Frankly, I tend to think Davis might have been appalled by Booth killing Lincoln as he did. Does anyone else think so? Certainly, Davis was no fan of Lincoln, but he must have realized that the act could have just as easily been perpetrated against him by a northern assassin- if you will.

I agree Bill. Davis was a smart enough politician to realize that by April 65', Lincoln's death would have no benefit for the south.

(05-25-2013 06:17 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Frankly, I tend to think Davis might have been appalled by Booth killing Lincoln as he did. Does anyone else think so?

Lincoln Fan,
I was looking for a list of recommended books when I ran into your thread. If you will tolerate a non-standard answer, I will tell you of the time Davis and Booth met. First, I want you to know that Jefferson Davis had no desire to kill Lincoln. He was under the influence of his brother Joseph Davis. Joseph Davis and Abraham Lincoln hated each other with a passion.

A week before the death of General Stonewall Jackson, he and Jefferson Davis met to discuss the promotion of John Wilkes Booth to a full colonel in the Confederate Secret Service. Booth served in the Confederate Secret Service under Stonewall Jackson. A few weeks after Jackson's death, a secret meeting was arranged between Jefferson Davis, Joseph Davis, and John Wilkes Booth. Jefferson Davis and Joseph Davis were the first to arrive at the secret location. Jefferson was expressing his sadness over the death of Jackson to Joseph when Booth came in and over heard a part of the conversion. Booth told Jefferson that he had made an investigation into Jackson's killing and he took the life of the man that killed Stonewall Jackson. Booth took the life of eighteen-year-old David William Hemmingstad.

Booth received his promotion and an assignment. He was to kill or capture Abraham Lincoln. Joseph give Booth $50,000 Confederate dollars for expenses and the promise of another $50,000 after the successful completion of the assignment.

Well, Mr. Cowan, it appears to me that you have found a very inexpensive (i.e. free) way to publish your next novel - or publicize your current one. I assume that you are going to subject us to a blow-by-blow posting of your ideas? I hope that you include an extensive bibliography and numerous citations of existing documents and materials to support your claims.

Ouch--Laurie--I can feel the knife in my back. If you used the word story, or disputed story, I wouldn't have a problem. But novel sounds so final. I too have problems with some of my stories and I don't know if this story is true or not. I only know where it originated--the Davis family.
I would like to give you an extensive bibliography and numerous citations of existing documents and materials to support this story, but this was a secret meeting. Only three people knew about it: John Wilkes Booth, Jefferson Davis and Joseph Davis. They took strong steps to make certain this meeting would not be discovered.
Years after the Civil War, at family get-togethers, at night, sitting around the fire, the Davis family would tell stories about the war. This was one such story.
Laurie, I am sorry that I subjected you to a blow-by-blow posting of my ideas. I will try to ignore as many post as I can and slow or stop posting altogether.

Mr. Cowan, you must understand that, in my forty years of working at Surratt House and at least twenty years before that, I have been subjected to many, many theories, suppositions, and downright fraudulent claims as to the events that surrounded the Lincoln assassination story. I have developed a very thick skin (and sometimes rude demeanor) to people who throw yet another story at the public that cannot be proven.

I have my own family's stories about their minor links to the assassination, but I am quick to say that these are family stories that have no documentation. We owe it to history to insert these stories, but clarify that they have not yet been supported by direct evidence. If they are published as factual, we do a disservice to history, IMO.