The Voice of Nettie Mudd

[John E.]

(10-09-2012 05:02 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Wonderful information, John, and thanks so much for furthering my edumacation. Your speculation based on the life style of the post's surgeon seems right on track. I might even change my opinion of just how cruel life at Fort Jefferson was for the conspirators. If I remember correctly, the letters that Dr. Sam sent home to Frankie were filled with a lot of whining, especially about a detachment of colored troops that were assigned to the fort?

If you and Barry don't finish your book soon, this old lady is going to have anticipation apoplexy! I can't tell the rest of you how much nitty-gritty research the Elliott/Cauchon team has undertaken - and I have only seen a part of it...

The relatively good treatment of the conspirators at Fort Jefferson is probably the most surprising thing I've learned so far. As we all know by now, Sam Arnold was a terrific wordsmith and quite the drama queen when it came to his treatment. He seems to have acquired a terrible case of paranoia after his arrest. Every bad thing or circumstance he encountered was directly attributable to the fiends in Washington who wanted him to suffer. I'm surprised he didn't blame the yellow fever on Stanton.

The greatest hardships endured by the conspirators were home-sickness and a lack of freedom. None of them were tortured. Sam wrote about the torturing of others (mostly soldiers by their officers) but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for that period. Being strung up by ones thumbs with only the toes touching the ground was a common punishment for minor infractions.

They did have to put up with the bad food and coffee but so did everyone else on the island. As for "hard labor", they were all assigned tasks relevant to their skills. Dr. Mudd initially worked as a physician's assistant, Spangler worked in the carpentry shop and Arnold worked as a clerk. I think O'Laughlen may have worked as a butcher and or clerk as well.

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Judging by all the appreciation for Bob Summers' work and research, I'm sure this link has been posted somewhere on here before.

In case it hasn't, here it is again: http://www.samuelmudd.com/

I suggested to Barry that he interview Bob for his awesometalk podcasts. He thought it would be a great idea and Bob has agreed to do it when all parties have time. It should be great.

Unfortunately, Barry has been extremely busy lately and his free time is at a premium. It'll happen soon enough.