Conspiracy in Canada

[RJNorton]

(01-15-2017 01:49 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  One mystery that I don't think has ever been explained is why Booth brought his wardrobe north to Canada when he had no acting jobs in his near future.

Jerry, here is one opinion. In My Thoughts Be Bloody author Nora Titone writes:

"John Wilkes traveled to Montreal, in the third week of October 1864. Here he attended a meeting of high-ranking Confederate spies who outlined in greater detail their plans for the abduction of President Lincoln. Booth apparently received a large sum of money from these agents—in excess of $1,500—with which to launch the conspiracy.

In the clearest sign yet that John had committed himself fully to this fateful course of action, he carried with him into Canada the trunk of costumes that once had belonged to his father. An actor’s wardrobe was his passport. Without the requisite garments in which to play Macbeth, Richard III, Hamlet, or Romeo, a traveling actor could not work. In Montreal, Booth entrusted these precious tools of his profession to a man named Martin. John Wilkes later told a friend that Martin would bring the trunk on board his vessel when he ran the Union blockade of Southern ports. This was a drastic measure. By shipping his best means of earning a living across Southern lines, John was turning his back on any future as an actor he might have had in the North and West. John’s action indicated he was preparing to leave his home and his family permanently behind."