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Rewatching Manhunt (2024) with my parents. (their 1st time, my second).

My older brother comes into the room, as he's helping around the house, and watches a scene between Booth and David Herold (the one where booth recites something to Herold, if you're wondering.) Before he leaves, he gets my attention and mouths "Are they..?" then does the gay hand. I nodded, then quietly told him that Booth called out for Herold as he died.

Also, I got to see favorite nurse that works at my dentist yesterday after like 2 years, as she only works three days a week on certain days. I scheduled my next appointment for a day she works so we can continue our conversation on horror. (We both have adhd)

#manhunt 2024 #john wilkes booth #david herold #anthony boyle #alouiadina #dentist #nurse #adhd

The Other Lincoln Assassination Conspirators

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was not intended to be an isolated murder of the president. It was carried out as part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize the United States government by murdering its top three officials: President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. John Wilkes Booth, the leader of the conspiracy, succeeded in assassinating the president. The other intended assassinations failed. Nonetheless, eight conspirators were tried before a Military Commission beginning on May 10, 1865, for their roles in the assassination conspiracy. (A ninth, John Surratt, fled the country.) Who were the eight people who stood trial?

Six men were directly linked to John Wilkes Booth’s conspiracy and actions on the night of April 14th: Samuel Arnold, Edmund Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell [aka Payne], and David Herold.

Samuel Arnold (1834-1906) had attended school with Booth. The two men remained friends, and Booth recruited Arnold to join a plot to kidnap Lincoln and take him to Richmond as a hostage to be exchanged for Confederate prisoners. Arnold enthusiastically supported the kidnap plan, but when that plan fell through, he left Washington and was not in the city on the night of April 14th. He had, however, written a letter to Booth in late March that stated, “None, no, not one were more in favor of the enterprise than myself.” Arnold’s lawyer argued that “the enterprise” Arnold supported was the proposed kidnapping not the assassination. The Military Commission did not agree and found Arnold guilty of conspiracy to assassinate the president. Arnold was sentenced to life in prison, but he was pardoned in 1869 by President Andrew Johnson. He died of tuberculosis in 1906.

Edmund Spangler (1825-1875) was employed as a scene shifter and carpenter at Ford’s Theatre, where he became acquainted with Booth and often tended the actor’s horse when Booth was in the theater. That is what Booth asked Spangler to do the night of April 14th. That night Spangler handed that duty over to Joseph Burroughs. But after Booth shot Lincoln and ran out the back door of the theater to his horse, Spangler was accused by others at the theater of not stopping the assassin as he ran out and telling people to say nothing about Booth’s escape. His lawyer argued that Spangler had not known Booth’s intentions, but the court found him guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison. He was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869 and spent the rest of his life in Maryland on five acres given to him by Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Michael O’Laughlen (1840-1867) was Booth’s Baltimore neighbor and childhood friend. He fought in the Confederate army briefly and then returned to Baltimore. In 1864 Booth recruited him for the kidnapping plot. Although it’s not clear what role he might have had in the conspiracy to kill Lincoln, he surrendered voluntarily to federal authorities on April 17th. At the trial, prosecution witnesses claimed that O’Laughlen had been seen before the assassination at Secretary of War Edwin Stanton’s house asking about the secretary’s whereabouts. His defense claimed he has spent the night of the 14th wandering Washington and drinking. O’Laughlen was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, Florida, where he died during a yellow fever epidemic in 1867.

George Atzerodt (1843-1865) had actively supported the Confederacy during the war by ferrying Confederate spies across the Potomac. He was a carriage repairman by trade and had been recruited by Booth to join the kidnapping plot. When the plot turned to assassination, Booth assigned Atzerodt the job of assassinating Vice President Johnson. On April 14th the would-be assassin checked in to Johnson’s hotel where he stashed a revolver and bowie knife in his room. He then proceeded to the hotel bar where he asked a bartender about Johnson’s whereabouts and began drinking to build up his courage. He never looked for Johnson but visited at least one other hotel bar, got drunk, and spent the night wandering around Washington. A search of Atzerodt’s room on April 15th made him a prime conspiracy suspect. He was arrested on April 20th. Although his lawyer called witnesses who confirmed that Atzerodt was a “notorious coward” unable to assassinate anyone, Atzerodt was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to death. He was hanged on July 7, 1865.

Lewis Powell (1844-1865), also known as Lewis Payne, joined the Confederate army at age 17, was wounded at Gettysburg, captured, and transferred to a hospital in Baltimore. He escaped from the hospital, joined the Confederate Mosby’s Rangers, and became involved with the Confederate Secret Service. By January 1865, Powell had returned to Baltimore, claiming to be a deserter, and taken the Oath of Allegiance to the Union under the name Lewis Payne. He was introduced to Booth by John Surratt, and Booth recruited him to provide the muscle for the original plot to kidnap Lincoln. Booth then assigned Powell to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Powell very nearly succeeded, forcing his way into Seward’s house and severely injuring Seward’s son, his bodyguard, and Seward himself. He then escaped but was arrested two days later at Mary Surratt’s boardinghouse. At his trial, Powell’s lawyer argued that he was a delusional and misguided “fanatic” whose life should be spared. It was not—Powell was found guilty and hanged on July 7, 1865.

David Herold (1842-1865), a pharmacy clerk in Washington, D.C., had been a schoolmate of John Surratt, who introduced him to Booth in 1864. Booth recruited him for the kidnapping plot, and he remained a conspirator when the plot turned to assassination. On the night of April 14th, Herold went with Lewis Powell to Secretary Seward’s house. While Powell was inside attacking Seward, Herold was supposed to stand outside and hold Powell’s horse. But he lost his nerve and abandoned Powell, leaving the horse tied to a tree. He made his way to Maryland where he met up with Booth. The two men went first to Surrattville to retrieve weapons hidden there and then on to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth’s broken leg. Herold and Booth remained on the run until April 26th when Union cavalry trapped them in a barn on Richard Henry Garrett’s farm. Herold surrendered when soldiers set the barn on fire. Since Herold had declared “We are the assassinators of the President” as he passed the guard on the bridge to Maryland, there was little doubt about the outcome of his trial. His lawyer attempted to portray Harold as simple—possibly simple-minded—“boyish” and easily influenced by the sophisticated Booth who “exercised unlimited control over this miserable boy, body and soul.” The argument failed to save Herold from a guilty verdict and death sentence. He was hanged on July 7, 1865.

In addition to the six men recruited by Booth, Dr. Samuel Mudd and Mary Surratt were accused of aiding the conspirators. Their roles in the assassination conspiracy were controversial at the time and have remained so ever since.

Dr. Samuel Mudd (1833-1883) practiced medicine on his farm outside Bryantown, Maryland. He supported the Confederacy and was open about his dislike of the Lincoln administration. Early on the morning of April 15th, Booth and Herold arrived at Mudd’s farm, and the doctor set Booth’s broken leg. He then had crutches made for Booth and directed the two fugitives to their next destination. When soldiers arrived in pursuit of Booth, Mudd claimed he had not known the man whose leg he had set and did not recognize photographs of Booth. At his trial, a number of witnesses testified that Mudd knew and associated with both John Surratt and Booth before the assassination. The prosecution argued that the doctor had aided the conspiracy by treating the injured Booth and directing him further along his escape route. Mudd was convicted and sentenced to life in prison at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, Florida. Mudd’s actions treating inmates and staff at the prison during the 1867 yellow fever epidemic helped earn him a pardon from President Andrew Johnson in 1867. After his release, Mudd returned to Maryland where he died of pneumonia in 1883.

Mary Surratt (1823-1865) owned a boardinghouse in Washington where Booth visited quite often and the conspirators met. Her son, John Surratt, was a Confederate agent and a conspirator. She also owned a tavern in Surrattsville, where she had told her tenant to hide weapons for later pick up and where she met and talked with Booth on April 14th. Booth also appeared at her Washington boardinghouse early on the evening of April 14th, and he and Herold retrieved the hidden weapons from her tavern later that night as they made their escape. Powell appeared at the boardinghouse late on the night of April 17th while federal investigators were interviewing her. Mary Surratt was arrested following that interview. At her trial she was found guilty and sentenced to death. Five of the nine Commissioners who heard her case recommended that President Andrew Johnson reduce her sentence to life in prison, but Johnson refused. Mary Surratt was hanged on July 7, 1865—the first woman executed by the United States government.

#Lincoln Assassination #Lincoln Conspirators #Samuel Arnold #Edmund Spangler #Michael O’Laughlen #George Atzerodt #lewis powell #David Herold #Dr. Samuel Mudd #Mary Surratt

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David Herold

Photo credit: Alexander Gardner

David Herold, one of the conspirators in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, photographed at the Washington Navy Yard after his arrest in 1865. Herold assisted John Wilkes Booth to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, where Booth's broken leg (sustained after jumping from the balcony of Ford's Theatre) was set. He remained with Booth and continually aided him until the authorities caught up with them. Herold surrendered to the police, but Booth refused to lay down his arms and was shot dead. Herold was later hanged for his role in the plot.

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