Louis Weichmann

[L Verge]

(09-20-2015 05:45 PM)Pamela Wrote:  Laurie, you made an assumption as to what I meant by the word 'concoction' which was wrong. In his book, written more than two decades after the assassination, Weichmann admitted that he, over the years, pondered the details of the day of the trip to Surrattsville on the 14th "almost incessantly". That's OCD for you! I think he suffered from a combination of OCD and PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome). The letter from Calvert which Mrs. Surratt told Louis came on the 14th, was dated the 12th, and he believed that Mary lied to him when she said the letter arrived on the 14th because it should have arrived no later than the 13th. Mary used this urgency of timing to explain to him the necessity and the purpose of the trip, and she had him say the same in a letter he wrote to Nothey at her behest at the tavern. Nowhere in the letter did she mention an appointment with him at the tavern, or to meet her at the tavern or anywhere else, and Gynne was given the letter just after it was written and testified that he gave it to Nothey that day.

P 170, Weichmann: Whenever I think of it, and it is almost incessantly, it is always with feelings of mortification and shame, that a woman, having children other than myself, could have so basely and willingly betrayed my confidence, and stooped to actions which have almost ruined my life. It was a vile insult and outrage upon my young manhood. That drive to Surrattsville, and the developments growing out of it, cost Mrs. Surratt her life. She dug a pit for others, but fell into it herself. Certain it is, if she had remained at home and attended to the duties of her boarding house, she would, I verily believe, not have been punished as she was."

You said,
"People have also asked me why she just didn't go to Nothey's house to demand the money. A Victorian lady would not do that. It just was not proper, and it was not safe when dealing with a somewhat spurious character. I may be wrong in assuming this, but Louis Weichmann could have knocked on Nothey's door as her representative. Perhaps Mrs. Surratt didn't think he could be forceful enough?"

Mary paid a visit to Powell (talk about spurious characters, having just brutally beat a woman and on the eve of the almost-slaughter at Seward's house) in his hotel room at the Herndon House, was that proper? Are you saying that Louis might not have had the force or strength to lift his hand up to knock on the door, or not been forceful enough to say, 'Mrs. Surratt would like to speak to you."? Louis had attributes enough to drive her in the country and serve as her protector during the trip. Are you saying she needed a Mafia loan shark to deal with Nothey, despite the fact that she, a Victorian lady, had managed to hold a business conversation with him just a few days prior?

You said, "People always assume that she waited around for Lloyd to come home so that she could deliver the field glasses and message. Emma Offutt could have done that. " Emma would have told Lloyd to have the shooting irons and whiskey ready for parties coming that night?

Weichmann was likely wrong in thinking the letter should have arrived on the 13th. We have the schedule for the mail coach stops from D.C. to Leonardtown and back. The 13th would have been a return trip to D.C. and too late for mail delivery or pick-up.

As for him being a protector during the trip, there really wasn't much need for that unless she would be hasseled by some of the Union soldiers. And, in dealing with Nothey, Mary had a better chance of appealing to his better side in dealing with a widow lady who desperately needed money.

As for Emma, I certainly do think she could have delivered the field glasses and message to Lloyd. In fact, Mrs. Surratt had already given her the package, which Emma left on the parlor sofa, and was preparing to leave when Lloyd arrived home, offered her some fish, and ended up fixing her carriage.

Since Emma lived here too, I suspect she was already aware of the rifles and supplies being hidden here and of the underground traffic that frequented the place. Howell's arrest here had just occurred a few weeks earlier.

She was no babe in the woods -- and even if she were, that message from Booth did not let on that a dastardly deed would happen that required those items being picked up. It could have meant that the war was over so get those things and move on with life. That could even have been Mrs. Surratt's thoughts about why she was delivering such a message.