Useless, Useless

[PBrunsel]

Today in 1865 John Wilkes Boothe, the infamous murderer of President Lincoln, was killed by 24 Union Cavalry Men handpicked by Secretary of War Stanton.

Boothe had made a long run since killing Old Abe on April 14th, 1865. He had made it to Virginia (Bowling Green, Virginia, to be exact) and was camped out in the barn of local farmer Richard Garret. Garret told his sons to be suspicious of Boothe and his fellow conspirator David Herold. Boothe was allowed to stay in the barn, but not the farmhouse.

During the night the U.S. Cavalry caught up with Boothe and ordered he surrender. Boothe (wanting to be a martyr for the Southern cause) refuses to leave, so the barn is set on fire. Herold runs out of the barn and surrenders to the cavalry, but Boothe still refuses to go. It is at this time that Sergeant Boston Corbett sees his chance to kill Boothe. Despite being told not to fire at Boothe, Corbett fires through a crack in the barn wall and hits Boothe in the spinal chord. This paralyzes Boothe. Boothe was taken out of the barn and laid on the ground. He requested to look at his hands, and uttered, “Useless, Useless.” These were the last words Boothe ever muttered.

Conspiracy theories flooded Washington in the days after Boothe died. Some said he was not really dead, and a body double, James William Boyd, was the real dead man. Boothe was rumored to have escaped and was living in the rolling hills of Virginia. Secretary Stanton refused to begin a search for a dead man.

Boston Corbett was arrested for disobeying orders, but Stanton pardoned him stating, “The rebel is dead. The patriot lives.” Corbett received his share of the reward money, the huge sum (in 1865 of course) of $1,653.85.

The conspiracy to kill Lincoln and decapitate the Federal Government died completely on July 7th, 1865, when a bulk of the Boothe Conspirators were hung by the gallows. The dark chapter of the Lincoln Assasination in American History was over. 

[A18]

Some people would like murderers like these to just sit around in a cell. Amazing.

Of course, I would have given the treasonous thug hard labor. Or sell him into slavery to a bunch of black men.

[??????????]

Conspiracy theories flooded Washington in the days after Boothe died. Some said he was not really dead, and a body double, James William Boyd, was the real dead man. Boothe was rumored to have escaped and was living in the rolling hills of Virginia. Secretary Stanton refused to begin a search for a dead man.
coln Assasination in American History was over. 

Actually this conspiracy theory still floats around up until this day. I don't know if you've ever heard of the 'Knights of the Golden Circle' but they were a huge underground organization at that time in our history. It is said that Stanton was a member and he helped let Booth go. The Knights were involved in many train robberies it is said, in the far west during the 1870s-80s and they were stealing the gold and weapons to try and start a second civil war. It is said that Jesse James and his group was a part of that as well. The Ku Klux Klan was actually the "militia" front to this group and used as a cover to protect the K.G.C. from investigation by the federal govt. Much if it is speculation so it may be true or may not be.