What Was The Role of David Herold

[John Fazio]

(03-27-2013 05:10 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(12-30-2012 05:14 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  From American Brutus:

"Lewis Powell and David Herold had already gone to Lafayette Park. The Park superintendent always called out the time as he locked the gate, and as soon as that happened, Powell would approach the Sewards' house. He would knock on the door, and then tell the servant he had medicine to give the secretary. It seemed an excellent plan, but at the last minute a complication arose: one of Seward's doctors was still in the house. Now Powell had to either come up with a new cover story or delay his attack. Since nothing came to mind, he sent Harold galloping away to tell the others to hold off."

Thus, Mike Kauffman has Herold riding from the Seward home to the Kirkwood House to tell Atzerodt to delay the attack on Johnson. I have asked this before, but we have some new members since then. Does anyone know the source for Mike Kauffman's version? Fletcher's testimony helps in placing where Herold was but does not help with answering the question about delaying the attacks. Mr. Kauffman's book, as far as I can recall, is the only assassination book in which I have I read this version.

Roger:

I have been through 90 books on the assassination and find Kauffman's scenario re Herold telling the others to hold off nowhere else. Similarly, Roscoe has a bizarre description of the episode which is found nowhere else. Without a source, I am very skeptical of both scenarios.

John

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(03-27-2013 05:54 AM)BettyO Wrote:  I've changed my original affirmations in Alias to reflect more or less on the pointman theory -- I agree with Laurie - I think Herold was the "Point Man" -

Powell knew his way around DC well enough to get out - even if he wasn't headed back to Virginia

Betty:

The point man theory sounds plausible. The problem is that there is not a grain of evidence to support it, as far as I know, whereas there is evidence to put him at or in the vicinity of Ford's that night. Still, it wouldn't take long to just escort Powell there, watch him enter the house and then leave. So it must be regarded as at least possibile. But how, then, do you reconcile this with the Tahoe servant's story and the fact that Atzerodt does not record the assignment, when he recorded everyone else's assignment?

John

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(04-05-2013 01:42 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  I have to disagree with you on the closeness of the various places - having walked to every one of them in my better days. We need only consider Seward's home on Lafayette Park (behind the White House so close to 16th Street), the Treasury building at 15th and F, Kirkwood House at 12th and Pennsylvania, and Ford's Theatre in mid-block of Tenth Street.

Where does the Willard even figure in except for Herold riding past it while heading to the Navy Yard Bridge? And, I don't understand your reference to Herold riding from Ford's to the Willard.

Sorry, your scenario just does not compute - but Fletcher's statement putting Herold between Seward's and the Avenue does, and it's the only written, primary evidence that I know of (and taken from a man who had a vested interest in getting the description correct since he was viewing a horse that he was responsible for).

Laurie:

I should have known better than to challenge a native of the area. You will have to give me a little time to study the geography.

John