Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
|
09-04-2013, 08:48 PM
Post: #16
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
Anita, Lew Wallace, who was a member of the military tribunal in the trial of the conspirators, drew those pictures. If you go to the link you provided, just click on a picture and it will give you the details.
I think Wallace drew the sketches during the trial itself. |
|||
09-04-2013, 11:36 PM
Post: #17
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-03-2013 07:23 AM)barryssentials Wrote:(09-02-2013 09:09 PM)Anita Wrote: Does anyone know why Stanton didn't have Mary Surratt photographed during or after her arrest? I read that the only way the public knew what she looked like was through drawings. This is provided only as information. I do not know any more than what is shown here. What do you make of it? Thomas Nelson Conrad - Confederate Captain, was arrested and put in prison with the conspirators. He describes his stay in one of his books -I forget which one "Confederate Spy", etc. There was talk in the cells about "A fair trial and a hanging". Then Capitol Prison Warden Wood, came to him and asked if he would like to go home for the weekend? Conrad didn't have a horse handy, so the Warden loaned him his personal horse. Conrad asked if he needed a pass. Wood said No, that the horse was readily known at any Military Check Point and he would be allowed to pass. Conrad returned to prison on Monday. On an earlier occasion, Wood paid Conrad for "Services rendered and Information." Conrad wore two caps - one gray , one blue. Was Conrad the Union's Eyes and Ears in the cells? There had to be some ulterior motive. See "d" above. Your "speculation" is well founded. Conrad does not tell us more. |
|||
09-05-2013, 08:21 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2013 08:35 AM by John E..)
Post: #18
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
Lots to cover here!
1. Sketches of the Penitentiary were not allowed to be published without the consent and permission of General's Hartranft and Hancock. Early on during the trial (May 17), an artist who was given a pass by General Hunter, was found sketching the courtroom. General Hartranft told him that the sketch, per their rules, was not to be published without proper consent. General Hartranft reported the incident to General Hancock. As we all know, two sketches of the courtroom plus at least one each of the exterior and interior of the penitentiary building were eventually published. 2. Seldom are photographs allowed in courtrooms - even today. Some judges consider photography to be a distraction and disruption to the court and ban them from being used. This is why sketches are still prevalent today when it comes to newspapers and other media reporting on court proceedings. 3. Conrad may have been confined at the Old Capitol Prison but he was never held with the conspirators in the Arsenal Penitentiary. John |
|||
09-05-2013, 07:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2013 07:13 PM by Jim Garrett.)
Post: #19
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-03-2013 11:01 AM)Anita Wrote:The NPS identifies the woman as Anna Petersen.(09-03-2013 08:36 AM)RJNorton Wrote:(09-03-2013 08:03 AM)brtmchl Wrote: I would imagine that once they decided that Mary was involved and put her on trial, as a prime suspect, the demand for a photograph would have been high. (09-03-2013 11:01 AM)Anita Wrote:The NPS identifies the woman as Anna Petersen.(09-03-2013 08:36 AM)RJNorton Wrote:(09-03-2013 08:03 AM)brtmchl Wrote: I would imagine that once they decided that Mary was involved and put her on trial, as a prime suspect, the demand for a photograph would have been high. |
|||
09-05-2013, 07:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2013 07:27 PM by Anita.)
Post: #20
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-04-2013 08:48 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote: Anita, Lew Wallace, who was a member of the military tribunal in the trial of the conspirators, drew those pictures. If you go to the link you provided, just click on a picture and it will give you the details. Thanks Linda. I didn't know who Wallace was so I did some reading. They are indeed his own courtroom sketches. I found an article By John Swansburg|Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at 5:29 AM http://tinyurl.com/mjalcjh "Lew Wallace lived an exceptional life: He was a Civil War general, a war crimes judge, a Wild West lawman, a diplomat, and one of the best-selling novelists in American history. He also fancied himself a painter. Below are a selection of artifacts from his life, including the drawing Winslow Homer made of him after his early Civil War success, a letter he received from Billy the Kid during his stint as governor of New Mexico, a painting he made of the Lincoln assassination conspirators (based on his own courtroom sketches), and a couple of pages from the original manuscript of Ben-Hur, which Wallace wrote in purple. The pages are taken from the novel’s famous chariot race." What a talented and accomplished man of his time in spite of his military disgrace at Shiloh. (09-05-2013 07:12 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:(09-03-2013 11:01 AM)Anita Wrote:The NPS identifies the woman as Anna Petersen.(09-03-2013 08:36 AM)RJNorton Wrote:(09-03-2013 08:03 AM)brtmchl Wrote: I would imagine that once they decided that Mary was involved and put her on trial, as a prime suspect, the demand for a photograph would have been high. Roger, Honest mistake? They got the wrong boarding house! |
|||
09-05-2013, 07:31 PM
Post: #21
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
Lew Wallace's uniform frock coat is on display at the NPS Monocacy Battlefield Museum. It has a velveteen collar and it's very hard to tell if it's the same uniform he is wearing in the photographs from the trial period.
Interestingly, the article doesn't mention Lew Wallace's affiliation with the greatest dectective duo in history, the Potter brother's. Many on this forum are well aware of the Potter documents that were stored in Wallace's carriage house back in Crawfordsville, Ind. Unfortunateley those valuable documents were covered in heaping layers of pigeon dung and unable to be used to the fullest advantage. We, as researchers are so fortunate that Dr. Ray Neff was able to make copies of transcriptions of transcriptions made by a friend of Lew Wallace's great grand niece......twice removed. |
|||
09-05-2013, 07:46 PM
Post: #22
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-05-2013 07:31 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote: Lew Wallace's uniform frock coat is on display at the NPS Monocacy Battlefield Museum. It has a velveteen collar and it's very hard to tell if it's the same uniform he is wearing in the photographs from the trial period. Thank you Jim. Now I will read up on the Potter bros. I know about pigeon dung! |
|||
09-05-2013, 07:48 PM
Post: #23
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
You just made my day, Jim!
|
|||
09-05-2013, 07:52 PM
Post: #24
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
Oh please, don't bring that up again! I should add, however, that I was told about a year ago that Mrs. Neff has supposedly found even more poopy papers that her husband had stored in their garage before his death. I believe that she turned them over to David Vancil, the retired archivist at Indiana State University. I have heard nothing further on the matter, and I cannot say for certain that the information is correct.
As for the Potter brothers, some of the best researchers I know have attempted to verify that they did indeed exist - to no avail. There is a former member of the Surratt Society that I discovered on a genealogy blog having ancestors named Potter who immigrated between Canada and New York and perhaps Vermont. I wish he would shed some light on his Potters and any Civil War ties. Those three areas are very intriguing to me during 1864 and early-1865. |
|||
09-05-2013, 08:10 PM
Post: #25
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-05-2013 07:52 PM)L Verge Wrote: Oh please, don't bring that up again! I should add, however, that I was told about a year ago that Mrs. Neff has supposedly found even more poopy papers that her husband had stored in their garage before his death. I believe that she turned them over to David Vancil, the retired archivist at Indiana State University. I have heard nothing further on the matter, and I cannot say for certain that the information is correct.The best operatives are the ones you never heard of, therefore the potters were indeed the best. They were so good, they never heard of each other! |
|||
09-05-2013, 08:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2013 08:44 PM by Gene C.)
Post: #26
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-05-2013 08:10 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:(09-05-2013 07:52 PM)L Verge Wrote: As for the Potter brothers, some of the best researchers I know have attempted to verify that they did indeed exist - to no avail.The best operatives are the ones you never heard of, therefore the potters were indeed the best. They were so good, they never heard of each other! I think you're all barking up the wrong tree. With all the pigeon poop, Ray couldn't read it clearly, he made a type o, and the last name is Porter, not Potter, or is that Potty. It's so hard to tell. All these years, we've been looking for the wrong guy. So when is this "Old Enough To Know Better" supposed to kick in? |
|||
09-10-2013, 02:06 PM
Post: #27
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
I wonder what the provenance is for saying the woman is Anna Petersen. Robert Bain does not include it in his book; I would think he would have if a photo of Anna really existed.
|
|||
09-10-2013, 03:35 PM
Post: #28
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
(09-10-2013 02:06 PM)RJNorton Wrote: I wonder what the provenance is for saying the woman is Anna Petersen. Robert Bain does not include it in his book; I would think he would have if a photo of Anna really existed. It doesn't look like we ever got an answer for that from here, either: http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...d-189.html |
|||
09-10-2013, 03:47 PM
Post: #29
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
Thanks, Dave. My memory is definitely aging. After I made my post I started having a vague memory that we once already discussed this.
I did a search of old emails on my computer, and I last had contact with Robert Bain in 2006. In hindsight I should have asked him about photos of Anna and William, but I didn't. I did ask him about William's death as some sources I've seen say he committed suicide, but Robert was insistent that it was an accidental overdose of laudanum. |
|||
09-13-2013, 02:03 PM
Post: #30
|
|||
|
|||
RE: Why was Mary Surratt not photographed after her arrest?
I think William's death was the result of mixing the laudanum with whiskey. So much for those warning labels on the sides of bottles, er sorry no warning labels back then. On a lighter note, while William's death may have been accidental, Anna's death was more likely a suicide.
|
|||
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
|
User(s) browsing this thread: 3 Guest(s)