My research concerns Col. John Henry Sothoron. Sothoron was St. Mary’s plantation owner and a former member of the Maryland legislature. Both of Sothoron’s sons joined the Confederate army. Sothoron communicated to Judah Benjamin through General Samuel Cooper about his son Webster for a commission. Webster Sothoron was in the Signal Corps. There is inconclusive evidence that Webster was a spy. Confederate Signal Corps Major William Norris wrote a recommendation for Webster to Secretary of War Seddon.

In October of 1862, Sothoron wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis recommending a Union army officer who was defecting to the Confederates. Sothoron was a member of the Confederate underground in Maryland.

In October of 1863, Sothoron shot and killed a Union army lieutenant who came to recruit his slaves. He fled to Richmond. Records prove he communicated with and met Jefferson Davis. Sothoron knew a few prominent Virginians from the time he went to the University of Virginia.

On April 15, 1865, there was a skirmish near the Union occupied farm of Sothoron between a unit of Mosby’s Rangers and the Union army. It was unusual for Mosby’s men to be in that part of Maryland. It may, or may not be that they had something to do with Booth’s escape and/or the plan to kidnap Lincoln.

After the war ended, Sothoron fled to Canada. He returned and was found innocent of murder by a St. Mary’s county court. Sothoron was represented by attorney Stone, who also defended Dr. Mudd.
Sothoron’s links to the Mudd family are not conclusive. Additionally, the man who held Booth’s horse outside Ford’s Theater, “Peanut John” Burroughs, has the same last name as a family connected to the Sothorons. Again, it is inconclusive.

The Wikipedia site states that Herold (b. 1842) attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy. Webster Sothoron (b. 1841) was a student there.

Anna Cecilia Mudd Blandford (a sister of Dr. Mudd) was the woman who there was a newspaper report about in the Philadelphia Press, November 25 1857, “A Tournament in American Style”, p. 2. Col. Sothoron was also at the event. It locates them at the same event of the Maryland “landed gentry” and indicates, but does not prove the Mudd and Sothoron families knew each other in the Confederate underground.

Anyone have any thoughts or comments about this inconclusive coincidental information (or trivia?).

I sure do!

Col. John Henry Sothoron is a relative through my paternal grandfather. His mother was Elizabeth Sothoron Smith Locke Braddock Burroughs. Therefore, my great-grandmother was related to Col. Sothoron (a cousin of some sort) and lived with the family for awhile as a child on their plantation named The Plains. The family story is that she was so isolated there that she married a Mr. Braddock of Montgomery County, Maryland, at age 15 to escape.

When Mr. Braddock died, she was living on Locke's Hill Road near Mechanicsville in St. Mary's County. She reprimanded a slave, who retaliated by setting fire to the house. Men from Mechanicsville rushed to help her, and she met and married my great-grandfather Leonard Burroughs. My grandfather was born in 1868, and married into the Huntt family of T.B. in 1899. As for "Peanut John," Kauffman is the first author that I know of to have speculated that the name was actually spelled "Borrows." He bases this on a doctor named that who lived near Ford's Theatre.

The story of the Sothorons, The Plains, and the run-in with the Union and Lt. Eben White as a result of the more radical Second Confiscation Act will be part of an exhibit that is in the final stages of production for Surratt House Museum and will open on Feb. 1. It is entitled Between the Lines: Southern Maryland in the Civil War.

The exhibit will also include a brief story on Mrs. Braddock/Burroughs's oldest child, Charles, who ran away from Charlotte Hall School to join the Confederate Army and never returned. We never found out what happened to him until the 1970s, when the wonderful James O. Hall searched for him as a favor to me and found that he died in the last days of the war in the fighting around the Weldon Railroad.

Now - David Herold did not attend Charlotte Hall, despite what a few authors have contended. He was educated in D.C. at Rittenhouse Academy and Georgetown College. John Stanton will also disagree with me on the patrol that clashed with Union forces near Mechanicsville on April 15, because he cannot find a record of a Lt. Garland Smith, who was supposedly in charge of the Mosby men. Gen. William Tidwell agreed with me, however.

I know of no links to the Mudds with the Sothorons, but a daughter of Col. Sothoron married Barnes Compton of Charles County, and it was this political figure of the day who wrote to then-President Andrew Johnson seeking to have The Plains returned to the Sothoron family. They did regain it in the spring of 1866.

After being found not guilty of manslaughter, Col. Sothoron filed a claim against the U.S. government for almost $100,000 for losses and damages to his plantation. The government had plundered the estate and sold off crops, furniture, cattle, farm equipment, and more. They had also used the buildings to house contraband (runaway and newly freed slaves coming across from Virginia). The land had been used as a government farm to produce supplies for the Union army. The Sothorons' claim was finally rejected in 1875.

Anna Cecelia Mudd Blandford is the Mudd sister that I mentioned in an earlier posting about being married to Dr. Blandford and past whose home Booth and Herold rode en route to T.B. on the night of the assassination. I have often wondered why Booth did not receive assistance from Dr. Blandford except for the fact that the home was very close to the road and only about three miles past Surrattsville - too close to the city and not isolated enough and Dr. Sam already knew Booth.

The tournaments were grand events in Southern Maryland, even when I was a child. Anyone and everyone attended, so it is likely that the Mudds and the Sothorons knew each other. They were certainly rooting for the same side during the Civil War.

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I should have also added that Barnes Compton owned a great deal of land near Port Tobacco, one parcel of which was within a mile of where the original kidnap scheme called for the large, flat-bottomed boat owned by Smoot and Brawner was to be waiting at King's Creek.

GOOD TOPIC. I had a conversation with David Gaddy on this Family, a long time ago. My file is "buried" in the barn and not readily available. David is not readly available either, he's off having Christmas with his family. But, I'll get it together in time.
LAURIE. I don't disagree with you - ever. I know better than that.
In this case, you disagree with me. Here are my facts - pick them apart.
Mosby recalled his "wintering Companies" to him in March '65, long before there was an assassination plot. So, Mosby was out of here (King George Co.) completely. The "Protection Group" was composed of the 9th VA Cav. and the 15th VA Cav. All those people lived here. Therefore, their presence would not raise a Red Flag that something special was in the works. Mosby was not part of the "protection group". In the April time frame there was a Navy Partisan Group, active in this general area. They were at one time in King George, but Cawood and Brogden ran them off. (That's another story)
On April 15, Lee sent word to Mosby that he should disband. I have a problem believing that Mosby still had Troops remote from him, particularly in Southern Maryland. On April 16th Richmond learned that Booth shot Lincoln, and that Booth was, or probably, coming down the "Secret Line". I can readily accept that Mosby was ordered to find Booth and bring him in. Were Ruggles, Bainbridge, and Jett, sent ahead - because they lived here - to intercept Booth, and stick with him. It is not far fetched to believe that there were others looking for him, at Ashland, Fredericksburg, etc. but they didn't get their names in the History Books. Mosby left Upperville/Marshall area and rode west of I-95, and parallel to it, waiting to find Booth.
In summary, Mosby had nothing to do with the Southern Maryland mix-up. (Please, let me hear, if you can find errors in this analysis.)

Laurie,

The second confiscation act (An Act to suppress Insurrection, to punish Treason and Rebellion, to seize and confiscate the Property of Rebels, and for other Purposes) was draconian. There is a copy of it in The Statutes at Large, Treaties and Proclamation of the United States of America, December 5, 1859 to March 3, 1863. Vol. XII. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1863, pp. 589 to 592. The confiscation act required a proclamation to be made by President Lincoln.

There is an 1865 book that states Herold “was born in Maryland, and received his education at Charlotte Hall, in St. Mary’s County.” However, the source incorrectly gives Herold’s name as David C. Harold. The source is The Trial of the Assassins and Conspirators. Philadelphia, PA: T. B. Peterson, 1865, p. 19. I do not know if the book is accurate with other facts.

S. Webster Sothoron served in Weston’s Battalion, Maryland Infantry, a unit of 187 personnel. The name Samuel B. Arnold is also on Weston’s roster. I obtained this information from the Soldiers and Sailors database of the National Park Service web site. Again, this is not proof of any involvement by the Sothorons in the Lincoln assassination, although their farm was taken and Mrs. Sothoron and her children held hostage by the Union army. If you go to the following link:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/malquery.html

Type in the word Sothoron and it should bring up three communication to and from Lincoln about the Sothorons.

I am related to the Burroughs family of St. Mary’s. My grandfather was born there, possibly at The Plains. They owned a tobacco farm which they lost around 1893 because of mortgage foreclosure. One of my Burroughs ancestors was known as “Deacon” Burroughs because he made his slaves go to church. My grandfather told me he used the gun that Sothoron killed the Union officer with to hunt for game.

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John,

I think your analysis is accurate.

Your information is intriguing. At the time of the assassination, Sothoron’s plantation had been confiscated and was a government farm, superintended by Lt. Edward F. O’Brien. O’Brien’s communications are the source of my information. He identified the unit as Mosby’s. Does your information indicate that the unit was actually a Navy Partisan Group? The purpose of my question for my future research. I have been focusing on Mosby, but if the unit is naval, there are different records to research. If you have the name of a member of the Navy Partisan Group or a unit name, I can search for it at the National Park web site. They also have a search that brings up unit histories and all personnel of a single unit.

Thomas Nelson Conrad, in his book (Conrad, Thomas Nelson. The Rebel Scout. Washington, DC: The National Publishing Co., 1904.), wrote about Ruggles. Conrad stated that Ruggles was one of his couriers, although I do not know if it was true (p. 95). Conrad denied that the Confederate government knew of his plot to kidnap Lincoln, excepting the military secretary of General Braxton Bragg (p. 131).

Stephen,

Be careful of the T.B. Peterson book done in 1865. It was one of those that publishers rushed into production in order to satisfy the public's curiosity. In regards to David Herold, he was born in D.C. in what was then a Herold residence near the corner of 11th and H in southeast. The family then moved closer to the Navy Yard to a house on 8th Street.

Also, his education at Rittenhouse Academy and Georgetown is well-documented. I believe I'm correct that Charlotte Hall School was quick to refute the claim that either he or Surratt attended that school.

I have not read Come Retribution for twenty years, but it may be in that book that Conrad is said to have stated that, on September 15, 1864, Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon ordered Mosby and Charles Cawood of the Confederate Signal Corps on the Potomac to "aid and facilitate" movements for Conrad in his kidnap plans for Lincoln. Those plans were abandoned shortly thereafter when Lincoln was observed leaving the White House for the Soldiers' Home with a cavalry escort.

One of the men who went across the Rappahannock with Booth and Herold was Lt. Mortimer Ruggles. Ruggles supposedly had been second in command under Conrad.

I am not sure that this is worth noting in this discussion, but 2 Lt. William Garland Smith, Jr., was in Coy G, 43 Va Cav Btn, originally from 55 Va Vol Inf, according to Hugh C. Keen and Horace Mewborn, 43d Btn Va Cav: Mosby's Command (2 ed., Lynchburg, Va.: H. E. Howard, 1993), 369.

Stephen - I copyrighted this material in 2005, so for safety's sake, let's say you have authority to use it. If you need some serious sites, just give my a jingle. The leader of this particular group was John Wise Hebb, b 1 Apr 1839, MD. First he joined the 2nd Louisanna Reg. Then moved to 1st Md Inf. Next he went to the 24th VA Partisan Rangers, (I have a Roster of this Unit- Rare,) This was disbanded Jan 63 for rowdy activity, John was ordered to 5th VA CAV, he refused and joined Mosby. Next he transferred to the Confederate Navy, with the rank of "Acting Master" - but called "Capt.". He recruited a Company, and led Cav raids on Mathias Pt. (King George, County, VA) and into MD. Since 2005 I have found a ref. to a Battle at Persimmon, Pt (K.G. Co. VA) and the "Navy Patisans were involved".
Again he was castigated for "rowdy activities". An example of his rowdy gang, "the gang captured a boat carrying Booze, to VA. WHen they submitted a report of the skirmish, the entire gang swore that the barrels were all empty, so there is nothing to ship to the government." The "government' didn't believe them. He must have been productive, because he was not disbande, but he was shuffled away from Mathias Point. (This is where Cawood and Brogden appealed to Richmond to get these guys out of here.) Capt Hebb was captured on the Eastern shore of Md and sent to Fort Mc Henry for "recruiting for the Rebel Navy behind the Federal Lines and hiding arms and ammunition to arm "Priveteer Men". (They were planning to release the prisoners at Point Lookout and ransack So. MD.) These rascals dragged a good size boat with them, so they might raid into MD. across the Potomac or Chesapeake Bay. Two of the men "Millburn Brothers" (The names slip me), each kept a diary of their travels and were captured by L. C. Baker, who published their book in his "Hist. of the U.S.Sec. Serv." OK? These are the cats that I suspect raided the "Gov. Farm" at The Plaines. Who knows, maybe they were told to say "We're with Mosby", to keep from being disbanded again. Talk to me.

(12-18-2012 11:45 PM)John Stanton Wrote:  GOOD TOPIC. I had a conversation with David Gaddy on this Family, a long time ago. My file is "buried" in the barn and not readily available. David is not readly available either, he's off having Christmas with his family. But, I'll get it together in time.
LAURIE. I don't disagree with you - ever. I know better than that.
In this case, you disagree with me. Here are my facts - pick them apart.
Mosby recalled his "wintering Companies" to him in March '65, long before there was an assassination plot. So, Mosby was out of here (King George Co.) completely. The "Protection Group" was composed of the 9th VA Cav. and the 15th VA Cav. All those people lived here. Therefore, their presence would not raise a Red Flag that something special was in the works. Mosby was not part of the "protection group". In the April time frame there was a Navy Partisan Group, active in this general area. They were at one time in King George, but Cawood and Brogden ran them off. (That's another story)
On April 15, Lee sent word to Mosby that he should disband. I have a problem believing that Mosby still had Troops remote from him, particularly in Southern Maryland. On April 16th Richmond learned that Booth shot Lincoln, and that Booth was, or probably, coming down the "Secret Line". I can readily accept that Mosby was ordered to find Booth and bring him in. Were Ruggles, Bainbridge, and Jett, sent ahead - because they lived here - to intercept Booth, and stick with him. It is not far fetched to believe that there were others looking for him, at Ashland, Fredericksburg, etc. but they didn't get their names in the History Books. Mosby left Upperville/Marshall area and rode west of I-95, and parallel to it, waiting to find Booth.
In summary, Mosby had nothing to do with the Southern Maryland mix-up. (Please, let me hear, if you can find errors in this analysis.)

John, you always make good points. I greatly respect your knowledge of the events, particularly in King George County. I feel "Come Retribution" lays out a very well, the Confederate government involvement. What do you think of the suipposed involvement of Thomas H. Williamson? He was my grt grandfather's great uncle.

Jim. I don't know any more about Williamson than you do. however, my interpretation of the info may differ from yours. So, here I go.
It appears that Williamson was a "favorite son" in Richmond. He was West Point (W/o a degree). He took assignments willingly and excelled. Early in the war, he helped set up the Spy system on the Potomac. He had a good relationship with R. E. L., Pendleton, Jackson, Beauregard, Ruggles and more.
The Story Line on his assignment to K. G. was "to find Booth".
WHY? The South had been dealing with Booth for some time, and did little to help - as far as we know. Now, vey overtly, they send Williamson to find Booth. What was their motive, Did they want to save Booth, or destroy him? Williamson was qualified to do either.
In Jan. "65, Capt. J.L.Smith, was sent to K.G. to assess the situation in K.G., as it related to the abduction of Lincoln. He, specifically visited Dr. Stuart, and Charles Mason. Stuart you kown about, but Mason, may be new to you. He was State Senator from K.G., and married to Thomas Jefferson's granddaughter. His Brother was Roy Mason, who was the father Enoch Mason. Enoch's sister was married to Gen Charles W. Field. This is a fine collection of large egos, who may have ideas of their own, on how to handle Booth. I think, maybe was sent to make these guys cooperate. (Stuart did not want to help, but for some reason he did a minimum - but he did help. )
This is a small sample of how the Secret Service worked. An agent gave information,r received info from, someone that he knew. (Thomas Jones was related to Thomas Harbin, etc. etc.) ( Thomas Jones did not know to whom he should send Booth - so he sent him to a TREE near a bridge, and told to wait - someone would find him.)
In Summary: Williamson was "trained". Richmond sent him "get Booth", (you decide what that meant). Williamson arrived in K. G. April 19/20, well after Richmond knew of the assassination. Richmond wanted something to happen. WHAT? I don't know. IMO something would have happened if young Enoch found Booth before he did. Booth was moving too fast for Enoch to notify Richmond? Mosby? the Protection Troops? and get back to his Uncle (Charles) for him to contact Williamson. (Or did he?). Thus, Williamson was involved with Booth, but might not have a chance to do "his job".
I guess this is "Historical Fiction" (Good solid facts w/o a conclusion.) I'M READY TO LISTEN TO ANY ANSWERS TO "WHY?")

Hopefully someday we may make more of the puzzle pieces fit. Williamson was an insider, from the right family. Was was related to many of the big movers and shakers in Virginia. Col. Francis Smith (VMI superintendent) was his roomate for all 4 years at West Point. Don't know why he didn't graduate, but he served in the Eng. Corp, so he was no dummy. He runs into the dragnet at Bleak Hill, and bails out Capt. Murray Forbes Taylor, (my grt aunt's grandfather). Taylor is en-route to see his brother John. John was in the 9th Va. and Murray had been ADC to Gen. A.P. Hill. When Hill was killed, Taylor along with Capt Richard Adams, joined the staff of R.E. Lee until the close of the war.

So could Col. Williamson have been trying to round up two of his former VMI students, Murray and his brother John, to assist in finding Booth and handle a bad situation with whatever the circumstances required? "Come Retribution" has a good case. The missing puzzle pieces will most likely remain missing.

Merry Christmas

John,

I was under the impression that Enoch Mason was on the ferry with Booth et al when they crossed the Rappahannock???

I believe Enoch was on the ferry. I can't remember when he came back northbound on the ferry.

(12-23-2012 01:34 PM)L Verge Wrote:  John,

I was under the impression that Enoch Mason was on the ferry with Booth et al when they crossed the Rappahannock???

Yes, Laurie, Enoch was on the Ferry when Booth crossed. On the other side, he went on ahead,to, we believe, to notify Richmond and Mosby that Booth had been found. He returned to Port Royal when Booth;s body was being shipped to Washington - too late to bring his father and Williamson into the picture. I was trying to give a brief feel for the system that was activated by finding Booth. Certainly, Williamson would be interested in Booth's whereabouts, and it was up to Enoch to tell him.

John,

I'm getting more intrigued with your navy partisans who roamed both sides of the Potomac for the Confederacy. How far inland did they come? The Plains and Mechanicsville, Maryland, near where the April 15, 1865, skirmish occurred are both on or near the Patuxent River.