Decapitation of the Union

[Pamela]

Just what is a "disinterested friendship"? I wonder if the writer or Booth had any idea how creepy (probably intentional spy-like talk?) this letter sounds with abbreviations like "Jany", "Feby", "yr" and "S---tt". There are a lot of dates thrown in and the letter itself is dated "Feby" 15, which could be the date it was written or not, but that was about a month before the failed kidnapping or phony failed kidnapping attempt. The letter referenced the trip taken by Surratt and Weichmann to Baltimore, each with different agendas, so the letter was written after that event.

The next to last paragraph is very obtuse, at least to me. I wonder if it was meant to sound like spy talk in order to suggest that Weichmann was a spy. Booth or Surratt or both, who commissioned the letter, must have planned to plant it in Weichmann's possession, which is also creepy. For that to be the case, Booth, Surratt, or even Mary would have possibly buried it in one of Weichmann's trunks in his room, in a way that he wouldn't have been likely have come across it, but that authorities would when the house and everything in it was searched following a crime that would draw suspicion on the house. I think the motive for the letter was more than to embarrass Weichmann; rather it was to compromise him as a potential witness.

Because Booth got sloppy and failed to follow through with the planting of the letter and it was found with his belongings rather than Weichmann's, it serves to provide evidence of Weichmann's innocence of the conspiracy and the conspirators' fear of him and his loyalty to the Union.

The sentence that Michael Kaufmann interpreted as bisexuality sounds simply like the writer guessed that "& his _____ too." referenced Anna who afterward was referred to as "Miss S___tt", Weichmann's love interest. An "affectionate remark" about a friend followed by a sentence that sounds like a rhyme, "I love him, indeed I do, and his _____, too." sounds to me like the writer's excuse to guess, ("you see I understood") that Weichmann's expression of love and fondness for John hinted at the real object of his affection, Anna. It sounds like "Clara" was trying to be playful with her pal, or the person she had a "disinterested friendship" with, Weichmann. I wonder what Freud would make of that phrase?

Even if you'd rather interpret the sentence as Kauffmann does, it's mighty thin evidence to support a conclusion of bisexuality. But I guess it's enough if you want to.