Escape speculations

[L Verge]

I like Jim's theory as to levels of involvement here, but I would not place Mrs. Surratt in Level Two. I would put her son there and switch her to Level Three. Like Eva, I think she became ensnared when her son started hanging around with Booth -- and I think Booth is the one who used her as his tool to get incidental things done. I do not think he would have ever given true power to an aging female! Do I think she knew what was going on? Definitely, until you hit the question of knowing about assassination. I hedge all bets at that point.

With apologies to Bob Summers, however, I would place Dr. Mudd (and Dr. Queen) at the head of the Maryland involvement at first. They are the ones who welcomed Booth into Southern Maryland with his letters of introduction from the Canadian side. Mudd and Queen (and possibly one other) had to be known by higher level Confederates in order for Booth to be sent to them.

Queen died shortly before the assassination, so he got off easy. Mudd, however, is the one who takes Booth to Bryantown for an arranged meeting with a top member of the Secret Line - Thomas Harbin. Mudd then arranges (despite what he claimed) to meet Booth in D.C. for the purpose of recruiting John Surratt, Jr. Then comes Atzerodt, Herold, and Powell. I don't think they were recruited by Mrs. Surratt.

At the time of her arrest, I feel that the authorities were only bringing pressure to bear in order to make her divulge where her son was. I place the blame on her charges becoming deadly serious when Powell made, perhaps, the most untimely entrance in U.S. history. The house of cards all fell down after that, thanks to "corroborating evidence" from Weichmann and Lloyd - and possibly the frustration of the authorities in not being able to catch John, Jr.

P.S. I don't think Mary Surratt ever envisioned needing to have to escape. She had been a successful part of the Confederate underground for four years without ever being caught and had literally faced down Union troops as they searched her Surrattsville property. This same feeling of "comfort" in dealing with the enemy probably attributed to Mudd, Cox, Jones, Harbin, Baden, and others continuing to assist the fugitives while they were in Maryland. They had been taking risks for four years - what was one more adventure, albeit a high stakes one?

P.P.S. I don't ever remember any mention of estrangement between Mary and her mother, Bessie, until after Mary's incarceration. And, that appears to be only that Mrs. Jenkins never visited her daughter nor was quoted as to her feelings about her daughter's actions. That could likely be because of the strict Victorian codes. One never airs dirty laundry in public.