Yes, The Lincoln Assassination Was A Conspiracy
As we will see, the highest levels of the Union Army were involved in aiding Booth’s escape.
I intend to read further into this grand conspiracy.
I recently was browsing through used/collectible books in Port Townsend and found two great books on the Lincoln assassination. After reading the first, I researched the net and found several others I feel are important, and all elude to a serious conspiracy to kill Lincoln, that included officials in the Union Army and possibly the Vice President, Andrew Johnson.
The first book we will look at is “Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth” by Finis L. Bates.
The copy I have is a reprint of the 1908 original, and it was serious enough to warrant an investigation by the FBI, which appears to consider that reliable information. Links to follow.
Our story begins with young lawyer Finis L. Bates meeting with a man in Texas, known as John St Helen.
St. Helen was being prosecuted for selling whiskey and Tobacco without a license, and hired Bates as a lawyer.
At one point, with Booth (St. Helen) trusting Bates, John St. Helen revealed that he was indeed John Wilkes Booth.
Bates remains skeptical throughout the book until conclusion, but for-shadows with this statement:
“I an now unwillingly, and yet unanswerably convinced that it is a fact that Booth was not killed, but made good his escape by the assistance of some of the officers of the Federal Army and government of the United States, located at Washington-traitors to President Lincoln, in whose keeping was his life- co-operating with Capt. Jett and Lieuts. Ruggles and Bainbridge, of the Confederate troops, belonging to the command of Col. J.S. Mosby, encamped in Bowling Green Virginia.”
At one point, Booth/St. Helen was so sick he thought he was dying. He summoned his lawyer Bates, and confessed he was the assassin Booth, and he gave him an old photo that would confirm his identity.
Bates simply could not believe that was true, but continued involvement with St. Helen/Booth for years after.
Booth described how his mission was to help kidnap Lincoln, but the mission changed. The interesting aspect of this book is Booth names lots of names. Names that need more research. One of his conspirators was David E. Herold. Both Booth and Herold were held by troops protecting Washington early on the day of the assassination, and were allowed to exit the Federal guard-post after the hit.
What had changed the kidnapping plan was that General Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
The Kidnap turned into a murder plot at that time.
According to the book, Vice President Andrew Johnson met with the conspirators at The Kirkwood Hotel (Presumably in Washington). Johnson was fully in with the plan if not the top planner.
On the night that Booth killed Lincoln at Ford’s Theater, General Grant was supposed to be his bodyguard, but was replaced by a lesser official and that man’s wife.
Booth was allowed access to Lincoln’s seat, and had his horse held for escape. Booth suffered a leg injury, not serious but painful, in his escape after shooting Lincoln.
At this point in the book, Bates begins a serious review of the events and starts tracking the evidence.
We can concur that Dr. Mudd, while a possible southern sympathizer (like VP Johnson) was clearly not involved in the larger conspiracy. The Dr. patched Booth’s leg with cigar box staves and gave him a broom handle to walk with. He did keep Booth’s riding boot, which was of no use, and there is no indication Mudd was aware of the assassination.
Bates then goes into an interesting investigation of the location of Booth’s body.
Presumably, Booth was shot in a barn and had papers on him to suggest his identity.
But Bates could not confirm a true location of Booth’s grave or details, no matter which Federal officer he consulted with. Body here, body there, body everywhere. Or nowhere.
It is believed the man shot in the barn was not Booth, but someone carrying papers for him.
Bates quotes G.D. Micklejohn, Acting Secretary of War:
(P. 213) ..”notwithstanding that the officials of the War Department were fully advised that there was no positive or direct proof on file with the Federal Government as to the death of John Wilkes Booth, as is fully shown by the letter of John P. Simonton, of the War Department, of date May 11th, 1898, almost five months later, I ask then why should these officials refuse to investigate the proof of these facts when offered?
Booth apparently committed suicide by drinking poison. He had been posing as a house painter in Oklahoma, but was living beyond his means. Bates again caught up with a now deceased Booth.
Booth’s body was confirmed by family and photos. He died in Oklahoma, by his own hand. He had told his entire story to his lawyer Finis Bates, but nobody in the government wanted to hear it.
This book, from 1908, paves a path to understand the assassinations of the 1960’s.
Lincoln may have been killed by a conspiracy that included Federal troops and a Southern sympathizer, Vice President AndrewJohnson.
President John Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy that included his Federal Government and possibly a Southern Vice President named “Johnson”..
The conspirators got away. A “patsy” was killed in a barn with some of Booth’s papers that suggested his identity.
Oswald, The “patsy” in Kennedy’s assassination, was killed in police custody before trial.
A commission determined the conventional cover-story.
As I researched this story, I began collecting other material on the subject.
This includes:
“The Conspiracy Between John Wilkes Booth And The Union Army to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln”, by Dr. Robert E. Arnold
And-
“The Man Who Killed Lincoln” by Philip Van Doren Stern 1939 (Not sure about this one yet)
“The Reason Lincoln Had To Die” by Don Thomas (Just got it)
“Crimes and Cover-ups in American Politics – 1776-1963” by Donald Jefferies
“Alais Paine, Lewis Thornton Powell, The Mystery Man of the Lincoln Conspiracy”
By Betty J Owensby
And this fine edition online by the late Dave McGowan,
“Why Everything You Think You Know About the Lincoln Assassination is Wrong: Part I”
by Dave McGowan | Jan 24, 2014
https://centerforaninformedamerica.com/anatomy-of-a-presidential-assassination-part-i/
I will detail my focus on these scenarios in an upcoming post, but with small exceptions, they all dovetail and build on each other.
Additionally, I am reading through a multi-document FBI website that examined the report written by Bates and gave it some “Cred”. Here is the link to the FBI report on Bates and his book about Booth’s escape and later suicide by poison:
http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/booth.htm
Or
https://web.archive.org/web/20050427172113/http://foia.fbi.gov/booth/booth1.pdf
The fact that the damned FBI considered Bates’s analysis credible suggests that there was a “Warren Commission before The Warren Commission”.
So we have several things to consider; The conspiracy to kill Lincoln that included the highest levels of the military and government, The cover-up that protected Booth, and the amazing comparisons to the Kennedy assassination.
I will review the other books I have listed above, and compare information that will make the new facts roll into a better understanding of the Lincoln assassination.
More to come.
John Titus
https://www.covertbookreport.com/
