Identification and Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth

\
LuthM B. Baker (left), COL Lafayette
Baker, and Everton J. Conger plan the
pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.
Identification and Autopsy
of John Wilkes Booth:
Reexamining the Evidence
Leonard F. GUllrKl1;C'
I
\
enator Carrel Dav;s, KYo' /
how' "ew." see" myselfuny .~Uf­
i!>juclUry t'videllct' 'hat BOOIII
I\'US k iIIe".
Senalor Reverdy Johnson, AID: I
S
submit 10 my friend from KellllU'ky
,hOf 'here ort! somt' things ,hat \1'(" must
take judicial/lOri/-£> of JUSt as In,1I as
'hat Julim Caesar is dead.
Senator Davis: I ~·..uuld rather haw'
!Huer It's/imunJ' of III" faCl. I wOn! it
provt!d 11101 8001h wus ill Ihat hum. I
January-February 1993
WO.f ill the baril_
ant! to hOl'e intjllirt't! of him 10 r('\'('al
laken ali"t-, I /tavt- til(' whol(' trall.mcrion . . ,[or] bring his
never $('('" ,m.l'bOl~I', or Jill' ,'vid('IIU' of hU((I' tip herC' ... leI all who hat! .w'ell
tllI)'body, /lWI idf'flfijied Boolh af'N /tim IJlaying. all who llHOf'i(l/C'(/ wilh
he i.f said 10 1101·'(' h,'nl killed. Why.m him Oil Ihl' SIU!:l' ur ill Ihc' grt'en ruom
much SNTl'I'J' oholl/ ii,' ... 77'l'rt' i~' a or al Ihl' IOI'l'flU' alit! OII/('r public
mystery ami a mO!>i inexp/ic'able mys- place.\·, hal'(.' hod access 10 his bod)' 10
tery 10 III)' mimi abow the whole af- hOI'(' idelllijil'(/ it,
fair. . . . [Booth) multi hal'e bel'''
Senoror Henry B. Anthony, RI: I
('optured jtdl as Irl'lI ali\'(' us deat!. It am happy 10 r('liel'(' m)' frielld from
would harl' hl'l'" "'m'h mort' .wlisfac·- Kl'muC"ky by i"formillg him thai a
tory 10 hOI'e brol/xht him lip hNl' aliv(' small part oflhl' skelelon of 800lh is in
Cotl1lot ("ol/t"eil't'.
why he lI'as
ifhe
lIot
17
Thousands o'''wanled'' poster. bearing
John Wilke. Booth', liken... were In
circulation within days of President Un-
coin', murder.
,he ul/a/omicol IIIl1seum of the Surgeon General. ... I do flOl kilO\\' holl' it
is idelltijied. hili il is (·(,rtiJied
10
be
that.(lj
Get Booth
Of our late beloved Presiden~ Abraham Lincoln,
II IftLL At LUCE.
$50,000·
=""__ =- REWARD
125,000 REWARD
125,000 REWARD
ww.
.1Uliaipal
Will 1M
,.
In--..
.,..w lbr u.. appr,t
ok w."fOPMh. . . . 1. ....... 110 ...7 .............. ~
•
11_
d
<JI JOIllf
a
.UUA.TT. 0.. 01 8oa4.b.. ",_,u-.
On the afternoon of Monday. 24
April 1865. 10 days after John Wilkes
Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
a Union army lieutenant. Edward P.
Doherty. reported to lafayellc Baker's headquarters on Pennsylvania
A"cnue in Washington. DC. SO did
two men in whom Baker. the War
Department's chief detective. placed
principal confidence: his cousin.
Luther B. Baker, and E"erton J.
Conger. Both had been Baker's close
aides in a locally active military unit
which. under his command. had conducted limited field operations earlier
in the Civil War. They were now private cilizens. Lafayette Baker reassigned them as wspecial detc<'tivcs w
carrying Iheir former military rank
and ordered them into Virginia to
scour Ihe country and wgel Boolh.~
LT DoherlY commanded the 16th
New York Cavalry detachment assigned to Ihe mission as an escort. An
officer with combat experience. he did
nOI relish subordinatinj,t himself to
Baker's confidential agents. And wilh
this simmering dispute over seniority.
Ihe party boarded the federal steamtug. 101m S, Ide al Ihe Sixlh Slreet
wharf and cast off at sundown.
They de5~nded Ihe Potomac River.
disembarked at Belle Plain lO~ard
midnight. and crossed funnel-shaped
King George County at its narrow
westerly side. the neck between the
Potomac and the Rappahannock
Rivers. The two detectives separated
from the main column and rode house
to house. arousing inhabitants from
sleep with shouted questions, Conger
for no clearly stated reason passing
himself off as ~Boyd from Maryland. ~
(1)
'NAVY MEOICINE
Garrett's Barn
rushed into the barn exelaiming that
Doheny's troops struck the Rappa- the man had shot himself. Baker
hannock at da.....n and by afternoon thought Conger had fired the bullet
were at a fisherman's cottage near the but Hthe idea flashed through my mind
ferry where they displayed photos of that if he had it had better not be
John Wilkes Booth. Doheny pressed known."(4)
They took the man's weapons. a
the fisherman. William Rollins, into
servicc as a guide. By nightfall that Spencer carbine and two pistols. carTuesday, all his 25 soldiers and the 2 ried him first tothe foot ofa locust trcc
detectives had crossed the river into and then. as fire enveloped the barn.
Caroline County. Acting upon infor- the Garrett's front porch. where he
mation from Rollins (or his wife). they was placed with a mattress beneath his
rode into Bowling Green and at the head. One of Doherty's soldiers rushed
Star Hotel hauled a young ex-Con- to Port Royal for a doctor. whose
federate army private named William name, Charles Urquhart. would evenJett from his bed at gunpoint. And tually surface-but not so any record
with Jett now their guide, the cavalry of his strange house call, nor a dealh
galloped back up the rutted highway certificate: nothing at all for posterity
to the farm of R'ichard H. Garretl. beyond the impression that after exTwo men were sheltered there. One amining the mortally wounded man.
.....as a Washington youth named David the doctor merely closed his bag and
E. Herold. The other was older. had a rode off into the predawn gloom.
bandaged leg. and supported himself never to be heard from.
The man survived the shooting
on crutches. He had presented himself
to the Garretts as a wounded Confed- about J hours. White he still breathed,
erate officer: one of his forearms bore Conger emptied his pockets. the conthe tattooed letters JWB. and he had
given his name as James W. Boyd.
After forcing the Garretts to reveal
that the pair slept within their large
lobacco barn. the troops surrounded
it. Luther Baker shouting for the men ~
inside to surrender. The lame man.
called Boyd. demanded 10 know why
he should do so and asked repeatedly
who was besieging him.
There followed through the locked
barn door a verbal give-and-take during which no names were ever volunteered. Herold chose to give himselfup
and the door was unlocked for him to
come out. As the soldiers seized the
young man and tied him to a tree. he
maintained that his companion in the
barn Htold me his name was Boyd. H(3)
Over LT Doherty's objections. detective Conger moved to the rear of the
barn and set it afire.
Between the barn's gaping side
timbers its sole occupant could be
seen, a stumbling silhouette against
the gathering blaze until a shot rang
out and he fell. The bullet had passed
through his neck.. shattering vertebrae
and severing the spinal cord. Luther Thl' I, how Harper. Weekly portrayed
Baker reached him first. then Conger Booth', final .tand In Garrett', bam.
I
January-February 1993
lafayette C. Baker, the War Department', chJef detective
tents of which included a liule book in
which the Garrells had seen "Mr.
Boyd" writing.(5)
Conger set out at once with these
items for Washington. Accompanying
him as far as the steamboat landing at
v
,
19
An lIIustrallon from Lafayet1e Baker'.
memoir portray. the a••a.sln'. la.t
moments.
did not act as severely as I should have
done with Mr. Baker."(8)
Shortly before II p.m. the party
with the body arrived off Alexandria
where Lafayette Baker took charge of
it. There ensued an unexplained delay
of at least 3 hours before it was transferred to a tug and borne across the
Potomac to the Washington Navy
Yard. What followed is described in a
testy letter written by LCDR Edward
E. Stone. commanding officer of the
ironclad monitor USS Montauk. laid
up in the yard for battle repairs. Stone
had been ashore at the time but
learned from his officers that:
Belle Plain was SGT Boston CorbCll. a
former hatter and religious mystic who
had rechristcned himself after the city
in which he claimed to have been born
agam. Upon arrival in the Capital.
Conger officially rcportcd that President Lincoln's killer had been tracked
down. cornered. and shot while trying
to escape. and that SGT Corbel! had
pulled the trigger.
Conflict and Myth
The foregoing paragraphs recount
all that can reliably serve to convey
what occurred at Richard Garrett's
farm on that April night nearly 128
years ago. Impartial study shows that
much else told and retold ever since
purporting to detail the capture and
demise of John Wilkes Booth is so
riddled with connict and myth as to be
necessarily viewed with caution. if not
dismissed outright.
This is significantly the case respecting the captive's alleged last words.
The detectives Conger and Baker testified that at different moments he mut·
teredo "Tell Mother I died for my
country." "I did what I thought was for
the best," "Kill me. oh. kill me." NDid
Jett betray me?" "My hands," and
finally. NUseless. useless. NLT Doherty's report to his superiors contains no
reference to any dying utterances and
20 years later he publicly denied that
20
any were made with the exception of
"Useless. useless. N(6) On this point. the
last word might be granled the Surgeon General of the Army who conducted an autopsy on the body from
Garrett's farm: "Immediately after the
reception of the injury. there was very
general paralysis ... deglutition [swallowing] was impracticable and one or
two attempts at articulation were
unintelligi ble. "( 7)
If such differences in testimony are
traceable to rivalry for reward money,
this possibility alone justifies circum·
spection. At any rate. not even the
record of the body's 18·mile journey
from the Rappahannock crossing to
the Belle Plain landing is without its
bizarre aspects. Luther Baker and a
two-man military guard had charge of
it and once across the river at Port
Royal. the detective pushed on ahead
of the troops. much to Doherty's consternation. As the lieutenant afterwards stated. "under some pretense or
other [Baker] managed 10 send the
guard back to me with some frivolous
message and stole away with the
body." And when Doherty reached
Belle Plain, the corpse was nowhere in
sight. After it had belatedly appeared.
to be placed aboard t he waiting
steamer. Baker blamed his ex-slave
wagon driver for taking the wrong
road. Said Doherty in later years. "I
a lug came alongside. on board of which "'as
Colonel Baker. lhe detective, with a dead body.
said 10 be lhat of J.W. Booth. the assassin. Said
body was passed on board Wilh the implied
ullderstanding that it had been put on board for
safe·keeping. No orders whalever were left wilh
lhe officer of the guard or the commanding officer .
concerning it. nor was any wriuen
aUlhority for so disposing of il shown to any
officer of the vessel. It was a most informal and
unmilitary proceeding. which should Ilave been
nipped in lhe llud,(9)
Following anxious word from the
commandant of the Navy Yard that
the body was "changing rapidly. What
disposition shall be made of it? "(10)
the Secretaries of War and Navy conferred before breakfast then sent a
reply across town:
You will permit Surgeon General IJames and
Ilis assistant. accompanied by Judge Advocate
Genl Holt. Hon Jolin A. Bingham.· Special
Judge Advocate. Major Eckert. Wm G. Moore.
clerk of the War Department. Col. L.c. Baker.
Lieut. Baker. Lieut. Col. Conger. ehas Dawson.
J.L. Smilh, Gardiner [sic) (phOlographer) • assistant. to go on board the Monlauk. alld sec the
body of John Wilkes Booth.
Immedialely after the Surgeon General has
made his autopsy. you will have the body plact:d
in a strong box. and deliver it to lhe charge of
Col. Baker-the box being carefullysealed.(l/)
•John A, Bingham. a rormer congressman from
Ohio. laler served as the only civilian on the
commission lhaluied lhe alleged Lincoln assas·
sination conspirators.
NAVY MEDICINE
All but 3 of the 13 cited in the above
order were connected with the War
Departmenl. The exceptions were the
photographers Alexander Gardner
and his assistant Timothy O·Sullivan.
and Dawson. the latter a clerk at the
National Hotel where the assassin had
frequently stayed. The wording of the
order reflects an official presupposition that the body was indeed Booth's,
If the nation (and posterity) wanted
more convincing identification. the
proceedings aboard the floating ironclad during the next few hours would
have to suffice.
officers who he was. or seeming to pay
the slightest respect to Military etiquette ... walks up to the corpse and
commences to cut adrift the wrappings.-U,l) Testimony was taken. but
not from LT Doherty. First thing that
morning. Lafayette Baker had promised him career advancement and
reward money. But since -publicity
might frustrate plans.- Doherty was
ordered to -go to your barracks and
keep your mouth shut.-(/J) Also -disposed of. It cannot be found. ~ according to Luther Baker. was ~a sworn
statement'" he made before Joseph G.
Holt. Judge Advocate General of the
A Parade of Witnesses
Army. "before I gave up the body. I
The weather that Thursday fore- was the first to give evidence,"'(4)
In the pilot room over the turret.
noon was warm for April. the MontQuk's armorplate hot to the touch. Holt and Bingham. the -SpecialJudge
The body from Garrett's farm lay on a Advocate." took depositions and hurbench alongside the rotatable gun ried through an abridged set of questurret. an awning mercifully shielding tions. The hotel clerk Dawson. the
it from the sun's rays. Shortly before only private citizen other than the
noon. Joseph K. Barnes. Surgeon photographers authorized to -see the
General of the Army. had come on body of John WjJhs Booth.~ claimed
board -and without informing any to have been ~merely as intimate [with
USS Monr.uk (left) at the Phllad"phla Navy Yard about 1902.
the actor) as I would be with any guest
in the hotel. I distinctly recognize [the
body as Booth's)-first from the gen·
eral appearance. next from the India
ink letters J. W.B. on his wrisl.- Which
wrist? -rhe left."(l5) (Booth's initials
were on his right arm. according to a
letter the War Department had just
received from the Army's provost
marshal general at Baltimore.)
For reasons not officially explained.
decisions were made to secure additional "'witnesses,- Conveniently at
hand. the captain's clerk on Momou/.:.
claimed to have known Booth personally ~about six weeks, .. and recognized [I he body) when it was brought
on board, ., from the general appearance."(/6)
The Momouk's acting-master. William W. Crowninshield. had also
-known Booth~ 6 weeks. "was introduced to him on two different Qccasions. He was about five feet ninc and
threequarter inches high." To this
oddly meticulous estimate. Crowninshield added that he idemified the
The Doctors (lett to right): Samuel Mudd
set Booth's broken leg, Joseph K.
Barnes directed the autopsy on Montauk, ..slsted by Joseph J. Woodward.
John Frederk:k May's contradIctory testimony lett several questions unanswered.
body "from my knowledge of its general appearance."CIl) A Washington
lawyer related to Man/auk's marine
captain had "met [BOOlh] one evening
at a 'hop' at the National Hotel" and
recognized the cada\'er as Booth's
from its ~general appearance ... I do
not think I can be mistaken. "(/8)
Though readily approachable In the
city of Washington. no stage acquaintances of John Wilkes Booth viewed
the body. No personal friends or relati\'cs of the actor were summoned to
identify him. Some of Booth's coconspirators in an alleged assassination plot were actually on Momauk.
shackled within the windlass room and
the sail room. but they stayed there.
Almost as if to explain why no categorical evidence was sought. it would
be reported that "the shaving off the
mustache. the outcropping of the
beard. the untidy and disordered appearance of the body. had so changed
the assassin's look that his stage and
street acquaintances would hardly
have recognized the corpse as that of
John Wilkes Booth.~(l9) At the same
time. newspapers reported that the
War Department was in possession of
Booth's diary. but 2 years would P:ISS
before there was any official announcement to this effect.
That Booth had indeed shaved off
his mustache was reliably reported to
the War Department. also that he had
fractured a bone in his leflleg, Records
do not show who, if any, of the ~wit­
nesses" on Montauk were aware of
those reporlS. Booth had rid himself of
the mustache on 15 April at the hQme
of the Maryland physician. Samuel
Mudd. who set his fractured limb. In
Virginia. one of Richard Garrell'S
daughters would remember that their
visitor, ~Mr. Boyd," wore a mustache.(lO) After Alexander Gardner
22
photographed the body aboard Montauk. his assistant. Timothy O'Sullivan. carried the plate to their studio
accompanied by a government detective under orders to take possession of
both plate and print once it was developed. He was then to deliver these
items to the Secretary of War or
Lafayette Baker. 11] even went into
the dark room. ~ the detective remembered. He had not seen the body on
MOIllQuk itself. but on his way to the
War Department he peeked into the
envelope containing the picture. ~h
looked just like the pictures attached
to the [reward] postcrsexccptthat the
hair was longer on the sides, the mustache was shaggy and dirty.... Ithink
it was Booth... ."(lJ)·
Everton Conger was asked if "the
body on board this boat. which has
been recognized by other witnesses as
that of John Wilkes Booth. is the man
killed by you?"Conger replied yes, and
as for recognizing him at Garrett's
farm. he did so "from his resemblance
to his brother. I had often seen his
brother. Edwin Booth. play in the
theater." On the same point. Luther
Baker testified that he had turned the
fallen man over. ~Iooked at his face.
°Bolh Ih~ photogr.llphic
prim disaPlX'arro.
plal~
and 1M slngk
and saw it was Booth's.judging by the
likeness I had. "(21)
As ifto enhance the credibility oft he
proceedings aboard Montauk. yet one
more witness was required. Lafayelle
C. Baker, as head of Secretary of War
Ed .....in M. Stanton's detective corps.
had already acquired the wanime reputation of a scheming bully upon
whose say·so innumerable citizens.
innocent and guilty alike. were locked
up in the Old Capitol Prison. When
Baker came calling in person on Dr.
John Frederick May to identify the
remains on Montauk, ~I deemed it
most prudent to obey. ~(23) But when
he stood by the crude bier and the
tarpaulin cover was removed. May at
once turned to Surgeon General
Barnes and said, "There is no resemblance in that corpse 10 Booth. nor can
I believe it to be him. "(24)
WaShington-born and eminent in
the fields of medicine and surgery.
May was middle-aged and married
with six children. Thai he was believed
to have once removed a tumor from
Booth's neck was the stated reason for
his appearance on the monitor. After
his initial astonishment. he asked if the
body had a scar on the back ofits neck
and Barnes said it had. Presumably. it
would not be a neat scar, as Booth had
reopened the wound during a subsequent stage performance. More likely.
it would now resemble "a large. ugly
looking scar instead of a neat line.
[Barnes] said it corresponded exactly
NAVY MEDICINE
RlOCOfa. o! IIIe Columt>le Hi.. oriuI
Vol2V·:Kl. P.n J. lta
~-'Y.
headed -Wounds and Injuries of the
appears: "CASE-J.W.B.was killed on April 26th 1865. by a
conoidal pistol ball. fired at the distance of a few yards from a cavalry
n=volver.~(19) The details that follow
conform with the catalogue entry and
go on 10 stale the impracticability of
deglutition on the part of the victim
and the unintelligibility of his ~one or
two attempts at articulation.~(jO) At
the National Museum of Health and
Medicine (today part of the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology). the
original card allached to Specimen
4086 quotes the catalogue text. but
shows word erasure and substitution
done in 1931 to make it read ~pistol
ball. ~ thus corresponding to the lext in
Surgit'of lIislor)'.
The corpse had a proclivity for disappearing acts. LT Doherty had lost it
on the trail back from Garreu's farm,
The macabre sleight of hand was
repealed at the Washington Navy
Yard whose commandant. John B.
Montgomery. a veteran of the War of
1812. made known his ire and bafflement. "The removal of the body [from
Mati/auk] was entirely without my
knowledge
suddenly and unexpectedly removed
, This unusual transaction depriVed me of opportunity for
enclosing the body in a box ... as
ordered.-U/)
LeDR StOIlC (shortly thereafter to
be replaced as MOfl/(Juk's captain by
his acting-master. one of the identifiers) angrily likened the body's departure to its furtive arrival. "I'm sorry to
say that I was not present at eithcr time
or I should have put a stop to il. ~(jZ)
Spine~
with my description, ~(15) Docs [May)
recognize the body as Booth's'! ~I
do , .. though it is very much altered.
It looks to me older ... more fn..-ckled.
I do not recollect that he was at all
freckled.~ The doctor could not be
mistaken? ~From the scar [and) the
featurcs. which though much changed
and altered. still have the same appearance. I think I cannOi be mistaken. I
recogni7e the likeness. I have no
doubt. ... ~(16)
behind the sterno-cleido muscle 2!h
inches above the clavicle. passing
through the bony bridge of the fourth
and fifth cervical vertebrae-severing
the spinal cord and passing out
through the body of the sterno-cleido
of the right side. 3 inches above the
clavicle. Paralysis of the entire body
was immediate."(27)
Barnes referred to a ~gu nshot
wound." nil> CalQlogup of /hp Surgical Sec/ion of Ihe Uniled S,a/es Army
Medical Museum. published under his
Autops)'
direction in 1866. describes the wound
Joseph K. Barnes was a Harvard- as caused by:
schooled doctor on close tcrms with
Secretary of War Stanton. to whom he a conoidal carbine bullet [lhat) en!ered the
righl side, cOmminuling the base of the right
owed his status in the sphere of mil- lamina oflhe fourlh ~erlebra, fracturing 'tlongi·
itary medicine, Two weeks before. ludinally and separaling il from the spinous
Barnes had been one of a half d07.en process. at the same time fracturing the fifth
physicians engaged in the postmortem lhrough ils pt'diclt and in~ol\'ing lhal IranS-'erst
examination of the slain President. process. The missile passed directl), through lhe
canal "..ilh a right irn:lination down\\'ard and 10
Now he would conduct an autopsy on lhe rear, emerging through the left bastS of the
the body just identified as the assassin. founh and fifth laminae. which arc comBarnes was assisted by Joseph J. minuted, and from which fragments were emWoodward. a brilliant young re- bedded In the muscles of the ned.. The bulltl in
searcher in phOiomicrography at the its course a"oided the large cen Ita] "cutls.I.?B)
recently established Army Medical
Without mentioning names. the
Museum. then located two blocks east catalogue numbers the specimens of
of the White House. Afterwards. venebrae and spinal cord--From a
Woodward wrapped in brown paper case where death occurred a few hours
the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord after injury. 26th April 1865~ -as 4086
showing the track of the bullet, These and 4087. The year 1875 saw publicahe carried to the Museum where in due tion of The Medical olld Surgical Hiscourse they were mounted and cata· lOry of the IVor of tht' Rebellio"
logued. Surgeon General Barnes (/861-65). also under Dr. Barnes'
meanwhile wrote to Stanton that the direction. The cases reported here are
cause of death was ~a gunshot wound generally identified each by the name
in the neck-the ball entering just of thc soldier victim. but in a section
January-February 1993
The Disposition
Under Lafayeue Baker's supervision. the body was taken in a boat to
the grounds of Washington's old peni·
tentiary. in wartime use. an arsenal.
Partly shrouded in a gunny sack. it lay
awhile in a small summer house upon a
jetty. An inquisitive passerby glimpsed
its face and ~recogni1.ed it [as Booth's]
from posters and circulars.~(jj) Its
next stop was in one of the old cells.
then serving as an ordnance storeroom. where it was quickly interred.
23
Nal'''''''1 Museum cl Heal'" and Me<licine...... IP
A lucite rod traces the path of the bullet that killed the man in
Garrett's barn (posterior and anterior [opposite page] views).
It may be noted that Surgeon General Barnes' contradictory
descriptions 01 the wound, neither 01 whk:h are wholly supported by the anatomIcal specImens, cast further doubt on
the reliability of the identification and autopsy.
Two years later. during structural renovation. the remains were transferred
to anolher part of the facility. That
same year the War Department made
public the diary entries Booth had
written while a fugitive. Conger testifying that the booklet containing them
was laken off Ihe man killed at Garrett's farm.(34) Many of its pages had
clearly been cut away. Conger. Stanton. and Thomas T. Eckert. his close
aide and chief of the military telegraph. all stated that the booklet was
in the same mutilated condition when
they had first seen it.(J5) Lafayelle
Baker. by that time no longer in
government service. testified to the
contrary.(J6)
Early in 1869. after Stanton's departure from the War Department and in
belated response to requests from
Edwin Booth. the remains were taken
up yet again and removed to a Baltimore undertaker for transfer to the
Booth family. There was more talk of
identification. and this time to be confirmed by·tocation of a plugged looth
in the skull.(37) Joseph. youngest of
24
the Booth brothers. supervised the
proceedings. Edwin was not present.
Eyewitness recollections. most published decades later. contained references to physical features but at the
timc it was locally reported that ~the
flesh [has] disappeared. leaving
nothing but a mass of blackened
bones. "(38)
Dr. Mudd. when under arrest for
alleged complicity in Lincoln's
murder. had dcscribed Booth's leg
injury as "a straight fracture of the
tibia about two inches above the ankle.
There was nothing resembling a compound fracture.~(39) In his leiter to
Secretary Stanton after the autopsy on
MOII/llUk, the Army Surgeon General
had stated that ~the left leg and foot
wcrc encased in an appliance of splints
and bandages. upon the removal of
which. a fracture of the fibula (small
bone of the leg) 3 inchcs above the
ankle joint, accompanied by considerable ecchymosis. was discovered. "(40)
In MOflfQuk's pilothouse that sultry
April Thursday no questions had been
asked about the leg. However, shortly
before hisdealh in 1891 Dr. Maycomposed a mcmoir in which he attributcd
his identification of the body to ~my
mark ... unmistakably found by mc
upon it. Ncver in a human had a
grcater change taken place ... every
vestige of resemblance to the living
man had disappeared. But the mark of
the scalpel during life remaincd indelible in death" scttling once and for all
"the identity of the man who had assassinatcd the Prcsident." And the leg?
"The right limb was greatly contused.
and perfectly black from a fracture of
onc of the long bones...."(4/)
An old man's memory playing him
false? This was suggcstcd more than 30
years later and drew it response from
May's son. also a doctor. His fathcr's
statements were unfailingly reliable. If
he said that thc right leg was bruised
and discolorcd. "that would undoubtedly mean that it was the right leg that
was brokcn."(41)
Leiters that rencctcd puzzlcd or suspicious minds reached the desk of thc
Judge Advocate General of the Army.
They had comc 10 the right place. In
NAVY MEDICINE
~."O<\&I
MU"'l\lm (>1 H.-I", aM MlICl,c,"e. AfIP
All by MO_ Ja<:l<oon. NSHS
his memoir Dr. May refers to "'a commission of high functionaries of the
government formed to obtain evidence
as to [ Booth's] idenl ificat ion. "'(43) The
"'commission" was Judge Advocate
General Joseph Holt and his assistant
Bingham. and the statements they
took on MOl1tauk were '.ppropriately filed in the Judge Advocate General's office. as was documentation
detailing the search for Booth and the
capture at the Garrett farm. The
record oflhe manhunl and oflhe ritual
on MOil/Gill. was from the beginning,
and would remain. part of the archives
of that office. One of the inquiring
leiters. in 1912, asked "what became of
John Wilkes Booth and whether there
is positive proof of his having been
shot to death?"'(44) The Judge Advocate General replied that "This office
has no official information concerning
the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes
Booth."(45) And when, 3 years later,
the secretary of the Washington. DC.
based Columbia Historical Society
sought the names of the "high func~
tionaries" mentioned by May, the
response. from the same Judge Advocalc GeneraL was that "'this office has
no offici.. ; reports or information concerning the capture and killing of
Booth, nor as to what means. if any,
were taken to identify the body of the
January-February 1993
man broughl to the Navy Yard at
Washington as that of the ass assin."'(46)
Rererences
I. CO"xrf5Sir>l!ul (ilo/>(-. 28 July 1866. p
4292.
2. Baker lC. //i.'wry of 111/' UII;//'d SIUI"5
SI'",,'I S,'",;,"', P 534.
J. &mml SWI/luy II/'{uld. 11 Dec 188L See
al,o Slalemern or William S. Jell. 6 May 11165.
11I1"'Slif(Ulhm ond Tr;ol Pop"", Rl'lolinx 10 II,..
AJ'sossinOli(m of P,,'sid"1JI tim'ulll.
4. Pitman B. Doheny ll.'stimony of 22 I\lay
1865 in 17,,' ASSiJsS;I1Olivl/ vIl'r/".,idfm UI/culn
omllii/" Trial of Ihl' Compiralurs. p 95.
5. I"'/X'odm",m '''''I'Mif(OIiml: Tf!slimullY
TiJk<.·1l lkfur/' II", Judidury Commill/'I' of Ilt/'
1I00/sl' of RI'f)rl'-'/'I/!Uliw.• inlh/' In"/'sliXOliml of
Cltargl'S AgaillSl Allduw Jolm.lon. p 481.
o. The Repon ofL";ul. Ed,,"~rd I' Doherty.
SiXleenth N.Y. Ca,'alr~'. Wa~hington. DC, 29
April 1865. Wor of litl' H,'bl'1lion: OJ.fil"ial
H"fords of Ill/' Ullh", <lnd Gmfl',/frUII' Ar",;/'s.
Series I. Vol 46. pp 1317-1322; Carpenler FG.
The eaplUre of John Wilkl.'s Booth. Uppim'ol/'s
Momhly. Vol 49. Seplernhcr 188J, p 449.
7. Thl' ,lhdif"U1 ami S"rt(i('iJl Hi."ur.!' oj tilt'
Wor oflit,· H/"bdlion (1861-1865). Vol I. p 452.
8. Edward P. Doherly to Andrew Johnson.
23 Dl.'e 1865. H"/"ord" orllt/' AdiUlall/ (;..n"',,(.,
OfJici'. 178(fJ··1917.
1,1. Ilibhcn ~lli. 1/isloryoflltl' Wasllillf("'"
N'I"y )'ard. p 149.
10. Ibid.. P 146.
II. l'holOg,dph of leuer of S(,erclary of Ihe
Navy Gideon Wells <I nd Sl.'uetaryofWar Edwin
M. Slamon in KaI7.DM. JIIim"S5IQall Era: Tltl'
Uf.. iJ",1 PhO/v!:raplts of AII'.wndu (iiJrd"a, p
159.
12. Hibhcn. p 149.
13. Edward 1'. Doheny 10 Andrew .lohn,on.
2J Dee 1865.
14. "",)<'a('/III1/'1II In"l'slixalion, p 48.1.
15. Charles Dawson testimony. 27 April
1l)65. ""'(,Sligolion uml r"al Pal','r5 Rf'ialing 10
III/' Assaninulion vJ Pr,'sit/l'/1/ Lillcoln.
16. Charll.'s M. Collins le'llmon)'. 27 April
1865. """'J'ligalion amI Trial Papers.
17. William w. Crowninshield testimony. 27
April 1865. (,"'f!.'ligUlioll ami Trial PupuJ'.
18. ScalDn Munroe Il.'SIimony,27 April 11165.
In"/'5I;xalioll ami Triol PaIJI/fS.
19. N,· ...· l'ork rrilt'lnf!. 29 April 11165.
20. &'51"" S"mluy flfralt!. II Dee I Ill) I.
21. Ka17. pp 161-162.
22. I'ilman H. E"erton J. Conger ltstimony.
17 May 1865. p 91. Lluhcr IbkerSlaleml.'m. 27
April 1865. R,·.'v"/,' of lit/" AdiulllnI (;I'IIf!r"fs
OfJic... 178(fs-1917.
13. Mo)' Jf~ Mark '!f litl' Scolp/"I.
14. Ihid.
}5. Jvltn r. Ma)' 11'.llimony. 17 Ap,,1 1lJ65.
I""uligoliun and Triol Pap.'r,..
26. Ibid.
27. Joseph K. Il;lrn\-s 10 Edwin M. Sla11l0n.
27 April 1865. R/'t"Ord., of lit/' AdjulutII G/'ItfTof.. Offici'. 17/J«5·1917.
28. nil' Calalogul' of til/' SllrJ.:/f'ol S .../"Iiml uf
Iltl' Ullill'd SIIII<'.• Army M..di<"al MUJl'lIIJI. p 58.
29. Tit/' M"d,,"ul ami S"rX"'ol "iSlOr)' of IIIl'
War of Iltf R/"bl'lIion (1861-1865). Vol I, P 452.
30. Ibid.. p 452.
31. Hibben. p 147.
32. Ibid .. P 149.
J3. &011 IOU. Monograph In David H. Rales
COlicClion.
34. 11/I(H"a"hm/'m '''''u1iXa,io'': 7"'~'/llIIo"y
Tukl''' &'.Iu,,' Iltl' Jmlt";ur)' Cvmm;/I/,,/, of lit/"
!lO/IS/" of R"(Jrf!-'/'n!oli,·".< itt 11t,·lm·I'.\"{igalivlI vf
Clturx".1 Af(a;nsl Ami",,,' Jultnsml. pp 323-33 I.
25
3S, Ibid.• P 324. pp 672-673.
36. Ibid.• p 33.
J7. "T'M Sallimo" A",~rkun. 17 feb 1869:
Rosr:or: T. n. WrlJ oICompi,uq. pp 527-5J I;
Smilh G. Anw,kun GOlllir: Th,. Sto"'olAm,.,;,
ru's UKtndu'y n,,.alrkal f"umil,·-Junius.
Ed,,·in. und John Wilkts Boor". pp 231-249.
38. 11,,. &Ilimo,,. Am",Ir,m. 11 Feb 1869.
39. Samuc:l Mudd ~Ialemenl. 21 April 11165.
AS.\fUJ';mJlio" "nd T,illl Papt"s.
40. Joseph K. Barnes 10 Edwin M. Slanlon.
21 April 1865. RI'(,,,,ds 0/ /ltr AdjUlum Grnn·
ufs Of/i'·". 1780's·1917,
41. May. Mark oflhe Scalpel.
42. William Maylo George M.llamy. 7 No ...
1927. Wilkerson Iile, EH S....-aim ColleC\ion.
Grorgelo.....n Unhocl1iil)' Lib..-ry.
4J. Ma)'. Mark of lile Scalpel.
44. John De Ha\ocn 10 War Depanmenl. 26
Jan 1912. RNordJ ol/Iw Adjuumt Gtllt',ufs
OJTK~. 178O's·1911.
45. Judge' Ad\'l)(';Ite Genc..-rs rt'ply 10 l)c
Haven \'ia Adjulanl Genc..-I·s orfice. JI Jan
1912. Rrrordsoll/K' Ad''fKUI,.G,.n,.,uf, OfTKt.
178f1s-1917.
46. Judge Ad\'OCale General's reply 10 M~ry
S. Beall via Adjutant General's Orrice. 7 Dec
1915. RI'l"Q,d, v/lht' A,/w}('ulf' Gnu·rafs QIP'·,.,
178fYs-1917.
Bibliography
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111t C",aloxU#' of rM SulXlrtll SNlilJl1 0/,1,1'
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CtntUf)' Maga;"". January 1890.
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''''I,,.urJlm/,,,, I",·tsligalion: T/'slimvny
TnA,t" &-/urt Iht Judi(iary Commil/t,t "I'h,.
lIouu 0/ RtprtumOliw·s ill/"t I",·tsligulim, v/
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1861.
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In.·~J/l1:0liOll o"d Triul PofJ't'rs Rtfoling 10 Iht
ASSilssino,ion 01 Prtsidtm UnNJJn. RG 153.
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"C.
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~r."./ S",,·iu. Philadc:lphia:LC Baker: 1861.
1"ht &llimfNt Ad,'t'IlMr. 29 April 1865.
1ht' SaI,imfN,. A"K',lrul/. 11 Feb 1869.
BaIt'S OH. Manuscnpt. Rare Books Di\'ision.
Libra/)' of Congreu. Washington_ DC.
n" &swn Sundu)' Ut,lIld. II Dec- IllSl.
Carpenln FG. The- capture of John Wilkes
Mu}' W. Ltncr lO Gc:orlle M. Bailey. 1 Nov
1927. Copy in Wilktrson file. E.H. S...·aim Col·
lcC'lion. Special Collcclions Oi\ision. Georgelo ....·n Uni\"C'l1iity Library. Washinglon. DC.
n. Mtd"'al"nd SUI~it'OJ lIiSlOr)'o/'''t W..r
01'"'' RrlwlliOll (1861·186j). Vol I. WashingIon. OC:GO"'ernmtnl Printing orr1«; 1875.
Munror: S. R«olleclionsofLincoln's Assassi-
nalion. No,,11 Amtrirun R,."~,,. April 1896.
TIlt' N~ .. York Tribun,.. 29 April 186S.
Paullin C. The- Navy and tilt Booth conspi..-tors, Illinois S'Olt lIisw,.;NJII Surit'l)' JOUf/loJ.
Septembc:r 1940:J3.
Pilman B, Tht AJSilssimltiOll 01 PrtJidtnl
U",:oln o"d ,Ill' Trilliol/itt ConspirOlrHs. Cincinrnni:Moorc. Wlls1ach. and ~ldwin;186S.
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0
,1,..
Leonard F. Gutuklgt is a historian and tile
author of §c'oc..-I books on na,..1 history. lie
resides in AIc,o;andria. VA.
The Forensic Evidence
For this article. Navy M,dici", requcsted that a siudy
be made of the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord seclion recovered by Dr. Joseph Woodward following the
autopsy aboard USS MomauJc_ A tcam of forensic
palhologislS and anthropologisls from lhe National
Museum of Heallh and Medicine and the Anned Forces
Institute of Pathology in Washington. DC. were able 10
cstablish thatthc fatal wound. caused bya largccaliber.
low velocity weapon. entered the neck high on the right
side. traversing downward and exiting the neck low on
lhe left side. There is no evidence that the wound was
self-innicted. pUlling 10 rest one hypothesis that the
2.
man in Garrett's barn may have shot himself. The posterior aspect of the spinal cord exhibils severe damage
consislent with quadriplegic paralysis. The spinal cord's
anterior aspect is intact. indicating that respiration
might have continued for several hoon.
With such a small sample to study. the scientists were
unable to dclenninc lhe precise age or tdeRtity of lhe
victim. only that he was a young to middk-aged adult.
A forensic study of the long bones and skull augmenled
by Ihe usc of video superimposition could establish once
and for all whether the body of John Wilkcs Boolh
reposes in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery. -J k H
NAVY MEDICINE