Louis Weichmann

[BettyO]

Quote:Annie Ward? So two Annie Wards in this story, interesting. I thought he beat the woman up because she was black and he was a white supremacist and felt entitled to do so. Do you think he would have beaten her up if she was a white servant? I wonder what the police report said--that his actions were "strong and uncalled for"? And he viciously and murderously attacked an unarmed, bedridden man three times his age and attempted to kill anyone who got in his way. How in the world can you call Powell chivalrous?

The African American servant who worked for the Bransons was named Annie Ward. I have a copy of her subpoena for the trial, but she was never called. Yes, it is odd that there were two "Annie Wards" in this story.....

Why is it that everyone in the 19th Century is termed a "white supremacist" if they re southern? Again - it boils down to attempting to look at the 19th century with a 21st century mindset - and all that it entails. The 19th Century was different; different values; different mindsets. People thought (and acted) differently. In order to understand these folk (and ANY Victorian people) you must attempt to see things through their eyes. Many northerners would be perceived today as "racist" too. Powell was apparently (as he told his spiritual advisor the night before he was executed) very repentant regarding what he did to the Seward family; he saw that he was dead-wrong; that he thought at first that it would bring down a government (and heads of government) who were harsh to "his people"; i.e. the south. Seward was thought of as "the power behind the throne" and was deeply hated by southerners; more so than Lincoln in a lot of instances. Of course, this was very, very wrong. Seward was a wonderful man. Powell realized right after he committed the deed, as he told Gillette, that he had committed a serious crime. I believe he would not have lied, "on his deathbed", to the good Reverend. For all his errors, he was a religious young man. As for being chivalrous, he was very much so in regards to Mrs. Surratt. People who knew him before the attack on Seward (and right up to that horrid incident), claimed that Powell was very "highly esteemed" as a person.

I'm not "defending" anyone - just stating fact where it is. Why are you so defensive?