Howsoever, in my prior post I had quoted a certain "Goodrich". Apparently he has written a book, "Darkest Dawn Lincoln, Booth, and the Great American Tragedy" By Thomas Goodrich
See below, from a review:
"Goodrich tells the well-worn story of Booth's assassination of Lincoln, and his subsequent capture and death. He also traces the response of major political leaders like Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, on whose authority hundreds of citizens-many of whom had nothing to do with the assassination-were arrested and imprisoned in a climate of anger and suspicion. But what makes the book particularly valuable and interesting is the author's focus upon the emotional and often violent reactions of ordinary people. In locales North and South, citizens expressing sympathy with Booth or satisfaction with Lincoln's assassination were likely to find their lives quickly ended by griefstricken, angry fellow citizens. Among the many acts of summary retribution were shootings and bayonettings by aggrieved Federal soldiers. But ordinary citizens were no slower to shoot, hang, drown, or even butcher those who lacked the proper attitude of respect and mourning. In some locales, mobs descended on the homes of those not exhibiting sufficient ccoutrements of mourning in their windows."
As for the excuse by slaveholders that they couldn't work outdoors, they would have had no explanation for the fact that most white Southerners were in fact working outdoors. It's just that, as a class, the slaveholders had over time lost confidence in their ability to work outdoors. Dependency leads to indolence and the governing (slaveholding) class had become almost entirely dependent upon their slaves for their daily needs. There were some exceptions and some exceptional people (e.g., Robert E. Lee), but for the most part the South's leadership was weak and the decision-making poor.
And, history shows little mercy for the weak.