Unwanted Facts: Facts that Most Books on the Lincoln Assassination Ignore

[Rob Wick]

At the risk of being considered even sillier how about explaining the following.

Quote:If Baker, in an act revenge, had not revealed the diary's existence in his 1867 book, we still might not know it ever existed.

And then you write

Quote:too many people knew that Booth's diary had been recovered

Quote:Stanton was surely aware that there had been early press reports about Booth's diary being recovered.

So which is it?

The diary was actually first revealed in print by George Alfred Townsend (GATH) in his dispatches that included interviews with Conger, Byron Baker and Lafayette Baker. On April 28, 1865, GATH wrote "They sewed him up in a saddle blanket. This was his shroud; too like a soldier's. Harold, meantime, had been tied to a tree, but was now released for the march. Colonel Conger pushed on immediately for Washington; the cortege was to follow. Booth's only arms were his carbine, knife, and two revolvers. They found about him bills of exchange, Canada money, and a diary."

Certainly doesn't sound to me like the most brilliant group of conspirators ever put together. Oh, and just as an aside, Stanton had nothing to do with who got what amount of the reward, although I'm sure you don't believe that, so feel free to ignore it.

Best
Rob