Wooden chairs on the gallows

[Jim Garrett]

The chairs were a pretty good idea. Washington D.C. in the summer can be intolerably hot and humid. July 7, 1865 was one of those days with the temperature near 100 degrees and high humidity. Considering the health of Mrs. Surratt and the stress that the condemned were under, the chairs came in handy. In the Gardner images, all of the condemned are seated at one point. If I remember, Mrs. Surratt was so faint, they literally had to hold her up until a moment before they knocked out the posts.