding like your 10th grade English teacher, but your tendency to post these very long position papers reminds me quite well that you are a lawyer and trained to throw words at defendants so fast and furious that they end up in a state of confusion. It's working with this old lady...