Open-ended questions

[BettyO]

Hey, Lindsey!

I'm so glad to see you post!!

Yes - I've thought the very same thing -- and so has Linda. We've talked about Powell at the Herndon House....

According to Atzerodt, Powell apparently had "control" over certain mounts in regards to the kidnap plot. As a Mosby Ranger, Powell had several horses which he kept at the Payne homestead in Warrenton, so he knew how to manage and care for the animals. Just what Powell was doing in regards to the animals is anyone's guess. I doubt he was mucking out stalls! HA! He was probably making sure that they were stabled somewhere within the city and perhaps paying the feed and board; keeping track of the tack, etc. Just what the boy was doing while at the Herndon House is anyone's guess. He liked to play cards, and as he was apparently afraid to violate his parole to "stay North of Philadelphia during the war", he more than likely either read or played a lot of solitaire! We also know that after the kidnap plot was aborted, he went to New York and wrote Surratt and the Branson girls while there....