Dave Taylor / Davey Herold Question

[Jim Garrett]

I believe that the Powell-Herold action team was probably right. Maybe to Booth, Seward was the second most important target. Seward was an ardent abolitionist and a high value target. Johnson was somewhat on the outs with the administration and was probably the perfect model for the modern VP. Herold was not much more than a unreliable errand boy, and he proved that his best role was as a companion. I think JWB was a good judge of human character and did the best with what he had to work with. He probably felt the assassination of Lincoln and Seward would have the desired effect. If Atzerodt was successful, even better.