#OTD in @PoliceGazette 1865: The Gazette begins its coverage of the Lincoln Assassination. Its reportage of the events is considered some of the best by any national publication.
#OTD in @PoliceGazette 1865: The Gazette begins its coverage of the Lincoln Assassination. Its reportage of the events is considered some of the best by any national publication.
Joe Barry addresses the crowd in Baptist Alley about his research on Joseph Stewart.
The bus group slowly gathers around Rich Hill
The authors and special guests of our April 18 tour: Bill Binzel, Frank Gorman, Joe Barry, Dr. Diane Putney, Jim Garrett, Darin Weeks, Mary Fincher, Dave Taylor, and Ilka Knüppel. Photo courtesy of Mike Pugliese
Author Reignette Chilton posing with Dave Taylor
Two more successful tours down! Thanks to @regchilton.bsky.social, @cwbc.bsky.social, @joebarry.bsky.social, @iknuppel.bsky.social, and @mpugliese.bsky.social for making the weekend so memorable for our participants. Stay tuned for your chance to join us on a future Lincoln Assassination Tour!
A memorial graphic for the death of Abraham Lincoln.
Today is the anniversary of the Lincoln assassination. Contrary to popular belief, the audience didn't just sit down in response. In fact, prominent lawyer Joseph B. Stewart chased after Booth. Learn more about my book on him here: www.joebarryauthor.com
#history #authors #booksky #skystorians 💙📚✍🏻
In 1956, a Maryland resident named Samuel J. Seymour appeared on the TV game show, I've Got a Secret. He was questioned by a panel of celebrities, who quickly determined that Mr. Seymour had witnessed a truly momentous event in our history that occurred 161 years ago today.
youtu.be/bJz07pQv1dA
The Mary Surratt Boardinghouse on H Street in Washington, D.C. as it appeared in 1895
A photograph of Mary Surratt
A photograph of Richard Smoot
The cover of Richard Smoot's pamphlet, "The Unwritten History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln."
On April 12, 1865, Richard Smoot visited Mary Surratt's boardinghouse on H St. in D.C. Smoot wanted final payment for his boat that John Surratt had purchased for John Wilkes Booth's plot against Lincoln. Mrs. Surratt told Smoot that the boat would be used soon and was anxious for him to leave.
A painting depicting Abraham Lincoln's final public address from the White House on April 11, 1865. Lincoln spoke in favor of readmitting Louisiana to the Union under a new state constitution, though he did not like the fact that the new constitution did not give voting rights to Black citizens. Lincoln's expression in support of Black suffrage caused one of the observers of the speech, John Wilkes Booth (shown on the bottom left), to vow, "That is the last speech he will ever make."
On April 11, 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave his last public address. In the crowd at the White House was Dr. Charles Leale and, it has been claimed, John Wilkes Booth. After hearing Lincoln speak in favor of Black suffrage, Booth is alleged to have said, "That is the last speech he will ever make."
History is rarely as "intact" as it seems!
While the Times noted Lincoln's frock coat was in "good condition," Leale described a scene of chaos where he ordered the President’s clothes to be sliced open with a jackknife to save his life.
I’m excited to finally share this "frock coat" investigation with you all.
I’ve always been fascinated by the "small" details of history that tell a much larger story. 📜
While researching my new book, I found a fascinating contradiction between a 1968 #nytimes article and the firsthand testimony of Dr. Charles Leale.
Auburn coach Robb Taylor congratulates his players after winning the National Championship against Alabama.
Congratulations to the Auburn Wheelchair Basketball Team for winning the National Championship! They defeated their rivals Alabama to claim the top spot for the first time in program history. My brother, Robb Taylor, is the head coach and has spent 10+ years growing this program. so proud. #WarEagle
I hear tell that Expedition Files on Discovery will be rehashing the “Booth” mummy story tonight. I don’t have cable so I won’t be watching. But for the sake of anyone who watches it and starts wondering if John Wilkes Booth might have escaped justice in 1865, the answer is a resounding no. He dead.
There were no issues with today’s episode. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.
These otherwise small sounds are very clear to headphones users. If you could mute your microphone when your guests are talking I think it would really cut down on the noise. Again, I thank you for producing this very interesting podcast. I nominate @iknuppel.bsky.social as a future guest.
@holocaustpod.bsky.social Thank you for continuing to put out such interesting discussions. Just one bit of feedback. Dr. Beorn, you have a very sensitive microphone. When your guests are talking & you are typing on your computer, shuffling papers, moving around, etc. it can become hard to hear.
I just bought the set. Thanks so much for letting us know!
I saw this in Austin today and very much enjoyed it. The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation is mentioned in the credits.
The back of Ford’s Theatre.
The Surratt Historic Site and Museum in Clinton, Maryland.
The Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House museum in Clinton, MD.
Dent’s Meadow, the spot where Booth set across the Potomac River.
Our first Lincoln Assassination Tour was a success! We had a great time taking a bus load of folks on the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. We have two more tours scheduled for April and more to be announced for the fall. LincolnAssassinationTours.com
A personal favorite of mine from 1999.
Thousands of soldiers, detectives, and civilians were on the manhunt for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, and yet John Wilkes Booth still managed to evade capture for 12 days. In the end, it was a stroke of luck that a detachment of the 16th New York Cavalry happened to stumble upon Booth’s trail while in Port Conway, Virginia. While resting there on the banks of the Rappahannock River, the troopers talked with residents William and Bettie Rollins. They mentioned having seen a man with a broken leg matching Booth’s description cross the river just a day before. They also noted that the fugitive was joined by three Confederate soldiers who had crossed the river with him. One of the soldiers was Private Willie Jett. William Rollins couldn’t help the Union troopers further, but Bettie Rollins knew some important information. She knew that Willie Jett had been courting a girl named Izora Gouldman, whose father owned a hotel in the town of Bowling Green. That gave the troopers a destination to head to, and sure enough, they found Jett at the Star Hotel in Bowling Green just as Bettie Rollins predicted. When questioned, Jett immediately told the troopers that Booth could be found at the Garrett farm, and he led the soldiers back there. In the end, it was Bettie Rollins who provided the essential information needed to capture Lincoln’s assassin. #WomensHistoryMonth
Bettie Rollins in Port Conway, Virginia, gave the vital piece of information that led to John Wilkes Booth’s capture. Read more about her actions in the ALT text. #WomensHistoryMonth
We had such a blast joining Mary and Darin on @cwbc.bsky.social to talk about Lincoln Assassination Tours! In addition the podcast version, you can watch a video of the discussion here: youtu.be/yQ13Oy4LBXc?...
Both coats bear physical evidence of the medical treatment Lincoln received. Suspecting the President had been stabbed, Dr. Leale asked a gentleman in the box to cut Lincoln's clothing from the neck to the elbow to search for wounds."
Image: Public Domain
1. A Brooks Brothers greatcoat (overcoat), which currently rests in storage under the care of the National Park Service.
2. A frock coat (suit coat) held by the Chicago History Museum.
For the first half of the century, this garment was considered an authentic assassination relic.
"#OTD in 1924, the press wires and the Chicago History Museum (formerly the Chicago Historical Society) asked: 'How many coats did Abraham Lincoln wear when he was shot?'
My new book, "Lincoln's Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic," provides the answer: TWO.
Participants on a Lincoln Assassination Tour this spring will be among the first to visit this brand new historic house museum which was also the home to George Washington’s doctor. #skystorians 🗃️
During the manhunt, Mary Swann was arrested along with Cox & taken to D.C. She gave two statements stating that the men never entered the house. Cox swore to the same. They were both eventually released. The statements of Cox & Mary were contrary to the testimony of Oswell Swann – the guide who innocently took the fugitives to Rich Hill. Oswell Swann (no relation to Mary) stated that the men spent lots of time inside Rich Hill & were fed a meal. Mary Swann continued to live at Rich Hill after 1865, working as a servant for the Coxes. In 1882, she had married Oscar Kelly, a fellow servant. That same year, Sam Cox, Jr. sold the Kellys a plot of land to make a home. When Booth historian Stanley Kimmel visited the region in the late 1930s, he met “Aunt” Mary Kelly. She still claimed that she had told the truth in 1865 – while also acknowledging that her statement helped saved Samuel Cox’s life. While publicly & to white interviewers like Kimmel, Mary Kelly always swore she told the truth in 1865, amongst the Black residents of Charles County, it was understood that she had lied to protect the Coxes from danger. Mary Swann had a difficult choice in 1865 & beyond. Angering a wealthy white landowner like Cox would have had lifelong repercussions for her, so she chose to be his lifelong ally. Many other formerly enslaved people who didn’t move away after freedom likewise chose appeasement. This appeasement became misconstrued by white authors as the “loyal slave” & “good master” narratives, contributing to the myth of the Lost Cause. But Cox was far from the oxymoronic good enslaver. In fact, in 1862, Cox beat one of his enslaved men to death for reporting on him. It’s not surprising then that Mary Swann Kelly and so many others spent their whole lives appeasing the white folks around them & telling them what they wanted to hear. During Reconstruction and beyond, such appeasement was sometimes the only way to survive. #BlackHistoryMonth
In 1865, Mary Swann lived at Rich Hill, the home of her former enslaver, Samuel Cox. She was present when John Wilkes Booth & David Herold were led to her home after they had left Dr. Mudd’s house. She lied about the fugitives time there. Read more about her story in the ALT text. #BlackHistoryMonth
Rather than partaking in the traditional mattress sale to mark the occasion, why not spend this Presidents' Day learning about how two former Presidents reacted to the news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination: lincolnconspirators.com/2018/01/15/a...
Gen. Kautz led the 19th USCT into the fallen Confederate capital of Richmond on April 3, 1865. The Black troops were among the first Union liberators in the city. Among the 19th USCT was Pvt. Richard Washington, a man who escaped slavery in 1863 from his disloyal enslaver, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd. 🗃
Ms. Bessie Burns hit the road and travelled from D.C. to Prince George's County, Maryland, for this week's #throwback "Trail of Lincoln's Assassin" photograph. This image shows Mary Surratt's tavern property as it appeared in 1921. At this time, it was being used as a private home. It wasn't until the 1960s that PGParks History acquired the property, and the home was slowly restored to its 1865 appearance. The Surratt House Museum opened its doors to the public in 1976. All Lincoln Assassination Tours include a visit to this historic building. Not only was the Surratt House the first stop the assassin made after escaping from Washington, but the building also became an important headquarters for the detectives and military authorities searching for him. Sign up for a Lincoln Assassination Tour and learn some history from the Surratt House Museum. https://lincolnassassinationtours.com/
We're going to church in today's #throwback from Ms. Bessie Burns' album on "The Trail of Lincoln's Assassin." This is St. Mary's Catholic Church - Bryantown, Maryland, as it appeared in 1921. In the fall and winter of 1864, John Wilkes Booth traveled into Explore Charles County to scout the roads and recruit possible co-conspirators into his initial plot to abduct President Lincoln. On November 13, 1864, Booth attended St. Mary's Bryantown in the company of Dr. William Queen and his family. While at church, Booth was introduced to Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, marking the first time the two men met. Booth would return to the area on December 17, this time staying some time at Dr. Mudd's home. How much Dr. Mudd knew about Booth's plot against the President is a matter of great debate, but there is no doubt that the doctor knew Booth before the assassin sought medical attention for his broken leg during his escape. After Dr. Mudd's death in 1883, he was buried at St. Mary's near the front of the church. To the left of the group of standing parishioners in this photograph, you can see a small white headstone. This *might* be the original gravestone of Dr. Samuel Mudd. The Mudd family erected a replacement stone for the doctor and his wife in 1940, but the original gravestone can be seen today at the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum. On a Lincoln Assassination Tour, we drive right up to St. Mary's Catholic Church and point out the final resting place of the man whose name is Mudd.
Here's another #throwback to 1921 and Ms. Bessie Burns' "Trail of Lincoln's Assassin" photo album. These are two photographs of the home of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd near Waldorf, Maryland. Dr. and Mrs. Mudd were awakened at around 4:00 am on April 15, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice, David Herold. Dr. Mudd provided medical attention to Booth's broken leg, and the fugitives rested at the home for about 12 hours before continuing on. The standing figure in the second photograph is Samuel A. Mudd II, the son of the man who went to prison for his involvement in John Wilkes Booth's plot. Through the efforts of some of Dr. Mudd's grandchildren in the 1970s and 80s, the home and surrounding property were turned into a museum. All Lincoln Assassination Tours visit the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum, which has done an amazing job over the past decade to tell a more honest and inclusive story about its past.
Another shot of the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House with Sam Mudd II shown. See the prior image for more info.
We are quite behind in our #throwback “Trail of Lincoln’s Assassin” images from 1921. Here are pictures of Mary Surratt’s Tavern, St. Mary’s Catholic Church Bryantown, and two photos of the home of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd. Click the ALT text for details.
New on our bookshelf:
Lincoln’s Frock Coat: The Enduring Mystery of an Assassination Relic
By Reignette G. Chilton
mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Linc...