The Voice of Nettie Mudd

[Dave Taylor]

(10-09-2012 02:04 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Unless the officers assigned to the fort had some fancy furniture and carpeting to send down to the carpentry shop - along with bath water and spiffy clothes...

Well Dr. Mudd did bring (or sent for, I can't recall) a nice suit of clothes with him to Fort Jefferson. He changed into these Sunday bests when he was trying to escape the prison.

[Laurie Verge]

Didn't know that (or missed it in your article). That's amazing to me.

[Gene C]

According to Sam Arnold, officers of some rank from the War Department came to interview (interrogate) the conspiritors in hopes of getting some solid/credible info regarding the Confederate Gov't involvement in Lincoln's assasination (or cause problems for Johnson, and confirm comments made in prominant newspapers about cruelty to prisoners at Ft. Jefferson). It would not have been difficult to bring a photographer and nicer clothes with them. (Photograph to prove Mudd was in good health?)

There were letters being published in some of the major newspapers regarding cruelty to prisoners at Ft. Jefferson (were these letters Dr. Mudd mailed home to his wife?) and the War Dept. had some explaining to do. All of this at the time of Johnson's ongoing problems with the radical Republicans and the impeachment hearings.

[John E.]

Fort Jefferson looked very different in 1865 then it does today and functioned as a small community. There were several buildings located inside and outside the fort's walls, including separate barracks for the officers and enlisted men.

There was also a Sutler or store where prisoners and soldiers could purchase furniture, clothes or food.

And yes Laurie, we know of at least one person who brought a camera with him and took photos. The post surgeon, supposedly took several photos while at Fort Jefferson. I learned from the resident historian at Key West / Monroe County library that the photos were purchased by the University of Miami when they were put up for auction.

Efforts to locate them have since been unsuccessful. Perhaps the surgeon took the photo of Dr. Mudd while he was tasked as his assistant.

Also,the surgeon's wife and son lived with him on post. They had servants that cooked and cleaned their quarters.

Fort Jefferson also housed a makeshift theater. Many of the men at Fort Jefferson suffered from Scurvy (a nutritional deficiency). Lime juice was used to control the disease but since there was no money for it, the post's doctor decided to raise funds by putting on shows. Supposedly, Mudd played his fiddle as part of the orchestra.

Barry and I will have a section of our book(s) that covers the Dry Tortugas. It has been enjoyable learning about this phase of the conspirators' incarceration.

One of the funniest stories involves the myth of sharks patrolling the moat (ala The Prisoner of Shark Island). One story is that the surgeon's son suggested a Shark might deter people from trying to escape if it were kept in the moat.

Some men drowned attempting to escape and it was hoped the shark might actually save lives by stopping them from trying.

Another story has one of the prisoners wanting to make the moat into a home made aquarium. They already had large sea turtles, why not add a shark ?

In any case, a ten foot shark (most likely a Grey Nurse shark) was captured and put in the moat. He was nick-named Provost Marshal and died after only two months.

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Grey Nurse Shark - Look menacing but are pretty harmless to humans unless provoked. There have only been 28 known attacks on humans with 2 resulting in death.

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(10-09-2012 03:17 PM)Gene C Wrote:  There were letters being published in some of the major newspapers regarding cruelty to prisoners at Ft. Jefferson (were these letters Dr. Mudd mailed home to his wife?) and the War Dept. had some explaining to do. All of this at the time of Johnson's ongoing problems with the radical Republicans and the impeachment hearings.

The originator of the cruelty letters was Col. George St. Leger Grenfell. He was Ft. Jefferson's 5th state prisoner and quite a character. He was an English soldier of fortune who sided with the Confederacy. Holt and Burnett helped put him away too.

[bob_summers]

(10-09-2012 12:38 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote:  Bob,

Just for clarification, when do you think the two known photos of Mudd were taken?

Dave, I don't know for sure, but my hunch is that the non-carpenter shop photo of Dr. Mudd, and a companion photo of Mrs. Mudd, were probably taken around 1859 or so when Mathew Brady re-opened his Washington, D.C. studio. An earlier D.C. studio had failed. The two photos are identical in style and framing, with Brady and Washington clearly showing in the margin of Mrs. Mudd's photo.

Regarding the carpenter shop photo, it was most likely taken sometime between February 1867 when Dr. Mudd was first assigned there, and September 7, 1867 when he began ministering to patients after Dr. Smith died at the beginning of the yellow fever epidemic. After the epidemic, Dr. Mudd worked in the Provost Marshal's office.

[Laurie Verge]

Wonderful information, John, and thanks so much for furthering my edumacation. Your speculation based on the life style of the post's surgeon seems right on track. I might even change my opinion of just how cruel life at Fort Jefferson was for the conspirators. If I remember correctly, the letters that Dr. Sam sent home to Frankie were filled with a lot of whining, especially about a detachment of colored troops that were assigned to the fort?

If you and Barry don't finish your book soon, this old lady is going to have anticipation apoplexy! I can't tell the rest of you how much nitty-gritty research the Elliott/Cauchon team has undertaken - and I have only seen a part of it...

[John E.]

(10-09-2012 04:02 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Wonderful information, John, and thanks so much for furthering my edumacation. Your speculation based on the life style of the post's surgeon seems right on track. I might even change my opinion of just how cruel life at Fort Jefferson was for the conspirators. If I remember correctly, the letters that Dr. Sam sent home to Frankie were filled with a lot of whining, especially about a detachment of colored troops that were assigned to the fort?

If you and Barry don't finish your book soon, this old lady is going to have anticipation apoplexy! I can't tell the rest of you how much nitty-gritty research the Elliott/Cauchon team has undertaken - and I have only seen a part of it...

The relatively good treatment of the conspirators at Fort Jefferson is probably the most surprising thing I've learned so far. As we all know by now, Sam Arnold was a terrific wordsmith and quite the drama queen when it came to his treatment. He seems to have acquired a terrible case of paranoia after his arrest. Every bad thing or circumstance he encountered was directly attributable to the fiends in Washington who wanted him to suffer. I'm surprised he didn't blame the yellow fever on Stanton.

The greatest hardships endured by the conspirators were home-sickness and a lack of freedom. None of them were tortured. Sam wrote about the torturing of others (mostly soldiers by their officers) but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for that period. Being strung up by ones thumbs with only the toes touching the ground was a common punishment for minor infractions.

They did have to put up with the bad food and coffee but so did everyone else on the island. As for "hard labor", they were all assigned tasks relevant to their skills. Dr. Mudd initially worked as a physician's assistant, Spangler worked in the carpentry shop and Arnold worked as a clerk. I think O'Laughlen may have worked as a butcher and or clerk as well.

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Judging by all the appreciation for Bob Summers' work and research, I'm sure this link has been posted somewhere on here before.

In case it hasn't, here it is again: http://www.samuelmudd.com/

I suggested to Barry that he interview Bob for his awesometalk podcasts. He thought it would be a great idea and Bob has agreed to do it when all parties have time. It should be great.

Unfortunately, Barry has been extremely busy lately and his free time is at a premium. It'll happen soon enough.

[RJNorton]

Thank you to Bob Cook for sending these photos and Laurie for the description.

For those who never had the opportunity to meet Louise Mudd Arehart, youngest grandchild of Dr. Mudd and the driving force in preserving the house as a museum, here is a photo of her at the museum ca. 1990. An earlier photo from the late-1970s shows her on the lawn of the house as it begins its restoration phase.

[wsanto]

(10-08-2012 11:29 PM)Thomas Thorne Wrote:  Samuel Cox, Jr. recalled that Dr. Mudd told him he had reproached JWB. See http://www.samuelmudd.com/871893-samuel-cox-jr.html

However, Cox didn't jot down his recollection of his conversation with Dr. Mudd until 16 years after it took place, so we are left to wonder how accurate his memory was.

Plus, These guys all played fast and loose with the truth. It's hard to believe anything anyone that was even tangentially involved with the assassination say--even years after the fact.