No sympathy for George

[Dave Taylor]

Up on eBay right now is a set of letters sent in July of 1865. Every once and awhile there are letters or diaries like these on eBay that make a passing mention of the assassination along the lines of, "How terrible for our republic, etc." This letter discusses briefly the execution of the conspirators. The eBay seller put up this excerpt which I found humorous:

"...what do you think about Ms Surratt being hung, it ought never to have been, imprisonment for ten years would have been about right for her and Harrold, but Payne & Atzerodt of course deserve hanging, they were cowardly wretches..."

Based on Powell's crime, I don't think anyone expected him to live and, of course, it surprised many that Mary was hanged due to her gender and age. However, I found this interesting as it is the first time I've ever come across someone who would have spared Herold's life. What humored me, however, is the lack of sympathy for George. Even though he didn't technically do anything, this author still saw him as a cowardly wretch deserving of death.