Unwanted Facts: Facts that Most Books on the Lincoln Assassination Ignore

[mikegriffith1]

(12-09-2018 03:15 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(12-09-2018 11:50 AM)mikegriffith1 Wrote:  * In his testimony at the conspiracy trial, Louis Weichmann, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, did not claim (1) that Booth visited Mary Surratt at 9:00 PM on April 14; (2) that she was “nervous, agitated, and restless” after this alleged meeting;

Richard M. Smoot backed up Weichmann's claim that Mary was in an agitated state that night. He wrote in The Unwritten History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln that he visited Mary's boardinghouse at 9:30 on the night of the assassination. Smoot recalled:

"The door was quickly reopened, and I was admitted into the presence of Mrs. Surratt. She was in a state of feverish excitement. I asked her if John had returned, and she replied that he had not. She then informed me that she was positive that the boat would be used that night, and that I would get my money in a day or two. She most earnestly besought me to leave the city and not be seen at her house again. Her manner caused me alarm. I felt that a crisis was at hand, and that I was facing some unseen danger."

IMO, it was apparent to Smoot that Booth's plan was to take action that very night, and Mary knew about it. It's possible Mary thought it was the kidnapping, not assassination; no matter what, she knew something was going down that night.

Correction to my first reply to you: When Smoot visited the first time, Anna answered the door, but then she let him in and he saw Mrs. Surratt.

After re-reading the paragraphs that come before the one you quoted, I am even more skeptical of Smoot's story. First, Mrs. Surratt was supposedly cold toward him, because of how he was dressed. Then, once he told her that he'd come to see John about the boat, her demeanor changed completely and she started asking about the arrangements for the boat. Then, without explanation, Mrs. Surratt's demeanor changed again: she acted fearful and she started whispering. She whispered to Smoot that if he would come back on Good Friday, he "most likely" would catch John at the house. Then, still in this unexplained state of fear, she showed Smoot a letter that John had written to a girl named Mitchell to confirm that he intended to be in Washington that Friday! REALLY?

This strikes me as a very tall, unbelievable tale designed to implicate Mrs. Surratt in the kidnap operation.

(12-09-2018 03:15 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Maybe Weichmann was never specifically asked what kind of state Mary was in that night after 9 P.M., and that is why it's not in his trial testimony. I'll have to check the trial transcript.

Again, this is a really weak excuse. Go read Weichmann's testimony. There were plenty of times when he volunteered all kinds of information that the prosecutor had not asked about in his question--and, of course, in many cases, it was information that was helpful to the prosecution.