Speaker 1: Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shonda Land Audio in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. To this day, more than
Speaker 1: one hundred years after the events unfolded, there continues to
Speaker 1: be debate among historians as to whether Mary Saratt was
Speaker 1: or was not involved in the plot to assassinate the
Speaker 1: sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. What we
Speaker 1: know is Mary was hanged for treason in the summer
Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty five. Let's find out why. Welcome to
Speaker 1: criminal Lea. I'm Maria trum Marquis and I'm Holly Fry.
Speaker 1: Mary was born in May or June of either eighteen
Speaker 1: twenty or eighteen twenty three. Records differ to Archibald and
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Jenkins. Her father's name may have been Samuel and
Speaker 1: her mother perhaps was not named Elizabeth. The information, as
Speaker 1: you can see, is pretty fuzzy on her or jin
Speaker 1: She lived on her family's tobacco farm near Waterloo, Maryland,
Speaker 1: and today her place of birth actually lies within Andrew's
Speaker 1: Air Force Base, which you may know as the home
Speaker 1: of Air Force one raised Episcopalion. After the death of
Speaker 1: her father when Mary was about twelve years old, her
Speaker 1: mother enrolled her at Miss Winnifred Martin's Catholic Girls School,
Speaker 1: operated by St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia. And
Speaker 1: Mary converted to Catholicism during that time, and it is
Speaker 1: said that she remained faithful to that religion throughout her life.
Speaker 1: In eighteen forty she married John Serat. They lived on
Speaker 1: land John had inherited from his parents in what is
Speaker 1: now the Congress Heights neighborhood in Washington, d c. The
Speaker 1: couple had three children, including two sons who became involved
Speaker 1: in the Confederacy. Isaac was born in eighteen forty one,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth Susannah who was known as Anna in eighteen forty three,
Speaker 1: and John Jr. In eighteen forty four. In eighteen fifty three,
Speaker 1: John purchased two hundred and eighties even acres of land
Speaker 1: land that became known as Saratsville today That's Clinton located
Speaker 1: in Prince George's County, Maryland, which in Mary's day was
Speaker 1: a tobacco growing region with a long history of slavery. There,
Speaker 1: John opened a tavern that served as a polling place
Speaker 1: in post office, and he also provided part time lodging.
Speaker 1: They eventually added carriage and blacksmith shops, and they had
Speaker 1: at least a half a dozen enslaved persons on their land.
Speaker 1: Maryland straddled the North and South during the American Civil War.
Speaker 1: It was what you would call a border state. Maryland
Speaker 1: was a slave state, but it never seceded from the Union.
Speaker 1: When the Civil War began in eighteen sixty one, it
Speaker 1: was no secret that the Sarats favored the Confederacy, and
Speaker 1: their tavern became the destination for those looking to discuss
Speaker 1: the politics of the day. John was a non alcoholic.
Speaker 1: He's viewed by some modern historians to have been abusive
Speaker 1: to Mary, and Mary increasingly managed the business as he
Speaker 1: fell deeper and deeper into his disease. When he died
Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two, she became the proprietor in name
Speaker 1: as well. But Mary found herself with some significant financial challenges.
Speaker 1: In September possibly October of eighteen sixty four, Mary rented
Speaker 1: out her properties in Sarathsville and moved to the now
Speaker 1: infamous town house at six O four eight Street in
Speaker 1: Northwest Washington, d C. She had inherited it from the
Speaker 1: Sarat family upon John's death. The house was gray brick
Speaker 1: and had four stories. The first floor, which was level
Speaker 1: with the street, had two large rooms used as the
Speaker 1: kitchen and the dining room. The second floor had a
Speaker 1: front and back parlor. The room in the rear was
Speaker 1: Mary's bedroom. The third floor had three rooms, two in
Speaker 1: the front, one larger in the back, and the fourth floor,
Speaker 1: which was technically considered an attic, was broken into two
Speaker 1: large rooms and one small room. It was usually occupied
Speaker 1: by Mary's domestic help. Mary operated her town house as
Speaker 1: a boarding house from the time she moved in through April,
Speaker 1: when she was arrested. It's widely accepted as fact that
Speaker 1: she hosted and possibly also attended conspiratorial meetings to remove
Speaker 1: Lincoln from office. Meetings frequently held there by John Wilkes
Speaker 1: Booth and her son, John Jr. Booth enlisted help to
Speaker 1: carry out this plot that was being put together. The
Speaker 1: co conspirator's list would end up including the following men,
Speaker 1: Samuel Arnold, George A. At Surat, David E. Harold, Dr.
Speaker 1: Samuel A. Mud Michael O'Laughlin, Louis Powell who was also
Speaker 1: known as Louis Payne, Edward ned Spangler, and John Serat Jr.
Speaker 1: Each man had a specific skill or knowledge to bring
Speaker 1: to the team. For example, at Serat was known for
Speaker 1: helping Confederate spies safely crossed the Potomac River. Harold knew
Speaker 1: the poorly mapped roots that existed of the regions around
Speaker 1: the District of Columbia. John Jr. Was part of the
Speaker 1: Confederate Secret Service, and he knew all sorts of secret
Speaker 1: roots in southern Maryland that were used by the Confederates
Speaker 1: to discreetly enter and leave Washington. D C. Powell was
Speaker 1: chosen for his physical strength, which was going to be
Speaker 1: needed to overwhelm the six ft for President. Arnold and
Speaker 1: O'Laughlin were old friends of Booth. The goal, at least
Speaker 1: when Booth and John Jr. Had begun to imagine this,
Speaker 1: was to remove President Lincoln and three other Northern leaders
Speaker 1: from office, and that included Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary
Speaker 1: of State WILLIAMS. Seward, and General Ulysses S. Grant. But
Speaker 1: plans do change, and sometimes more than once. Booth didn't
Speaker 1: plan to assassinate Lincoln, at least not at first. He
Speaker 1: wanted to abduct him, take him to Richmond, Virginia, and
Speaker 1: exchange him for Confederate soldiers being held in Union prisons.
Speaker 1: Another plan was to kidnap Lincoln in Ford's theater while
Speaker 1: he watched a play. That plan involved snatching him from
Speaker 1: his viewing box and then lowering him onto the stage
Speaker 1: to carry him out of the building. This plan was
Speaker 1: scrapped as a number of the men did not think
Speaker 1: it was feasible. Another plot hatched included capturing Lincoln while
Speaker 1: he was traveling to the Soldier's home. The Soldier's home
Speaker 1: was located only a few miles from the White House
Speaker 1: in what was then a rural part of the District
Speaker 1: of Columbia, and it was Lincoln's primary residence during the
Speaker 1: summer months. The President was known to take a carriage
Speaker 1: there with little or sometimes no protection, and they saw
Speaker 1: this as a vulnerable target. Booth and his conspirators were
Speaker 1: scheming and kept on the lookout for any new opportunities
Speaker 1: while they tried to nail down their plan. In March seventeenth,
Speaker 1: eighteen six d five, Booth had a tip that Lincoln
Speaker 1: was going to the Campbell Military Hospital to see a play.
Speaker 1: As John Junior later recalled quote, the report only reached
Speaker 1: us about three quarters of an hour before the time
Speaker 1: appointed but so perfect was our communication that we were
Speaker 1: instantly in our saddles on the way to the hospital.
Speaker 1: But they didn't go straight to the hospital. Instead, they
Speaker 1: met at a nearby restaurant to hammer out the details
Speaker 1: of this fast moving opportunity. They decided that they would
Speaker 1: stop the carriage as Lincoln returned home after the play.
Speaker 1: They planned that they would overpower both him and his driver.
Speaker 1: They would handcuff both men and then take them across
Speaker 1: the Potomac River through southern Maryland. John Junior explained, quote,
Speaker 1: we felt confident that all the cavalry in the city
Speaker 1: could never overhaul us. Their group, he continued, had fast horses,
Speaker 1: knowledge of the countryside, and had a plan for getting
Speaker 1: rid of the carriage once they were out of Washington. So,
Speaker 1: with their plan in place, Booth decided to pop over
Speaker 1: to the hospital to make sure everything was ready to go.
Speaker 1: But to his surprise and disappointment, the President wasn't there,
Speaker 1: he wasn't late, and he had not canceled. It's just
Speaker 1: that they had the wrong location. It turned out that
Speaker 1: the President was at a ceremony at the National Hotel.
Speaker 1: While Booth may have been planning for presidential kidnapping, the
Speaker 1: men he'd recruited knew that he was also open to
Speaker 1: the idea of assassination. Booth floated the idea once, actually,
Speaker 1: but the group quickly shut it down, seeing he'd taken
Speaker 1: things too far. Booth excused himself, claiming he quote had
Speaker 1: drank too much champagne. After the Union's capture of Richmond,
Speaker 1: Virginia in early April, though, Booth's co conspirators noticed his
Speaker 1: attitude change. And so if we jump ahead to reports
Speaker 1: from the treason trial for just a minute, Thomas T. Eckert,
Speaker 1: the Assistant Secretary of War from eighteen sixty five to
Speaker 1: eighteen six d seven, testified that Powell had said Booth
Speaker 1: clearly showed his intent to assassinate Lincoln during the celebration
Speaker 1: that followed the fall of Richmond, said Eckert, quote, the
Speaker 1: President made a speech that night from one of the
Speaker 1: windows of the White House, and he, Powell and Booth
Speaker 1: were in the grounds in front. Booth tried to persuade
Speaker 1: him to shoot the President while in the window, but
Speaker 1: he told Booth he would take no such risk. That
Speaker 1: he left then and walked around the square, and that
Speaker 1: Booth remarked that is the last speech he will ever
Speaker 1: make as Americans and anyone who has studied u S
Speaker 1: history will know, Booth and his team carried out the
Speaker 1: assassination plot on the evening of April fourteenth, eighteen sixty,
Speaker 1: shooting Lincoln during a performance of the play Our American
Speaker 1: Cousin at Ford's Theater. President died from his wounds the
Speaker 1: next morning. We're going to take a break for award
Speaker 1: from our sponsor, but when we're back, we're going to
Speaker 1: talk about the investig asition into the assassination, and we'll
Speaker 1: talk about why Mary's trial was actually a military commission.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to CRIMINALLYA. Let's talk about the night that
Speaker 1: Mary was arrested. Less than five hours after the shooting.
Speaker 1: President Lincoln was on his deathbed. John Wilkes Booth had
Speaker 1: fled the city, and federal investigators, following up on a tip,
Speaker 1: paid a visit to Mary's boarding house. Mary revealed nothing,
Speaker 1: and the answer she did give her often described as
Speaker 1: just generally vague. In the two weeks immediately following the assassination,
Speaker 1: hundreds of people were detained, questioned, and in some cases
Speaker 1: in prison while federal agents tried to determine who was
Speaker 1: responsible for Lincoln's death. Many who were known associates of
Speaker 1: Booth or who may have assisted in his escape, were
Speaker 1: brought in for questioning, but were released due to lack
Speaker 1: of evidence. Investigators honed in on ten individuals they believed
Speaker 1: were involved. John Wilkes Booth was of course, on their
Speaker 1: short list. John Suratt Jr. Was also on that list.
Speaker 1: They were the two most sought suspects, but there was
Speaker 1: a little problem. Booth with Harold had fled twelve days
Speaker 1: after the assassination. Cornered in a barn while hiding at
Speaker 1: Richard Garrett's farm in Locust Hill in Virginia. Harold surrendered
Speaker 1: and Booth was killed by Union soldiers. John Jr. Fled
Speaker 1: the country. On the night of April seventeenth, Military investigators
Speaker 1: arrived at the boarding house on Eighth Street too again
Speaker 1: interview Mary and her boarders. During these interviews, Louis Powell,
Speaker 1: as fate would have it, knocked on Mary's front door
Speaker 1: when he claimed to have been hired by Mary to
Speaker 1: come dig a gutter. Investigators asked Mary to confirm his story,
Speaker 1: but Mary didn't simply say just a yeah no. She's
Speaker 1: strongly answered quote before God, Sir, I do not know
Speaker 1: this man, and I have never seen him, and I
Speaker 1: did not hire him to dig a gutter for me
Speaker 1: that night. Investigators also uncovered various pieces of potentially incriminating
Speaker 1: evidence in her home, including a photo of John Wilkes
Speaker 1: booth on a mental piece. Mary was arrested for conspiring
Speaker 1: to assassinate the president. The remaining suspects were also arrested
Speaker 1: and charged in the conspiracy. Mary stood before a nine
Speaker 1: officer military commission on May nine, eighteen sixty five. So
Speaker 1: a military commission is a military court of law, and
Speaker 1: the nine judges also act as jury. It was controversial
Speaker 1: to hold the trial in a military court of law,
Speaker 1: as those on trial were civilians, but federal authorities are
Speaker 1: that it was appropriate because Washington, d c. Was still
Speaker 1: considered a war zone at that time. Robert E. Lee
Speaker 1: had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April ninth, which
Speaker 1: is considered the end of the American Civil War. For
Speaker 1: the last battle was actually fought at Palmido Ranch, Texas,
Speaker 1: on May thirteenth of eighteen sixty five, in the District
Speaker 1: of Columbia. Confederate troops were still in the field, so
Speaker 1: this act of assassination was considered an act of war.
Speaker 1: Co conspirators also on trial included some now pretty familiar names,
Speaker 1: Samuel Arnold, George Atzerot, David E. Harold, Dr. Samuel A. Mud,
Speaker 1: Michael O'Laughlin, Louis Powell, and Ned Spangler. The prosecution sought
Speaker 1: to prove that, like her tavern in Suratsville, Mary's boarding
Speaker 1: house was a safe place for Confederate agents. Testimony from
Speaker 1: a total of three hundred and sixties six witnesses made
Speaker 1: it a really long trial. It took seven weeks to complete.
Speaker 1: Most of their case against Mary rested on the testimony
Speaker 1: of just two men, John M. Lloyd and Louis J. Whiteman.
Speaker 1: John Lloyd was a former police officer who at least
Speaker 1: Mary's property, including the tavern in Sarrottsville, upon her permanent
Speaker 1: move to the boarding house in Washington, d C. According
Speaker 1: to a man named Thomas Harris, a member of the
Speaker 1: military commission that tried Mary, Lloyd claimed that five to
Speaker 1: six weeks before the assassination, John Jr. David Harold, and
Speaker 1: George Atzerot came to Sarrattsville to drop off a few things.
Speaker 1: Those things were two carbines, ammunition about twenty feet of
Speaker 1: rope and a monkey wrench. The men asked Lloyd to
Speaker 1: conceal those items at the tavern for them. Lloyd also
Speaker 1: testified that three days before the assassination, Mary herself told
Speaker 1: him that quote, the shooting irons left at his place
Speaker 1: would be needed soon. Then on the day of the assassination,
Speaker 1: she again mentioned them, and we can quote from his
Speaker 1: testament going on this one. On the four of April,
Speaker 1: I went to Marlborough to attend a trial there, And
Speaker 1: in the evening when I came home, which I should
Speaker 1: judge was about five o'clock, I found Mrs Sarrott there.
Speaker 1: She met me out by the woodpile. As I drove in,
Speaker 1: she told me to have those shooting irons ready that
Speaker 1: night there would be some parties who would call for them.
Speaker 1: She gave me something wrapped in a piece of paper,
Speaker 1: which I took upstairs and found to be a field glass.
Speaker 1: She told me to get two bottles of whiskey ready,
Speaker 1: and that these things were to be called for that night,
Speaker 1: he continued, quote. Just about midnight, Harold came into the
Speaker 1: house and said, Lloyd, for God's sake, make haste and
Speaker 1: get those things. I did not make any reply, but
Speaker 1: went straight and got the carbines, supposing they were the
Speaker 1: parties Mrs Sarrott had referred to you, so she didn't
Speaker 1: mention any names. From the way he spoke, he must
Speaker 1: have been apprized that I already knew what I was
Speaker 1: to give him. Mrs Surat told me to give the carbines,
Speaker 1: whiskey and field glass. I did not give them the
Speaker 1: rope and monkey wrench Booth didn't come in. I did
Speaker 1: not know him. He was a stranger to me. Just
Speaker 1: as they were about leaving, the man who was with
Speaker 1: Harold said, I will tell you some news if you
Speaker 1: want to hear it, or something to that effect. I said,
Speaker 1: I am not particular, use your own pleasure about telling it. Well,
Speaker 1: said he, I am pretty certain that we have assassinated
Speaker 1: the President and Secretary Seward. Fred Aiken, one of the
Speaker 1: defense attorneys, argued that Lloyd's testimony should be discredited because
Speaker 1: he was quote a man addicted to the excessive use
Speaker 1: of intoxicating liquors and was motivated to quote exculpated himself
Speaker 1: by placing blame on Mary. And then there was Wykeman's testimony.
Speaker 1: Wikeman had attended college with John Jr. And he resided
Speaker 1: at Mary's boarding house during the period in which the
Speaker 1: conspiracy plot was conceived. Although he described her as quote
Speaker 1: exemplary in character and lady like in every particular. Wikeman
Speaker 1: also detailed numerous private conversations in the Surat house between
Speaker 1: Mary and Booth, as well as Mary and Powell and
Speaker 1: other conspirators. According to his testimony, if John Jr. Was
Speaker 1: not home, Booth would ask Mary if she could quote
Speaker 1: go upstairs and spare a word. He testified that on
Speaker 1: April two, Mary told him she quote wished to see
Speaker 1: John Wilkes Booth on private business, and that Booth visited
Speaker 1: her often. Wikeman testified that Booth gave him ten dollars
Speaker 1: on the Tuesday before the assassination, which he was instructed
Speaker 1: to use to hire a buggy to take Mary to
Speaker 1: Surattsville to collect a small debt. On the day of
Speaker 1: the assassination, Mary did send for him to hire that buggy.
Speaker 1: He continued that she took with her quote a package
Speaker 1: done up in paper about six inches in diameter. Mary
Speaker 1: remained inside the tavern for about two hours, during which
Speaker 1: Wykeman saw her speaking privately with Booth, According to Wykeman,
Speaker 1: Mary's demeanor changed after her visits with Booth that day,
Speaker 1: and she became quote very nervous, agitated, and restless. Additional
Speaker 1: testimony for the defense tried to show Mary was not
Speaker 1: sympathetic to the Confederacy. Despite her lifelong sympathies to the Confederacy,
Speaker 1: they wanted to show that she was loyal to the Union.
Speaker 1: The New York Times observed, quote, those who have watched
Speaker 1: her through the whole of this protracted trial have noticed
Speaker 1: her utter indifference to anything and everything said or suggested
Speaker 1: about her. The most terrible flagellation produced no effect upon
Speaker 1: her rock key countenance, stolid, quiet, entirely, self possessed, calm
Speaker 1: as a May morning. She sat uninterested from the opening
Speaker 1: to the close. Her guardians say she anticipated an acquittal.
Speaker 1: She alone knew why. As the trial went on, newspapers
Speaker 1: in the Northern States grew more and more critical of Mary,
Speaker 1: of what she said and what she didn't say, but
Speaker 1: often coverage was more like this than anything fair and balanced.
Speaker 1: One paper claimed that she had a quote criminal face
Speaker 1: because of her small mouth and dark eyes. And on
Speaker 1: that note, we're going to take a little break for
Speaker 1: a word from our sponsors, and when we return, we
Speaker 1: are going to talk about Mary's execution. Welcome back to Criminaliat.
Speaker 1: George Atserrat, David Harold, Louis Powell, and Mary Serat were
Speaker 1: all found guilty of treasonable conspiracy. Let's talk about the
Speaker 1: day they were punished their hangings. Mary was held at
Speaker 1: an annex to the Old Capitol Prison before being transferred
Speaker 1: to the Washington Arsenal on April. The Old Capital Prison,
Speaker 1: or the Old Brick Capital as it was known, was
Speaker 1: constructed in eighteen fifteen is a temporary meeting space for
Speaker 1: Congress after the British burned the US Capitol building during
Speaker 1: the War of eighteen twelve. It was repurposed during the
Speaker 1: Civil War and used as a prison for Confederate prisoners
Speaker 1: of war, spies, and any Union Army officials convicted of insubordination.
Speaker 1: It held some very famous prisoners, including some of the
Speaker 1: conspirators involved in the Lincoln assassination. Mary, though, was transferred
Speaker 1: to the Arsenal Penitentiary, which is now part of Fort McNair.
Speaker 1: That prison rose to national attention as the site of
Speaker 1: the imprisonment, trial, and punishment of these conspirators in President
Speaker 1: Lincoln's assassination, George at Serrat, David Harold Lewis Powell, and
Speaker 1: Mary Saratt were all imprisoned and executed there on Jean.
Speaker 1: All four prisoners were found guilty of treasonable conspiracy. Mary
Speaker 1: was found guilty on almost all of the counts on
Speaker 1: which she had been indicted. The next day, she was
Speaker 1: sentenced to be executed. Upon hearing her sentence would be
Speaker 1: execution by hanging, reported The New York Times, Mary quote
Speaker 1: wailed forth great waves of sorrow. She fell upon the
Speaker 1: floor and gave rent to a parasy ism of grief,
Speaker 1: partially hysterical and holy nervous. Wine of Valerian and other
Speaker 1: quieting drink was given to her, and she revived, But
Speaker 1: no longer was she the Mrs Sarratt of the courtroom.
Speaker 1: She desired to see her spiritual advisers, and they were
Speaker 1: sent for Five of the nine judges had recommended a
Speaker 1: part and vacating of the death sentence for Mary, a
Speaker 1: request based on her firstly being a woman and secondly
Speaker 1: being of quote advanced age. Okay, she was only about
Speaker 1: forty two. Was a different time. Listen, She's just a
Speaker 1: babe in the woods in my book leave her age
Speaker 1: out of this. But their plea was delivered to the
Speaker 1: President by Judge Joseph Holt, representing the Military Commission. Mary's
Speaker 1: daughter Anna had also pleaded for her mother's clemency. President
Speaker 1: Andrew Johnson claimed after her execution that he had never
Speaker 1: seen any such request, but added that Mary's position as
Speaker 1: proprietor was incriminating enough. The President reportedly commented, insinuating her guilt,
Speaker 1: that quote, she kept the nest that hatched the egg. However,
Speaker 1: there's a big however here. According to The New York
Speaker 1: Times July seven, the President did reply to the request,
Speaker 1: writing quote, I Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
Speaker 1: do hereby declare that the writ of habeas corpus has
Speaker 1: been heretofore suspended in such cases as thin. And I
Speaker 1: do hereby especially suspend this writ and direct that you
Speaker 1: proceed to execute the order heretofore given upon the judgment
Speaker 1: of this Military Commission. And you will give this order
Speaker 1: in return to this writ, Signed Andrew Johnson. So you
Speaker 1: know that's that. The New York Times continued in that
Speaker 1: vein publishing the quote. It was well known that the council,
Speaker 1: family and friends of the culprit were determined to make
Speaker 1: every exertion, to strain every nerve in a strong pull
Speaker 1: and tug at the tender heart of the President. In
Speaker 1: Mary's behalf, she was a woman, and a sick woman.
Speaker 1: At that woman as she was, she knew her business well.
Speaker 1: Sick as she was, she had strength sufficient for her
Speaker 1: fearful purpose. And stern as the sentence was, its justice
Speaker 1: was absolute, its execution certain. Early in the afternoon of
Speaker 1: July seven, less than three months after the assassination Mary
Speaker 1: at Sarat, Harold, and Powell, were brought to the courtyard
Speaker 1: of the Arsenal Penitentiary. It was blisteringly hot that day,
Speaker 1: and Mary, dressed in black and wearing a veil, became
Speaker 1: dizzy after a few steps in the sun. Four men,
Speaker 1: two soldiers and two priests helped her walk to the gallows,
Speaker 1: where the hangman bound her arms and legs. It's reported
Speaker 1: she complained to him that the ropes were too tight
Speaker 1: and they chafed, and to that he replied, quote they
Speaker 1: would not for a long The four were given their
Speaker 1: last rites, and shortly after one thirty pm, the trap
Speaker 1: door opened and all four fell to their death. It
Speaker 1: was reported that at Sarat in his last moment, shouted quote,
Speaker 1: may we meet in another world. A crowd of nearly
Speaker 1: a thousand people had come with their exclusive tickets to
Speaker 1: see this execution. Newspapers reported that all day long, people
Speaker 1: arrived on trains from out of state, and that local
Speaker 1: hotels were full to capacity. Major General Hancock, though, was
Speaker 1: in charge of who did and did not have access
Speaker 1: and what that access was too. For instance, if you
Speaker 1: were not on the courtroom admission list, you weren't going
Speaker 1: to buy or charm your way. In the day of
Speaker 1: her execution, the Surat boarding house was attacked by souvenir seekers,
Speaker 1: who had to be stopped by police. In the end
Speaker 1: of the ten final suspects, one fled, one was killed.
Speaker 1: The four it this military commission were sentenced to death
Speaker 1: by hanging, and three others in a separate trial were
Speaker 1: given sentences of life at hard labor. Ned Spangler's sentence
Speaker 1: was the lightest six years. During the trial, the press
Speaker 1: and public largely regarded Mary with disgust, but many stepped
Speaker 1: back from that position after witnessing her execution. Mary's conviction
Speaker 1: and her execution ignited a nationwide debate over whether or
Speaker 1: not female deserved special treatment in the eyes of the law.
Speaker 1: Mary was the first woman ever executed under federal orders
Speaker 1: in the United States. Her execution came under considerable criticism
Speaker 1: in certain circles. H. L. Burnett, who served on the
Speaker 1: military commission that convicted her, defended her sentence, saying, quote
Speaker 1: whomever indulges in wide mouth proclamations or pronounces her conviction
Speaker 1: an inhumane crime, unsupported by evidence, betrays an animous to
Speaker 1: say the least, not over careful of truth. Civilians are
Speaker 1: no longer tried before military commissions a practiced. The U. S.
Speaker 1: Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in the ex part Milligan decision
Speaker 1: of April eighteen sixty six. Mary's body was not released
Speaker 1: to the Sarat family until February of eighteen sixty nine.
Speaker 1: She has since been reburied in Mount Olive's Cemetery, one
Speaker 1: of the oldest and largest Catholic cemeteries in Washington, D C. Today,
Speaker 1: you can visit the boarding house if you'd like, but
Speaker 1: things have changed a lot. The building at six o
Speaker 1: four eight Street Northwest is now the home to a
Speaker 1: restaurant in Karaoke Lounge in Washington's Chinatown neighborhood. A historical marker,
Speaker 1: located in Judiciary Square in the district, commemorates the site
Speaker 1: of the Mary Surat boarding house, about a seven minute
Speaker 1: walk from six o four eighth Street, which I bet
Speaker 1: we could carry our beverages as we can put it
Speaker 1: in a cup. Sure, exactly the perfect it's time for
Speaker 1: the perfecty poor. So this is one that gave me
Speaker 1: much inspiration in a weird way, just in the timing
Speaker 1: of Mary's story takes place right around the same time
Speaker 1: that Jerry Thomas was working. And you'll recall his first
Speaker 1: cocktail book came out in eighteen sixty two. We've talked
Speaker 1: about it before, so I pulled out my copy and
Speaker 1: started producing it for ideas, And one section that really
Speaker 1: got me thinking was he has a whole lot of
Speaker 1: punches in that book, specifically whiskey punches, and I was
Speaker 1: looking at those because Mary was said to hus specifically
Speaker 1: mentioned having whiskey ready as part of that testimony against her.
Speaker 1: So this seemed like a good place to start, because
Speaker 1: Mary was accused of many things, but she was characterized
Speaker 1: as being the hostess of the meetings. I plotted their
Speaker 1: kidnapping slash assassination of Lincoln interestingly enough, Abraham Lincoln not
Speaker 1: a drink where he's not going to have he can
Speaker 1: have the mocktail exactly from the other side away. I
Speaker 1: did not use any of Jerry Thomas's punch recipes, but
Speaker 1: I found some fun inspiration there. There was one punch
Speaker 1: in there that's called a vanilla punch that caught my eye.
Speaker 1: Of course, his is made with brandy. We're not doing
Speaker 1: that because I did stay true to the whiskey roots,
Speaker 1: but I still want to just point it out as
Speaker 1: an inspiration. It's a really fun book. For me. Just
Speaker 1: to like page through would be like, wait, they put
Speaker 1: what with what? It's always delightful. And because she was
Speaker 1: the first woman executed under federal order, I thought we
Speaker 1: would call this one dubious honor. And this is really
Speaker 1: easy to put together, but it's very interesting. It's an
Speaker 1: ounce and a half of bourbon. I used bourbon. You
Speaker 1: could use another whiskey if you wish. It's obviously going
Speaker 1: to change the character, but I went with bourbon, one
Speaker 1: ounce of lemon cello, Oh, an interesting start, and a
Speaker 1: couple of drops of vanilla extract. You're gonna put those
Speaker 1: in a shaker with ice. Shaky shake, shake, and then
Speaker 1: you will strain that into a glass with a large
Speaker 1: ice cube like you would use for an old fashioned
Speaker 1: because you have diluted it enough with the ice and
Speaker 1: the shaker, you don't want to exacerbate the dilution with
Speaker 1: a smaller ice cube. And then you top that with
Speaker 1: ginger beer. I love when we top things with ginger beer, Maria,
Speaker 1: How delicious is this drink? Freakishly Because here's the thing, right,
Speaker 1: Bourbon or whiskey is obviously going to have its own bite.
Speaker 1: Ginger beer has its own bite. Depending on the brand
Speaker 1: you use, some of them are bitier than others. Lemon
Speaker 1: cello is sweet, but it also has that citrus bite
Speaker 1: to it, and yet two drops of vanilla extracts smooths
Speaker 1: all of that out. So it's almost like you get
Speaker 1: you get the power of it. And it's not that
Speaker 1: it lacks bite, but it doesn't make your face pucker,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? You know how sometimes when
Speaker 1: when you drink it really stiff drink, your lips kind
Speaker 1: of want to turn in on the situation. That's a
Speaker 1: great way to describe it. Not the case here, very yummy,
Speaker 1: very delightful, and refreshing. I am going to make a
Speaker 1: lot of these going forward, because I just was delighted
Speaker 1: and it's another great way against someone like me who
Speaker 1: has always been like man at the big on whiskey
Speaker 1: and bourbon. I will drink these all day long. I
Speaker 1: might be in trouble, but so delicious. I use the
Speaker 1: lemon cello because a lot of the punches that are
Speaker 1: mentioned in that book, as well as a lot of
Speaker 1: cocktails have a citrus note and a sugar, you know,
Speaker 1: as part of your mix, and I just thought that
Speaker 1: kind of has both of them. Let's try that just
Speaker 1: for fun, and that was a better flavor. I did
Speaker 1: do it using lemon juice and simple syrup, and I
Speaker 1: just didn't like it as much. It didn't have the
Speaker 1: same fullness of flavor. I just wasn't as good. Now
Speaker 1: for the mocktail, though, you want to get your lemon
Speaker 1: juice out, you are going to sub out the urban.
Speaker 1: You know how often for a whiskey or a bourbon,
Speaker 1: will say, make a very strong black tea. In this case,
Speaker 1: I want to do a combo of black tea and
Speaker 1: ginger tea or right like ginger tea. If you've never
Speaker 1: made it, you can buy it but also if you
Speaker 1: just have ginger, cut them up and pour boiling water
Speaker 1: on it, you have. The more you chop it up,
Speaker 1: the finer you chop it up, the more ginger e
Speaker 1: it will taste, because again we're playing a surface area
Speaker 1: game there. But you can also just throw a slice
Speaker 1: of ginger in your cup while your black teeth steeps,
Speaker 1: or if you like to boil it all with loose leaf,
Speaker 1: you can just throw some ginger in with your loose leaves.
Speaker 1: You're gonna strain it all anyway, so I would do that,
Speaker 1: and then in lieu of the lemon cello, you're gonna
Speaker 1: do half an ounce of lemon juice and half an
Speaker 1: ounce of simple syrup, and then you can still use
Speaker 1: your ginger beer and it is light and refreshing and
Speaker 1: not going to get you intoxicated. Hopefully. No, that was
Speaker 1: INGREDI answer unless you have an allergy, in which it's
Speaker 1: a different party, and I hope you you know you
Speaker 1: have the allergy and you do not lay dice with
Speaker 1: that situation. So yeah, that is the dubious honor, which
Speaker 1: might be my favorite one of the seasons so far.
Speaker 1: Really interesting. Well surpriser there, Yeah, yeah, what is this
Speaker 1: episode six. Yes, yes, so we're in it. Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: the one. Well, I can't wait to try it. That's good.
Speaker 1: I want to try it some more. I'm gonna try
Speaker 1: it right after this year, to try a little more immediately,
Speaker 1: if not sooner. We want to thank you for trying out,
Speaker 1: spending some time with us, and we hope that you
Speaker 1: need that again. Next week we will be right back
Speaker 1: here with another story of treason and another perfect poor.
Speaker 1: Criminalia is a production of Shonda land Audio in partnership
Speaker 1: with I heart Radio. For our podcasts from Shondaaland Audio,
Speaker 1: please visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
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