Posts Tagged With: Arnold

Graves of the Conspirators

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Dave Taylor

Over the last week, I had the opportunity to visit and photograph many of the graves of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Here are some black and white stills of their final resting places.

Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt

Location: Old Arsenal Penitentiary, Washington, D.C.
Period of interment: 1865 – 1867
Pine Boxes B&W

Site of the burial of the executed conspirators

Immediately following their execution, the four conspirators were buried in pine boxes next to the gallows.  In 1867, their bodies, along with the body of John Wilkes Booth, were reburied in a warehouse on the grounds of the Arsenal.  In 1869, President Johnson released the remains to their respective families.  Today, the site of the conspirators’ execution and initial burial location are part of the tennis courts at Fort Lesley McNair in D.C.

John Wilkes Booth

Location: Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, MD.
Period of interment: 1869 – Present
Booth B&W Grave

After Booth’s body was returned to Washington and an autopsy was preformed, he was initially buried in a gun box beneath the floor of a storage room at the Arsenal. In 1867, he was moved and his remains were placed with those of the other conspirators in a warehouse on the Arsenal grounds. President Johnson released Booth’s body in 1869. Edwin Booth purchased a family lot at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore and had his grandfather, father, three infant siblings, and brother John Wilkes buried together in the plot. John Wilkes Booth is unmarked in the plot.

David Herold

Location: Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Period of interment: 1869 – Present
Herold B&W Grave

The Herold family had owned a burial plot at Congressional Cemetery since 1834. Davy was the seventh person to be buried there when his body was released in 1869. While Davy is unmarked, his sister Elizabeth Jane was later buried right on top of him. Her stone is the farthest right in the plot.

Mary Surratt

Location: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Period of interment: 1869 – Present
Mary B&W Grave

This basic stone bearing only “Mrs. Surratt”, is a replacement for an earlier stone that bore the same text. It is all that marks the plot of Mary Surratt, her children Isaac and Anna, her son-in-law, and some of her grandchildren.

Lewis Powell (body)

Location: Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Period of interment: 1884 – Present
Grave of Lewis Powell's body Rock Creek Section K, Lot 23

While Lewis Powell’s skull is buried with his mother in Florida, the rest of his body is likely at D.C.’s Rock Creek Cemetery in a mass unmarked grave in Section K, lot 23. A portion of that section is pictured above. Eerily, one of the headstones in that section is marked “Lewis”. For more about the travels of Lewis Powell’s remains, read the middle section of this post.

George Atzerodt

Last confirmed location: Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Period of interment: 1869 – ?
Public Vault Glenwood Cemetery ExteriorPublic Vault Glenwood Cemetery Interior

The location of George Atzerodt’s remains are still a bit of a mystery. It is known that they were placed in the public vault of Glenwood Cemetery (pictured above) after being disinterred from the Arsenal. It was erroneous believed that he was then buried in a family plot at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Baltimore. Research facilitated by this website has proven this to be false. It is possible that Atzerodt is buried somewhere at Glenwood but the interment book for that period of time was stolen in the late 1800’s. More research is needed.

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd

Location: St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery, Bryantown, MD
Period of interment: 1883 – Present
Mudd B&W Grave

After Dr. Mudd died in 1883, a tall monument with a stone cross on the top was placed on his grave at St. Mary’s Church. Around 1940, some of Dr. Mudd’s descendants decided to replace the weathered stone. The new stone (pictured above) contained Mrs. Mudd’s birth and death dates as well as the doctor’s.

John Surratt

Location: New Cathedral Cemetery, Baltimore, MD
Period of interment: 1916 – Present
Surratt B&W Grave

The longest lived of all the conspirators, John Surratt and his family are buried under this plain cross stone bearing only the family name in Baltimore’s New Cathedral Cemetery.

Samuel Arnold

Location: Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, MD
Period of interment: 1906 – Present
Arnold B&W Grave

Samuel Bland Arnold, one of John Wilkes Booth’s schoolboy friends, was involved in the abduction plot but was not in D.C. when the assassination occurred. Sam was the last member of his family to be buried in the plot upon his death in 1906.

Michael O’Laughlen

Location: Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, MD
Period of interment: 1870 – Present
O'Laughlen B&W Grave

Another childhood friend of Booth’s who was involved in the initial abduction plot, Michael O’Laughlen was sentenced to life in prison at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas. He died from yellow fever while in jail despite the attentive care he received from his fellow prisoner, Dr. Mudd. He was initially buried on an island adjacent to Fort Jefferson. After his fellow conspirators had been pardoned, O’Laughlen’s body was transported from Florida to Balitmore. He was interred in the family plot on December 14th, 1870.

Edman Spangler

Location: Old St. Peter’s Church Cemetery, Waldorf, MD
Period of interment: 1875 – Present
Spangler B&W Grave

After his release from Fort Jefferson, Edman Spangler returned to working at John Ford’s different theatres. Eventually he made he way to Charles County Maryland and reunited with Dr. Mudd. Spangler lived on Dr. Mudd’s property doing carpentry work and farming until his death there in 1875. His grave was marked in the 1980’s by the Surratt and Mudd Societies.

References:
The Lincoln Assassination: Where Are They Now?: A Guide to the Burial Places of Individuals Connected to the Lincoln Assassination in Washington, DC by Jim Garrett and Rich Smyth
Betty Ownsbey

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In the Dog House

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Dave Taylor

There is a special connection between man and canine.  As a species, dogs provide humans a degree of loyalty that is unmatched in the animal world.  What’s even more interesting is how we, as people, develop the need to reciprocate that loyalty and devotion to our four legged friends.  Just this month, New York enacted a new regulation allowing pet cemeteries to accept cremated human remains, so that humans could be buried for eternity with their beloved pets.

Dogs provide a comforting effect.  Even in the most dire of circumstances they can provide an individual with a degree of ease and calm.  Therefore, it seems fitting that, while imprisoned as accessories in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, at least three of the conspirators’ thoughts were of their dogs.

David Herold Engraving

David Herold met his end on the scaffold on July 7th, 1865.  He demonstrated dog like devotion to John Wilkes Booth during his flight from justice.  Despite many opportunities to leave the wounded assassin behind, Herold remained loyal to him and that loyalty eventually cost him his life.  According to one newspaper account however, he was allowed the comfort of his own loyal friend before he died.  In 1888, Captain Christian Rath gave an interview to the newspapers about his legacy of being the conspirators’ executioner.  In part of the interview he stated, “I always regarded Harold as an unthinking boy – a spoiled child.  He was a great sportsman, though, fond of shooting, and the owner of a splendid pointer dog.  We kept the dog for him in the prison, and at his death he left it to Gen. Hartranft.”  If Rath’s memory is correct and true, then it is likely that Herold spent his last few days on Earth uniting with the creature he so expertly replicated in life.

Spangler Drawing Trial book

Edman Spangler survived the executions of July 7th.  Instead he was sentenced to 6 years in prison, a relative slap on the wrist compared to the sentences of the other conspirators.  Thomas Ewing, Jr., lawyer for Dr. Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Spangler, wrote a letter to his father dated the day of the execution.  In it, he described his continued efforts to gain the freedom of his clients through a writ of habeas corpus.  He also wrote the following, “They say Spangler was delighted at escaping hanging.  He sent a special request to Ford today to send him to prison his large testament, and his small dog!”  Whether Spangler was successful in acquiring his dog remains uncertain as there is no mention of it, or David Herold’s dog, in General Frederick Hartranft’s letterbook about his supervision of the Old Arsenal Prison.

I find it ironically appropriate that Spangler owned a “small” dog.  Years later, after his release from Fort Jefferson, Edman Spangler went to visit, and ultimately live with, his former cellmate, Dr. Mudd.  As Nettie Mudd wrote later in her book about her father, “A short time after Spangler’s release, he came to our home early one morning, and his greeting to my mother, after father had introduced him, was: ‘Mrs. Mudd, I came down last night, and asked some one to tell me the way here.  I followed the road, but when I arrived I was afraid of your dogs, and I roosted in a tree.'”  Clearly Spangler preferred his small dog over big ones like Dr. Mudd’s.

Arnold Drawing Trial Book

Samuel Arnold was imprisoned with Dr. Mudd, Spangler and Michael O’Laughlen at Fort Jefferson.  His later memoirs describe how painful and tortuous he found his imprisonment there.  With only rats and crabs as his animal companions, Arnold’s thoughts turned to his dog.  In a letter to his mother in 1867, Sam Arnold writes elegantly of his beloved pet:

“Keep my dog till he dies.  For my sake let him be treated well, and when dead bury him.  Erect a slab inscription, ‘A true friend,’ for he would never forsake me even should the whole world do so.  He loved me, even the ground I walked upon, and I loved him.  Poor Dash! We have forever parted.  Thou without a soul, yet did you love me, and thou art not forgotten.”

Samuel Arnold in later life, enjoying the company of another devoted dog.

Samuel Arnold in later life, enjoying the company of another devoted dog.

The connection between man and dog transcends guilt or innocence.  Whether its owner is a President or a criminal, a dog will stay by an owner who loves him.  Even the worst criminals can demonstrate their humanity by the way they treat their dogs.  In the midst of their confinement for the crime of the century, David Herold, Edman Spangler, and Samuel Arnold showed their humanity in this way.

References:
Mrs. Surratt’s Case, The Evening Repository, 2/16/1888
Thomas Ewing Family Papers, LOC
The Life of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd by Nettie Mudd
Memoirs of a Lincoln Conspirator by Michael Kauffman

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The Engravings of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Dave Taylor

During the months of April, May, June, and early July 1865, the front pages of the nation’s newspapers contained headlining information about the assassination, search, trial, and fate of the conspirators. Newspapers from across the nation sent correspondents to Washington to attend the trial of the conspirators in order to take down testimony and comment on the accused. With so many newspapers covering the same material, the big city newspapers found it necessary to differentiate their coverage to attract more readers. The Philadelphia Inquirer sought to set themselves apart by including engravings in their coverage of the events.

While newsworthy events had been photographed as early as the invention of the camera, it was impossible to reproduce the photographs in a newspaper until the 1880’s. Instead, photographs or drawings of events would have to be turned into engravings, a laborious and time consuming process, before they could then be printed alongside text. There were special illustrated magazines like Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Magazine that had pages filled with such historic engravings, but these were only published on a weekly basis. Additionally, the amount of time it took to create and complete a quality engraving of an event was about a week and a half, causing a measurable delay between an event and a published engraving of it.   Harper’s Weekly, for example, didn’t report on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln until their April 29th, issue because that is how long it took them to produce engravings of the characters and events.

The first engraving of John Wilkes Booth that appeared in the April 29th, 1865 issue of Harper's Weekly.

The first engraving of John Wilkes Booth that appeared in the April 29th, 1865 issue of Harper’s Weekly.

The more detailed the engraving was, the longer it took to make. As a daily newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer could not afford the time or money it would take to create incredibly detailed engravings to supplement their coverage of the trial. Instead they produced and published the following very basic engravings:

Philadelphia Inquirer page

April 17th, 1865: Booth Map Philly

April 28th, 1865:

Escape Map Philly

May 5th, 1865:

Corbett Philly

May 13th, 1865:

Arsenal Philly

May 19th, 1865:

Herold Philly

May 20th, 1865:

Powell Arnold Philly

May 22nd, 1865:

Courtroom Philly

June 26th, 1865:

Spangler Atzerodt Philly

June 27th, 1865:

Arnold O'Laughlen Philly

There are a few more engravings of people like Jefferson Davis and Lafayette Baker that I haven’t put up here in the interest of space and focus. I’m sure several of you are thinking, “I don’t have those newspapers, but I’ve seen those before.” For one, I have most of the above conspirators’ engravings in their respective Picture Galleries. However, practically all of these pictures were also published in a book that was advertised in The Philadelphia Inquirer on July 10th, 1865:

T.B. Peterson Transcript Advertisement Philly 2
Once the trial of the conspirators was over, there was a race to see who would be the first to publish the transcript of the trial in book form. The nation had been following the trial daily in the papers and there was money to be made by the first publisher who could provide a permanent book version of it. The publisher T. B. Peterson and Brothers was the first to bring a trial transcript book to the market debuting it only three days after the execution of four of the conspirators. Peterson’s edition is called, The Trial of the [alleged] Assassins and Conspirators at Washington City, D.C., May and June, 1865, for the murder of President Abraham Lincoln.  The swiftness of this publication was due to the cooperation Peterson received from The Philadelphia Inquirer. Essentially, the Peterson copy of the trial is a direct copy of The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s coverage of the trial in book form. They acknowledge this on the first page of the book stating that, “The whole being complete and unabridged in this volume, being prepared on the spot by the Special Correspondents and Reporters of the Philadelphia Daily Inquirer, expressly for this edition.” Along with the text, Peterson included the Inquirer’s engravings above.

Though not a verbatim account as it was advertised, the Peterson version of the trial provides unique details not found in the other two editions of the trial. Peterson copied over the Inquirer reporters’ accounts of the courtroom and the little asides and actions of the conspirators during the proceedings. Though Peterson’s edition is the low man on the totem pole when it comes to use in research, those courtroom gems and the engravings still make it worth reading and consulting from time to time.

There is, however, one engraving from the Inquirer that I posted above that did not make its way into Peterson’s book. It is this engraving of “Samuel C. Arnold”:
Samuel C Arnold Philly

I can understand why Peterson did not include this engraving. It looks nothing like the real Samuel B. Arnold. At first, I just assumed it was a bad engraving from a poor artist (not unlike another questionable image of Sam we’ve discussed previously). However, when compared with the engraving of John Surratt from the wanted poster, it appears that was supposed to be the subject all along:
John Surratt Wanted Poster and Samuel C Arnold engraving Philly
It seems clear that the engraver used this image of John Surratt as his guide. Though flipped, the hair, features, and clothes match perfectly. Whether this misidentification occurred during the printing of the newspapers or before then, I cannot say. Regardless, it appears that Peterson noticed the discrepancy before publishing his edition of the trial and scratched the engraving entirely.

Photojournalism is something we take for granted today. Back in 1865, however, it took an immense amount of time and effort to provide readers with visuals to complement the written word.

References:
The Philadelphia Inquirer Online Civil War Collection
The Trial of the [alleged] Assassins and Conspirators at Washington City, D.C., May and June, 1865, for the murder of President Abraham Lincoln by T. B. Peterson and Brothers

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The Surratts – Society Members

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Dave Taylor

While looking through the illustrated souvenir book, Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers’ Home, Pikesville, Maryland complied by Capt. George W. Booth, I came across a few names I recognized.  The book contains not only a history of the Pikesville Soldiers’ Home, but also the muster rolls for the various Confederate Maryland companies during the Civil War.  It gives the names of conspirators Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlen, who served in the 1st Maryland Infantry, companies C and D respectively.  At the end of the souvenir booklet is a roster of those veterans who became members of the Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in the state of Maryland:

Roster Confederate Marylanders

Here we see the Arnold brothers, Sam and Charles, who both served in Company C of the 1st Maryland Infantry.  Conspirator George Atzerodt’s brother Henry, who went by Harry, became a member as well.  Thomas A. Jones, the man who hid Booth and Herold in the pine thicket and sent them across the Potomac river, was also a member of the society due to the endorsement of his superior Colonel William Norris.  On Thomas Jones’ application for membership into the society Norris wrote:

“I certify, on honor, that I know of my own personal knowledge, that the above applicant served honorably in the Army or Navy of the Confederate States as Chief Agent of the Secret Service Bureau in Maryland where his unpaid services were of incalculable value to the Confederate States in keeping open the most thoroughly reliable path of communication through the Yankee line for 2 1/2 years…during which time the man lived under Yankee fire…”

Finishing up those familiar members are the Surratts, John and Issac. Isaac wasn’t paroled until September of 1865, assumingly having learned about his mother’s fate long after she had been executed. John, of course, was the longest lived of all the Lincoln assassination conspirators as his trial ended in a hung jury.  Though he lived to 1916, he was not the last surviving member on this list.  That honor goes to Harry Atzerodt who died in 1936 at the age of 91.

References:
Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers’ Home, Pikesville, Maryland complied by Capt. George W. Booth
Thomas A. Jones – Chief Agent of the Confederate Secret Service in Maryland by John and Roberta Wearmouth

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A Thank You from Spangler

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Dave Taylor

Though sentenced to 6 years in prison (a relative slap on the wrist compared to the execution and life sentences conveyed on the other accused), alleged conspirator Edman Spangler was blessed with the support of a man who continued to fight for his freedom – John Thompson Ford. Ford always believed his employee was completely innocent of any wrong doing. John T. Ford fought valiantly to help Spangler secure his freedom and even put up his own money to publish his defense testimony. While imprisoned on the Dry Tortugas, Spangler wrote the following letter to Ford, which was accompanied with several boxes, to thank him for his continued help:

“Mr. John T. Ford
Baltimore City
Md.
Sir.
I have again sent a box to your care, containing articles to be distributed to my and my roomates friends, which please deliver as directed. You will find a box marked for yourself, also a Cribbage board for yourself, Harry and Dick, each bearing labeled the name to whom they are for. I also send a box for my sister which please forward as directed thereon. Please notify O Laughlins and Arnolds family of the articles for them, which are a small box, directed to each of their familys, and also Cribbage boards apiece for each. Dr. Mudd sends a Cribbage Board which please deliver to his friend Mr. Dyer. Upon the receipt of the box please notify me of it. I trust you will be pleased with the things as I have endeavored to my utmost to make them so. The gift tis true is not much, but a heart of gratitude prompts the bearing of the gift.
We are all well with the exception of Arnold who looks very badly, but receives every kindness both from the officers and soldiers of the Command, which he is grateful for, and which we appreciate. I trust something soon will turn up, for my good and the good of all of us. I see by the papers the prosecution against Surratt are looking for a woman in N.Y. as a witness in his trial – perhaps it is Mrs. Hudspeth, whom Arnold has mentioned to me to write you of, as you know something in regard to her former testimony as told him by his and O Laughlins counsel. Please forward me the National Intelligencer as we are devoid of any paper matter. I have never received the Baltimore Sun since here, and as O Laughlin has that sent, I would be thankful if you would send me the above named paper. I am making a portable ladies writing desk and wish to know the initials of the name you wish placed on it, as the desk is intended for you. Trusting you will still remember me, and this will find you well, I close awaiting your reply.
Yours, etc.
Edman Spangler”

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Though the exact date of this letter is not given, it is assumedly written in mid 1867, before or during John Surratt’s trial but before Michael O’Laughlen’s death from Yellow Fever in September.

This letter provides us with a good view of the boredom that must have permeated the daily lives of the imprisoned conspirators at Fort Jefferson. With nothing else to do, Spangler was a veritable factory of cribbage boards and other carpentry items, spending his days keeping himself busy and purposeful. The desire for newspapers was strong and it appears each issue of the Baltimore Sun provided by the O’Laughlens was a treasured commodity to all the men. It was this desire for news that led Michael O’Laughlen to disobey Dr. Mudd’s advice when the former was suffering from Yellow Fever. As Dr. Mudd wrote of O’Laughlen’s illness:

“He had passed the first stage of the disease and was apparently convalescent, but, contrary to my earnest advice, he got out of bed a short time after I left in the morning, and was walking about the room looking over some periodicals the greater part of the day. In the evening, about five o’clock, a sudden collapse of the vital powers took place, which in thirty-six hours after terminated his life. He seemed all at once conscious of his impending fate, and the first warning I had of his condition was his exclamation, “Doctor, Doctor, you must tell my mother all!” He called then Edward Spangler, who was present, and extending his hand he said, “Good-by, Ned.” These were his last words of consciousness.”

Due to the continued persistence of people like John T. Ford and the Mudd family, the three remaining Lincoln assassination conspirators, Dr. Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Edman Spangler, would secure their pardons in the final days of Andrew Johnson’s presidency in 1869.

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References:
John Thompson Ford Papers at the Library of Congress
Robert Summers’ Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Research site
The Art Loux Archive

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Sam Arnold’s Home near Friendship, MD

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Dave Taylor

Samuel Bland Arnold, a conspirator in the kidnapping plot against Abraham Lincoln, was pardoned and released from his imprisonment at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas in February of 1869. After his release, Sam attempted to return to the life he had known by going home to Baltimore. The transition, predictably, wasn’t easy. Sam had difficulty finding employment in the city due to his connection with Lincoln’s assassination. He worked in his father’s bakery for a time, but the business itself had never recovered from the cost of Sam’s legal fees. By 1883, Sam became his own employer by entering the occupation of a butcher. From 1883 to 1896, Sam Arnold the butcher lived at various residences in Baltimore, selling his meats from a market stall in the Fell’s Point neighborhood. Then, in 1896, he up and moved out of Baltimore and found a home in southern Anne Arundel County near Friendship, Maryland.

Sam Arnold 1902

The farm that Sam Arnold moved to belonged to a family by the name of Garner. As a young boy, Arnold was educated at St. Timothy’s. This is the same school where he met John Wilkes Booth for the first time and their friendship began. In addition to young Booth, Sam had befriended another student named Robert Garner. Sam became very fond of the Garners and even went so far as to call Robert Garner’s mother, Anne Garner, “a second mother to me.” Mrs. Garner died in Baltimore in 1894, and it is likely that Sam reconnected with the Garners after her death. When he moved to the Garner farm in 1896, he was employed by Mrs. Garner’s daughter as the farm manager. Here, he found the seclusion and isolation he had probably desired for years. Sam wrote his memoirs, but claimed they would not be published until he was dead. He lived a hermit’s life, tending to his favored friends, the animals.

Arnold and his dog in 1902

Arnold and his Feathered Friends 1902

As I’ve written previously, Arnold was motivated to release his memoirs ahead of schedule after reading of his own death and reactions to it in the newspapers. Though it took some prodding and a lot of correspondence on the Baltimore American newspaper’s part, Sam finally consented to let them run his memoirs in December of 1902. In preparation for the serial, the Baltimore American sent out a person to interview and photograph Sam Arnold at his residence. These pictures of Sam, his house, his dog, and his feathered friends appeared alongside his story.

Arnold's House in 1902

Sam’s account was serialized and published in the American and other newspapers across the country garnering great interest. Still, Sam Arnold remained on his secluded farm leaving only to visit his brother in Baltimore from time to time, and when he required medical assistance at Johns Hopkins after fracturing his hip in a fall in 1904. Sam stayed on the farm until the end was in sight, finally traveling to the home of his sister-in-law when consumption had all but finished him. It was at her house in Baltimore that he died on September 21st, 1906.

Practically all of the above comes from the research of Percy “Pep” Martin who has done a tremendous amount of research of Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, and other Baltimore connections to the assassination. His research was shared with me thanks to Art Loux. While going through Art’s file on Arnold, I found that, in 1980, Mr. Martin had found and traveled to the farmhouse where Sam Arnold resided near Friendship, MD. Address in hand, today I tracked down and visited Sam Arnold’s residence off of Fairhaven Road in Tracys Landing, MD. Here is a video and some pictures we took of the house:

Arnold's House 2013 1

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Arnold's House 2013 3

Arnold's House 2013 5

As mentioned in the video, the house is currently up for sale (though under contract, I believe), and so here are some more pictures of the house from the real estate website:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It is amazing to me how relatively unchanged the house appears from the image of it in the Baltimore American taken over 110 years ago:

Arnold's-House-Then-and-Now

References:
Memoirs of a Lincoln Conspirator by Samuel Bland Arnold edited by Michael Kauffman
Baltimorean in Big Trouble: Samuel Arnold, A Lincoln Conspirator by Percy E. Martin, History Trails, Autumn 1990 – Spring 1991
Art Loux Archive

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New Gallery – Samuel Arnold

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Dave Taylor

One of the eight individuals tried for conspiracy in Lincoln’s assassination, Samuel Bland Arnold received a sentence of life imprisonment for his involvement in John Wilkes Booth’s initial abduction plot.  Arnold was one of Booth’s boyhood friends from his school days in Baltimore, and had served in the service of the Confederacy early in the war.  When Booth introduced Arnold to another boyhood friend of his, Michael O’Laughlen, the two joined Booth’s conspiracy to capture Abraham Lincoln and ferry him south.  Arnold later became disenfranchised with Booth and his grandiose scheme, and left Washington to take a job in Virginia a few weeks before the assassination.  He was found out and arrested when investigators found an incriminating letter in Booth’s papers addressed from “Sam”.  He served almost four years imprisonment at Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas before being pardoned by Andrew Johnson.  From then on he lived the quiet life of a hermit.  In 1902, he finally allowed his version of the story to be told.

I hope you enjoy this new Picture Gallery of images relating to Samuel Arnold.

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Baltimore Cemeteries

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Dave Taylor

Here’s a quick photo post from my phone before I head back from a day in Baltimore. I stopped by three Baltimorean cemeteries today, Green Mount, St. Paul’s, and Loudon Park. This was my first visit to the last two. I brought along my camera but did not charge it before I left. It died after taking pictures of the Booth plot in Green Mount. What follows are some the pictures I had to take on my phone. I hope you like them:

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The Booth family plot in Green Mount.

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Samuel Arnold’s grave in Green Mount. His mother is buried in the same plot.

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The O’Laughlen family marker in Green Mount. Michael is buried here with his father, infant brother, sister and probably other family members not marked on the stone.

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The unmarked plot of the Taubert family in St. Paul’s cemetery in Druid Hill Park. Here is where family members of George Atzerodt are buried including his mother, sister, brother in law, and his nieces and nephews. It was once thought that George Atzerodt was also buried here, but recent research on this site has determined this to be incorrect.

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Section and the approximate area in which John C. Atzerodt is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery. John was George’s brother and a detective who investigated his brother’s involvement. John is the one who received his brother’s body upon its release in 1869. The section in which John is buried is one of individual plots and sparsely marked. A thorough search of the area was conducted but no marker for John was discovered.

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