Did JWB visit Mary's boarding house after the assassination?

[L Verge]

(02-26-2015 05:38 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(02-25-2015 08:23 PM)L Verge Wrote:  She had served her purpose earlier in the day.

Laurie, this is probably the single biggest reason why I personally believe Weichmann was most likely telling the truth regarding the 9:00 P.M. visitor being Booth. It just makes sense to me that he would check that she had been successful prior to his proceeding on to Ford's.

I agree completely. I think Booth was likely there about 9 pm - but not afterwards

(02-25-2015 11:47 PM)Susan Higginbotham Wrote:  I think Richards' memory might have been playing tricks with him in 1898--

In 1885 Richards also made the claim that he was in Ford's Theatre at the time Lincoln was shot. Richards said he chased after Booth into the alley and questioned the black boy who had been holding Booth's horse. I believe the evidence is pretty overwhelming that Burroughs was white, but Richards' claim of Burroughs being black was accepted by a small number of assassination authors. Does anyone know if 1885 was the earliest time Richards claimed to be at Ford's? Did he say he was there in earlier accounts?

Gary Planck did a small booklet on A.C. Richards about 30 years ago. I have forgotten completely what his conclusion was as to the police chief's veracity, etc.

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(02-26-2015 07:39 AM)Wild Bill Wrote:  Laurie,
Two Pistols and a hat.

I just composed a great response to you, Bill, and it disappeared from the screen before I could hit Send. I hope I can reconstruct it.

After more than a decade of you throwing the pistols and hat routine at me, you know by now that I'm not buying your theory.

About a year ago on this forum, I casually mentioned that, for all we knew, Booth could have stolen Peanuts's hat as he mounted and fled out the alley. That disturbed one member so much that I received 2-3 very angry PMs from that person asking in no uncertain terms how I could make such a stupid comment. I guess I'm still stupid, but I still think that it is just as logical (and unsolvable) a premise as anything else that has been floated around over the years.

As for Booth hanging a hard left and galloping down 7th Street to reach the boardinghouse, I just can't imagine that the thought of his having lost his hat and needing another one within the first five minutes after attacking Lincoln even crossed his mind -- unless he already had a spare somewhere on him or horse.

If we imagine that he did head to Ma Surratt for a hat, she would not be waiting anxiously for him to show up so that she could hand him an already retrieved chapeau from son John's room - or begged one from Weichmann or Holohan. She had no previous knowledge of him needing a hat in an emergency.

If his leg was injured at the theater (and yes, I still believe it was), how would he have dismounted and climbed the steps to her front door? Who would have held his frisky little mare? The mental image of him hobbling half way up the stairs and cursing as "Frisky" went galloping down H Street and Mrs. Surratt throws a hat out the door at him is just too good not to mention! Include a gun belt and two pistols being thrown at him also is icing on the cake.

Where did the pistols come from? I have always suspected that Herold was assigned to hold onto them while in the city and then to turn them over to Booth when they met up en route to Surrattsville. Or, they may even have been originally issued to Herold for his protection/action related to either Seward or VP Johnson. Art Loux also had an interesting theory that Herold retrieved them from a second hiding place in the Surrattsville barn.

I could also imagine that the weaponry was part of the "supplies" that Atzerodt stated had been sent to Dr. Mudd as part of the original kidnap scheme. Or, Herold delivered them to Mudd sometime on April 12 or 13, when (according to Huntt) the young man had been to Southern Maryland. I can easily see where Booth would become infuriated by Lincoln's speech on April 11, spend April 12 getting things into gear, and sending Herold down to meet with Southern sympathizers that afternoon and all day on April 13.

Those are my guesses (and just guesses because I can't prove them - and neither can anyone else) about two pistols and a hat. And everyone, please don't send me any more threatening PMs...