Drawing of Booth Body

[Cliff Roberts]

Hello Nomann! Many have noticed the remarkable resemblance between the bearded man and Alexander Gardner. We know Gardner was present on the monitor Montauk when Booth's body was examined, and we know he had his camera equipment and an assistant (probably O'Sullivan) with him. What has never been found is the photo (or photos) of Booth's corpse which Gardner is said to have taken. Some, like Mr. Elliott, believe Gardner took no photo of Booth's body, basing this theory on an off-hand remark by Gardner's son, Lawrence, published many years after the fact. The Harper's Weekly engraving you refer to shows wooden decking instead of the one-inch thick iron plates which actually covered the monitor's deck, a mistake which should have been immediately obvious to the artist, engraver or editors of Harper's. Those who believe that no photo was taken cite this as evidence that the engraving is not based on Gardner's photograph. Some, however, believe it is based on an actual photograph and that the man with the beard is Gardner himself. In the near future, I'll be posting opposing views on the matter, along with my reasons for not taking seriously the remarks of Gardner's son.

Incidentally, the engraving of the autopsy found on page 121 of "Twenty Days" shows the iron-plated deck but no Gardner look-alike; it originally appeared on page 540 of Lafayette Baker's "History of the United States Secret Service" published in 1867.