The Mad Hatter

[Craig Hipkins]

(07-23-2012 11:10 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  An interesting note in the book: Kennedy and Lincoln-Medical & Ballistic Comparisons Of Their Assassinations by John K. Lattimer: "Subsequent to his admission of the shooting, Boston Corbett was placed under technical arrest because the orders of his detail had been to CAPTURE BOOTH ALIVE (emphasis mine). Really? Who is Lattimer referring to (that gave the order)? Another interesting section states: "With regard to the letter from Secretary Stanton ordering a new pistol to be issued to Sergeant Corbett, one might reasonably speculate that the actual pistol he used in the hunt for Booth would have been impounded by the military commission to be ready as a possible exhibit at the trial of the conspirators. Stanton's letter stated that Corbett had provided a satisfactory accounting of why he needed a revolver, even though, in the curt style of a military order, it did not provide us with any elaboration on that reason, or any details." Further, the book also says that Corbett was to receive a new revolver one week after the shooting to replace the original Colt. So it sounds like we'll never know what happened to the weapon, but it got "lost" real quick.

Bill,
Good question. I too have Lattimer's book. I do not know what he is referring to as far as "being placed under technical arrest." It might have had something to do with Corbett shooting Booth without being given an order by one of the officers present at Garrett's farm (Baker, Doherty, or Conger). Obviously it was their intention to bring Booth in alive. The award posters call for his "apprehension" but do not specifically state "dead" or "alive."
I agree with you...we will probably never know what happened to Corbett's Colt.
Craig