Christian Rath

[loetar44]

A must read !

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=md...5030656097

Enter 626 in the box jumping to page 626. The article is on pages 626-636.

[Gene C]

That was interesting!
Thanks for posting.

One of Rath's many interesting comments, this one about Payne going to the scaffold - page 636
"Last of all came Payne. He walked like a king about to be crowned, his fearless blue eyes roving carelessly over the scaffold and his yellow hair shining like a golden halo in the sun."

[RJNorton]

Thanks, Kees! As one who believes Mary Surratt knew some things about the conspiracy I am curious about Powell's claim regarding her innocence of any knowledge. I wonder if Booth never told him anything regarding her. Also I wonder why Powell went back to her boardinghouse. He had already been there using two different identities, and this time he was arriving as a laborer.

[L Verge]

Betty needs to help me here, but for some reason I think that Powell's conversation with Dr. Gillette and his comment about Mrs. Surratt carried a caveat to the effect that the lady did not know the full details of the plans?

As far as showing up at the boardinghouse days later, I suspect that his being in hiding had kept him out of the loop as to what was going on arrest-wise. And, he was hungry and dirty and needed shelter. Her place was the easiest for him to find all three.

[Gene C]

I think he was trying to be chivalrous, and perhaps felt guilty that in his mind, he was the cause of her arrest.
Plus I doubt Booth kept him fully appraised of his plans, and to top it all off, I agree with Laurie.

[tom82baur]

Thank you to loetar44 for posting that link. Absolutely fascinating material. I could not stop reading it.

Among many interesting comments, he says that Payne hid himself in Mrs. Surratt's cellar and was found there by officers when they came looking for him. Upon being brought up out of the cellar, Mrs. Surratt denied knowing him.

Other reports, if I recall correctly, state that he came to the door late at night, claiming something about being hired to dig the gutters. Government agents answered the door and arrested him.

I have never heard Rath's version of this story.

Has this version appeared elsewhere, or been otherwise substantiated, or dismissed?

[John Fazio]

Thank you to loetar44 for posting that link. Absolutely fascinating material. I could not stop reading it.

Among many interesting comments, he says that Payne hid himself in Mrs. Surratt's cellar and was found there by officers when they came looking for him. Upon being brought up out of the cellar, Mrs. Surratt denied knowing him.

Other reports, if I recall correctly, state that he came to the door late at night, claiming something about being hired to dig the gutters. Government agents answered the door and arrested him.

I have never heard Rath's version of this story.

Has this version appeared elsewhere, or been otherwise substantiated, or dismissed?

Tom:

There can be no doubt that Rath's account of the appearance and arrest of Powell is inaccurate. See the testimony of the three officers who were at the boardinghouse when he arrived on the night of the 17th. Smith's is in Pitman, pp. 121, 122 and The Trial of John H. Surratt, Vol. I, pp. 334, 335; Morgan's is in Pitman, p. 122; Wermerskirch's is in Pitman, p. 123. Despite this and other inaccuracies, it is our good fortune to have the account. We may be sure that when he is writing about things he experienced personally, we have the genuine article. It is only when he repeats things he heard from others, as with the Powell appearance and arrest, that he sometimes errs.

John

[BettyO]

Betty needs to help me here, but for some reason I think that Powell's conversation with Dr. Gillette and his comment about Mrs. Surratt carried a caveat to the effect that the lady did not know the full details of the plans?

As far as showing up at the boardinghouse days later, I suspect that his being in hiding had kept him out of the loop as to what was going on arrest-wise. And, he was hungry and dirty and needed shelter. Her place was the easiest for him to find all three.

First, in the death cell, Powell had told Dr. Gillette that "Mrs. Surratt knew something, but he didn't know exactly what" - i.e. that she knew about the kidnap plot but not about the murder.....he was more or less out of the loop re: the arrests; hungry, dirty and cold and since he couldn't head directly to Baltimore (his escape route of choice, more or less), he headed to Mrs. Surratt's house. l

As for his "yellow hair"; it is my assumption (and this is just an assumption!) that since Powell had been given a "buzz cut" or crew-cut haircut right before the execution, that the strong sunlight reflecting on the shortened hair shaft created the affects of having blond hair. In reality, Powell's hair was a dark brown -

[RJNorton]

First, in the death cell, Powell had told Dr. Gillette that "Mrs. Surratt knew something, but he didn't know exactly what" - i.e. that she knew about the kidnap plot but not about the murder.....he was more or less out of the loop re: the arrests; hungry, dirty and cold and since he couldn't head directly to Baltimore (his escape route of choice, more or less), he headed to Mrs. Surratt's house. l

Thanks for adding this, Betty! Is it at all possible to think that Lewis Powell went to her boardinghouse that night because he felt she would provide a good hiding place for him?

[BettyO]

More or less, Roger. He had told Gillette and others (I.e. Hartranft; Doster and Eckert) that he went to her house to get a meal and a change of clothes; apparently still determined to catch a train to Baltimore and then probably lay over in Canada. This is just my synopsis...

[Eva Elisabeth]

I still wonder if Mary had been perceived more credible and innocent as for not knowing of the plot if she hadn't denied to know him when he knocked at the door.

[L Verge]

Good point, Eva. I have also wondered how quick her response was to claiming that she did not know him. First, she was obviously not expecting someone to work on her gutters that late at night, so that would have been a surprise. And, if she reacted quickly in a startled manner, she might not have had time to clearly identify the man.

Likewise, if her answer came a minute or two later, then we can guess that she did recognize him and took a moment to compose herself and her answer - and thus lied. I would also like to know how quickly the other occupants of the house recognized Powell, if at all.

[Eva Elisabeth]

She must have known the lie would come to light and probably make her situation worse, I would think.

[Maykeith]

I find it interesting that Powell was a bit of a jokester. It's also interesting that he had a some latitude around the prison. You hear so much of how rigid everything was even up to the head covers, yet Powell was out of his cell with McCall laughing in the corner.

[BettyO]

Boys will be boys and apparently Powell was no different. He was known as a big practical joker while in the army - and I would suppose his personality simply carried over after he was imprisoned. He was known to be pretty much a likeable person according to Rath and others, and as he was seemingly a favorite at the Arsenal, he was more or less given a few advantages over the other prisoners. It was also said by Rath that Dr Mudd was the least likeable as he complained all the time....