The story is a well known one: On April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. His death the next morning was viewed as the great sacrifice of the leader who had pulled the nation through a bloody civil war. Instantly, and appropriately, Lincoln became an American saint. He gave his last, full measure for the country and was struck down just after completing his goal. Abraham Lincoln’s actions and resolve have earned him the title of our country’s greatest president. His story is told all over this country and he is the most written about figure after Jesus Christ.
But, there is another part of this story. It is the story of a young actor driven to extremes. It is the story of that man and his conspirators who were determined to strike back against a government that destroyed the United States they had known and loved. It is the stories and facts about these individuals that this blog hopes to share. Not because we agree with their actions or because we share their values. We learn about them because the darker parts of history can shed the most light on the past. While the actions they took were abhorrent, the sentiments that motivated those actions were shared by many.
Many of us who study the Lincoln assassination refer to ourselves as “Boothies”. This does not mean we condone the actions of the assassin. Rather, our moniker states our commitment to studying, analyzing, and interpreting the actions of John Wilkes Booth and others involved in the great American drama that is the Lincoln assassination. Ignoring and dismissing the lives and actions of the men and women involved in the conspiracy does a great disservice to history and to the memory of Abraham Lincoln. We cannot truly honor and appreciate the man without understanding the complexity of his death.
As a Boothie, I hope that this blog will be a source of education as well as levity every once and awhile. It is my first time starting a blog, so who knows how it will turn out. Regardless, I invite you all to come back from time to time to see the man, and the conspiracy, in the barn.
LincolnConspirators.com 
Very good, Dave! I’ve always glad to learn new things and you have taught me something else new and interesting! Conspirator Lewis Powell’s Northern Virginia girlfriend Bettie Meredith married a Hooe – more than likely the very same family as the original Nathan who owned Clydael!
It is so interesting to see family names pop up everywhere. These big families in Virginia really stuck around and influenced everyone around them.
Betty,
According to Oldroyd, a Dr. Hooe also owned the land on which Booth and Herold landed when they mistook Gambo creek for the Machodoc creek:
http://books.google.com/books?id=JelBAAAAIAAJ&q=Hooe#v=snippet&q=Hooe&f=false
Very interesting stuff Dave. I look forward to more of your stories.
I will try my darndest to entertain you, Mr. Smyth. 🙂
so glad i have discovered this site… how can i post (unknown) pictures of booth and others involved
in the lincoln assassination?
too bad someone didn’t take a pic of the barn way before it was gone.
Just discovered your blog today and will no doubt be devouring every entry over the next few days/weeks. I’ve been fascinated by this topic myself since I was 10 and am always overjoyed to find anyone else out there who is as well.
does anyone know the route booth took to get from the surratt house to dr. muddsWas there a road that house? Was there a road that went length same general path as 301
Bill,
Booth’s exact route between T.B. and Dr. Mudd’s is not known with certainty. There are two routes he could have taken. Click here for more information: http://boothiebarn.com/2013/03/30/new-gallery-horsehead-tavern/
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Dear Dave, I just want to write to tell you how much I appreciate your work and all you are doing to promote and educate the public on the Lincoln assassination. It is first rate and a credit to history. Keep up the good work. A star in the field. Ed Steers
Dr. Steers,
I’m very much humbled by your words. They mean a great deal to me, especially considering all of the work you have done in the Lincoln field. I am indebted to the work and research you put into your books. I find myself regularly referring to Blood on the Moon, His Name is Still Mudd, and The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence. Before I lived in Maryland, your Escape and Capture of John Wilkes Booth was the only way I could experience the John Wilkes Booth escape route. When I am occasionally asked if I’m going to write a book on the Lincoln assassination I inevitably respond that there is no need. Historians like you and Michael Kauffman have already written the most detailed books out there on the whole assassination story. Thank you for doing all of the hard work so that people like myself can learn from and share the story with others.
Sincerely,
Dave Taylor
Dear Dave: I recently obtained, through an interlibrary loan, a copy of the movie The Prisoner of Shark Island, directed by John Ford,a characterization of the life of Dr. Mudd. I don’t know if you have ever seen this(it is pre-WWII), but if you haven’t, I suggest you try to get a copy of it. To say that it is a “sanitized” version f Dr. Mudd’s life is to make a gross understatement. Keep up the good work, I enjoy this site immensely.
William,
I have seen The Prisoner of Shark Island and it is a doozy. The movie played a significant role in helping to “rebrand” Dr. Mudd as an innocent victim rather than likely abduction conspirator. The Mudd family loved the way it represented their relative. When the movie was turned into a radio show, Nettie Mudd appeared on the program to speak to its wonderful accuracy: https://boothiebarn.com/2012/10/07/nettie-mudd-on-the-airwaves/
Boothies,
I’ve been on a spy’s trail and finally came across a .pdf of a March 2nd letter from James Virgul Barnes to R. D. Watson. The letter is rather fantastic (i.e. it would seem to hold more incriminating evidence than someone could pack into a single letter) including a reference to Booth being placed under supervision of Capt. Boyd (6th Tennessee, recently released from prison) as the Confederate Secret Service was getting frustrated with Booth’s lack of productivity in the plot to kidnap. Can anyone offer insight into the legitimacy of this letter. It is not often referenced in secondary sources. Apparently the original letter is housed at Indiana State University.
Todd Holbrook
Let me guess – the letter is in the files of Ray Neff at Indiana State…
The citation was “Neff-Guttridge Collection.”
Be very wary of authenticity
I need to know the exact dimensions of the Booth deringer for a painting . US Standard measurements please .
Am also seeking an accurate replica – detail specific – of the Booth deringer .