Conspirators' hoods

[Lincoln Wonk]

Has everyone seen Dave and Kate's close-ups of the hoods the conspirators wore?
I can't imagine wearing those in June and July. http://boothiebarn.com/2015/07/10/an-ass...ment-27061

[BettyO]

Thanks, Kathy!!

Dave and Kate's "Assassination Vacation" through the mid-west is fabulous! Please don't miss it - and if you are not following Boothiebarn - you are really missing a treat!

Those hoods are amazing - it is inconceivable to think of anyone wearing such a contraption in Washington summer heat - unbearable!

[Lincoln Wonk]

I never realized how thick they were until these photos.

[RobertLC]

Talk about cruel and unusual punishment!

[LincolnMan]

Certainly seems cruel and unusual to us- but was it for 1865? Were the hoods in use at that time- or were they used specifically for them?

[RobertLC]

Good question.

Also, I recall that the hoods were not used on Mary Surratt or Dr. Mudd. Interesting!

Bob

[RJNorton]

Dave's post about the trip is terrific. I wish I knew about The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County when I lived in Illinois. I definitely would have made a trip there.

[Jim Garrett]

This material! Even in May and June, Washington DC can be incredibly hot. The British Foreign Service Office classified Washington DC as a tropical outpost in the 1800s.

[Lincoln Wonk]

(07-12-2015 10:46 AM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  This material! Even in May and June, Washington DC can be incredibly hot. The British Foreign Service Office classified Washington DC as a tropical outpost in the 1800s.

I wonder if the guards removed the hoods when the prisoners were in the exercise yard.

[BettyO]

Yes - according to Hartranft's letterbook, the hoods were removed while they exercised for an hour each day in the yard and they were also given reading material - some books from Dr Porter's own library. The good doctor noticed that Spangler's mind was "wandering" and he feared that the prisoners would go mad if they were not given some respite from the hoods as well as reading material. Of course the hoods were removed while they were in the courtroom, but Dr Porter also knew that they needed unhindered exercise as well. They were allowed an hour each day in the court yard. They could walk around and play quoits, so the irons must have been removed from their arms, if not their legs (the leg irons had 18 inch chains.)

[Lincoln Wonk]

Thanks, Betty. That's really interesting.