David Rankin Barbee

[RJNorton]

I was reading the notes in Bettie Trindal's Mary Surratt: An American Tragedy, and Barbee felt Mary was telling the truth when she said initially that she did not recognize Lewis Powell. However, Barbee felt when Powell took off the "cap" he had made from his undershirt's sleeve, he was then recognized by Mary.

He was quite tall (exceptional in those days) and physically remarkable, wasn't he? And what about his voice? I can hardly imagine she didn't recognize him. Also I find the point Pamela brought up very good.

IMO there is a such a striking difference between the books by Bettie Trindal and Kate Larson. The tone (and the way Mary Surratt is presented) of the two books is so different that it's sometimes hard to imagine both authors are actually writing about the same woman. Bettie Trindal emphasizes Mary's poor eyesight when it came to not recognizing Powell - this fits with her position that Mary was an innocent woman. I may be wrong on this, but my memory is that Bettie Trindal does not mention Mary Surratt visiting Lewis Powell at the Herndon House.