VP Beast Butler?

[Gene C]

Interesting and important point Tom. I had not thought of that.

[L Verge]

That is a good point, Tom. I have also wondered if Surratt was still protecting members of the Confederate underground. I'm not sure how active Lloyd was in that "establishment," but I'm pretty sure that the tavern down here was still a way station on the clandestine route. The Yankee troops sure kept it under surveillance, much to the consternation of Gus Howell.

[L Verge]

Over the past few days, I have been sending some information to a NY junior in high school who is tackling Mrs. Surratt's case for her research paper. One of the things I have sent her was a copy of the speech I gave on Mrs. Surratt back at the 2003 Surratt Conference.

I hope that Dr. Doyle is still monitoring this forum because I want him to know that I did offer a bit of praise to Benjamin Butler near the end of that speech: "In closing, I am going to stick with General Benjamin Butler's assessment of the situation. He's not favorably looked upon, but I think he hit the nail on the head in reference to Mrs. Surratt. In 1867, John A. Bingham, the Special Judge Advocate at the Conspiracy Trial now turned Congressman, attacked Butler on his military record. Butler replied by accusing Bingham and the court of hanging an innocent woman. When Bingham challenged him, Butler replied that it had been Bingham's duty to present the court with all the evidence, but that he had not. Butler was referring to Booth's diary, which was not entered into court in 1865. Butler contended that the diary proved that, up to a certain hour, Booth contemplated only capture and abduction. Mrs. Surratt may or may not have known that he changed the plan to assassination. If Mrs. Surratt did not know of the change, and there is no evidence to indicate that she did, then she was innocent according to General Butler. He clearly saw the kidnap plot and the assassination as two separate crimes. Unfortunately for Mrs. Surratt, the 1865 judges did not."

[HerbS]

John Surratt was very slick!

[Rick Smith]

John Surratt, Jr. was good at his job and did not tell all that he knew.

[L Verge]

Agreed, Rick, and consider his age. He literally just turned 21 at the time of the assassination. There are conflicting dates as to the day of his birth in 1844. For years, it was given as April 13; however, the records of the family physician, Dr. John Bayne, mention a visit to attend to Mrs. Surratt on April 14. We don't know if that was a post-delivery check-up or not, but either way, the young man was a YOUNG man in 1865. And really only 20 in December of 1864, when Dr. Mudd and Booth sought his help.

Of course, today, the FBI and the CIA still go to college campuses to do their recruiting. There's a vibe in the young that makes them daring - and their controllers need to add the experience and the knowledge.

[Gene C]

Getting back to Butler, while reading "The Story Life of Lincoln", compiled by Wayne Whipple, I found (so far) two stories from another book titled "Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln" compiled by Allen Thorndike Rice. Copyright from 1885, it contains an interesting chapter by Benjamin Butler entitled "Some of Lincoln's Problems"

https://archive.org/stream/reminiscences...6/mode/2up

[HerbS]

Thanks Gene.This shows how Lincoln was a Fox,but it does NOT clear Butler in my opinion!