Conspirators

[bob_summers]

Does anyone know how Booth, Surratt, Herold, et all escaped the draft. My memory is fading, and I don't recall anyone mentioning it.

Dr. Mudd was drafted on July 19, 1864 (see Baltimore Sun, July 20, 1864), but he did not serve. A draftee could escape serving if he failed the physical exam, or hired a substitute, or paid a $300 commutation fee. Dr. Mudd’s father had paid for substitutes for his brothers Henry and James when they were drafted. Dr. Mudd’s name does not show on lists of draftees who obtained a substitute, or who failed a physical exam. Most likely therefore, Dr. Mudd, or his father, paid the $300 commutation fee.