How I see John Surratt.

[L Verge]

John Surratt was very slick and a snake[in my opinion]! I can prove that he was in Canandaigua,NY and he went to Easter Mass there-then onto Montreal and the ST.Lawrence Hotel!My question is-who helped him?

Herb, are there any photos/images of the Webster House register that Surratt signed (which includes the signatures of the people who signed before and after him)? According to newspaper accounts in the 1950's, the register was supposedly taken to a government archive after the Surratt trial, but I can't seem to locate it now. But surely (hopefully), somebody would've made an image of it?

Steve. You asked -"Who helped him?." Allow me a "studied-guess".
It was Gen. E. G. Lee. Lee was sent to Canada very late in the war. Why? The South wanted someone with authority up there, a military man, to run that end of the line. At this late date, the plans for Lincoln had changed , and they sent Harney to "Blow up the White House". (You know how that worked out). Surratt and Slater had no part it that plan, so, he "put them on the shelf" - without telling them why. As you know, nothing was ever done with Surratt's and Slater's study of Elmira. (That was a "don't bother me now" assignment, I'm busy.)
Another thought, along that same line. Were Surratt and Slater (two of the top Confederate Agents.) were sent on a "mission". to draw Union Agents out of Montreal, and away from the "White House" plan?

I agree with you, John, that Gen. E.G. Lee became Surratt's handler and direct supervisor in Canada. As for the surveillance of the POW camp at Hellmira, do you think that the ultimate plan might have been to stage a prison break that would draw the feds out of Canada and take the heat off the Confederate agents operating out of Montreal? What about utilizing that break to recruit the many Copperheads in upper New York and across the Northwest to continue the fight?

After the assassination, Surratt got a great deal of support from the Catholic Church - which is not unusual, since most old-line denominations would offer sanctuary, especially if the death penalty was on the table if the fugitive were apprehended.