The River Ghost

[L Verge]

Yesterday, I read two modern tributes to Thomas Jones, the man who managed to head Booth and Herold across the Potomac, that referred to Jones as the "River Ghost." I had never seen that before.

I wonder if that is a new nickname or if there is a Civil War era precedent? His talents during the war would have earned him (and others) such an accolade (or smear, if you were a Union trooper trying to catch him/them).

[BettyO]

The River Ghost - love the title! That would make a wonderful title for a book - sounds intriguing and quite possibly "period...." would love to know more!

[John Fazio]

[i][i]

(10-21-2015 05:24 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Yesterday, I read two modern tributes to Thomas Jones, the man who managed to head Booth and Herold across the Potomac, that referred to Jones as the "River Ghost." I had never seen that before.

I wonder if that is a new nickname or if there is a Civil War era precedent? His talents during the war would have earned him (and others) such an accolade (or smear, if you were a Union trooper trying to catch him/them).

Laurie:

I had previously thought that Booth and Harbin first met through Dr. Mudd on December 18, 1864, in Bryantown. But according to Terry Alford's "Fortune's Fool", they were already old friends, having met years before. I don't have his book in front of me now, so I cannot quote the exact passage, but you probably remember it. There is so much evidence that the Confederate leadership knew all about Booth and his team and their activities that it seems excessive to drive another nail into it, but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

[Gene C]

(10-22-2015 11:52 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  , but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

I don't recall that. Where did he say that?
John, do you believe Harbin reported directly to Davis?
(seems unlikely to me)

[L Verge]

(10-22-2015 11:52 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  [i][i]

(10-21-2015 05:24 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Yesterday, I read two modern tributes to Thomas Jones, the man who managed to head Booth and Herold across the Potomac, that referred to Jones as the "River Ghost." I had never seen that before.

I wonder if that is a new nickname or if there is a Civil War era precedent? His talents during the war would have earned him (and others) such an accolade (or smear, if you were a Union trooper trying to catch him/them).

Laurie:

I had previously thought that Booth and Harbin first met through Dr. Mudd on December 18, 1864, in Bryantown. But according to Terry Alford's "Fortune's Fool", they were already old friends, having met years before. I don't have his book in front of me now, so I cannot quote the exact passage, but you probably remember it. There is so much evidence that the Confederate leadership knew all about Booth and his team and their activities that it seems excessive to drive another nail into it, but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

John,

Terry had me totally confused when he kept mentioning Harbin having known Booth in childhood, etc. He cites the Ford Papers, but I had never heard anything like this. I'm confused and doubtful. I am going to continue to believe that Mudd did the introductions. Harbin was a native of Southern Maryland, an area (by car) that is several hours away from Bel Air, Maryland, and I have never seen a reference that Harbin went to school in Booth's area -- in fact, I've never seen reference to Harbin receiving a formal education, but he was definitely a smart man.

As for Harbin reporting to Davis, that may very well be true because he was definitely high on the underground totem-pole. Surratt supposedly claimed to have been in Benjamin's office in February of 1865. I continue to wonder, however, because I thought that both Harbin and Surratt operated under a higher-up, William Norris. Just how open were those Richmond doors to agents?

[John Fazio]

(10-22-2015 03:29 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(10-22-2015 11:52 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  [i]

(10-21-2015 05:24 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Yesterday, I read two modern tributes to Thomas Jones, the man who managed to head Booth and Herold across the Potomac, that referred to Jones as the "River Ghost." I had never seen that before.

I wonder if that is a new nickname or if there is a Civil War era precedent? His talents during the war would have earned him (and others) such an accolade (or smear, if you were a Union trooper trying to catch him/them).

Laurie:

I had previously thought that Booth and Harbin first met through Dr. Mudd on December 18, 1864, in Bryantown. But according to Terry Alford's "Fortune's Fool", they were already old friends, having met years before. I don't have his book in front of me now, so I cannot quote the exact passage, but you probably remember it. There is so much evidence that the Confederate leadership knew all about Booth and his team and their activities that it seems excessive to drive another nail into it, but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

John,

Terry had me totally confused when he kept mentioning Harbin having known Booth in childhood, etc. He cites the Ford Papers, but I had never heard anything like this. I'm confused and doubtful. I am going to continue to believe that Mudd did the introductions. Harbin was a native of Southern Maryland, an area (by car) that is several hours away from Bel Air, Maryland, and I have never seen a reference that Harbin went to school in Booth's area -- in fact, I've never seen reference to Harbin receiving a formal education, but he was definitely a smart man.

As for Harbin reporting to Davis, that may very well be true because he was definitely high on the underground totem-pole. Surratt supposedly claimed to have been in Benjamin's office in February of 1865. I continue to wonder, however, because I thought that both Harbin and Surratt operated under a higher-up, William Norris. Just how open were those Richmond doors to agents?

Laurie:

Terry cites the [i]Cincinnati Enquirer of Aug. 3, 1884, as authority for Booth and Harbin being boyhood chums. I believe the paper records an interview of Harbin conducted after the war by George Alfred Townsend (Gath), so perhaps there is something to it.

As for Harbin reporting directly to Davis, see page 342 of Come Retribution and Note 41 on p. 345. This point was also made by Gath in his report of the interview. I accept this as factual. I also accept as factual Surratt's frequent communication with Benjamin (Ste. Marie said Surratt went to Richmond "weekly"). As Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy say, Harbin's leaving the country for five years was a "wise move". So, too, must Surratt's fleeing and staying abroad for 19 months be considered a wise move. And for the same reason.

John

---

(10-22-2015 01:34 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(10-22-2015 11:52 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  , but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

I don't recall that. Where did he say that?
John, do you believe Harbin reported directly to Davis?
(seems unlikely to me)

Gene:

See the Cincinnati Enquirer, August 3, 1884, and Come Retribution, pp. 342. 345. Yes, I believe strongly that Harbin reported directly to Davis.

John

---

(10-22-2015 01:34 PM)Gene C Wrote:  

(10-22-2015 11:52 AM)John Fazio Wrote:  , but recall that Harbin wrote, after the war, that he was a Secret Service agent and that he reported directly to Davis. Well, if Harbin's old friend was Booth and Harbin reported directly to Davis, what more needs to be said?

John

I don't recall that. Where did he say that?
John, do you believe Harbin reported directly to Davis?
(seems unlikely to me)

Gene:

See my response below. I plugged it into the wrong place.

John

[Gene C]

Thanks for the info John, looks like more of a possibility than I thought

[L Verge]

Terry's citation on Booth and Harbin knowing each other from childhood is bugging the heck out of me! Someone please find me that GATH article from April 3, 1884. Townsend interviewed Harbin in 1885, right before Harbin died. So far as I can find, the Cincinnatti Enquirer did not run that interview until April 18, 1892 -- seven years later. What gives?

Here's what I was able to find https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thomas_Ha...er_Article
Are there two articles? I see no mention of a Harbin-Booth alliance before Dr. Mudd did his introductions. Harbin was also five years older than Booth (b. 1833) and I found no reference to a school friendship - especially since Baltimore City was probably the closest that Booth got to Southern Maryland as a child. Something is rotten somewhere - or there's a chunk of historical information missing.

[John Fazio]

(10-23-2015 03:20 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Terry's citation on Booth and Harbin knowing each other from childhood is bugging the heck out of me! Someone please find me that GATH article from April 3, 1884. Townsend interviewed Harbin in 1885, right before Harbin died. So far as I can find, the Cincinnatti Enquirer did not run that interview until April 18, 1892 -- seven years later. What gives?

Here's what I was able to find https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thomas_Ha...er_Article
Are there two articles? I see no mention of a Harbin-Booth alliance before Dr. Mudd did his introductions. Harbin was also five years older than Booth (b. 1833) and I found no reference to a school friendship - especially since Baltimore City was probably the closest that Booth got to Southern Maryland as a child. Something is rotten somewhere - or there's a chunk of historical information missing.

Laurie:

I'll see what I can come up with.

John

[John Fazio]

(10-23-2015 06:58 PM)John Fazio Wrote:  

(10-23-2015 03:20 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Terry's citation on Booth and Harbin knowing each other from childhood is bugging the heck out of me! Someone please find me that GATH article from April 3, 1884. Townsend interviewed Harbin in 1885, right before Harbin died. So far as I can find, the Cincinnatti Enquirer did not run that interview until April 18, 1892 -- seven years later. What gives?

Here's what I was able to find https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thomas_Ha...er_Article
Are there two articles? I see no mention of a Harbin-Booth alliance before Dr. Mudd did his introductions. Harbin was also five years older than Booth (b. 1833) and I found no reference to a school friendship - especially since Baltimore City was probably the closest that Booth got to Southern Maryland as a child. Something is rotten somewhere - or there's a chunk of historical information missing.

Laurie:

I'll see what I can come up with.

John

Laurie:

The article by Gath, per your link, is interesting, but appears to be inconsistent with some things we know from other sources. To my knowledge, there is no proof of a meeting of Booth and Lincoln wherein Booth pleaded for Beall's life, though there is an article to that effect in a Southern journal (Southern Historical Society Papers). The matter is discussed on pp. 331, 332 of Decapitating. Further, though poisoning of the Croton Reservoir was discussed by the Canadian Cabinet, per Dunham, it was never actually done. Further, nothing is said about a boyhood friendship of Booth and Harbin, which is telling, though it is always possible that Harbin concealed the same from Gath to further distance himself from the assassin. Another mystery.

I'll let you know if I find anything that sheds light on it.

John

[Dave Taylor]

(10-23-2015 03:20 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Terry's citation on Booth and Harbin knowing each other from childhood is bugging the heck out of me! Someone please find me that GATH article from April 3, 1884. Townsend interviewed Harbin in 1885, right before Harbin died. So far as I can find, the Cincinnatti Enquirer did not run that interview until April 18, 1892 -- seven years later. What gives?

Here's what I was able to find https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thomas_Ha...er_Article
Are there two articles? I see no mention of a Harbin-Booth alliance before Dr. Mudd did his introductions. Harbin was also five years older than Booth (b. 1833) and I found no reference to a school friendship - especially since Baltimore City was probably the closest that Booth got to Southern Maryland as a child. Something is rotten somewhere - or there's a chunk of historical information missing.

I believe we are misinterpreting Alford's quote to imply that Harbin knew Booth in boyhood, which he did not. Here is the quote from page 18 of Fortune's Fool:

"Riding the open country, plunging through the streams, and exploring forest trails brought a sense of profound happiness to the boy, said his friend Thomas Harbin, later a famous Confederate agent."

I believe the way Alford wrote this quote is a bit misleading and makes us think that Harbin knew Booth as a child. Alford attests to the fact that the men had not met in boyhood later one when he states (on page 193):

"Within the next several weeks Mudd would introduce [Booth] to Thomas Harbin and John H. Surratt, two resourceful Confederate agents whose appetite for danger matched his own."

Alford clearly establishes, like other authors, that Booth and Harbin did not meet until the fall of 1864.

The quote Alford gives is from Gath's article of August 3, 1884, which is his more lengthy article regarding his interview with Harbin. The problem with Alford's quote is that is seems to be a paraphrasing of Gath's own commentary on Harbin's words. Here's the full quote from Gath's article:

"Mr. Harbin says that Booth was, in general, a modest man, and the only thing he was proud and almost boastful about was his physical strength. As a good spreer, fighter, good shot, good jumper and lover of the open air, he felt supreme. It was this passion for physical distinction which led him onward in his bloody scheme. The leap from the theater box and long horseback ride, the sense of joy, even after such a crime, in taking to the open country, and seeing trees and streams, were natural to the young boy bred in the forests of Harford County, not far from the roaring Susquehanna."

Alford used the above quote from Gath to help him round out Booth a bit more and referenced it as coming from Harbin, since the article is largely from him. Neither Harbin nor Gath knew Booth during childhood and this is likely just Gath making judgments based on his research.

[L Verge]

Thanks for what seems the logical clarification, Dave. Do you have a copy of the 1884 article that you could post?

The section that you quote in full definitely sounds like GATH describing Booth's childhood in his typical flowery style. Even if Harbin knew anything about Booth's early days, I just don't see him making any judgment calls on personality. Harbin was a serious, straightforward man, in my opinion.

[jonathan]

The River Ghost is a coooool nickname, I'm pretty jealous. And yeah, it would make a great title for a book.