SLD
Contributor
The standard view on Lincoln's assassination is that it was carried out by a handful of angry southern sympathizers with no connection to the Confederate government. But I have always though that such a story makes no sense. Why would a small group of people on their own decide to completely decapitate the head of the federal government? How would they have received funds and plans for such an enterprise?
The south had a spy network throughout the north, including in Washington. But most of its records were destroyed with the fall of Richmond so we have no smoking gun. But there is in fact some surpirising substantial circumstantial evidence to link the conspirators, albeit indirectly, with high ranking Confederate officials, including even Jeff Davis and at least Judah Benajmin, the secretary of State, and former Secretary of War for the Confederacy. Benjamin was head of the confederate spy rings and burned all of the associated papers just before the fall of Richmond. He fled to Europe and never returned to the US. He was a lawyer by trade, and would have known that the government could be paralyzed by the simultaneous killing of the President, vice president, and secretary of State. At the time, the Secretary of State was responsible for governing the process of the next electoral college to choose the President. Booth most likely didn't understand exactly which officials to kill to guarantee maximum chaos.
There is also the curious issue of a raid into Richmond by Union troops over a year before the assassination. This was led by a Colonel Dahlgren, who was killed on the raid. On his person was found a paper indicating that he was to kill Jeff Davis if possible. Certainly the motive was there for retribution.
Then there is John Surratt, clearly a member of the Confederate spy ring around Washington. He actually travelled through Confederate lines and may have met with Benjamin.
I suppose we will never know for sure. According to Surratt the plan was originally only to kidnap Lincoln. Surratt was actually acquitted of murder.
All in all it seems highly unlikely that Surratt and Booth would not have acted without orders from higher ups. Surratt most likely fled because he knew the plot would fundamentally fail, and they would be hunted down as indeed they were, including his own mother. But he probably carried the orders from Benjamin, and Benjamin burned all of the evidence to protect himself and others.
The North though wasn't interested in creating this grand conspiracy after the war. the impact would have created too harsh a backlash to deal with.
Thoughts?
SLD
The south had a spy network throughout the north, including in Washington. But most of its records were destroyed with the fall of Richmond so we have no smoking gun. But there is in fact some surpirising substantial circumstantial evidence to link the conspirators, albeit indirectly, with high ranking Confederate officials, including even Jeff Davis and at least Judah Benajmin, the secretary of State, and former Secretary of War for the Confederacy. Benjamin was head of the confederate spy rings and burned all of the associated papers just before the fall of Richmond. He fled to Europe and never returned to the US. He was a lawyer by trade, and would have known that the government could be paralyzed by the simultaneous killing of the President, vice president, and secretary of State. At the time, the Secretary of State was responsible for governing the process of the next electoral college to choose the President. Booth most likely didn't understand exactly which officials to kill to guarantee maximum chaos.
There is also the curious issue of a raid into Richmond by Union troops over a year before the assassination. This was led by a Colonel Dahlgren, who was killed on the raid. On his person was found a paper indicating that he was to kill Jeff Davis if possible. Certainly the motive was there for retribution.
Then there is John Surratt, clearly a member of the Confederate spy ring around Washington. He actually travelled through Confederate lines and may have met with Benjamin.
I suppose we will never know for sure. According to Surratt the plan was originally only to kidnap Lincoln. Surratt was actually acquitted of murder.
All in all it seems highly unlikely that Surratt and Booth would not have acted without orders from higher ups. Surratt most likely fled because he knew the plot would fundamentally fail, and they would be hunted down as indeed they were, including his own mother. But he probably carried the orders from Benjamin, and Benjamin burned all of the evidence to protect himself and others.
The North though wasn't interested in creating this grand conspiracy after the war. the impact would have created too harsh a backlash to deal with.
Thoughts?
SLD