Mudd Descendants visit Fort Jefferson NP

[John Fazio]

(07-31-2015 04:34 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 07:15 PM)John Fazio Wrote:  Roger:

Sorry for not getting to this sooner. I'm quite busy.

You raise a very important issue. My educated guess is that just as the invitation to the theatre was by design (per Susannah Hamm, p. 38 of DU), and just as Booth's prior knowledge of the Lincolns' attendance at the theatre for the April 14 performance came from sources inside the government (per Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy, p. 423 of CR), so too the publication in the afternoon newspapers of the attendance of the Lincolns and the Grants was by pre-arrangement by sources inside the government. That is not to say that everything was a lock; any part or all of the pre-arrangements might have failed. As it happened, however, they all worked as planned. See pp. 82, 83 of DU.

John

Thank you for answering my question, John.

Roger:

You are quite welcome.

A careful reading of the literature reveals many signs of pre-arrangement. Steers, for example, makes the point that Booth's ordering Atzerodt to register at the Kirkwood (most historians say he registered on Friday morning, but Atzerodt says in one of his confessions that he registered on Thursday afternoon), before he allegedly learned of the Lincolns' attendance at Ford's (Friday at noon), suggests that he had prior knowledge of their attendance for Friday's performance. Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy also allege prior knowledge. As another example, Powell strolled past Seward's mansion in the morning on the 13th and again in the morning on the 14th, on both occasions chatting up Robinson and asking about the Secretary's health. Clearly he knew his assignment long before the 8:00 pm Friday meeting at the Herndon House, per the conventional wisdom, and prior, even, to Friday morning, which was the time he gave the Rev. Gillette. In my opinion, he knew his assignment from the moment he was dispatched from the Rangers to join Booth's action team, which he did on March 15, in time for the Gautier's Restaurant meeting. The great likelihood is that the real purpose of Booth's conspiracy was determined when he began to put his team together in August, 1864, though he of course concealed that real purpose from many of his team members.

John