In some respects, the demise of John Wilkes Booth makes a great Halloween story, having enough discrepancies for a spooky tale from the crypt. But these ambiguities also create enough doubts to make his death at Garrett's farm an article of faith - a religious dogma - no matter to which sect one subscribes.
Establishment historians will roll their eyes and move on at the idea that Booth's body was misidentified, or that he escaped. But we are not so dismissive of the evidence and its dearth surrounding the alleged death of Wilkes Booth on April 26, 1865. We believe that reasonable arguments can be made for either case - that he died or escaped - that it is a true postmodern moment.
Perhaps the best summary of the situation was made over a century ago by an army officer writing on the subject
In the early 1900s, John Shumaker, the army’s General Counsel to the Department of the Army wrote: “The evidence put forth by the government to support the conclusion that the body was that of John Wilkes Booth was so insubstantial that it would not stand up in a court of law.”
And yet, one would not bet the farm that Booth did not die at Garrett's farm. There are powerful currents on both sides of the debate supporting either conclusion.
We will enumerate some of the issues which we believe the army's General Counsel might have had in mind when he made his intriguing statement.
Identification
One of the more baffling aspects of Booth's alleged death is that the ordinary means used to identify deceased persons was not employed in the case of the famous actor. Booth's family, both through blood and profession, was quite broad and deep. These people were near by - even on the Montauk. If Booth were indeed involved in a conspiracy with all of the prisoners held on the ship, why not ask them to identify? If they were not trusted, then why not call in people from Ford's theater or his next of kin? Was that too risky?
Why else would Stanton refuse to allow the normal course of events to seek their ends? Would not that have proven more persuasive and squashed any doubts?
Instead of next of kin and close friends, Stanton sent a cadre of military officers - colonels and generals - to identify the body, many of the former of whom who would be judges of the military tribunal trying the case of Lincoln's assassins. This tactic smacks of jury tampering - but then again the judgments of the tribunal were a foregone conclusion.
The piece of evidence which could have laid to rest any doubts about the corpse was either hidden or destroyed by Stanton, namely the picture taken by Alexander Gardner at the autopsy which was the one and only picture taken of the body on the Montauk.
The bottom line is that no evidence of probative value was produced from this affair which could satisfy the legal doubts which the army's General Counsel raised during the early 20th century.
Mis-Identification
There were contradictory identifications made of the body. Certainly Stanton's generals gave the secretary what he wanted, but others were not quite so compliant. Nearly everyone is familiar with Dr May's non-denial denial of the body. Although he affirmed that it was Booth, he said that it looked nothing like him, nor did the surgical scar he left on Booth a couple of years earlier look like the one he made. Though he initial denied the identity of Booth, he subsequently changed his mind - perhaps with "friendly persuasion."
On the other hand, Booth's dentist confirmed that the corpse was that of Booth's which could be persuasive except for the fact that we now know, and the US Congress investigating the matter in 1867 confirmed, that piles and piles of perjured and paid testimony were used in the crooked trial.
Many witnesses were threatened with death if they did not provide the desired testimony.
Several witnesses claimed that the body had reddish hair, yet nearly everyone affirms that Booth had jet black hair with a tendency to curl. How does one explain it? Did booth use hair coloring at Dr Mudd's house as he shaved his mustache? If so, could anyone corroborate that hypothesis?
The Un-missing Boot
When President Johnson allowed the return of the hanged bodies to their respective families in 1869, Booth's was brought to a funeral home for examination. Oddly enough, he had on two boots, whereas the Surgeon General Barnes reported that one of his legs was in splints. Did the two Bakers go to the trouble to get the missing boot from the War Department's evidence cache to put on Booth's missing boot when it buried him on April 27 even though it was also somehow used at trial to show that Dr Mudd set the fractured bone?
Wouldn't the makeshift splint have been splendid evidence against Mudd? Or would it have been good evidence for the defense?
One person present at the funeral parlor pulled off one of Booth's boots from his foot only to find that the foot and leg remained in the boot. But that is not the odd part. Did the court, which had no compunction about hanging an innocent woman, have concern that that Booth's dead body was without a boot, and that it should be returned to him? Did Booth, having the most difficulty getting enough food and water on the run, stumble upon a spare boot to put on his broken leg or foot? As you do when you have a broken leg in a splint.
And speaking of broken limbs, why are there varying testimonies concerning which limb was injured? Surgeon General Barnes reported the left ankle having the fracture, while doctors Mudd and May averred that it was the right leg. Why should something so cut and dry have such contradictions?
Carbines
Judge Bingham made much of the fact that two carbines alleged to have been hidden at the Surratt tavern in Surrattsville, but picked up by Booth and Herold, were a match. It seems unlikely to me that Booth, with a broken leg, would have had the strength or balance to manage a carbine. Even more significantly, he didn't need the added weight to hinder his escape. In other words, speed was of the essence - not fighting his way out of a barn to hell.
Nevertheless, Bingham made much of the fact that the carbine recovered at Garrett's farm was indeed a match with one found at the tavern. Yet there are many explanations, including planted evidence of which there was much.
Modern Science
While all legal measures have been smashed to exhume the body for DNA analysis, another bit of modern technology has been used to identify Booth against an alleged photograph of him taken years after the assassination while allegedly using the pseudonym of David George.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, covering this development using facial recognition software, reported of the lead investigator
“I was absolutely shocked,” said Romany, host of the segment scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel at 10 p.m. Wednesday. “It changed my perspective on American history. For the first time, I thought this could be true. John Wilkes Booth could have gotten away."
While the test is not definitive, the match between the two men exceeded the minimum threshold used by the New York City Police Department to consider someone a credible identified.
The puzzle of Booth's demise will be settled conclusively, but the government authorities did not cooperate in leaving us evidence encumbered with dearth and chain of custody issues. What was Stanton and his Military Tribunal hiding?
Post Script: I came across a very interesting newspaper clipping published by the Globe-Democrat, apparently the Saint Louis newspaper, circa 1910 with a dateline from Caldwell, Texas, telling the story of Booth's demise. The interviewee, William Henry Garrett was the son of Richard Henry Garrett, the former of whom stated that Booth died as he held the actor's head on his knee. His aunt Lucinda Holloway cut a lock of hair from Booth's head which a few years later sparked an interesting relationship with Edwin Booth and William's brother Richard Baynham Garrett. The Shakespearean actor was a generous benefactor to Baynham as he studied for the ministry, giving him a lavish 500 dollar book collection, among other gifts of support.
The sum and substance of William's story seems genuine, and might conclusively settle the case of Booth's death - if not for the problem of the facial recognition software mentioned above. But given that the software is not 100% definitive, there is room for error favoring Garrett's story.
On the other hand, Edwin's keen interest in the lock of hair and other details surrounding his brother's death suggest that Booth indeed died at Garrett's farm. For what other reason would Edwin show so much interest?
Reference
Edward Colimore, Did John Wilkes Booth get away with murdering President Abraham Lincoln?, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 15, 2019, (accessed: https://www.inquirer.com/news/john-wilkes-booth-lincoln-conspiracy-photo-recognition-20190415.html, 10/24/2020)
tmh10, The Lincoln Assassination New Information-New Meaning (reader comments), Civil War Talk, January 7, 2013, (accessed: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-lincoln-assassination-new-information-new-meaning.77607/page-2, 10/24/2020)
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