The Unintended Irony

[L Verge]

Since the stagecoach came to Southern Maryland every other day on its run out of D.C., mail and newspapers were delivered fairly regularly -- and they would likely have been the leading newspapers of the day, such as the National Intelligencer and the Evening Star. I suspect that Mr. Booth got wind of the sermons being preached.

I have often wondered what Rev. Lemuel Wilmer of St. Paul's Piney Church in Charles County had to say in his Easter sermon. Booth had used Wilmer's name at Mudd's (or at least Mudd said he did). The Reverend was one of the strongest Union supporters in Southern Maryland. Stanton had even designated him a chaplain in the Union army. If he preached on Lincoln and the Christ on Easter Sunday, Booth was not that far away.

Remember also the historical significance of the period around the 15th of each month. The days were known as the Ides. You are on your own to figure out the Roman and Julian Calendars, but it was all based around lunar cycles (I think, 'cause I got confused in school with these things!). The Ides were when taxes were due - giving to Caesar. Julius Caesar was also assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC.

Now relate this to Booth, and let me suggest that Booth knew exactly what he was doing in both March and April of 1865. He was raised on Shakespeare and Julius Caesar and was apparently very good at melding both into his political thoughts. If he indeed planned a kidnap scheme, it would have occurred at the time of the Ides of March (March 17, 1865). Every month had its Ides, so he was still on the Caesar route when he struck during the Ides of April. And who was Caesar in Booth's mind? Abraham Lincoln, to Booth the man who was destroying his country - just as the Roman senators had judged Julius Caesar.