An update on research of interest.

[SSlater]

(11-20-2016 11:46 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  John, here is a small tidbit of what Rick Stelnick wrote:

"By April 1, 1865, Thomas Arnold Demill felt a lot better, all things considered. John Wilkes Booth had agreed to agree. The abduction of Abraham Lincoln would take place on Easter Sunday. Not only would Jesus Christ’s resurrection be celebrated, but the reversal of the fortunes of the Confederacy as well. He would show the South Carolinian aristocrats a thing or two about the art of waging war. The mission’s success would serve to silence his critics within the Inner Circle who complained the operation was too risky. The plan called for the actor, Booth, the Tennessee Captain, Boyd, and the Portuguese Captain, Celestino, to capture Lincoln at gunpoint in Washington City and deliver him to Richmond as a prisoner of war. Held hostage, Lincoln would have no choice but to reconsider the error of his ways."

That sounds like Demill and New York were operating independently of Richmond. I agree with the "Iffy" thinking people. Separately, I can't believe that Lincoln could be "Captured at Gunpoint" - in Washington, etc. Does Stelnick provide an back-up material for any of this? This plan nearly repeats Booth's March 17th attempt, and that didn't work. TRUE! the "mission's success" would silence critics, but that's no reason to even try the caper. I need to read Stelnick to better understand what he writes.