John St. Helen

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Dave Taylor

Today, I visited the Lauinger Library at Georgetown University.  The bulk of my research was in the David Rankin Barbee papers contained in the library’s Special Collections.  As an aside, I also looked at the Earl H. Swaim collection located in the library’s holdings.  The Swaim collection contains many of the papers and correspondences of Finis Bates, W. P. Campbell, and Dr. Clarence Wilson regarding Booth’s postmortem wanderings.  While a plethora of evidence disproves their claims of Booth’s escape, the theories nevertheless continue to survive.

The most interesting item located in the Swaim collection, is one of the cornerstones of the “Booth escaped” doctrine.  According to Finis Bates’ book, The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth, a man known to him as John St. Helen called upon him in Granbury, TX when the latter believed he was on his deathbed.  He informed the attorney that his real name was not St. Helen, but that he was, in fact, John Wilkes Booth.  A few days later, St. Helen survived his illness and freely told Bates his whole story.  He also presented Bates with a damaged tintype of himself so that someday, if he should choose to, he could substantiate his story as the truth.  Then St. Helen left town.  This tintype given to Bates by St. Helen was taken in Glenrose Mills, Texas in June of 1877.  Bates would have several paintings done of the conspirators in preparation for his book and his traveling showcase of St. Helen’s body.  In addition, he had the tintype painted as a complete portrait.

The original, damaged tintype, however, is in the Swaim collection:

In my opinion, John St. Helen does not even look like John Wilkes Booth.

John St. Helen

John Wilkes Booth

Similar to so many eBay auctions claiming to be unseen images of Booth, St. Helen is merely a mustachioed man with wavy hair.  He lacks Booth’s distinctive Roman nose and has different eyebrows and face shape than the real McCoy.

While this picture has been the reason for so many years of historical malpractice, it was still an interesting experience to view and handle it firsthand.

Epilogue: Right before posting this I saw (via the Lincoln-Assassination forum) that a new indie movie will be coming out with the John St. Helen story as plot line.  I found the timing eerily appropriate.

References:
The Legend of John Wilkes Booth: Myth, Memory, and a Mummy by C. Wyatt Evans

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Ford’s New Center

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Dave Taylor

The Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership opened on February 12th of this year.  The building, adjacent to the Petersen House where Lincoln died, continues the message of Lincoln’s legacy after his death.  The Center has four floors open to the public.  The first floor is the lobby and gift shop while the second holds space for temporary exhibits.  The third floor is deemed the “Legacy Gallery” which shows the many ways in which Lincoln has become ingrained in our culture and how his words affect us today.  While very nice and good, as a person interested in the Lincoln assassination, it is the 4th floor, named the “Aftermath Gallery” that I wish to discuss.

Visitors exit the Petersen House and travel via elevator to the 4th floor of the Center and work their way down.  On this floor you begin by viewing the turmoil that occurred on the morning of April 15th when the nation woke to the news of Lincoln’s death.  There is a recreation of the train car that took Lincoln’s body back to Springfield as well as an interactive map of the route.  Past this, are several wall displays recounting the manhunt for Booth and the imprisonment, trial, and execution of the conspirators:

Before approaching the stairs down to the next level, there is a recreation of the tobacco barn with audio and visual effects to show Booth’s last few moments before being shot.

As always, it is the artifacts and relics of the assassination that draws my interest.  They have a pass to witness the execution of the conspirators on July 7th, 1865:

A steering wheel from the USS Montauk:

The USS Montauk and the USS Saugus were ironclad monitors which housed the conspirators during the initial investigation and arrests.  The Montauk held George Atzerodt, Edman Spangler, David Herold, John Wilkes Booth’s body, and Joao Celestino, an unrelated Portuguese sea captain.

The gallery also has a nice display of the sketches military commission member Lew Wallace drew of the conspirators during the trial:

The Center also has on display Lewis Powell’s saddle:

Powell used this saddle on the night he attacked Secretary of State William Seward.  Powell biographer, Betty Ownsbey, was the first to see that this item was mislabeled as being owned by Booth (it was owned by George Atzerodt) and that it was improperly displayed.  The stirrups were shown under the saddle flap instead of over them, which would make a very uncomfortable ride for the horse.  After being made aware of the mistake, Ford’s has gladly fixed this and is now correctly displaying the beautiful saddle
There is also an entire display case in the “Aftermath Gallery” with artifacts that I believe to be mislabeled:

The display has two items, a set of keys and a map.  The keys are labeled as, “being owned by John Wilkes Booth” and being, “taken from his body after his capture.”

I do not believe that this is the case.  The War Department had these keys before they had even found John Wilkes Booth.  An April 24th inventory list of evidence cites, “No. 9 Envelope containing silver pencil, and a bunch of keys belonging to David Herold.”  These keys contained Davy’s key to his house and other places.  On the morning of April 15th, Detectives James McDevitt, John Clarvoe, and John Waite, along with Lewis Weichmann, visited the home of Mrs. Herold.  Here, they obtained two photographs of David Herold.  They also recovered these keys and a silver pencil.  According to a statement by Jane E. Herold, Davy, “…had to get home at 10 o’clock.  If not he would be locked out.  Always when he came he had a night key, but momma took it away from him…” While McDevitt and the others made mention of the photographs as they hoped it would increase their chances of getting some reward money, they didn’t mention the keys as they were not noteworthy.  In addition, if you read through the statements of people at Garrett’s barn when Booth was cornered and killed, none of them ever mention keys being taken from Booth’s body.  At the trials, individuals like Conger and Baker give very detailed lists of what they took off of Booth’s body, with no keys being mentioned.  Regardless, these keys could not have come off of Booth’s body as the government had them two days before Booth and Davy were found.

The other item in this display case is a map of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.  The label for it states the following, “John Wilkes Booth used this map during his 12-day escape.  Soldiers removed it from his pockets after his escape.  The interior of the book shows that the map was labeled, ‘Exhibit No. 77’ by the military commission trial.”

I believe that this label is also wrong.  Now it is true that Booth and Davy had a map with them during their escape.  That map was taken off of Davy, not Booth, when he surrendered at Garrett’s barn.  Unfortunately, this is not the map taken from Davy either.  On June 3rd, Dr. Joseph H. Blanford, brother-in-law to Dr. Mudd, retook the stand at the conspiracy trial.  The following is part of the interchange that occurred in Dr. Blandford’s testimony:

“Q. (Exhibiting a map to the witness.) Will you examine this map, and state to the Court whether the several localities that I have spoken of, and the roads, are properly marked upon it?
A. I think they are, as nearly as can be ascertained from this map; the roads not having been drawn upon it originally. The roads here, as drawn in ink, to the best of my knowledge, are the proper roads; and they would take those places in their route.
Q. Will you state whether you have examined that map before, and indicated the lines and points marked in ink upon it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Show to the Court, on the map, where Surrattsville, Dr. Mudd’s house, and Pope’s Creek, are.
Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham. If he is going to do that, let him write them down at once on the map.
The witness. They are already written here. Dr. Mudd’s house, T. B. and other points on the road are correctly stated.
(The map referred to was offered in evidence without objection and is marked Exhibit No. 77.)”

To preclude the idea that the map shown to Dr. Blanford was the same one recovered from Davy, we have the following testimony from Everton Conger:

“Q. What articles did you take from Herold? Anything?
A. A little piece of a map of the State of Virginia, and a part of the Chesapeake Bay on it.
Q. Do you remember whether that map embraced the region of country where they were?
A. It did. It embraced that region of country known in Virginia as the “Northern Neck.”
Q. Was it a map prepared in pencil?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was it a regular map?
A. Part of an old school map; a map that had originally been five or six inches square.
Q. (Exhibiting a map.) Is that it?
A. Yes, sir: that is it.
Q. That embraces the region of country in which they were captured?
A. Yes, sir. That is the only property I found on Herold.
Q. Look at this pocket compass. (Exhibiting a pocket compass.)
A. That was taken from Booth’s pocket, just as it is now, with the candle grease on it and all.
(The map and compass were offered in evidence without objection, and are marked Exhibit No. 38.)”

So Davy’s map, along with Booth’s compass, was entered into evidence as Exhibit #38.  Therefore, the map on display at Ford’s, marked as Exhibit #77, was not recovered from either Booth or Herold at Garrett’s.  Instead this map was used by Thomas Ewing during his defense of Dr. Mudd.

Ultimately, while the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership has wonderful potential, I personally would care to see more space devoted to their true role in history, Lincoln’s assassination.  I understand that Ford’s has a fine line to walk in educating the public about Lincoln’s assassination, while not supporting the act.  Their big museum does this by presenting Lincoln’s entire term of office inclduign the assassination.  While this affords less space towards assassination related things, it also allows them to operate without appearing biased.  In my opinion though, people come to Ford’s because they want to learn about Lincoln’s death.  While a sad time in our history, I would prefer more attention in this area.  Regardless, as a center for education, it is Ford’s duty to present history as accurately as possible.   I hope that these artifacts will be looked into further.

References:
A Peek Inside the Walls: 13 Days Aboard the Monitors by John E. Elliott and Barry M. Cauchon
The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence by William C. Edwards and Edward Steers, Jr.

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George in Georgetown

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Dave Taylor

On the morning of April 15th, George Atzerodt awoke in a daze.  He found himself at the Pennsylvania House hotel having spent the previous night wandering around trying to come to terms with his failed role in the assassination and the consequences that would soon follow.  He registered at the Pennsylvania and shared the room with a stranger he met on the street, Samuel Thomas.  Atzerodt awoke early and left the hotel, without paying his share.  He began his trek to Georgetown.

At around 8:00 am, George walked into the storefront of Matthews & Knowles, a dealer of, “fine teas and choice groceries for the family”.  He approached the clerk, John L. Caldwell, a man he was acquainted with from his time in Montgomery County.  In the need of funds, George asked Caldwell if he would purchase his watch from him.  Caldwell, having a watch already, declined George’s offer.  “’Well,’ said he, ‘I want to borrow $10.  I have not any money.  I am going to my uncle’s.  You let me have the $10 and I will leave my revolver with you, and I will send you the money or bring it to you next week.’”   Caldwell gave George the $10 and kept his gun (No. 499, Cooper Firearm Mfg. Co., Frankford, Phila.).

The location of the Matthew and Knowles store was located at 49 High Street in Georgetown.  Today the building still stands at 1202 Wisconsin Avenue with the W. T. Weaver and Sons Hardware store occupying the same spot:

Building that once housed the Matthew and Knowles shop where Atzerodt pawned his gun.

Current occupant of the Matthew and Knowles store.

After pawning his revolver, Atzerodt then walked a few blocks up High street (now Wisconsin avenue), and visited in the home of Lucinda Metz.  Lucinda Metz was a 44 year old widow with four children who had known George from his time in Montgomery County.  Known as Andrew Atwood to her, he visited with the widow and had breakfast with her before heading for the stage coach to take him to his cousin Hartman Richter’s.  Mrs. Metz’ house still stands today near the corner of Wisconsin and P streets:

Lucinda Metz' house.

References:
The Escape and Capture of George A. Atzerodt
Jim Garrett, my generous tour guide to these and many other Georgetown sites

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Booth: A Favor-able Man

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Dave Taylor

During the course of the investigation, Booth’s room at the National was searched.  In the room, the investigators discovered a treasure trove of materials in Booth’s theatrical trunk.  Several of the documents in Booth’s trunk were used in the investigation and even in the trial.  The “Sam” letter written by Samuel Arnold was one such important discovery.   Some other papers were unrelated to Booth’s plot.  The following is a letter written by an actor, J.H. Young, asking Booth for a favor, twelve days prior to his assassination of Lincoln:

“Baltimore, April 2nd, ’65

Dear Friend John:

I have been so devilishly unfortunate as to be drafted the other day, and very scarce of funds just at present, (having been put to considerable expense by the death of a brother-in-law in Washington and the consequent necessities of his widow and children.)  I avail myself of old intimacy to ask if you will be willing to play “Richard” for my benefit at Front Street Theatre on Saturday afternoon next, provided I can get the Theatre.  I spoke to Kunkel last night, and he will give me an answer tomorrow.  Necessity, only, John, induces me to make this request.  Mary wishes to be particularly remembered.  I trust you will favor me with an early reply, and oblige yours, as ever, in friendship.

J. H. Young,

Sun Office.”

It is unlikely that Young went to war, seeing as Richmond fell and Lee surrendered to Grant shortly after this letter was written.

While Booth did not perform a benefit for Young, this letter still presents a look at how well Booth was viewed by his acting peers.  Young clearly thought Booth was a talented and popular enough actor to bring in a crowd, thus gaining him significant funds.   In addition, Booth had a reputation for generosity which made him a likely candidate to help out a fellow thespian.  Had his mind not been on other pursuits, it is probable that he would have come out of “retirement” to help Mr. Young.

References:
American Brutus by Michael Kauffman

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Delays, Delays

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dave Taylor

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“So great was their rage”

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Dave Taylor

When John Wilkes Booth committed his act, the uproar from the general public was swift and vicious.  In D.C. angry crowds surrounded confederate prisons like the Old Capitol ready to jump any new prisoner brought in.  Countless individuals who bore a resemblance to Booth were mobbed with many suffering beatings courtesy of their doppelganger.   The fury extended beyond D.C. when people woke up to the news of Lincoln’s assassination on April 15th.  On that morning Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the 43 year old brother of John Wilkes, awoke to find the horrifying truth of his kin’s deed.  The following is an article originally from the Louisville Courier Journal (reprinted in the August 30, 1884 edition of the Knowersville Enterprise) giving an account of how June learned of his brother’s act.

Narrow Escape of Booth’s Brother

“One of the most exciting mobs I ever saw was the one which attempted to hand Junius Brutus Booth at Cincinnati the morning after Lincoln’s assassination.”

Emile Buelier was the speaker.  He made the remark in conversation with some friends last evening.

“I was then a clerk at the Burnet house,” he continued.  “I had gone there with Captain Silas Miller, who had purchased it just prior to that time.  Junius Booth was billed to play there, and arrived at the hotel on the evening when his brother shot Lincoln.

He came down stairs the next morning, and after breakfast was on the point of going out to take a stroll.  I had just heard a few minutes before that the people were in a tumult, and had torn down his bills all over the city.  He came up to the desk and, as he did so, I informed him that I thought it would be best for him not to go out in the streets.  He looked at me in astonishment, and asked what I meant.

‘Haven’t you heard the news?’ said I.  He replied that he had not.  I didn’t like to say any more, and he walked off, looking greatly puzzled.

Going to a friend, who was standing near, he asked, in a rather excited manner what was that young man meaning by talking that way, and wanted to know if I wasn’t crazy.  The man told him no, that I was a clerk.

More mystified than ever he returned and demanded my reason for the remark.  I saw then that he was in ignorance of the tragedy, and reluctantly informed him that his brother had killed the President.

He was the most horrified man that I ever saw, and for the moment he was overcome with shock.  I suggested to him that it would be better to go to his room, and he did so, being accompanied by one or two of his friends.

He had scarcely gone up-stairs before the room was filled with people.  The mob was fully 500 in number and wanted to find Booth.  They were perfectly furious, and it was the greatest difficulty that we checked them by the story that their intended victim had left the house.  They would have hung him in a minute if they could have laid hands on him, so great was their rage.

They returned almost immediately, but by this time we had removed Booth from his room to that of a friend.  The mob watched the house so closely that it was four or five days before he had a chance to leave.  We finally smuggled him away however.

I’ve seen four or five different accounts of that circumstance, but none of them were correct.  The story that he was disguised as a woman to effect his escape is all wrong.  He left in ordinary clothing.”

When it was safe, Junius traveled from Cincinnati to Philadelphia to his sister Asia’s house.  It was here on April 25th that Junius and Asia’s husband John Sleeper Clarke were arrested.  They were transported back to D.C. and detained at the Old Capitol Prison.  The authorities had found a letter written by Junius to his brother encouraging him to give up in the oil business which had cost him so much.  This brotherly advice was misinterpreted by the government as a code for the assassination plot and so Junius was tracked down.  Though imprisoned, he was given some preferential treatment as the Secretary of War ordered that he would not be placed in irons like many of the other prisoners.  In prison he gave several statements complying with the authorities completely.  He was eventually released on June 2nd.

References
Knowersville Enterprise (8/30/1884)
The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence by William Edwards and Ed Steers

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Why Lincoln and Booth are Intertwined

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Dave Taylor

Recently, there has been a minor controversy regarding the sale of John Wilkes Booth bobblehead dolls.  A reporter from The Evening Sun of Hanover, PA, received an anonymous complaint about the dolls being sold at the Gettysburg National Military Park gift shop.  When he inquired about them, the gift shop removed them from their shelves within a couple of days.  Shortly thereafter, without any noted complaints or inquires, the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library in Springfield, IL, followed suit and removed the bobbleheads from their gift shop.

What interests me the most about this controversy is how people have reacted to the dolls.  The original article notes that, “At first, the bobblehead drew chuckles from some of the students. But most reconsidered that reaction when asked to comment.”  This “chuckling” reaction would be the one I would expect from most people.  As a bobblehead doll, it is made to be a gag gift.  People either like them enough to buy them, or they move on, instantly forgetting them.

When probed about the dolls, the students being interviewed responded with the remarks akin to, “Yes, I suppose it is wrong to make them.” What changed their minds?  A few seconds earlier they were chuckling at the John Wilkes Booth bobblehead, and now they are calling for its immediate removal.  Their new-found disgust is a product of their education about Lincoln.  It is this education that we all receive.  We rightfully idolize and revere Lincoln for his strengths and courage as president.  He freed the slaves, kept the nation together and paid for it all with his life.  All of these things are true, but, in order to keep Lincoln as  the penultimate American president, we all ignore the complexity of his death.  The man who killed him was a crazy, racist, cold-blooded killer.  We simplify Lincoln’s death into its simplest but, inherently, incorrect terms.  Did Booth commit an atrocious deed that should be condemned?  Of course.  However, we should not dismiss his importance to the Lincoln we know and love.

This is the fine line that “Boothies” walk pursuing our interest.  As those who study the assassination, we look at the factors and motivations of Booth and other groups, North and South, who wished for and plotted to end Lincoln’s life.  While Lincoln was a great man and a great president, he was also one of our most hated presidents.  This version of Lincoln was buried and forgotten with Booth’s body.  One bullet, fueled by the anguish of the ravaged South, transformed Lincoln into a saint.  Booth should be studied not only for this crucial act, but for the complexity of his character that led him to such a crime.

Of all the reactions given in the articles and comments regarding the bobbleheads, I am slightly disappointed on a purely scholarly level with Mr. Harold Holzer’s quote in which he states that selling the John Wilkes Booth bobbleheads are, “…like selling Lee Harvey Oswald stuffed dolls at the Kennedy Center.”  While both Lincoln and Kennedy’s assassinations were traumatic events in our history, the men who committed them were polar opposites.  The times and events they lived through defined them as uniquely troubled individuals and each had vastly different motivations for their crimes.  By painting these two assassins with the same brush, we actually diminish the honored men they killed.  The story of Lincoln’s assassination is a dark one and an unpleasant one.  However, looking at the men and women who conspired to kill Lincoln helps us better understand the harsh period of time in which Lincoln lived and led a nation.

According to the original Evening Sun article, 11 out of the 12 people interviewed stated that the Booth bobblehead was inappropriate.  The sole hold out was a 15-year-old boy who stated, “It’s a part of history and we can’t just ignore it because it’s a bad part.”

I couldn’t agree more:

References:
Evening Sun articles: 1, 2, 3
Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library article

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“Fan” of the President

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Dave Taylor

After Lincoln’s death, there was an immediate demand for items that mourned the late president.  In Washington City, the whole town was draped in black mourning crepe.  Citizens wore silk ribbons, pins, badges, armbands, and images of the fallen president.  An industry of mourning goods was established overnight.

Harper's Weekly advertisement for Lincoln mourning badges.

One of the most beautiful Lincoln mourning artifacts that has survived the years, is an elegant, 22” diameter, mourning fan:

The fan is titled, “To the Martyr of his Country, Abraham Lincoln” and was created by a Central American maker who had purchased the rights from an American firm.  On the front, the fan shows Lincoln, surrounded by angels and cherubs, with Spanish memorial songs on the edges near the fan guards.  On the back, near the guards, the hand painted fan displays the battle of the Monitor and Merrimac along with a depiction of Richmondburning.  The back of the fan also displays five neatly drawn and painted scenes from the assassination of the president:

Booth, Mary Surratt, and other conspirators (one of which is probably Lewis Powell) conspiring to kill Lincoln.

Booth shooting President Lincoln.

Laura Keene and others putting on the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre right before the President is killed.

Booth makes his escape south on horseback.

Cornered at Garrett's barn, Booth is shot and killed.

The fan was designed to not only be a fashionable piece, but also a means of self protection and therefore holds two surprises in its design.  In the base of one of the guards, there is a small, hinged area in which a lady could conceal poison.  If this did not work, or, if the lady needed a more direct approach, the same fan guard houses a concealed knife that could be retracted and hidden from sight.

This fan had originally belonged to Father Robert Keesler, one of the original “Boothies”.  A truly kind and generous man, he allowed the fan to be displayed at the Surratt House Museum as one of their centerpiece artifacts in their exhibit on Victorian mourning customs.  Father Keesler later gave this ornate fan as a present to Dr. John Lattimer, an esteemed Lincoln author and collector.  When part of Dr. Lattimer’s Lincoln collection was sold at auction in 2008, this fan went for $15,535.  It was last in the possession of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago Illinois.  They were asking $19,500 for this extraordinary piece of Lincoln mourning history.

References:
The image of the article regarding mourning badges comes from Lincoln’s Assassins: Their Trial and Execution by James Swanson and Daniel Weinberg.  Several other mourning items can be found in this book.
Abraham Lincoln Book Shop

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