What Was The Role of David Herold

[BettyO]

Powell wasn't a killer. A soldier, yes - and yes soldiers are trained to kill. But that is in combat. It just wasn't in him. He had a strong religious background which he retained. Although he had a hot temper when provoked, he was a gentle animal lover as a child; one who wanted to be a healer. He never hunted but loved to fish; so he did not have any affiliations with firearms outside of the army, and he was disciplined repeatedly for refusing/forgetting to clean and maintain his firearms while in the service. Obviously even doing so was important, he apparently didn't seem to think that proper firearm maintenance was of value to him. His superiors in the military had to enforce it upon him. It was reported that Powell conducted himself admirably in the Union hospitals where he was confined as a POW. He had also saved the lives of the two Union soldiers when he was with Mosby.

No - I simply think that he panicked and once he did - it was all over for him. Having to resort to the knife probably sickened him and he just wanted to get his "duty" over with and skedaddle. It wasn't in him to commit to such. He told Gillette that once he left Seward's house that he was filled with remorse and sickened with the crime he had committed; that he saw what he had done not as a heroic act for "his country" but as a crime only.