Ford's Theatre Stagehands

[Jill Mitchell]

In the April 2014 issue of Civil War Times, there appears a Q&A with Thomas A. Bogar, author of Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford's Theatre. One of the questions asked was "Why were stagehands targeted more than actors?" in the investigation. Bogar answers that "I'm convinced that he [Stanton] was aware something was wrong backstage. ... They [the stagehands] had to have known what was going on..." These statements are somewhat troubling to me, because, in reading the book, I find no compelling evidence presented that would fortify these statements. Essentially, he implicates the Ford's Theatre stagehands because he labels Ford's as a hotbed of those with secession sympathies. I wonder to what extent this actually singles out and makes the Ford's Theatre stagehands uniquely suspect. I would suppose most every business establishment in DC had both pro-Union and pro-South employees (especially if they were Marylanders)--which could create a "hostile working environment" should those pro-South employees be vocal in their sentiments--something I would think most would not dare, for it could result in a stay in Old Capitol. Comments?