Posted on 10/23/2017 5:58:25 PM PDT by mairdie
Killers in color: Fascinating images bring to life the team who plotted the theater assassination of Lincoln to revive the Confederate cause.
The 16th President of the United States was shot dead at the theater by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
Each conspirator was assigned a different role in the comprehensive assassination attempt of several high-profile government members.
Edmund Spangler helped Booth escape but he was spared death because he didn't know about the assassination in advance. Booth was shot by Union forces after a dramatic 12-day manhunt led by David Herold.
Powell had been responsible for the bungled assassination attempt of the Secretary of State, William Seward on the same night.
Atzerodt had been planning an attempt of the life of the Vice President, Andrew Johnson, but is said to have lost his nerve.
The conspirators met in a Washington boarding house owned by Mary Surratt. Their trial ended on June 30 with Surratt, Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt all sentenced to death.
They were given a military trial as opposed to a civilian one, though, with much controversy over the way in which it was handled.
'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, a lower level of proof was required to convict than in civilian courts, and only a majority verdict among jurors was required for the death sentence to be imposed,' says author Michael D. Carroll....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Like many others of the Civil War era, ggf spent his life defending friends - Judge Holt and General Hancock, who did not turn Mary Surratt over when she was requested. He gave talks around the country on the topic. He was later appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Bingham, Holt, Burnett
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.
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One of the colorists is a very young woman from Brazil named Marina Amaral. In my opinion she is the best out there.
I know how to restore antique / vintage photos like she does. But what she can do with color is amazing.
She recently colorized a number of Auschwitz photos of children which were astounding.
I follow her on Twitter and always look forward to her updates. She does work for people who want their family photos restored and colored.
Interesting to see these old photos colorized. I’ve seen others of old New York. It definitely gives the images far more life.
Great work on the part of the colorist. I remember looking through the door of Lincoln’s box at Ford’s theater when a group of officials stepped out and I as a visitor was walking past. They wouldn’t let you get any closer.
I got a call from that theater asking if one of the park rangers could play ggf. Never got to see it though.
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.
https://photocolorizing.wordpress.com/tag/lincoln-funeral/
The picture shows Teddy Roosevelt, age 6 1/2 , and his brother Elliot, age 4, in the window of their home overlooking Lincolns funeral procession as it went through New York City on April 25, 1865.
http://abrahamlincolnblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/lincolns-funeral-in-new-york.html
Actually the home was Teddy Roosevelt’s grandfather’s home at the time.
I’ve never seen this. That’s absolutely amazing. WOW! THANK YOU!!!!!! That is absolutely exciting to see. Two pieces of history come together. WOW!
From GGF’s Memories:
The gloom of that journey to Washington and the feeling of vague terror and sorrow with which I traversed its streets, I cannot adequately describe, and shall never forget. To this day, I never visit that City without some shadow of that dark time settling over my spirit. All the public buildings and a large portion of the private houses were heavily draped in black. The people moved about the streets with bowed heads and sorrow-stricken faces, as though some Herod had robbed each home of its first born.
When men spoke to each other in the streets, there were tremulous tones in their voices, and a quivering of the lips, as though tears and violent expression of grief were held back only by great effort. In the faces of those in authority — Cabinet ministers, officers of the army, — there was an anxious expression of the eye as though a dagger’s gleam in a strange hand was to be expected; and a pale determined expression, a set of the jaw that said: “The truth about this conspiracy shall be made clear and the assassins found and punished: we will stand guard and the Government shall not die.”
For no ruler who ever lived, I venture to say, not excepting Washington himself, was the love of the people so strong, so peculiarly personal and tender, as for Abraham Lincoln. Especially was this so among the soldiers; all members of the old army will remember with what devotion and patriotic affection the boys used to shout and sing, “We are coming, Father Abraham!” and will remember what a personal and confiding sort of relation seemed to exist between the soldier boys and “Uncle Abe”, and how those brave soldiers — veterans of four years of terrible war, inured to hardship, to sickness and wounds, familiar with the face of death — wept like little children when told that “Uncle Abe” was dead.
Great photo. If only there was one of the young Ronald Reagan meeting with Thomas Jefferson...but Jefferson died before photography was invented.
You need to suggest the idea to one of the new generation of photo-realistic artists. They are truly magnificent.
What about a gif of a Thomas Jefferson portrait, over Ronald Reagan’s shoulder, smiling like a scene in Dumbledore’s office?
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