Did JWB visit Mary's boarding house after the assassination?

[Pamela]

(02-24-2015 09:00 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(02-24-2015 12:51 AM)Pamela Wrote:  I think Weichmann vented many details that didn't come out in the trial because he wasn't asked...

I think I have mentioned this before, but I want to ask again to see if anyone has an opinion. This regards another incident that Weichmann did not include in his trial testimony but came out later.

The incident happened during the afternoon of the assassination. Weichmann and Mary were in the buggy on the way to Surrattsville when they saw some soldiers along the roadside. Mary stopped the buggy (or asked Weichmann to do so) and asked an old farmer why the soldiers were there. She was told that they were pickets. Mary then asked if they remained on guard all night. The farmer said that they were generally called in at about 8 in the evening. Mary replied, "I am glad to know that." Weichmann and Mary then continued on.

In his book Weichmann writes, "I am very positive in regard to this affair, for it has made a lasting impression on my mind, one which will never be effaced."

If Weichmann were telling the truth, was this just innocent conversation/curiosity on Mary's part? Or was she checking to determine if the road to Surrattsville would be clear later that night? Are there other possible reasons?

Good point. Weichmann described that incident in his response to Brophy about 2 weeks after the execution. It's hard to imagine that he told prosecutors about it because it seems likely they would have used it as evidence against her. If it happened, at the time, he could have either thought it was just a random event, that she felt like talking to that farmer, or he could have thought she was thinking about their safety since they returned after dark or as it was getting dark.

He could have withheld this piece of info as he did with a few others to help her out, as I think he did with Anna. He might have rationalized to himself that some incidents fell in a gray area that he could keep quiet about. After so many attempts to "blacken" his character, and that he felt betrayed by the Surratts, he decided to put everything out there. Or he fabricated the incident to add to her guilt, for his detractors.

Checking on the pickets would have been important for her to do in this situation and I'm sure her mind would think that way since she was so involved in rebel covert activities and had been for years. In fact, it's hard to imagine that she would pass them by without wanting to know their schedule.