1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from house 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm delating charcoateboarding and around Christmas. 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: This year. Listener Hillary sent us the book Assassination Vacation 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: by Sarah Vowel, about the assassinations of three US presidents, Lincoln, Garfield, 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: and McKinley. And before I started the book, I figured, 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: of those three, i'd probably know the most about Lincoln's assassination, 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: at least the scene for its theater, the circumstances Lincoln 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: shot point blank in the head, and the players involved, 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: the actor John Wilkes Booth and his motley crew of conspirators. 11 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: But I hadn't realized the entire breadth of the attack. 12 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: The attack on Lincoln was really just one part of 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: three planned assassinations that were supposed to go down that night. 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: And I hadn't realized the intensiveness of the man hunt 15 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: for Booth either, or the strange, sad stories about peripheral 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: figures involved, like Booth's brother, the President's son, the Lincoln 17 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: theater guest the night of the assassination. It really proved 18 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,279 Speaker 1: to be a more in depth and more fascinating story 19 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: than I had imagined. So in this podcast, we're going 20 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,839 Speaker 1: to talk about what happened the night of April fourteenth, 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five, at Ford's Theater, but also some of 22 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,919 Speaker 1: the events that happened long before that and long after. 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: And if you're Lincoln buff we hope that you will 24 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: get to hear your favorite weird detail or conspiracy theory 25 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: about this. And if you're not, then you're probably going 26 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: to be in for some surprises. It's sometimes fascinating to 27 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: extend the story beyond the point that we're used to hearing, 28 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: which for most people is probably Booth jumping over the 29 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: railing of the President's box and escaping. But the first 30 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: semi surprise of this podcast is going to be that 31 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: John Wilkes Booth, who is now of course famous firstly 32 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: as an assassin and secondly as an actor, was really 33 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: a pretty big star. I always kind of imagined him 34 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: as a middling actor in that fact was emphasized, you know, 35 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: just to make it all the stranger that he was 36 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: an assassin. He was, however, a member of a great 37 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: theatrical family, albeit kind of a lesser member. But that's 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: just because the other family members were so famous. Booth 39 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: had been born in Maryland in eighteen thirty eight. He 40 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,519 Speaker 1: was the ninth of ten children of Junius Brutus Booth, 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: who was an English actor very famous in England who 42 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: had moved to the United States in eighteen twenty one. 43 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: Booth Sr. Was one of the most famous Shakespearean actors 44 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: in the country, maybe second only to Edwin Forest he 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: might remember from last year's Astor Place riot, and partly 46 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: to keep Junius Brutus from getting too wild on the road, 47 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: he had a drinking problem. His three sons got into 48 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: theater two and the middle boy, Edwin, became a star 49 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: to really rival his father. We're going to talk about 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: him a bit more later. The youngest, meanwhile, John Wilkes, 51 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: had a rockier start with his theatrical career until he 52 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: joined a Shakespearean company based in Richmond, Virginia. Yeah. Once 53 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: with that company, he toured the country, including the South, 54 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: and became celebrated for his good looks and athletic acting. 55 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: But the intensity of Booth's political opinions made him a 56 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: bit of an odd ball. He was extremely pro slavery, 57 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: anti Lincoln, and an ardent supporter of the Confederacy. While 58 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: some of historians suggests Booth served as a Confederate agent 59 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: during the war. The only thing stopping him from taking 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: a more active role for his cause was a promise 61 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: that he made for his mother, though he wouldn't actually 62 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: enlist in the army. So by the autumn of eighteen 63 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: sixty four, Booth started making plans to kidnap President Lincoln, 64 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: drawing in other conspirators to meet at Mrs Mary Surratt's Washington, 65 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: d c. Boarding house, and Booth, for one, already had 66 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: a pretty good in with the President, despite his earlier 67 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: flings with actresses, including an incident reported by Thomas Lowry 68 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: in America Civil War when he actress Henrietta Irving tried 69 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: to stab Booth in the chest, grazing his face and 70 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: still lovers quarrel. Yes, he had away with the ladies, 71 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: I guess, but Booth's current girlfriend was the daughter of 72 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: an ardent abolitionist U S. Senator Lucy Hale, so with 73 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: Lucy as his date in his end to the Lincoln circle, 74 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: Booth even got a prime seat at Lincoln's second inaugural address, 75 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: ragging to a friend that he had had a really 76 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: great chance to kill the president. Then you can even 77 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: see Booth in the picture of Lincoln giving his address. 78 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: The kidnapping plans ultimately kept falling through, though, and soon 79 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: enough the motive to stage at kidnapping in the first 80 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: place disappeared. So the point of kidnapping instead of killing, 81 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: had been to exchange Lincoln for Confederate prisoners of war. 82 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: But on April nine, the war ended, so what are 83 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: you gonna do? Ironically, though, it was Lincoln's speech on 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: reconstruct Action, which took place just a few days after 85 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: that on the White House lawn that really fired up 86 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,840 Speaker 1: Booth made him decide that he didn't want to give 87 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: up the plan of kidnapping. He wanted to escalate it 88 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: to something more. He had attended that speech with co 89 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: conspirator Louis Powell and left it swearing that it would 90 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: be Lincoln's last speech. So the right opportunity for Booth 91 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: came almost immediately when he read in the paper that 92 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: the President and Mrs Lincoln were due to attend a 93 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in d 94 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,039 Speaker 1: C the night of April fourteen. So, after months of 95 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: plotting for more elaborate scenarios he swung into action. He 96 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: lined up his co conspirators into a three pronged attack 97 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 1: which was meant to cripple the government. Powell, a former 98 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: Confederate soldier, would assassinate the Secretary of State William Seward 99 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: with the help of David Harold. George at Serat, a 100 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: German immigrant and former boatman for Confederate spies, would assassinate 101 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Booth himself would assassinate Lincoln. 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: And all these attacks would take place at approximately ten 103 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: pm on that night. So the morning of the assassination, 104 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: Booth was spotted with Lucy Hale, whose father was probably 105 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: at that same time meeting with Lincoln about his new 106 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: appointment to Spain. Lucy Hill's father was looking to get 107 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: out of DC along with his daughter, get her away 108 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: from crazy actor Booth. But at about six pm that night, 109 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: Booth entered Ford's Theater, which was pretty empty at that point, 110 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: and tampered with the door to the President's box, fixing 111 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: it so that the outer door of the box could 112 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: be jammed from the inside. After that, he just had 113 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,559 Speaker 1: hours to kill, you know, trying to pass his time. 114 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: The theater's conductor, William Withers Jr. Who was pretty psyched 115 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: to have the song he had composed performed for the 116 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: President that night, was also killing time and spotted Booth 117 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: at an actor's bar nearby the theater, and according to 118 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: a Richard Sloan article in American Heritage, Withers even heard 119 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: somebody joke quote, oh, Booth will never be as great 120 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: an actor as his father, which sounds like fighting words 121 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: most of the time with Booth, but Booth just replied, 122 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: pretty coolly, quote, when I leave the stage for good, 123 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: I will be the most famous man in America. So 124 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: during the third act, Booth re entered the theater and 125 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: walked into the President's box. He waited for a line 126 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: in the play that he knew would get big laughs. 127 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: I mean, remember, he was an actor, so we would 128 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: have known that sort of thing. Then he bust into 129 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: the inner door and shot Lincoln in the back of 130 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: the head with a forty four caliber garranger. Booth had 131 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: been expecting General and Mrs Grant to also be in 132 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: the box, and that's what the papers had announced, so 133 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: that's pretty much what he thought was going to happen. 134 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: But the Grants had turned down the invite, and Booth 135 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: instead found the Union officer, Major Henry Rathbone and his 136 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: fiance Clara Harris. So Rathbone of course sees what has happened, 137 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: and he kind of tussles with Booth, getting slashed in 138 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: the arm, before Booth jumps over the boxes railing shouting 139 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: seek semper tierness, thus always to tyrants, and he caught 140 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: a spur on the American flag, landed on the stage 141 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: below and broke his leg. From there, the conductor Withers 142 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: ran into him again. Withers, who had taken an underground 143 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: passageway around to the stage to question why his special 144 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: song that he had written kept getting pushed back. He 145 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: heard a pistol shot the thump, and then found himself 146 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: face to face with Booth, a flashing mad Booth to 147 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 1: Booth managed to escape down the passage out to an 148 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: alley and then on horseback to Maryland. We're going to 149 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: pick up with him later. But what about the other conspirators, 150 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: because remember this was a three pronged attack. We know 151 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: things must have not worked out quite according to plan, 152 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: because Johnson did go on to become president, he lived, 153 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: and Seward went on to buy Alaska from Russia for 154 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: seven point two million dollars, something that was mocked at 155 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: the time called Steward's folly. But enough on that as At, 156 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: who was commission to kill the vice president just completely 157 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: chickened out. I think he went out drinking instead and 158 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: got nowhere near Johnson. Paul, though, did some pretty serious 159 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: damage to the Seward family. He arrived at their home 160 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: under the guise of a pharmacy delivery boy. Um. He 161 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: went into Seward's house where the Secretary of State was 162 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: laid up after a very serious carriage accident. He had 163 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 1: broken an arm and his jaw, and uh that those 164 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: injuries required pretty serious banishing to his face and head, 165 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 1: which is a key point here. So when Paul entered 166 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: the home and was trying to deliver his medicine, Seward's 167 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: son Frederick met him but wouldn't allow him upstairs to 168 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: deliver the items personally. So at that point Paul pulled 169 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,320 Speaker 1: out a gun tried to shoot Frederick, but found that 170 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: his gun wouldn't fire and pistol whipped him instead. Then 171 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: he charged up the stairs started slashing Seward bedridden Sewar 172 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: with a bowie knife in front of Seward's daughter too, 173 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: until finally the military officer who had been assigned to 174 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: Seward during his convalescence grappled with Powell and uh Seward's 175 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: other son joined into um ended up getting injured. A 176 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: colleague of Seward's got injured to Powe really did some 177 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: serious damage, but did manage to escape. Nobody was killed 178 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: in this incident. Seward and his son's recovered um, but 179 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: his wife died just a few weeks after because of 180 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: the double shock of the carriage accident and then this violent, 181 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,719 Speaker 1: bloody attack in her home. Just to return and kind 182 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 1: of pick up with the Lincoln portion of the story, 183 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: Lincoln meanwhile, is dying from head wound. The first doctor 184 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 1: on the scene was Charles save and Taft, who ordered 185 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: Lincoln to be removed to the nearest home. The president 186 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: was brought across the street to the lodging house of 187 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 1: William Peterson and placed diagonally across the bed because he 188 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: was too tall to just lie on it properly well. 189 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: The surgeon General cared for the president. Dr Taff stayed 190 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: in attendance, journaling the next morning that he had held 191 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,559 Speaker 1: Lincoln's head almost all throughout the night. He talked about 192 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: how heavy it was to just hold it there all night. 193 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: The president was pronounced dead at two am, and then 194 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton proclaimed, quote, now 195 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: he belongs to the ages. One of the more famous 196 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: quotes about Lincoln. In the president's pockets were a pocket knife, 197 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: two pairs of glasses, and a Confederate five dollar bill, 198 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 1: which I think is the most unusual item there. Okay, 199 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: so after the President dies, of course, the next day 200 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: was Easter Sunday, which was the absolute perfect time to 201 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: compare Lincoln's death to Jesus's sacrifice from pulpits across the country. 202 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,720 Speaker 1: So everybody is talking about Lincoln and everybody is talking 203 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: about his assassin. After an autopsy, Lincoln lane state at 204 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: the White House and the Capital, but for being sent 205 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: on a thirteen day train trip back to Springfield with 206 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: plenty of open casket viewings. Um. Just a side note here. 207 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: Vale notes in her book that this was really great 208 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 1: publicity for the new trend in embalming, seeing the president 209 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: so many days after he had been killed. Meanwhile, as 210 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,959 Speaker 1: the President's body is traveling around the search for Booth 211 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,599 Speaker 1: and his accomplices, as heating up it's the largest manhunt 212 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: to that date, and it was helped along by the 213 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: Secretary of Wars one hundred thousand dollar reward, which incidentally 214 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: also helped shore of the historical record because, according to 215 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: a Smithsonian article by James Swanson, so many of Booth's 216 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,320 Speaker 1: trackers documented the experience because they were trying to get 217 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: a piece of the rewards, so a lot of them did. 218 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: It was split up among many different people. But after 219 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: fleeing forwards Theater, Booth had met up with David Harold, who, 220 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: if you remember, was supposed to be on the Powell 221 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: Seward As fascination team. He had left Powell though behind 222 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: at the Seward house. Those two who high tailed it 223 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: for the Maryland home of Dr Samuel mud who set 224 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: Booth leg and then they spent five nights and five 225 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: days in the woods waiting to cross the Potomac into Virginia. 226 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: Had a little help though, yeah. A Confederate agent named 227 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: Thomas Jones brought them food and newspapers, and it was 228 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,439 Speaker 1: a big disappointment when Booth read those papers. People hated him. 229 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: He thought that he would be considered a hero, the 230 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: destroyer of a tyrant, and he journaled all of these feelings, 231 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: complaining that people were talking about him as a quote 232 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: common cutthroat. Once in Virginia, Booth and Harold wound their 233 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: way to the farm of Richard Garrett, where they stayed 234 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: under assumed names. Though they must have seemed like desperate men, 235 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: the Garrets allowed them to sleep in their tobacco barn, 236 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: but actually locked them in at night so that they 237 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't steal any horses. That night, Lieutenant Edward Doherty, in 238 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 1: charge of the sixteenth New York Cavalry, along with detectives 239 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: Luther Baker and Everton Conker, tracked the men to the farm. 240 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: The Garretts dog started barking at the sound of horses, 241 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: and so Booth and Harold of course woke up. They 242 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: tried to escape, but found themselves locked in, and by 243 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: the time they were trying to kick out aboard, the 244 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: farmhouse was surrounded. So old man Garrett and his sons 245 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: were pushed around a bit by the search party until 246 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: they admitted where the men were in the tobacco barn. 247 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: One of the sons was even forced to enter the 248 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: barn and try to disarm Booth. Nobody else wanted to 249 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: go in. Booth basically told him, you sold me out, 250 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: get out, or I'll kill you. But despite having a 251 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: whole cavalry, the law enforcement officers really kind of dithererd 252 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: about what to do, because they did have orders to 253 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: bring back Booth alive. He was, of course wanted for questioning, 254 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: but nobody wanted to get killed either, and everybody fully 255 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: expected that that would happen if they had a face 256 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: to face with the armed and desperate Booth. So their 257 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: solution was burned the barn. Harold begged to be let out, 258 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: and he eventually is let out. Booth, on the other hand, 259 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: poses kind of challenge to Baker, makes them a little 260 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: proposition combat on open ground Booth against the cavalry just 261 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: as long as they back up from the barn door. 262 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: He creepily mentions to Baker how honorable he's been the 263 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,280 Speaker 1: whole time. He says, quote, Captain, I have had half 264 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: a dozen opportunities to shoot you, but I did not. 265 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: So at this point Baker realizes, oh, yeah, I'm holding 266 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: this candle. So he loses that target. You can see 267 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: him through the barn, the cracks in the barn wall. Yeah, 268 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 1: he gets rid of that, but he declines Booth's offer. 269 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: He says, quote, we did not come here to fight you. 270 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: We simply came to make you a prisoner. Booth reduces 271 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: the demands of his offer. At that point, he says 272 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: that he'll come out and fight if the men just 273 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: back off from the door just a little bit. Give 274 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: me a chance for my life, he says. But that 275 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: just was not happening. So Booth says, well, my brave 276 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: boys prepare stretcher for me. But the way it went 277 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: down was actually more like a bonfire. They finally sent 278 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: the bar set the barn on fire. The barn goes 279 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: up in flames really fast, and in the panic of 280 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: Booth trying to get out, he gets shot by a 281 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: sergeant Boston Corbett, who, as a side note, was possibly 282 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: a mad hatter. He did go insane, and it might 283 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: have been because of the mercury used in hat making. 284 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: Back to Booth, though, he was caught before he even 285 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: hit the ground from getting shot by Boston Corbett, and 286 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 1: he was presumed dead. In fact, though he was paralyzed 287 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,280 Speaker 1: from the neck down. He could talk a little bit 288 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: and move his eyes, but he couldn't swallow the water 289 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: that was offered to him. He had to watch as 290 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: Colonel Everton Conger checked his pockets and remove money and 291 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: keys and tobacco in a compass. When Conger went into 292 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: an inner pocket, he found the diary Booth had been keeping, 293 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: you know, lamenting the fact he wasn't a national hero, 294 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: plus five photos of different ladies. One was a lesser 295 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: known actress, two were pretty famous leading ladies of the day. 296 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: One was a Subrette type actress who was married to 297 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: a violinist, and then the last one was Lucy Hales. 298 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: So I don't know if Lucy maybe had a surprise 299 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: when she heard the news he had five photos in 300 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: his pocket. But his official last words were tell mother, 301 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: I die for my country. But he also had a 302 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,199 Speaker 1: few other last requests. He kept on asking to be 303 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: able to examine his lifeless hands. He begged the soldiers 304 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 1: to kill him. It sounds like a really gruesome, really 305 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: horrible death. He died by the morning of April. Booth's 306 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: body was secretly buried that then re entered a few 307 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: years later at a Stanley plot in Baltimore. But the 308 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,400 Speaker 1: wild conspiracy theories began almost right away. The main one, 309 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: of course, was that Booth didn't die instead as the 310 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,920 Speaker 1: theory goes, he escaped, took the name John st Helen, 311 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: and went west. He told a lawyer in Texas that 312 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: he was Booth, but left town in nineteen o three. 313 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: Then the lawyer saw clipping that a David E. George 314 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: committed suicide in Oklahoma and had confessed he was Booth 315 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: before dying. The lawyer recognized the photo as that of 316 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: none other than st Helen. George's body was mummified, which 317 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: I'm not sure quite why, and it toward freak shows 318 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: as Booth's body until at some point it went missing. 319 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: So the Baltimore City Circuit Court has been petitioned even 320 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,159 Speaker 1: fairly recently, to have Booth's body exhumed, including by some 321 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:27,120 Speaker 1: of Booth's own relatives, but they've declined for two reasons. One, 322 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: there's really not much basis for this claim. It's probably 323 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: Booth buried at the memorial. Secondly, though it would involve 324 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,879 Speaker 1: exhuming a lot of the other Booths in the family plot, 325 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: almost all of those kids of Junius Brutus are buried there, 326 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: and it's not really clear where each individual family member 327 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: is located. So now that we at least kind of 328 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,119 Speaker 1: no think we know what happened to Booth, what happened 329 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: to the rest of his companions while they were also 330 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: snatched up Over the time Harold surrendered at the barn. 331 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: As we mentioned, Powell, At Saarant and the boarding house 332 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: owner Mary Surat were taken in and those four were 333 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,640 Speaker 1: all found guilty of murder and sentence to hang. Saurat's 334 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: sentence is still kind of controversial though, since while she 335 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: definitely knew about the kidnapping plan, she may not have 336 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: known everything about the murder also found guilty and sentenced 337 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: to prison. Where Dr Mud the guy who had set 338 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 1: boost leg, Samuel Arnold who had been in on the 339 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: kidnapping plot but had dropped out earlier, and Michael O'Laughlin, 340 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: who had also dropped out of the plot before it 341 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: turned to a murderous one. And then finally Edmund Spangler, 342 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: who had worked at Ford's Theater, got a six year sentence. 343 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: There's another conspirator, though, Mary Sarratt's son, John Surratt Jr. 344 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: Who wasn't caught for a remarkable twenty months. I mean, 345 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: consider again, this was the largest man hunt to date. 346 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,479 Speaker 1: They were all out looking for this guy. When he 347 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 1: finally was apprehended. He wasn't even convicted of a crime, 348 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 1: So it's questionable whether John Sarot Jr. Was even in Washington, 349 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,000 Speaker 1: d c. The night of the assassination, and of course 350 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: he denied it. But after it he fled to Montreal, 351 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: where he was hidden by a priest for a while 352 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: and eventually put on a boat to Liverpool, where he 353 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: made his way to Rome and, according to a Don 354 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,159 Speaker 1: Bryson article in American Civil War, actually enlisted in the 355 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: Papal Infantry Guards there, which sounds pretty bizarre and surprising. 356 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: But Saratt finally revealed his identity. He had a hard 357 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: time keeping that information to himself, and the Vatican agreed 358 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 1: to extradite him, but before that could actually happen, he 359 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 1: escaped from six Papal soldiers, made his way to Naples 360 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 1: and then got on a ship to Alexandria, Egypt, where 361 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,159 Speaker 1: he finally got off the ship and ran into the 362 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,920 Speaker 1: American authorities. So after they caught him, you know, the U. S. 363 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:01,159 Speaker 1: District attorney desperately wanted to convict Surat, but the prosecution 364 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 1: was pretty weak and the trial ended in a hung jury. 365 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: An attempt to re indict him on the same charges 366 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: was eventually dismissed after the statute of limitations on those 367 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,640 Speaker 1: charges had passed, those throughout went free. Kind of one 368 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: of the stranger sides of the whole Lincoln conspiracy story. Okay, 369 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: so what about some of the lesser known victims of 370 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: this assassination, including Lincoln's theater guests who we mentioned briefly. Well, 371 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: Major Henry Rathbone, who tried to stop Booth from escaping 372 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 1: and was stabbed in the arm, was still blamed for 373 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: not stopping the killer. It started to drive him insane. 374 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: This is the guilt from this. Eventually, he and Clara 375 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 1: married and they had children and moved to Germany, but 376 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: he ended up shooting and killing her, and he was 377 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: actually going to try to kill their children too, before 378 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:55,160 Speaker 1: a nanny stopped him. There is also one final twist 379 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: to this whole story, and it involves an old, seemingly 380 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: nonsensical game type statement, and that is Booth saved Lincoln's life. Okay, 381 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: so we're not trying to make some sort of commentary 382 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: on Lincoln's reputation through the ages or something having to 383 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: do with his being assassinated. It's actually a fact Booth 384 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 1: saved Lincoln's life, but it's a different booth and a 385 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 1: different Lincoln, so it's pretty well known how much family 386 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: tragedy Mrs Lincoln faced. Only one of her four sons 387 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: lived to adulthood, so when her eldest son, Robert, came 388 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: of age to fight in the Civil War, Mrs Lincoln, 389 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: having already lost two of her boys, refused to let 390 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: him go fight. The President was kind of embarrassed by it, 391 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,920 Speaker 1: but Robert instead went off to college and only joined 392 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: up the army in February eighteen sixty five, and even 393 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,879 Speaker 1: then in a pretty cushy position. He was a member 394 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 1: of General Grant's staff. He got to see Lee's surrender. 395 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 1: He wasn't really in too much danger At one point 396 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: in college, though, about eighteen sixty three or eighteen sixty four, 397 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: somewhere in there, he was traveling from New York to 398 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: d C. When his train stopped in Jersey City. Robert 399 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: later recalled that a crowd was standing on the platform 400 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: waiting to buy sleeping car places. When the train began 401 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: to move, he somehow got knocked over and dropped in 402 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: the gap between the platform and the train, so he 403 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:20,439 Speaker 1: couldn't move. He could have been crushed. I mean, it 404 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: sounds just like a horrifying, scary situation. Suddenly he felt 405 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: someone grab his collar and haul him up, and that 406 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: person was Edwin Booth, who was, of course a super 407 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: famous actor. It would be almost as if Brad Pitt 408 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: came in and saved your life. That was the comparison 409 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: I was thinking of, if you suddenly are lifted out 410 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: of the train pit and you're looking at one of 411 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 1: the most famous people of your day. Unlike his younger brother, 412 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 1: though Edwin Booth was a supporter of the Union in 413 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: Lincoln and considerably more even tempered, he had kind of 414 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: gone off the rails earlier in life and had ended 415 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: up missing his wife's death in eighteen sixty three because 416 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,160 Speaker 1: he was a drunk. So he had really sobered up 417 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: and kind of had much more moderate opinions than thumb 418 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,119 Speaker 1: members of his family. Um, he did learn whose life 419 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 1: he had said that he'd saved the president's son when 420 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: he got a letter from a friend who was on 421 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 1: Grant staff who had heard Robert Lincoln telling the story. 422 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: As anybody would like, this super famous actor saved my 423 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: life recently. Isn't that an interesting story? So after John 424 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: Wilkes Booth assassinated the president. Edwin Booth felt particularly devastated 425 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: the loss of a leader he admired, the family, shame 426 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,879 Speaker 1: it caused, and fear that he'd never be able to 427 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: work again. Booth did make a successful return to the 428 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,360 Speaker 1: stage in January eighteen sixty six and his signature role 429 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: of Hamlet, and went on to found the Players in 430 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,119 Speaker 1: New York City with Mark Twain and General Sherman, but 431 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: the knowledge that he had helped save A Lincoln helped 432 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: get him through the worst months after the assassination. We 433 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 1: do have one last spooky tidbit for you, though, relating 434 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: to both Edwin Booth and Lincoln's assassinated aation during Edwin's 435 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: eighteen nine funeral, Ford's Theater collapsed. It wasn't rebuilt until 436 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, and though it's under operation as a 437 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: historical site. So I think that's a good point to 438 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: transition to listener mail. So I thought this one would 439 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 1: be appropriate since we last heard from listener Hillary, who's 440 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 1: sending us postcards through her tour of Europe, when she 441 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: mentioned she has a violin from the Civil War era, 442 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:37,440 Speaker 1: so she especially likes Civil War aerotopics. Her latest postcard 443 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: is from Madrid, and she wrote after the concert she 444 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: played there, they're playing Prokofiev's Violin can sherre to number one. 445 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 1: She said that her teacher met that composer over that piece, 446 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: and his second violin can Share too was premiered in 447 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:53,639 Speaker 1: the hall where she played, so there were all sorts 448 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: of historical connections. Again, I really like relating modern cultural 449 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: events like this to historical ones. It's pretty nay yes, 450 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 1: and I continue to get even more jealous. I just 451 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: love ma Drid. I know one of my favorite places. 452 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: Sounds like it would be a nice place to play 453 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 1: violin too. Yeah, just about it. Just do anything. So 454 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 1: thank you, Hillary. We do enjoy getting your updates from 455 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: your travels, and we enjoy hearing from all of you guys, 456 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: so please continue spending a suggestion. I think booth was 457 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: suggested Edwin Booth was suggested pretty recently today. I think 458 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: it was today. It's so weird when we get requests 459 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: on to day that we're actually recording the podcast of 460 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: whatever the request is. Are not as spooky as the 461 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: theater falling down on the day of a funeral, But 462 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 1: still I do wonder if people can like read our 463 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 1: minds or from saying when it's happening, we hope not to, 464 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: but continues sending its suggestions. We get so many of 465 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: our ideas from you guys. And remember that now we're 466 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 1: at History Podcasts at Discovery dot com instead of how 467 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: stepworks dot Com. We have changed email addresses. We do, however, 468 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,439 Speaker 1: have the same Twitter account at missed in History and 469 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,679 Speaker 1: the same Facebook. And if you want to learn a 470 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: little bit more about some other things that happened during 471 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: the Civil War era, maybe you're a buff like Hillary is, 472 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: We have an article called how the Emancipatient Proclamation worked. 473 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: You can find that by searching on our homepage at 474 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:28,159 Speaker 1: www dot how Stuff works dot com. Be sure to 475 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 1: check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. 476 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: Join how Stuff Work staff as we explore the most 477 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The House Stuff Works 478 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: iPhone app has a ride. Download it today on iTunes.