Free Walking Tour

[L Verge]

James O. Hall used to share an opinion that Weichmann did report his suspicions to his co-worker Gleason around the time of the kidnap plot -- something strange was going on in the boardinghouse where he resided. Mr. Hall suspected that Gleason did report this to his superiors. Since the Surratt family had been identified as secessionists from the very beginning of the conflict, Mr. Hall surmised that the superiors decided to sit back and watch the comings and goings at the H Street home. To rush in and investigate would only cause the underground activities to move somewhere else.

My point in saying this is that there were likely undercover Union agents who could have tipped the detectives off to taking a look at the Surratt boardinghouse. After Powell's one-eyed horse was brought in, I think the saddle and bridle were identified as having something to do with Atzerodt, and the livery stable people knew who Atzerodt hung around with (and I did not mean that as a pun!). Betty can probably elaborate on that.