Coffee with a Conspirator

[Linda Anderson]

Hi Maddie. I think Powell pretended to be a laborer so that he would have a disguise when he walked through the streets of Washington on his way to Mrs. Surratt's house. Also, since he didn't have a gun or knife on him, the axe could be used as a weapon.

It is a mystery to me why he went back to the boarding house. My opinion is that he underwent some kind of trauma after attacking the Seward household. Betty has said that he may have been thrown from his horse and sustained a concussion. He was without food for three days, "hunted like a dog," and perhaps he felt guilty about the bloodbath at the Sewards.

Many people in Powell's situation would have disappeared and never been heard from again. But then again, how many people have been involved with the assassination of the President and Secretary of State?