Assassination Trivia

[RJNorton]

Sorry, Steve, but that is not it.

[Thomas Kearney]

He told someone he shot Lincoln and they told the police?

[AussieMick]

'something happened to him' ?
I'll guess that the media confused him with Lewis Powell arrested I think on 17th April (which would make it hard for the newspaper to print it on the April 17th ... but we know their print 'dates' of issue dont always match actual on-the-street dates)

[RJNorton]

Sorry, Thomas and Michael, but neither answer is correct.

[Anita]

He got lost?

[Susan Higginbotham]

Was turned in by a jealous husband?

[RJNorton]

Sorry, Anita and Susan, but neither answer is correct. I think I shall just give the answer.

I really cannot think of a clue that would not give it away. I actually find the answer quite strange. On this forum we have debated whether Booth broke his fibula in his leap at Ford's or when his horse stumbled and fell on him.

As with the previous question, I used the April 1957 edition of Lincoln Lore. The April 17, 1865, Indiana State Sentinel contains an article entitled "Booth Captured."

"It is reported that Booth was captured this morning. The story is that his horse threw him and injured him so severely that he was obliged to seek relief in a house on the Seventh Street road (Washington)."

Although the story is false in that Booth was not captured on April 17th, I thought it strange when a horse-related injury was mentioned as early as April 17th.

Does anyone know when it first became public knowledge that Booth's horse may have taken a bad step and injured the rider? Isn't April 17th too early for this information to have been in a newspaper?

[Steve]

It could just be a coincidence. Whoever started that false rumor could have based the injury story on Booth's last known activity, riding a horse. I wonder why the story says he was captured in Washington, didn't the papers already report his successful escape from the city?

[wpbinzel]

Roger - Notwithstanding your swell 1957 book, it would seem highly improbable that there was any public knowledge of Booth's broken leg on Monday, April 17th. John Lloyd was not arrested and questioned until Tuesday, April 18th, and it took several rounds of interrogations by Lt. Lovett and Detectives Cottingham and Lloyd (no relation to John) before John confessed and mentioned Booth's broken leg. Dr. Mudd was not questioned until the 18th as well. While Lovett suspected that the "stranger" treated by Mudd for a broken leg was Booth, news of the injury did not reach Washington until Thursday, April 20, when Lovett returned and informed Col. Wells of his suspicions. In turn, Wells informed Secretary of War Stanton, who ordered both Wells and Lovett to Bryantown. Off the top of my head, I do not recall how or when the news of Booth's broken leg was made public, but it would seem unlikely that it would have been before April 20, 1865. Perhaps Lincoln Lore was the Wikipedia of its day?

[RJNorton]

Hi Bill. I should have been more clear --> the April 1957 edition of Lincoln Lore contains an article entitled "Erroneous Assassination Reports." My last two assassination trivia questions came from that article. Editions of Lincoln Lore are online, and if folks are interested in reading all the other erroneous reports in the article, please go here:

https://www.friendsofthelincolncollectio...1082-1462/

and click on the April 1957 edition.

Many thanks to Dr. Blaine Houmes for informing me of this particular Lincoln Lore article.

[Steve]

Here are two other reports of Booth's capture --

From pg. 1 of the 16 April 1865 Daily Milwaukee News:

   

From pg. 4 of the 15 April 1865 Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa):

   

[RJNorton]

Thank you to Steve for sending this article. It's an earlier version of the article quoted in Lincoln Lore. It comes from page 3 of the April 15, 1865, Albany Evening Journal.

[RJNorton]

After Lincoln's assassination who was the first person to ask Mary Lincoln if he or she could borrow the clothes that the President was wearing at Ford's Theatre?

[Steve]

Vinnie Ream?

[AussieMick]

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley?