My Journey on Lincoln's Assassination

[mikegriffith1]

Lately I’ve been reading one of the most fascinating and informative books I’ve read so far on the Lincoln assassination, namely, Thomas Bogar’s book Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford’s Theater (Washington, DC: Regnery History 2013).

Bogar’s research casts serious doubt on Louis Weichmann’s claim in his sworn statement that Mary Surratt met with Booth at her boarding house shortly before 2:30 PM and at some point after 9:00 PM on the day of the assassination.

Let us start with Weichmann's claim that Booth met with Mrs. Surratt at her boarding house at 2:30 PM. Bogar documents that Ford Theater employees James Maddox and William Ferguson saw Booth at around 2:45 “seated calmly at the prompter’s table, chatting quietly with Gifford, Spangler, and Spear” (p. 92).

Surratt’s boarding house was half a mile from Ford’s Theater. If Booth had ridden his horse at a trot (about 10 mph), it would have taken him right around three minutes to get to the theater. Then, add time for him to tie his horse outside the theater and to walk inside. Then, add time for him to find Gifford, Spangler, and Spear in the theater. Then, add time for the four of them to decide to sit down at the prompter’s table. Then, add time for the four of them to converse long enough that when Maddox and Ferguson noticed them, they were “seated calmly” and “chatting quietly” at the prompter’s table.

As for the alleged 9:00-9:15(?) PM meeting that Weichmann claimed he witnessed, Bogar documents that Booth was seen by numerous people hanging around or inside Ford’s Theater or at the Star Saloon next door from 7:45 PM until he fled on his horse at approximately 10:10 PM; during this time period, Booth was seen many times by numerous theater staff and actors and by people at the Star Saloon (pp. 101-115).

Between 7:45 and 8:00 PM, Booth was seen at the rear of the parquette section in the theater, “his arms resting on the railing, watching the audience” (p. 101). At around 9:10 PM, Ferguson saw Booth and Spangler standing in the alley behind the theater. Booth and Spangler then went to the Star Saloon, which was at least Booth’s third trip to the saloon in the previous seven hours (p. 106, pp. 92-94). At around 9:20 PM, theater employee John Debonay saw Booth at the door in the rear of the theater, where he was calling for Spangler to come hold his horse for the rest of the act (p. 106).

During this time, no one reported seeing Booth leave the vicinity of the theater and/or return to it. Nor did anyone report seeing his horse absent from the alley behind the theater, except for a brief exhibition at around 4:15 PM that Booth put on with his horse to show Spangler and Maddox and others how fast the horse was (pp. 95-96). During this exhibition, Booth merely rode up and down 10th Street and F Street right next to the theater.