Great photos.
The Lincoln assassination was a field day for 19th century conspiracy theorists.
One of the favorites was that Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and some of his fellow Radical Republicans were behind the assassination. Lincoln was too much of a moderate for them.
“The trial, under military jurisdiction, was controversial in that the defence for the accused was not given time to prepare, the accused were forbidden from testifying in their own defence...”
Presumably they were not allowed to talk to one another, or to speak with counsel, in order to prevent them from talking about the conspiracy and revealing the possible involvement of people in government. Hence also the quick way which they were disposed of.
It is always debatable whether Booth got away...
GGF on Stanton:
Early in my work I had a personal experience with Secretary Stanton which illustrates some of his characteristics. Almost immediately after the commencing my investigation, I learned that a Mr. Weichman and a Mr. Hollahan, who had been boarders with Mrs. Suratt, had been sent by the Secretary to Canada to find John H. Surratt, whom the Secretary believed to have been one of the conspirators, and if possible to bring him back to Washington. A few days after learning this fact, two men appeared at my office in the War Department, and announced themselves as Weichman and Hollahan. I wrote their names on a card and went to the Secretary, announced their arrival and asked for instructions.
He was busy and very briefly said, “Take their statements and have them report from day to day.” This I wrote on the card and returned to my office. I then had their statements taken down stenographically and instructed them to report from day to day.
That evening, I should think about 12 o’clock, a messenger appeared at my room at Willard’s Hotel, a Mr. Olcott, a Special Agent then at work on this investigation, and said to me, “The Secretary wants you, and the devil is to pay.” I said, “What is it?” He answered, “I don’t know, but he is in a terrible temper.”
When I appeared before him, he was walking up and down his office apparently in a great state of excitement, and burst out with, “I hear that Weichman and Hollahan were in your office today, and that you let them go.” I said, “Yes, Mr. Secretary, but..” I got no further when he broke in with, “You had no business to let these men go. They are some of the conspirators, and you have them here at this office by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning, or I will deal with you.” I again commenced, “But Mr. Secretary...” (intending to add that it was by his instruction) but he interrupted by saying, “Not a word, sir, you have those men here by tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock.”
I saw there was no use to attempt any controversy with him or explain, so turned back and went into my office, a good deal dismayed and disheartened. I sat down at my desk, thinking what I should do. I then recalled one of the military maxims, that where a grave and important duty is imposed by a superior, the power is always equal to the duty, and immediately wrote out an order to General Augur, who was then in command of the District at Washington, to at once detail a regiment to command and guard all the usual modes of ingress and egress to Washington, to examine every person who department therefrom during the night or in the morning until further orders, and to carefully inspect each person departing in order to find and bring to the War Department the next morning by 8 o’clock the two men Weichman and Hollahan, giving as near as I could a careful description of their persons. I further ordered him to detail two Companies to report at once to me at the war Department for duty, and signed the same by order of the Secretary of War.
When these Companies arrived, I divided them into squads of ten each, in command of either a commissioned or non-commissioned officer, and commence at the Georgetown Bridge to ring up and examine all the occupants in each house on each street leading to the Capitol, except of course, the residences of foreign diplomats and cabinet ministers, taking charge myself of one squad and one street. I directed them to report tome at Willards at 7 o’clock in the morning. At 7 o’clock all my squads reported to me and reported an utter failure.
I then started up to the War Department as disheartened and discouraged a man as you could have found in the City of Washington to report to the Secretary and take my medicine. Just as I was passing along diagonally in front of the Presidential Mansion, and nearly opposite General Augur’s Headquarters, I nearly ran into a man, and looking up discovered it was Weichman. I was almost overcome with conflicting emotions, threw my arms about him for a moment and then linked my arm in his, and said “Come with me.” He was considerably surprised at my agitation, but made no objection, and we walked up towards the War Department.
I inquired where he had slept the night before, and where Hollahan was. He said that as he had formerly been employed as a clerk in the Quartermaster General’s Office, some of the Clerks had tendered bunks to himself and Hollahan for the night and they had both slept there. (It had never entered my head the night before to examine the military offices of the Government.)
As soon as I reached my room, I sent an orderly over to the Quartermaster Department, and he returned almost immediately with Hollahan.
Stanton Putting them both in my room and putting a sentinel at the door so that they should not vanish, I took the card that I had taken with me in my interview the day before with Mr. Stanton, and went into his room. It was then just about 8 o’clock. As I came in, Mr. Stanton who was then seated at his desk, looked up and said, “Well have you those men?” I said, “Yes, Mr. Secretary, they are in my office.” His whole manner and countenance changed from that of a grim sort of ill-nature to that of a pleased smile.
Burnett I was then a good deal aroused and indignant, and I turned upon him and said, “And now, Mr. Stanton, I am through with service under you and I beg here and now to tender my resignation to take effect immediately. You would have condemned and disgraced me without a hearing for obeying your own order, and I am damned if I will serve further under any such man. here is the card I brought into you yesterday on which the names of these two witnesses were written, whose names I gave distinctly to you, and on it I wrote the order you gave me, namely, to take their statements, let them go, and have them report from day to day. Here it is, and this order I implicitly obeyed, now I am through with you and with the service.”
He got up from his desk, came over to where I was standing, placed one hand on my should and said, “General, I ask your pardon. I was wrong, but remember the great strain I am under in trying to save the country. In seeking to achieve the best and the public rights, sometimes individual right goes down. I am doing the best I can with all the power with which God has endowed me to save our country. Forget this matter and go back and go on with your work and help me in the great work I am trying to do.”
Thus ended the matter so far as I was concerned, and I went on with my work.
I think that Stanton was a target of conspiracy theorists because he would have become President if Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward, had all been murdered as Booth planned. In fact, he was a close friend of Lincoln, and none of Lincoln’s intimates believed that Stanton was involved.
Family members behind the Lincoln assassination also killed Garfield and McKinley and shot Teddy Roosevelt and killed JFK and RFK and wounded Reagan. Family of killers known as socialists and democrats.
The real reason Booth shot Lincoln?
Lincoln had been heckling and booing.