Dr. Samuel Mudd

[Jim Klag]

December 20, 1833 - Samuel Mudd, American physician (imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth), born in Charles Country, Maryland (d. 1833)

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd: The Man Who Helped J. Wilkes Booth Assassinate Lincoln

When John Wilkes Booth knocked on Dr. Samuel Mudd's front door, he knew he had a friend who would help him assassinate the president.

www.historynet.com

 

[diane]

That's where the saying, "Your name's mud" came from! Never have been that certain he was guilty. Here's an interesting article about how the doctor was freed from a life sentence after serving only four years - he was of immense service in helping through a yellow fever epidemic at the Florida prison where he was held.

How Samuel Mudd Went From Lincoln Conspirator to Medical Savior

Banished to an island prison in the Gulf of Mexico, the doctor who set Booth’s broken leg saved dozens of lives in a yellow fever outbreak

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Jim Klag]

That's where the saying, "Your name's mud" came from! Never have been that certain he was guilty. Here's an interesting article about how the doctor was freed from a life sentence after serving only four years - he was of immense service in helping through a yellow fever epidemic at the Florida prison where he was held.

How Samuel Mudd Went From Lincoln Conspirator to Medical Savior

Banished to an island prison in the Gulf of Mexico, the doctor who set Booth’s broken leg saved dozens of lives in a yellow fever outbreak

www.smithsonianmag.com

I've never had any doubt he was, at least, a co-conspirator. He definitely knew Booth and had met with him at least twice to make plans. Maybe a life sentence was a little harsh but he was not innocent. He mitigated his punishment with his yellow fever fight and received a pardon from Johnson. But he was not wrongly convicted.

 

[diane]

I've never had any doubt he was, at least, a co-conspirator. He definitely knew Booth and had met with him at least twice to make plans. Maybe a life sentence was a little harsh but he was not innocent. He mitigated his punishment with his yellow fever fight and received a pardon from Johnson. But he was not wrongly convicted.

That's kind of how I see it, like Mary Surrat. It seems that she was more than just the landlady, but it may be her son - who escaped - was the one who should have been hung.

I'm not sure Dr Mudd was in it as deeply as it seems, nor was he as innocent as he claimed! Booth - let's face it, the guy was a lousy mastermind. Lewis Powell, a trained soldier, was the only one who completely carried out his part. Darn near cleaned out Seward's whole household! The others were nearly the Keystone Kops. Booth was a fine actor but a very poor spook, very poor judge of people. And a bit stupid himself. He should have known better than to stalk the Grants but Julia saw him twice following her.

 

[Jim Klag]

may be her son - who escaped - was the one who should have been hung.

Yes. Mary might have been substituted for her son, John, on the gallows. Some Surrat had to hang!

 

[O' Be Joyful]

Although he inclines toward purple prose in his more dramatic moments ("The deed was done. The tyrant was killed. Abraham Lincoln could burn in hell. Sic semper tyrannis!"), his theory is forthrightly and convincingly presented. Less a book for professional historians than U.S. history buffs and Lincoln diehards, this engaging exposé makes for provocative reading.

BLOOD ON THE MOON: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Edward Steers, Jr.

"Hurrah! Old Abe Lincoln has been assassinated!" wrote a South Carolina girl in her diary in 1865, giving palpable voice...

www.publishersweekly.com

 

[O' Be Joyful]

Guilty as HELL.

https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-3862

 

[diane]

That's a good book - and its companion Bloody Crimes!

 

[O' Be Joyful]

its companion Bloody Crimes!

I've read em both. I give 'em both...

Bloody Crimes - James L. Swanson

In Bloody Crimes, James L. Swanson—the Edgar® Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt—brings to life two epic events of the Civil Wa...

www.harperacademic.com

 

[diane]

Bloody Crimes was the first time I'd seen what was going on with Lincoln's funeral, and the total chaos at the end of the war. No wonder Stanton was worried about an unstable general with a dog-loyal army sitting outside Washington! Most biographies end with Lincoln still in the bed at the boarding house, or a quick there was a train trip back home, but I'd never seen the performances and events that were set up for his arrival in each town.