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Edited on Sun Dec-23-07 11:11 PM by rasputin1952
:loveya:
I had heard Roger Mudd was a descendant, after all, Mudd, is not exactly a common name, say like Smith or Jones. But I didn't know it for sure until I just read that from you. Mudd did what he was trained to do, he set a broken leg, and I think he was railroaded as well. Who would have thought that far into the future as to have a physician along the route to set a broken leg?
As Booth traveled South, most people were terrified to help him, as they already had heard what had been done, and he was no "David Berkowitz", he was a very popular figure of the time, and virtually everyone around the DC, NY, Baltimore area knew of him to some extent.
There is a small book titled, "The Day Lincoln Was Shot", might be out of print, but a good sized library might have a copy, it is a pretty small book, but it outlines everything that happened that day, and a little before, and the aftermath. It goes into some pretty good detail, what Lincoln did in his office that day, how the guard was chosen, they ride around DC by Lincoln and Mary. Footstep by footstep, it is an interesting read.
SGT Boston Corbett, another odd person in this tale, was a religious zealot who had castrated himself after determining that an act with a prostitute had condemned him to hell. His fellow soldiers thought he was nuts. He died an alcoholic in the West after getting people to buy him drinks, (a lot of them) as the "Man who shot John Wilkes Booth". He died a pauper, and a relatively unknown entity.
The others, Louis Powell, Mary Surratt, George Atzerodt, and David Harold, did not necessarily deserve the treatment they received either. Held in a stifling hold of an iron ship, with muffled bags over their heads was certainly cruel and unusual. The Military Court left a lot to be desired, as the verdict was in long before the "trial". Mrs. Surratt, while being a part of the conspiracy, did not deserve to be hung IMO. Her actions in the plot were minimal, and I'm not even sure if she believed these guys would actually pull this off. Her son, who was definitely in on the plot, took off to England, and a few years later returned to the US, and received a pardon...go figure.
Johnson tried to follow Lincoln's lead, but was crushed by Radical Republicans, one of the most powerful being Sec of War, Edwin Stanton, took on virtual dictatorial powers and managed the country from a room next to the one in which Lincoln was dying. A part of his quest for power resides in the fact that, On August 8, 1862 Stanton issued an order to "arrest and imprison any person or persons who may be engaged, by act, speech or writing, in discouraging volunteer enlistments, or in any way giving aid and comfort to the enemy, or in any other disloyal practice against the United States", (Sound familiar). Stanton was no better than what we have now, but he could get away with things because of the War. Fortunately, Lincoln circumvented most of this order, although his denying habeas corpus for most of the War, is still a highly contentious issue, one that I would have fought against.
One other thing, among the many that are so incredible of that era, and perhaps a shot at (forward) karma coming full circle; Robert Lincoln was saved in Jersey City, 1863, by Edwin Booth, JWB's brother when said Robert was about to fall on tracks in front of an oncoming train. Incredibly, Robert was invited to go to Ford's Theater that night, but declined. When Garfield was shot, he was Garfield's Sec of War, and he was an eyewitness to the shooting. Robert was also at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY when McKinley was shot, but he did not witness that one. He died in 1926 after a pretty wild ride on Life's Roller-coaster.
LOL...I really love History, as if you couldn't tell...:D
:hug:
On edit: I had "Sam" Berkowitz...guess I was thinkig of "Son of Sam" when I wrote that...:blush:
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