Thomas F. Harney

[Rick Smith]

(08-04-2015 12:13 PM)John Fazio Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 11:51 AM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 11:41 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 10:47 AM)Rick Smith Wrote:  

(08-04-2015 09:26 AM)L Verge Wrote:  John Stanton and Bill Richter can probably answer this better than I. I know that there are a few bios done on Benjamin, but I admit to not having read them -- even though I have suspected for lo these many years that the man is key to understanding any theory that the Confederacy was behind at least early kidnap ideas regarding Lincoln. This was one of the challenges that I gave to John Fazio about 3-4 years ago; please prove it for me. I used to get tired of hearing people accuse Stanton of being the mastermind behind the assassination. I would tell them to turn around and look South for the culprit.

If my knees would work, I'd like to spend some retirement years researching the money trail of Judah Benjamin also. I doubt we will ever find a definite paper trail because I think the man was a genius at secretive work. If nothing else, I would think that his wife's reputation would keep him very aware of covering up things that could be used against him...

It has long been my belief that Jefferson Davis was finally convinced by Judah Benjamin {and a few others} that the time had come to get Mr. Lincoln.

Rick:

By "get", do you mean to kidnap him or to kill him? If the latter, where do we differ?

John

John,

Thanks for your question. My apologies for not being clear.

I do not think we differ on much, just maybe to some details.

By "get," I mean that it was time to eliminate Lincoln.

Rick

Rick:

Then there isn't much difference in our opinions, except, perhaps, as to timing and the breadth of the conspiracy. I maintain that assassination was Booth's goal from at least the time he met with the four Confederate Secret Service agents in Boston's Parker House. They didn't meet with him to discuss theater, for sure, nor, in my opinon, to discuss kidnapping, exept as a ruse to conceal the more sinister purpose and to facilitate the recruitment of his action team. Further, I maintain that Booth ultimately decided to take out at least five government leaders, though when he made the decision to try to accomplish that goal, or when it was made for him by his handlers, is hard to say. I believe it is probable that Booth's handlers intended to take out as many as possible, but that they could not realistically expect Booth to take out more than four, leaving Stanton and other leaders to others under their control. There is a telling quote in the National Intelligencer that appears in the April 18, 1865, edition of the New York Times, as follows: "We can state on the highest authority that it has been ascertained that there was a regular conspiracy to assassinate every member of the cabinet, together with the Vice President." This dovetails perfectly with the "Johnston" letter contained on p. 260 of my book.

John

John,

I do believe that the conspiracy was very broad, not only as regards Booth's action team, members of the Confederate government and their known agents, but also as it extends to lesser known and unknown individuals who acted as support structure for the operation.

I also believe that the simultaneous assassinations planned for the night of April 14 were to be actions directed at other targets apart from Lincoln, Johnson and Seward.

Rick