Lewis Powell: The conspirator who was "different."

[BettyO]

Quote:Every person has a mixture of positives and negatives of varying degree and scope. Have you ever read James L. Swanson's book Manhunt, which portrays him in a worse light?

I have to agree with you that yes, no person (including Lincoln) is a god - everyone has both good and bad sides. I am not here to defend Powell by painting him as an innocent lamb. He was most certainly not. He was young, yes - but he was also a human being. He was acting as he told Dr. Abram Gillette, as a Confederate soldier under orders.

Have I read Swanson? No. I am not a fan of Mr. Swanson. He writes good history, but I prefer Mike Kauffman's research. Have you read American Brutus? It's a far more in depth study. Manhunt, I think, is more for the lay person.

What I have discovered regarding the maid, Annie is that she more or less knew of Mary Branson's midnight visits to Powell's room. She wasn't just going up to tuck him in as it were....like Roger said, you can use your imagination as to why a 35 year old spinster was haunting the bedroom of a 20 year old boy. I smell cougar. Apparently the maid saw or knew what was going on and threatened to squeal to Branson's parents. She may have threatened to rat on Powell's dealings with the Confederacy. Mr. Branson was also in on the kidnap plot. Their house was a "notorious Confederate safe house" according to Lt. H. B. Smith (Between the Lines.) At any rate, Powell was arrested as a "spy" - no where was it listed as "Assault and Battery."

Powell was totally wrong to explode as he did and beat the maid. I'm no proponent of violence either - but it happened. He did have an explosive temper, according to his family and apparently he just lost it. Unfortunately, in the 19th Century, servants were not treated with the same rights and considerations as "ladies" were treated. This was universal - it was simply a different world than ours today.

According to those who knew Powell, he was no dummy, but rather cultured and intelligent. He was not slavishly devoted to Booth. This is an old canard which has been handed down through the years and was embellished by Powell's attorney Doster. Powell saw Booth as a superior officer, yes - and supposedly JWB did have a Captain's commission. This, unfortunately, can't be confirmed. But this is what Powell told Gillette.

Yes, Powell panicked at Seward's house. As a Mosby Ranger, he was used to fighting outside; not in close quarters. There were also women present. This also threw him off. And yes, he seriously injured five people in the house that night. It is my opinion that he simply panicked. I also wonder what affect his being in the army from age 17 on had to do with this. Could he have had PTS Syndrome which could account for some of the violence? We don't know. A lot of researchers today are now thinking that PTS may have had a lot to do with the actions and reactions of a lot of young Civil War Soldiers. Many of them committed suicide after the war or turned to a life of crime. Take Jesse James for instance - same scenario. Went into the Confederate Army at the age of about 16. Look how he turned out.

Powell more or less wasn't lost. He was heading to Baltimore when he was thrown from his horse as the animal stumbled and fell attempting to jump a ditch (see Steer's The Evidence .) Powell was knocked out, possibly suffering a mild concussion (see Elliott and Cauchon's Between the Walls, Vol. II) and when he came to, found his horse gone. He therefore decided to hide out until he could think of what to do. Yes, he did stumble back to Mary Surratt's house a few days later, but it was the only place in DC besides the Herndon House where he thought he could find clean clothing and a meal before hitting the road, again probably to Baltimore.