Frederick Demond

[John Fazio]

Dave, Laurie, Gene, Roger, Pamela, Roseo, et al. (If I have left anyone out, it is not intentional):

I am happy to inform everyone that I have received a response to my inquiry re Henry Lipman's membership in the Papal Zouaves. This came not from Rome, where the Archives are closed for the entire month of August, but from Holland. Here is the response, word for word:

Dear sir:
Lipman, H.G.J. (Heno Gerhardus Josephus) was a Papal Zouave from 1866-02-10 until 1869-05-05.
I will send his data from the book of Morel in a separate mail.
Surratt serves from 1865-12-09 until 1866-11-08, so its possible that both man (sic) met each other in Rome.
My regards,
Marijke Zonneveld-Kouters
nederlands zouavenmuseum oudenbosch.

As I said in an earlier post, establishing Lipman's service as a Zouave at the relevant time, as this communication does, does not render his account of Surratt's escape absolutely true, but I believe we will all agree that it is probative of its truth, because the alternative is to suppose that he made the whole thing up out of whole cloth at a time when there were still plenty of Zouaves who had served together with both men to expose his mendacity, to his ruin. One could, of course, argue that Surratt took the same risk with his account, true, but with this difference: someone DID contradict Surratt's account (Lipman), whereas there is no record of anyone having contradicted Lipman's account.

I am not done with this issue, because there is still a discrepancy in the record that I wish to clarify. I do not anticipate that any of the foregoing will change, but I do not wish to leave a stone unturned.

John