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[Pamela]

(07-02-2016 10:48 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-01-2016 12:20 AM)Pamela Wrote:  Richards described those events because of what he had read in chapter 15 of Weichmann's book, and said that Stewart's account of events and testimony were largely imagined and not accurate.

I also wonder about the validity of Richards' account. Personally I do not know of any contemporary evidence that he was present at Ford's Theatre when the President was shot (other than Richards' own word that he was).

Richards says he was there, but was he?

According to Good's book, Richards' "revelation" that he was there came on April 17, 1885, which is 20 years after the event. Captain Reed, who could have verified Richards' presence, is deceased. So is Stewart dead by this time. Richards also says in his account that Peanut John was a black boy. In other discussions we've had, it seems the evidence is quite conclusive that Peanut John was white. Richards claims Mary Lincoln yelled "guerillas" after the shot; as far as I know, no one else made this claim. Richards said he thought Booth yelled "Sic semper tyrannis" twice while on the stage; I think the vast majority of other accounts have Booth yelling this once.

If anyone can provide contemporary evidence that Richards really was in the theater when Lincoln was shot then I will stand corrected in my suspicions.

Why do you use the word revelation in quotes? I don't think that Richard's description of Peanut John as black supports your suspicion that Richards lied about being in the theater. He must have followed the trial and had many discussions about witnesses, etc., and would have known Peanut was white at some point, so if he lied he could have correctly mentioned his race , whether he was there or not. It's more likely that he just misspoke. Why would he say Mary yelled "guerillas" if he was lying? That seems like a ridiculous sort of embellishment for him to invent, and wouldn't make his "story" more credible. If he was going to lie, he would want to sound credible. And whether he thought Booth yelled the phrase once or twice is trivial, IMO.

Richards already had important involvement with the case and was a very accomplished and successful person. What would be his reason to lie about being in the theater?