Decapitation of the Union

[Pamela]

"I think there is enough evidence to conclude that Weichmann was never part of the in-crowd at the boardinghouse, that he was made to feel inferior and shunted aside by the "macho" men, and that he resented such treatment in some degree. Surratt himself admitted that he was not part of the conspiracy because he could neither ride nor shoot. He also said he was too nosy. Recall that Kauffman said that Weichmann was the last person Booth would have made a member of his action team. He just wasn't the type.-- John"


There is not a snowball's chance in Saudi Arabia that Weichmann could ever been made to feel inferior by a group that included Atzerodt, Herold (macho men?) and probably Powell, for that matter. Booth's presence was another matter since he apparently sucked the air out of a room and the ladies were all starstruck, including Anna, and her brother. I can imagine Weichmann feeling jealous in a limited way, of Booth. And Weichmann was the "last person" who would have wanted to join Booth's "action team", but he did want to know what they were up to.

You couldn't throw a stovepipe hat across the street without hitting a soldier of some rank, so the "gang" and their horses and guns weren't exactly a novelty or very impressive in Washington City. There is evidence that Weichmann had a lot of confidence in his own talents, personality and intelligence, and physically he had stature and good looks according to Pitman and Wallace. If you remember, while John was driving into the city in a wagon laden with produce to sell like a country bumpkin, Weichmann held the principal teaching position at St. Matthew's school.

I didn't say that I think Surratt was a milquetoast, just that he was a better fit for the term than Weichmann, for whom I don't think it applies at all. I agree, John wasn't a milquetoast, which sounds like a negative term to me, but he was far from impressive. Surratt talked big, accomplished some sneaky courier/spy stuff with the help of others, was a cowardly killer who hid behind Catholic priests, and kept away from the decapitation actions in DC that he facilitated, knowing that others would pay for what he got them involved in, among other lame actions.