Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

STS Lincolnite · (This post was last modified: 09-19-2014 11:23 PM by STS Lincolnite.)

How was the tip received? Was it a letter (or written communication) directing the authorities to the boarding house or did someone give a verbal tip at the police station?

(09-19-2014 10:33 PM)STS Lincolnite Wrote: How was the tip received? Was it a letter (or written communication) directing the authorities to the boarding house or did someone give a verbal tip at the police station?

I just pulled Wiechmann's book off the shelf and found the answer to my own question. Wiechmann says (p. 178): "Afterwards I asked McDevitt how it was that they came to Mrs. Surratt's house so soon after the assassination and he informed me that they had come across a man on the street who said to them, 'If you want to find out all about this business go to Mrs. Surratt's house on H street.' I have often queried why the officers did not arrest that man."

Wiechmann also states in a footnote that McDevitt's statement is verified by an interview with him reported in the Indianapolis News, dated April 14, 1894.

Did a little more searching and found the 1894 article that Wiechmann referenced (see attached clip). McDevitt gives a little more detail and states that the tipster called him by name and called him over to give him the information. McDevitt also stated that he was leaning toward John McCullough as being the tipster. Was McCullough in Washington that night? Maybe Tom Bogar can chime in on that question.