Fortune's Fool

[Susan Higginbotham]

Here's what I got today from the author. I think you might know my reaction...

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/20...lkes-booth

Did Baker really confess at the end of his life that he had helped Booth escape, as claimed by the author? It seems rather unlikely.

I have a suspicion that this "evidence" (Baker's confession, etc.) comes from the secret code that Ray Neff supposedly discovered in an item he claims once belonged to Baker. I would suggest reading Ed Steers' book Lincoln Legends: Myths, Hoaxes, and Confabulations Associated with our Greatest President for more information about that particular piece of information, alternative theories, their deconstruction, and how they really don't seem to stand up to methodical scrutiny.

Thanks! I have an old biography of Baker, Death to Traitors, and it certainly doesn't mention any such confession.