Where was John Surratt on April 14, 1865 ?

[L Verge]

David Keehn mentions Louis Carland in his great book on the Knights of the Golden Circle. He states that Samuel Chester specifically mentioned Carland belonging to the secret group. He also says that Carland, just a few weeks before, had upset some Union troops in D.C. by "wishing all Yankees dead."

Keehn also says that Carland had met with Booth and a group of men at the Waverly House shortly before the assassination and that one of the men may have been the head of the Baltimore KGC, James Byrnes (referred to as Tom Burns in some versions). He also says that Carland hid for three days following the assassination.

That puts a KGC spin on things...

I also want to state that I do not think John Surratt was wearing a Garibaldi jacket in Elmira. The two witnesses referred to it as a Canadian coat. The closest I can come to such a thing is what the Canadians called a blanket coat, but I don't think it was even that. Furthermore, there was a movement in Canada during the 1860s to align themselves more with the British Empire - not with the revolutionaries of Europe.

As for the Garibaldi jacket (also called a shirt), it was a very popular female fashion during the 1860s (thanks to the fashion-setting Empress Eugenie) because it was full cut and had large, commodious sleeves that narrowed to a wristband. It was very comfortable and could be adapted for day work dresses as well as dressier attire. I have searched a good number of sources trying to find reference to Garibaldis being worn by men as outerwear to no avail.

This may be a very small subject in the larger scope of Surratt's history, but it might also be key to understanding the Elmira men's comments on the clothing. Lincoln was accused of sneaking into D.C. in 1861 in female clothing; Jeff Davis was accused of fleeing in women's clothing; let's not have John Surratt dressed in female fashion.