Tidwell revisited

[Steve]

There's one event in which Augustus Howell appears in records before the trial and his stay with the Surratts that I'm aware of which should be added to your timeline of events. On October 24, 1862 Augustus Howell and five other men were apprehended by the Union schooner Mathew Vassar trying to row to Virginia. The men claimed to be trying to join the Confederate Army but they also tried to destroy numerous papers on them before they were captured. Here's a link to the relevant record:

https://books.google.com/books?id=y1lKAQ...22&f=false

I don't know how long Howell was held by Union authorities before he was released. So, I don't know if this conflicts with Emack's time period at Libby Prison or not.

Good luck with your research, Joe!