The Surratt that should have been hung was her son John. He was the real conspirator and eventually got away with his crime, cowardly allowing his mother to take his punishment. I believe she was aware of what was going on in her boarding house, but never thought she would be held responsible for it.
@@juliehawkins3816 he had no morals that passed through the families. He very well should of came forward to save his mother. I hope today's living family carries with them the morals their grandmother and great mothers passed onto them.
One thing you need to know is the alleged conspirators were not allowed to speak on their own behalf at the trial, because of the weird military trial it was. There was no articulate Mrs. Surratt talking back to the prosecution!
This is how the lawyers of the defense wanted it, because if they really would have had a complete trial, the roads would have led back to the Vatican and Pope Pious IX, who ordered the assassination. They wanted to keep that from the public at all costs.
Hi. My late husband and I made this film. We were very aware that Mary was not allowed to speak on her own behalf. We stayed as true to history as we could within the confines of a short, family-made film, but we felt honor bound to give her an opportunity to speak out, even posthumously and fictionally. May God rest her soul. 💜
Interesting and laudable recreation of the trial and excellent acting and production values. It is vital to remember that everything that everyone who lived in and visited the H Street boarding house knew and heard prior to the assassination involved a plot to kidnap the president. It only turned to murder on Friday, April 14 when Booth checked his mail at Ford's Theater and discovered the president and party was coming to the theater that night. Mrs. Surratt was indeed caught in the grinding legal machine seeking justice for the murder of the commander in chief but much of her entanglement was of her own making. Her sentencing became increasingly foregone due not to her complicity in murder but in her lies; swearing she did not know Booth when soldiers found his photo secreted behind another in a parlor frame, declaring "before God" that she did not know Powell when he showed up at her door when she was being questioned by police (citing poor eyesight) and dismissing John Lloyd as a "drunkard" when he declared she went out to Surrattsville to fetch Booth's field glasses and "shooting irons". Being an alcoholic does not preclude telling the truth but, again, we'll never know. Should Mrs. Surratt have been hanged? No. Should the recommendation of five members of the tribunal (that Johnson claimed he never saw) for commutation to life imprisonment been honored? Yes. Was Mrs. Surratt complicit in the crime of murder? Questionable. Was she involved in (or have detailed knowledge of) a plot to kidnap the commander in chief of the army, implode the Union government and prolong the war? Yes. I just don't think we'll ever hack through the tangled thicket of problems regarding her true guilt or innocence.
I despise films like this, because in an effort to make a movie more dramatic they revise history. I happen to know for a fact that none of the conspirators had the opportunity to speak on their behalf during this military trial, so the portrayal of Ms Suratt asserting herself in protest toward the prosecutor during the trial is just total fiction.
Hi. Yes, that part was indeed total fiction. My late husband and I were the filmmakers and we had sincere discussions about how we wanted to portray Mary throughout the film. In truth, she was not allowed to speak on her own behalf. A horrid, despicable travesty of any measure of justice. We researched the hell out of events and stayed as true to recorded history as possible in a short, family-made film - with one exception. We gave Mary the voice she deserved. The voice she was denied. In just sticking to the facts, the full story was not able to be told. In taking this poetic license, we hoped to share a greater emotional understanding of the dynamics involved. May Mary’s soul rest in peace. 💜
I read a little bit about Anna, Mary's daughter and it is heartbreaking that she wasn't able to save her mother in spite of her attempts to go to the White House and speak to President Andrew Johnson. Anna stayed with her mother in the cell until she was forced to leave her. I know what it's like to lose a mother. I hope both these women are resting in peace.
Johnson would not have saved her, he was nothing but a Southern turncoat puppet of Steward & Stanton at that point. And both those men had these people tried convicted & hung before the 1st day of the tribunal. That is why Stanton demanded a Military tribunal instead of a civilian trial. None of those military officers would dare buck Stanton.
The more you read and look into her role, the more you know she was aware of at least the majority of what was going on with Booth's plot. I do believe her family should have at least had an audience with Andrew Johnson so they could plead for her life but, depending on the account, he never knew her representatives were even there to speak on Mrs. Surratt's behalf. BTW...being considered a religious person doesn't preclude the fact that she could be involved with illegal activities. It happens all the time.
Exactly right!!! If one of the most famous actors in America was in your kitchen for weeks,. arguing with a bunch of thugs and misfits YOU WOULD know what they were hatching.
I completely agree. From everything I’ve read over many years, it is my opinion that Mary Surrrat knew about the kidnapping plot and supported it. However, when it came to the assassination, I feel she did not know the plan had changed from kidnapping to assassination. The plan to assassinate was decided fairly quickly by Booth. Knowing how devout Mary was, one could argue that Booth knew she’d never agree to be involved in a murder, so she simply wasn’t told the plan had changed. When Mary delivered the “shooting irons”, I feel she still thought the plan was to kidnap, not assassinate.
First, I am a black man, descendant of slaves. I support justice even 150 years later. And if anyone was innocent it was this poor lady, Mary Surratt. Maybe she owned slaves and supported States Rights (as did many). She was a kind, devout Catholic. Religion was Mrs. Surratt's only comfort in her chaotic life (drunken husband, debt, illness, then sudden arrest and death sentence). Would a pious lady, serious about God's wrath, sin, hellfire etc. participate in cold-blooded murder? Never. Mary Surratt's only crime was being in the wrong place, wrong time. The victors were out for vengeance. Lincoln would be turning in his tomb if he knew an innocent person died with the guilty. Clear Mary Surratt's name. I wish her peace in heaven.
Mary Surratt was not in on the murder plot directly, but her son was a confederate spy and the govt. used her to bring him out of hiding. She had the boardinghouse where the plot was hatched, and she told the tavern keeper to have "those things" ready for tonight. She knew what was going on.
As I read most comments, I see most people are concerned about "guilt or innocence". The bigger issue would be the abuse of power. An American citizen being tried by a military tribunal? The shredding of the constitution? It seems or government has got really good at that and that was just one of the many steps along the way.
@kenny desee well actually the South didn't have the right to secede under the Constitution, so you are probably confused with their right to secede under the articles of confederation. We're a nation not a confederation now, they can't actually secede.
The conspiracy had been hatched to assassinate the commander in chief, and other members of the government in command of the armed forces. The conspiracy was carried out in wartime, by persons seeking to aid and abet an ongoing rebellion against the Government. The crimes were committed in Washington D.C., a frontline city located in a military zone. Pursuant to its war powers under Art 1, s 9 of the federal Constitution, Congress had legislated to allow for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus by federal courts. The military tribunal every had the right to duly convict Mary Surratt and sentence her to hang for her complicity.
I met a Lincoln collector at a collectibles show who had a playbill from April 14, 1865 from My American Cousin signed by all four of the conspirators including Mary Surratt who were hanged. He said a relative of his was a guard at the prison and just before the prisoners were led out to the gallows he had each of them sign the Playbill. Now THAT is a fantastic piece of Lincoln memorabilia! He said he was taking the Playbill to Antique road so when it was in his area. I can't find any episode of that show with his item.
Assuming it was authentic (and that's a large stretch), you would think such an historical artifact would be common knowledge and have been readily seen and photographed. But no, we just have your story. Sorry. That's very far-fetched.
I doubt the conspirators would be in the mood to sign "autographs" just moments before being hung. Furthermore, due to the strict social etiquette of the time back then, there wouldn't be anyone in "polite society" who would want the autographs of such degenerates. It's also very doubtful that anyone of polite society would think to ask for an autograph at such a time, anyway. Also, people back then didn't live in a celebrity obsessed culture like we do now. They would not be interested in even obtaining one's autograph, especially that of someone accused of such a serious crime. Nor would they see any value in it This story is just that - a story, and a very nice lame one to boot
Mary Surratt was guilty; the only question was did the punishment fit the crime. Even if her tenant/accusers Louis Weichmann and John Lloyd did perjure themselves with the declaration about her sending out for "the shooting irons" at her Surrattsville tavern, there is much more beyond circumstantial evidence to have convicted her. She lied about her son John being out of the country (he was in New York on a Confederate Secret Service mission), she lied about not knowing Lewis Payne when he showed up on her doorstep and lied about not knowing Booth, even when a photo of him was found behind another in a frame in her parlor. Her boarding house was the hub of the many spokes of the conspiracy and, like Samuel Mudd, she was intimately connected with the vast network of Marylanders working with Confederate agents to undermine the Union and kidnap or kill the President and decapitate the U.S. Government. As was said by her biographer, at any time she could have come to the authorities and stopped the most heinous crime in American history. Also, had she not lied from start to finish about everything regarding her knowledge of and participation in the plot, things would probably have gone easier for her. That being said, she was denied civil and basic human rights in captivity, treated in a criminal fashion and her case was intentionally railroaded by President Johnson, Edwin Stanton, Judge Advocate Holt and the frenzied hatred of Confederates and Catholics that marked the Yankee North of the mid-19th century. Mary should have received life imprisonment and probably would have been paroled within a few years. I hope her spirit rests in peace but we cannot delude ourselves about the reality of her predicament. She was a victim of injustice, but only after committing the crime of conspiracy to kill the President of the United States.
Exactly. I believe she was guilty to a degree, but her sentence did not fit the crime. She was guilty, but her execution was not necessary. I agree with everything you said.
***** Good observations and I agree with you Adrienne. Hate to beat this thing (and Dr. Mudd's reputation) to death but my feeling is that the scales of justice tilt in favor of his guilt by association and prior knowledge of the entire plot. You could throw a rock in any direction in any city or hamlet in Maryland during the Civil War and hit a Confederate sympathizer but that does not prove complicity in the plot to kidnap and then kill the President. The fact is that even Mudd finally confessed to several meetings with Booth in the year before the assassination and Booth and Herold knew to go to his home for help but even that does not prove guilt. I believe it was his exemplary medical attention to Yellow Fever victims in prison and that by the 1870s the furor had died down that he received both a presidential pardon at the time and later by President Carter. I just don't know and think the jury will never return on the question of his guilt or innocence. As a sidebar, see John Ford's classic 1936 film about Mudd in prison, "Prisoner of Shark Island." As the old folk say, it still holds up well after all these years.
all people involved, including the defense lawyers were happy with the outcome, because if there had been a real trial the roads would have led back to the Vatican and Pope Pious IX, who actually ordered the assassination. Mary's so-called boarding house was nothing less than a meeting place for Jesuit and Catholic Priests. The Pope called Jefferson Davis his favorite son, and they communicated often, as I have copies of some of their letters.
The hanging if Mary Suratt was cold-blooded murder and the guilty curse of this crime is a stain upon the soul of the nation which can never be expunged.
Historians agree that she participated in the plot. Perhaps it's debatable if she deserved to be condemned to death. Habeas Corpus was suspended during the war so they were tried in military court because Lincoln was commander in chief of the military. Please don't come at me with immature personal attacks and grievances. I'm commenting on my observations. Thank you to the director and actors for this short film.
Thank you. My late husband and I made the film as normal people with a passion project. A great deal of the film was made by those who volunteered their time, talent, and resources, otherwise this film would not have been possible. While history can never fully be accurately known or told, it was our honor to bring Mary’s story to light. May she rest in peace. 💜
This production made at least one glaring mistake. The seating of Lincoln and Mrs Lincoln during the assassination. It is well documented that Lincoln was seated in a rocking chair at the far left of the box, with Mrs Lincoln to his right, then her lady friend and finally Major Rathbone at the far right. I don't understand the shot of Booth and David Herold running on foot in bright white shirts. Booth could hardly walk due to his broken leg. And they initially had horses but had to kill them to keep them silent. they crossed the Potomac and ended up at the Garrett farm where Booth was shot and Herold surrendered. Also, the hoods that they wore in their cells were removed before the execution hoods were placed. If they had been left on on the day of execution, they all would have passed out from the intense July heat.
A horrible miscarriage of justice in Mary Surratt's case, not to mention that the military court had no legal jurisdiction over civilian cases when the civial courts were still able to operate. This was established in a later case.
According to THE LINCOLN ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATORS which includes their confinement and execution as recorded in the letterbox of John Frederick Hartranft, the commander of the Washington Arsenal prison, all except Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd were required to wear special hoods designed to isolate them from their surroundings, p. 23. And on p,43 Mudd and Mary Surratt were never required to wear hoods.
Thank you, sgauden02. The tragedy was that there was guilt, deception and mismanagement of the case from both the prosecution and the defense side. Everyone lost on this one.
I always cry when I hear about this case. Innocent but charged guilty because of her son. He got away only cause they got the blood they wanted in the moment. Clouded by revenge, Mary Surratt may I hope you rest in peace.
So many ridiculous errors in the depiction of the execution. They were each sitting on chairs before they were executed, there's no soldiers attending to Mrs. Surratt before she was dropped, there is no umbrella shielding Mrs. Surratt from the 92 degree sun, the conspirators weren't wearing the canvas hoods from the trial on the day of the execution (not to be confused with the white bags placed over their heads), Mrs. Surratt was not made to wear a hood at all during the trial, and her daughter, hysterical in her grief, most certainly didn't witness her execution, and Powell, Herold and Atzerodt did not die instanteously. Shameful.
It seem to me she was in wrong place wrong time it looks like she knows John booth stay there but that was it if she had a civilian trial with a jury there would found her not guilty like her son
Seeing as you nor I were alive to witness this execution, I will take the many historical accounts from eyewitnesses before your demented ranting and raving about in these comments over frivolous in what you (think). •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• NOTE: The parentheses about (think) above. This purpose was to draw attention to & stress the (FACT) that your post is simply opinion! Clearly, you have either in real life or just TH-cam cosplaying. Thought so grossly highly of your pseudohistorical recollect? No, your skill to recall opinionated feelings, on truths of the US; then to recant to text in TH-cam comments these egregious falsehoods; being careful to sound almost scolding as you point out your disagreements but not inaccuracies in this execution. Almost to hide your ignorance in loud shouting and barking like small puppies do only to get shut up when a full grown pit bull full of testosterone and low patients for feeble craven hollowed wanna be Alpha dogs; and the pup tucks tail and runs at first sniff or sight of superior coming within striking range, or gets its neck broken with a fierce bite from the alpha mid bark; (the irony isn’t lost either) or alpha ignores the pup only to falsely boost its confidence to lead it to a larger more sickening, hurtful, sad, and hellbound demise it will soon face in the future by how ever Darwin’s strongest see fit!
@op do your research first before declaring that this video has "ridiculous errors". Only thing ridiculous is you. There are pictures taken by photographer Alexander Gardner, who was hired by the government to document in photographs the execution. In those photos, that are easily found in a Google search, you see that Mary Surrat was standing on the platform of the gallows, and a guard next to her is holding a parasol/umbrella over her head to shield her from the sun. Actually, you can see 4 parasols/umbrellas that are each being held by a guard to shield each prisoner from the sun. You also see guards standing on either side of her helping to hold her up before she was made to sit in the chair and after they took the chair away. And they stood at her side while she was in the chair as well. This was because she was weak kneed and swooning out of both fear and having been sick for days with irregular, heavy menstrual bleeding and cramps. Aside from the two guards helping to hold her up, there was also a priest tending to her as well. So again you're wrong in saying no one was attending to her. This is all documented in Alexander Gardner's photos . It amazes me how some people proclaim something to be true or not true, without actually knowing the real facts themselves
Phenomenal! So beautiful and eloquent. Great, short film! And I’m HIGHLY discerning in what I watch. Certain facts were off, but a great directorial debut! Love & Light from Miami✨✌🏼 Stay safe everyone🌎
...She knew what the other conspirators were planning... Possibly, she didn't exactly know who was going to do what and where, be she knew enough to allow the course of events to be put in motion... Just as Andrew Johnson stated, "She kept the nest that hatched the egg..."
So she knew what they were planning, enough details to not know who was planning and doing it, what they were planning, and where it would happen. Seems kinds silly to me.
@@talangardner500 One of the factors that is ignored is the fact that John Wilkes Booth was rock star good-looking and charismatic. The people at Mary Surratt's house were probably so enthralled by John Wilkes Booth that they were willing to comply with his Is. They probably felt honored that Booth graced them with his presence. Possibly no one thought that Booth would go through with such as fantastical plan and they were humoring him. Mrs. Surratt probably did not deserve execution and she was naturally trying to protect her son. Personally, I believe Weichmann had far more knowledge of the conspiracy than he ever admitted.
@@Orphen42O Weichmann was as guilty as the rest of them. John was practically a brother to him. There was evidence of him travelling to and from Richmond. He even drove the cart to Lloyd’s tavern to drop off packages to be collected by Booth. He threw Mary under the bus to save himself and traded on the fact he worked for the General in charge of rebel prisoners to have some standing with the commission
I'm not being argumentative, but why do you say it was a miscarriage of justice? She had photographs of Booth at the boarding house, she was at Booth's beck and call and did his bidding. What is the difference between Mary Surratt and Lewis Powell? Booth told Powell to attack Seward and Payne did. Booth told Mary to take guns, for his use, to the Surrattsville tavern, and Mary did what he said. They were all part of the body of the crime.
She was a traitor and they proved it ! What the other proof do you need ? A den of southern Vipers , who , like republicans today , can't admit they were wrong and lost . They murdered a loving father and a husband , not just a president . What did we do to Jefferson Davis ? Shot him in a theater or church along side of his wife ? He died an old man , able to write his life story and make money ! Oswald was given no lawyer , his 10 hrs. of questioning was not recorded on paper or on video and was shot within 24 hr. of the POTUS , but her trial was a miscarriage of justice ?
That's not the issue, at least not for most. She's a private citizen that was tried by a military tribunal, her constitutional rights were obliterated & there was absolutely nothing lawful about any of it. The ends do NOT justify the means, when it comes to ignoring the Constitution, hence why our rights are all but gone.
It was INJUSTICE, period. She was not the plotter, and she did not pull the trigger, a long time has passed, all the accounts are hazy at the best. Perhaps Lincoln himself would have chosen to be her attorney.
Very interesting and thoughtful. We'll never know how much Mary knew, but I don't think I would have liked to have met her. She certainly believed in the wrong side,just like Booth, Powell and Co...
But perhaps you could have changed her mind. Or are you afraid that she would have changed yours? Most of the people were sincere in their belief of the righteousness of their cause. They were not evil, only misguided. People don’t, with some exceptions, generally go to war thinking their cause is wrong and reasonable people can engage in productive debate. To say you wouldn’t have wanted to meet her only limits you. peace
Well, I don't think my opinion limited that observation. Yes,people are misguided, but there's no doubt a lot of people fully relished inflicting slavery on so many innocent people. And after all,she and all the others were Confederate sympathisers and operatives. I fully believed she and the rest fully supported slavery, and that was beyond contempt.. Peace.
@@DJ-jn3on you have to remember the times back then. Yes slavery was wrong, but you are talking about taking away a system that the south was built on, right or wrong. It's been over a 130yrs and I honestly still think the South has ever recovered from the war
So looking at this story she was murdered in retaliation because her son escaped who was not involved in this plot , not the first to be murdered by the government and she won't be the last even today there are mistrials in the system .
John Fred Parker was an ex cop and a drink he went to a nearby tavern with Lincoln s valet and his coachman. He was charged with neglect of duty on may 3rd and the case was dismissed on June 2nd and HE KEPT HIS JOB He was dismissed from the police force for sleeping on the job which he had been caught doing before in 1868. A proud American who probably voted for trump
@@heathergustar638 u gave a good analysis and it's all true ....fast forward to the JFK assassination when the secret service and the government stripped down his security...the driver STOPPED the car at a designated spot where JFK got his brains blown out...FROM THE FRONT...no secret service agents were fired they all retired and collected their pensions...the same people who killed JFK are running the government today....I get ur uncontrollable hatred for Trump but let me tell u this Trump for better or worse is NOT a politician and was elected as an outsider because Americans are tired of the BS from both parties..Trumps election proved how ANY outsiders are not welcomed and how after JFK the election are rigged by the NWO to have us elect their puppet...Hillary was supposed to run against Jeb Bush so no matter who won we would have what we have now a 50 corrupt career politician who hasn't accomplished a dam thing for working Americans and struggles to speak complete sentence...I would love for u to tell us what Biden has done to improve ur life what he has done for working Americans...the sad part of it all is we no longer have free elections in 2 years we will have 2 puppets approved by the NWO and the middle class will continue to disappear...stop watching CNN and MSNBC and do some research ...this country went to hell on November 22 1963...the only thing new in the world is the history u haven't read yet....all the best..
At this point it’s down to this. It’s definitely possible that Mary does know that her son John Suratt Jr. and John Wilkes Booth we’re planning to do something to Lincoln. However her reason that she doesn’t want to tell the authorities either because she want to protect her son or she agrees with them that something must be done to Lincoln.
Gen. Lee surrendered in April, the war was not officially declared over for many months later. These who murdered the innocent for nothing more than doing their duty during a time of war, are themselves no less guilty. For though they themselves command men to fight and kill what are deemed to be the enemy, it is the commanders who hold the responsibility for the orders they give, and in time of war, no one is innocent. How ye judge is also how ye shall be judged. Marse
death before dishonor? Are you kidding? Are you listening to yourself--"death before dishonor"? The most dishonorable things had already occured--the abetting of murder, and the treasonous acts she engaged in. What honor are you referring to? And now that we're on that subject, how cowardly was her son who, knowing full well the charges against his mother, chose to continue hiding in New York and allow his mother---though guilty, but far less so than her son--allowed his mother to hang from the end of a rope, then flee to Italy to live. VERY HONORABLE OF HIM. What a son; what a terrible excuse of a man; what a coward. Though I have no sympathy for Marry Surrat, I can only imagine the disappointment she must have carried in her heart & mind as she approached the gallows--disappointment in a son who would let her swing from the end of a rope without trying to exonerate her. With a son like that, who needs enemies.
I was raised in a house surrounded by women (mother, aunts, grandmother & several sisters). At the risk of sounding chauvinistic--which I am not--knowing how nosey (politically correct: curious and inquisitive) most women are, I fail to believe Mary Surrat did not know what was being planned in her boarding house right under her nose. I SIMPLY DONT BELIEVE IT. If nothing else, she was SURELY guilty of not speaking-up and notifying officials in D.C. of the treasonous acts to follow. Son or no son.
You're lucky b/c my mother would have surely given me up b/c I should have known better, & that's not the way she raised me--to murder, plan murders, or commit treason. And she would have had every right to turn me in. That's how my mother rolls, and she would be correct in doing so. Parents should lead by example, not "do as I say, not as I do."
This woman was innocent,and a Christian woman that loved the Lord,u better believe these morons suffered for this travesty of justice,this trial wasn't ligit it was a military clown show,they all should've been put before a firing squad
I love Mary Surratt and the union and confederacy but if the purge was a real thing in 1865 if all crime was legal Mary Surratt would’ve enjoyed a crime free country but in reality she was tragically killed…
Remarkably, they hanged for about five minutes before they actually died. The four of them were made to sit on chairs that had been set over the traps. The effect of sitting them on chairs seems to have taken up some of the slack in the ropes, so that the length of their fall was reduced and the energy of their falling bodies at the moment when the ropes became taut was less as well. The acting in this dramatization was quite good, possibly better than the historical accuracy of the whole episode as portrayed.
The four conspirators were given chairs to sit in prior to the hanging where they had the bindings put on their legs and arms and hoods over their heads. But they were made to stand and move out over the leaves of the gallows prior to the drop. They did not drop with chairs, which remained on the rear portion of the structure. They hung from the gallows for approximately 30 minutes before being cut down and buried in casement boxes next to the gallows (their bodies were later disinterred and released to their families for private burial elsewhere).
you need to get your facts straight. Look at the actual photos and you can see they were not sitting when they were actually dropped from the platform. It was determined that none of their necks were broken and its clear that they did not fall far enough for that to happen as the average person needs to drop 7 1/2 feet
This only surface - the front persons of the conspiracy! and they were appointed for the misdeed .Who are they who were acted and initiated for this inhuman conspiracy? Who were the actual culprit to mastermind as well as implementation of the crime to kill one of the most Human persons in the world ever? Henry is right again! This is the History of world that actual culprit were rarely punished in this class devided society.
Well i know she is my aunt of 7 generations. Idk much researched but I'm not going biased because she is my aunt. I understand why the US did it but i don't know much information to pick a side.
It was still a Civil War crime even if the war is over. It just linger on because the war wage on in the Southern Front even though they lost. Even Boothe determined to have the South rise up to take over the cause once again. That was his intention. The Civi War hits everyone including civilians. Those that sides one way or another will be affected. Abetting a crime in action and assisting at that is still a crime. The severity of punishment back then are often harsher than today's standard. I would give her life instead but time is different back then. To me, it is a military trial more than civilian. The Southern politicians still linger that their Southern brethren are heroes and raises statues in the Deep South. They knowingly know they lost but praises rebels as heroes. Look at what happen to statues of Emperor Caligula. The Roman graces it to the ground, defaced his coins, erased the history books concerning his name, and etc.
I think it could of went either way. She was probably innocent or she probably did know what Booth and the rest were conspiring too. But i dont think the government does what it wants like someone put on here. The American people wanted justice quick and it blinded them in to her probably recieving a fair trial. We all do stupid things when we are really pissed. Including the Government.
This information presented in this movie is absurd, blatantly biased and untruthful. Almost nothing depicted by the actors is accurate. The authors should be ashamed of themselves for such a distortion of historical events. It's a crying shame that people today are brainwashed by the content censorship and policies of TH-cam, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
It was thought that by checking Mary Surratt's cell phone records it could be found out if she received any calls from Booth. Trouble is she used a burner phone that yields no information. She purchased the phone in the Confederate Supply Co. store in Washington DC. She purchased the phone from a clerk working in the store named Lucy Hale who just happened to know Booth personally. Mary remarked to Lucy Hale , "So you know Booth too" Lucy replied, " I sure do. He is a bum actor who does not want to work any more and he asked me to marry him because he expects me to support him. When Booth found out I had a steady job working in this store he immediately asked me to marry him" Plus that lousy bum Booth was in here yesterday trying to sell a book he just wrote entitled ' I killed Lincoln" People in the store said your book is crap. The President is alive and well. Booth replied, " Not for long!
What the heck. WHY is "Mary Surratt" talking SO quietly she can barely be heard even with the volume all the way up? I know she wants to sound like the pitiful victim but good grief it is annoying and it sounds so contrived.
No one really in this is day and age knows the real truth of the full evidence that was given at that time in history..All we can do is base all of the fact on what we read and understand how our government works..In all of history as we know our government can and will do what they want to go forward with anything they want to convict someone of none truth..All they wanted was to shut down everyone to give the people of this time in his history and get it over with..If we were only there to have seen it with our own eyes and ears we could have made a better choice and base our decision on what we really know at that time..How can you come to best answer to some of what you read from people were not there..
That's why they were all hanged and not allowed to speak or defend themselves, otherwise it would hve led back to Pope Pious IX, who called Jefferson Davis his favorite son, and was the one who actually ordered the murder.
The Surratt that should have been hung was her son John. He was the real conspirator and eventually got away with his crime, cowardly allowing his mother to take his punishment. I believe she was aware of what was going on in her boarding house, but never thought she would be held responsible for it.
I agree, he should have came forward!
@@juliehawkins3816 he had no morals that passed through the families. He very well should of came forward to save his mother. I hope today's living family carries with them the morals their grandmother and great mothers passed onto them.
They were both clearly guilty
They Should have just given her a Life Sentence. The Others got what was coming to them except for her Cowardly Son!!
Renting a room is no crime
One thing you need to know is the alleged conspirators were not allowed to speak on their own behalf at the trial, because of the weird military trial it was. There was no articulate Mrs. Surratt talking back to the prosecution!
This is how the lawyers of the defense wanted it, because if they really would have had a complete trial, the roads would have led back to the Vatican and Pope Pious IX, who ordered the assassination. They wanted to keep that from the public at all costs.
Hi. My late husband and I made this film. We were very aware that Mary was not allowed to speak on her own behalf. We stayed as true to history as we could within the confines of a short, family-made film, but we felt honor bound to give her an opportunity to speak out, even posthumously and fictionally. May God rest her soul. 💜
Interesting and laudable recreation of the trial and excellent acting and production values. It is vital to remember that everything that everyone who lived in and visited the H Street boarding house knew and heard prior to the assassination involved a plot to kidnap the president. It only turned to murder on Friday, April 14 when Booth checked his mail at Ford's Theater and discovered the president and party was coming to the theater that night. Mrs. Surratt was indeed caught in the grinding legal machine seeking justice for the murder of the commander in chief but much of her entanglement was of her own making. Her sentencing became increasingly foregone due not to her complicity in murder but in her lies; swearing she did not know Booth when soldiers found his photo secreted behind another in a parlor frame, declaring "before God" that she did not know Powell when he showed up at her door when she was being questioned by police (citing poor eyesight) and dismissing John Lloyd as a "drunkard" when he declared she went out to Surrattsville to fetch Booth's field glasses and "shooting irons". Being an alcoholic does not preclude telling the truth but, again, we'll never know. Should Mrs. Surratt have been hanged? No. Should the recommendation of five members of the tribunal (that Johnson claimed he never saw) for commutation to life imprisonment been honored? Yes. Was Mrs. Surratt complicit in the crime of murder? Questionable. Was she involved in (or have detailed knowledge of) a plot to kidnap the commander in chief of the army, implode the Union government and prolong the war? Yes. I just don't think we'll ever hack through the tangled thicket of problems regarding her true guilt or innocence.
The prisoners were not allowed to speak on their own behalf. And, she was tried with the 7 other people. This is totally a false depiction.
I despise films like this, because in an effort to make a movie more dramatic they revise history. I happen to know for a fact that none of the conspirators had the opportunity to speak on their behalf during this military trial, so the portrayal of Ms Suratt asserting herself in protest toward the prosecutor during the trial is just total fiction.
Hi. Yes, that part was indeed total fiction. My late husband and I were the filmmakers and we had sincere discussions about how we wanted to portray Mary throughout the film. In truth, she was not allowed to speak on her own behalf. A horrid, despicable travesty of any measure of justice. We researched the hell out of events and stayed as true to recorded history as possible in a short, family-made film - with one exception. We gave Mary the voice she deserved. The voice she was denied. In just sticking to the facts, the full story was not able to be told. In taking this poetic license, we hoped to share a greater emotional understanding of the dynamics involved. May Mary’s soul rest in peace. 💜
I read a little bit about Anna, Mary's daughter and it is heartbreaking that she wasn't able to save her mother in spite of her attempts to go to the White House and speak to President Andrew Johnson. Anna stayed with her mother in the cell until she was forced to leave her. I know what it's like to lose a mother. I hope both these women are resting in peace.
My god indeed!!! The last time they
Johnson would not have saved her, he was nothing but a Southern turncoat puppet of Steward & Stanton at that point. And both those men had these people tried convicted & hung before the 1st day of the tribunal. That is why Stanton demanded a Military tribunal instead of a civilian trial. None of those military officers would dare buck Stanton.
The more you read and look into her role, the more you know she was aware of at least the majority of what was going on with Booth's plot. I do believe her family should have at least had an audience with Andrew Johnson so they could plead for her life but, depending on the account, he never knew her representatives were even there to speak on Mrs. Surratt's behalf. BTW...being considered a religious person doesn't preclude the fact that she could be involved with illegal activities. It happens all the time.
Exactly right!!! If one of the most famous actors in America was in your kitchen for weeks,. arguing with a bunch of thugs and misfits YOU WOULD know what they were hatching.
I completely agree. From everything I’ve read over many years, it is my opinion that Mary Surrrat knew about the kidnapping plot and supported it. However, when it came to the assassination, I feel she did not know the plan had changed from kidnapping to assassination. The plan to assassinate was decided fairly quickly by Booth. Knowing how devout Mary was, one could argue that Booth knew she’d never agree to be involved in a murder, so she simply wasn’t told the plan had changed. When Mary delivered the “shooting irons”, I feel she still thought the plan was to kidnap, not assassinate.
First, I am a black man, descendant of slaves. I support justice even 150 years later. And if anyone was innocent it was this poor lady, Mary Surratt.
Maybe she owned slaves and supported States Rights (as did many). She was a kind, devout Catholic. Religion was Mrs. Surratt's only comfort in her chaotic life (drunken husband, debt, illness, then sudden arrest and death sentence). Would a pious lady, serious about God's wrath, sin, hellfire etc. participate in cold-blooded murder? Never.
Mary Surratt's only crime was being in the wrong place, wrong time. The victors were out for vengeance. Lincoln would be turning in his tomb if he knew an innocent person died with the guilty. Clear Mary Surratt's name. I wish her peace in heaven.
+Henry Westin - AMEN to everything you said!
I agree!
Mary Surratt was not in on the murder plot directly, but her son was a confederate spy and the govt. used her to bring him out of hiding. She had the boardinghouse where the plot was hatched, and she told the tavern keeper to have "those things" ready for tonight. She knew what was going on.
Henry Westin Amen!
YES YOUR RIGHT
As I read most comments, I see most people are concerned about "guilt or innocence". The bigger issue would be the abuse of power. An American citizen being tried by a military tribunal? The shredding of the constitution? It seems or government has got really good at that and that was just one of the many steps along the way.
@kenny desee well actually the South didn't have the right to secede under the Constitution, so you are probably confused with their right to secede under the articles of confederation. We're a nation not a confederation now, they can't actually secede.
Might makes right. Historical fact.
The conspiracy had been hatched to assassinate the commander in chief, and other members of the government in command of the armed forces. The conspiracy was carried out in wartime, by persons seeking to aid and abet an ongoing rebellion against the Government. The crimes were committed in Washington D.C., a frontline city located in a military zone. Pursuant to its war powers under Art 1, s 9 of the federal Constitution, Congress had legislated to allow for the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus by federal courts.
The military tribunal every had the right to duly convict Mary Surratt and sentence her to hang for her complicity.
Talan Gardner n
You sound like a Confederate (LOL)
The plot was reported to military officials prior to the assassination and it was basically ignored. True story.
I met a Lincoln collector at a collectibles show who had a playbill from April 14, 1865 from My American Cousin signed by all four of the conspirators including Mary Surratt who were hanged. He said a relative of his was a guard at the prison and just before the prisoners were led out to the gallows he had each of them sign the Playbill. Now THAT is a fantastic piece of Lincoln memorabilia! He said he was taking the Playbill to Antique road so when it was in his area. I can't find any episode of that show with his item.
Assuming it was authentic (and that's a large stretch), you would think such an historical artifact would be common knowledge and have been readily seen and photographed. But no, we just have your story. Sorry. That's very far-fetched.
I doubt the conspirators would be in the mood to sign "autographs" just moments before being hung.
Furthermore, due to the strict social etiquette of the time back then, there wouldn't be anyone in "polite society" who would want the autographs of such degenerates. It's also very doubtful that anyone of polite society would think to ask for an autograph at such a time, anyway.
Also, people back then didn't live in a celebrity obsessed culture like we do now. They would not be interested in even obtaining one's autograph, especially that of someone accused of such a serious crime. Nor would they see any value in it
This story is just that - a story, and a very nice lame one to boot
The name of the play was Our American Cousin, not My American Cousin.
Interesting artefact, though ultimately worthless.
An Antique dealer would require a hand writing analysis for this one.
Mary Surratt was guilty; the only question was did the punishment fit the crime. Even if her tenant/accusers Louis Weichmann and John Lloyd did perjure themselves with the declaration about her sending out for "the shooting irons" at her Surrattsville tavern, there is much more beyond circumstantial evidence to have convicted her.
She lied about her son John being out of the country (he was in New York on a Confederate Secret Service mission), she lied about not knowing Lewis Payne when he showed up on her doorstep and lied about not knowing Booth, even when a photo of him was found behind another in a frame in her parlor. Her boarding house was the hub of the many spokes of the conspiracy and, like Samuel Mudd, she was intimately connected with the vast network of Marylanders working with Confederate agents to undermine the Union and kidnap or kill the President and decapitate the U.S. Government. As was said by her biographer, at any time she could have come to the authorities and stopped the most heinous crime in American history. Also, had she not lied from start to finish about everything regarding her knowledge of and participation in the plot, things would probably have gone easier for her.
That being said, she was denied civil and basic human rights in captivity, treated in a criminal fashion and her case was intentionally railroaded by President Johnson, Edwin Stanton, Judge Advocate Holt and the frenzied hatred of Confederates and Catholics that marked the Yankee North of the mid-19th century. Mary should have received life imprisonment and probably would have been paroled within a few years. I hope her spirit rests in peace but we cannot delude ourselves about the reality of her predicament. She was a victim of injustice, but only after committing the crime of conspiracy to kill the President of the United States.
Exactly. I believe she was guilty to a degree, but her sentence did not fit the crime. She was guilty, but her execution was not necessary. I agree with everything you said.
***** Good observations and I agree with you Adrienne. Hate to beat this thing (and Dr. Mudd's reputation) to death but my feeling is that the scales of justice tilt in favor of his guilt by association and prior knowledge of the entire plot. You could throw a rock in any direction in any city or hamlet in Maryland during the Civil War and hit a Confederate sympathizer but that does not prove complicity in the plot to kidnap and then kill the President. The fact is that even Mudd finally confessed to several meetings with Booth in the year before the assassination and Booth and Herold knew to go to his home for help but even that does not prove guilt. I believe it was his exemplary medical attention to Yellow Fever victims in prison and that by the 1870s the furor had died down that he received both a presidential pardon at the time and later by President Carter. I just don't know and think the jury will never return on the question of his guilt or innocence. As a sidebar, see John Ford's classic 1936 film about Mudd in prison, "Prisoner of Shark Island." As the old folk say, it still holds up well after all these years.
I believe she also hated "Ni--ers".
all people involved, including the defense lawyers were happy with the outcome, because if there had been a real trial the roads would have led back to the Vatican and Pope Pious IX, who actually ordered the assassination. Mary's so-called boarding house was nothing less than a meeting place for Jesuit and Catholic Priests. The Pope called Jefferson Davis his favorite son, and they communicated often, as I have copies of some of their letters.
She didn't recognize Powell/Payne due to her poor eyesight, which was commonly known
The hanging if Mary Suratt was cold-blooded murder and the guilty curse of this crime is a stain upon the soul of the nation which can never be expunged.
She was guilty. There is no way she couldn't have at least known.
Historians agree that she participated in the plot. Perhaps it's debatable if she deserved to be condemned to death.
Habeas Corpus was suspended during the war so they were tried in military court because Lincoln was commander in chief of the military. Please don't come at me with immature personal attacks and grievances. I'm commenting on my observations. Thank you to the director and actors for this short film.
Thank you. My late husband and I made the film as normal people with a passion project. A great deal of the film was made by those who volunteered their time, talent, and resources, otherwise this film would not have been possible. While history can never fully be accurately known or told, it was our honor to bring Mary’s story to light. May she rest in peace. 💜
I believe she had nothing to do with it.....and because it was just so hectic at that time....they was looking for more people to blame
TheFoxSays prosecuted by the self important swine
jerryjamify
Or even create even more confusing speculation
What a Absolute Injustice... May her soul Rest In Peace...
Yes. Thank you. My late husband and I made this film as a passion project to let her story be known. 💜
That poor woman didn't deserve any of this. 🤤.
actually she did, claims of her innocence are false
Read David Miller DeWitt's book The Judicial Murder of Mary E, Surratt. The title says all you really need to know.
This production made at least one glaring mistake. The seating of Lincoln and Mrs Lincoln during the assassination. It is well documented that Lincoln was seated in a rocking chair at the far left of the box, with Mrs Lincoln to his right, then her lady friend and finally Major Rathbone at the far right. I don't understand the shot of Booth and David Herold running on foot in bright white shirts. Booth could hardly walk due to his broken leg. And they initially had horses but had to kill them to keep them silent. they crossed the Potomac and ended up at the Garrett farm where Booth was shot and Herold surrendered. Also, the hoods that they wore in their cells were removed before the execution hoods were placed. If they had been left on on the day of execution, they all would have passed out from the intense July heat.
What I'm most surprised about is how quickly it was figured out that Booth was a regular visitor at the boarding house
A horrible miscarriage of justice in Mary Surratt's case, not to mention that the military court had no legal jurisdiction over civilian cases when the civial courts were still able to operate. This was established in a later case.
According to THE LINCOLN ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATORS which includes their confinement and execution as recorded in the letterbox of John Frederick Hartranft, the commander of the Washington Arsenal prison, all except Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd were required to wear special hoods designed to isolate them from their surroundings, p. 23. And on p,43 Mudd and Mary Surratt were never required to wear hoods.
So sad back then,the suffering must have been horrendous on both sides.To me,Booth got them all killed with his hatred,as well as himself.
seems like they are rushing to find a scapegoat.
& they still pull this crap today smh History continues to repeat itself, & for whatever reason, we never seem to learn 😔
@@sese6227 I always tell my kids and grandchildren the only thing new in the world is the history u haven't read yet...all the best.
Thank you, sgauden02. The tragedy was that there was guilt, deception and mismanagement of the case from both the prosecution and the defense side. Everyone lost on this one.
I always cry when I hear about this case. Innocent but charged guilty because of her son. He got away only cause they got the blood they wanted in the moment. Clouded by revenge, Mary Surratt may I hope you rest in peace.
look at the facts carefully, she was no 'innocent scapegoat'
@@dafyddmaddox366 read some history ace
Give us your references.
So many ridiculous errors in the depiction of the execution. They were each sitting on chairs before they were executed, there's no soldiers attending to Mrs. Surratt before she was dropped, there is no umbrella shielding Mrs. Surratt from the 92 degree sun, the conspirators weren't wearing the canvas hoods from the trial on the day of the execution (not to be confused with the white bags placed over their heads), Mrs. Surratt was not made to wear a hood at all during the trial, and her daughter, hysterical in her grief, most certainly didn't witness her execution, and Powell, Herold and Atzerodt did not die instanteously. Shameful.
Colin R shameful they were with Booth
It seem to me she was in wrong place wrong time it looks like she knows John booth stay there but that was it if she had a civilian trial with a jury there would found her not guilty like her son
Seeing as you nor I were alive to witness this execution, I will take the many historical accounts from eyewitnesses before your demented ranting and raving about in these comments over frivolous in what you (think). •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• NOTE: The parentheses about (think) above. This purpose was to draw attention to & stress the (FACT) that your post is simply opinion! Clearly, you have either in real life or just TH-cam cosplaying. Thought so grossly highly of your pseudohistorical recollect? No, your skill to recall opinionated feelings, on truths of the US; then to recant to text in TH-cam comments these egregious falsehoods; being careful to sound almost scolding as you point out your disagreements but not inaccuracies in this execution. Almost to hide your ignorance in loud shouting and barking like small puppies do only to get shut up when a full grown pit bull full of testosterone and low patients for feeble craven hollowed wanna be Alpha dogs; and the pup tucks tail and runs at first sniff or sight of superior coming within striking range, or gets its neck broken with a fierce bite from the alpha mid bark; (the irony isn’t lost either) or alpha ignores the pup only to falsely boost its confidence to lead it to a larger more sickening, hurtful, sad, and hellbound demise it will soon face in the future by how ever Darwin’s strongest see fit!
@op do your research first before declaring that this video has "ridiculous errors".
Only thing ridiculous is you.
There are pictures taken by photographer Alexander Gardner, who was hired by the government to document in photographs the execution.
In those photos, that are easily found in a Google search, you see that Mary Surrat was standing on the platform of the gallows, and a guard next to her is holding a parasol/umbrella over her head to shield her from the sun. Actually, you can see 4 parasols/umbrellas that are each being held by a guard to shield each prisoner from the sun.
You also see guards standing on either side of her helping to hold her up before she was made to sit in the chair and after they took the chair away.
And they stood at her side while she was in the chair as well.
This was because she was weak kneed and swooning out of both fear and having been sick for days with irregular, heavy menstrual bleeding and cramps.
Aside from the two guards helping to hold her up, there was also a priest tending to her as well.
So again you're wrong in saying no one was attending to her.
This is all documented in Alexander Gardner's photos .
It amazes me how some people proclaim something to be true or not true, without actually knowing the real facts themselves
@@DarronMoe LOLOL You sound like a Cracckpot.
Phenomenal!
So beautiful and eloquent.
Great, short film!
And I’m HIGHLY discerning in what I watch.
Certain facts were off, but a great directorial debut!
Love & Light from Miami✨✌🏼
Stay safe everyone🌎
The historical inaccuracies in this film are too numerous to count.
...She knew what the other conspirators were planning... Possibly, she didn't exactly know who was going to do what and where, be she knew enough to allow the course of events to be put in motion... Just as Andrew Johnson stated, "She kept the nest that hatched the egg..."
So she knew what they were planning, enough details to not know who was planning and doing it, what they were planning, and where it would happen. Seems kinds silly to me.
@Talan Gardner - Remember this was 1865 Post-Civil War America... Battle, defeat, and losses suffered were all still very much fresh in many minds!
@@talangardner500 One of the factors that is ignored is the fact that John Wilkes Booth was rock star good-looking and charismatic. The people at Mary Surratt's house were probably so enthralled by John Wilkes Booth that they were willing to comply with his Is. They probably felt honored that Booth graced them with his presence. Possibly no one thought that Booth would go through with such as fantastical plan and they were humoring him. Mrs. Surratt probably did not deserve execution and she was naturally trying to protect her son. Personally, I believe Weichmann had far more knowledge of the conspiracy than he ever admitted.
@@Orphen42O Weichmann was as guilty as the rest of them. John was practically a brother to him. There was evidence of him travelling to and from Richmond. He even drove the cart to Lloyd’s tavern to drop off packages to be collected by Booth. He threw Mary under the bus to save himself and traded on the fact he worked for the General in charge of rebel prisoners to have some standing with the commission
Based on what evidence do you think that
The very act of hanging any human being is barbaric inhumane . And i crime in its self for any reason!
Not necessarily some people dessever it
If you even learn just a little about the actual evidence, it’s clear she was guilty as sin.
An appalling miscarriage of justice
I'm not being argumentative, but why do you say it was a miscarriage of justice? She had photographs of Booth at the boarding house, she was at Booth's beck and call and did his bidding. What is the difference between Mary Surratt and Lewis Powell? Booth told Powell to attack Seward and Payne did. Booth told Mary to take guns, for his use, to the Surrattsville tavern, and Mary did what he said. They were all part of the body of the crime.
The trials were a total abuse of due process apart from anything else
So, are you saying that it was a miscarriage of justice for all of the conspirators who appeared before the military tribunal or just Mary Surratt?
Process wise certainly
She was a traitor and they proved it ! What the other proof do you need ? A den of southern Vipers , who , like republicans today , can't admit they were wrong and lost . They murdered a loving father and a husband , not just a president . What did we do to Jefferson Davis ? Shot him in a theater or church along side of his wife ? He died an old man , able to write his life story and make money ! Oswald was given no lawyer , his 10 hrs. of questioning was not recorded on paper or on video and was shot within 24 hr. of the POTUS , but her trial was a miscarriage of justice ?
She was 100% not guilty
She had a Jefferson Davis shrine in her boarding house, come on.
Who watch this 2020?
2021
She was guilty - period. Do some real research.
That's not the issue, at least not for most. She's a private citizen that was tried by a military tribunal, her constitutional rights were obliterated & there was absolutely nothing lawful about any of it. The ends do NOT justify the means, when it comes to ignoring the Constitution, hence why our rights are all but gone.
This trial was unjust and unconstitutional.
They were not hooded on the walk to the gallows, and Surratt was never hooded.
Looks like no effort was made to find actors that even remotely resembled the true conspirators.
Wow, unbelievable.
It was INJUSTICE, period. She was not the plotter, and she did not pull the trigger, a long time has passed, all the accounts are hazy at the best. Perhaps Lincoln himself would have chosen to be her attorney.
how could you forget which chair lincoln was in?
She was Not Innocent
She was executed for killing Abraham Lincoln... saying she was killed is a gross misrepresentation 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
They are all guilty.....
Very interesting and thoughtful. We'll never know how much Mary knew, but I don't think I would have liked to have met her. She certainly believed in the wrong side,just like Booth, Powell and Co...
But perhaps you could have changed her mind. Or are you afraid that she would have changed yours? Most of the people were sincere in their belief of the righteousness of their cause. They were not evil, only misguided. People don’t, with some exceptions, generally go to war thinking their cause is wrong and reasonable people can engage in productive debate. To say you wouldn’t have wanted to meet her only limits you. peace
Well, I don't think my opinion limited that observation. Yes,people are misguided, but there's no doubt a lot of people fully relished inflicting slavery on so many innocent people. And after all,she and all the others were Confederate sympathisers and operatives. I fully believed she and the rest fully supported slavery, and that was beyond contempt.. Peace.
@@DJ-jn3on you have to remember the times back then. Yes slavery was wrong, but you are talking about taking away a system that the south was built on, right or wrong. It's been over a 130yrs and I honestly still think the South has ever recovered from the war
The Union also had slave states.
Yes, on the gallows Surratt was hooded, but not when she was in her cell.
Thank you for posting this. It’s 👍
Mary Surratt was innocent
So looking at this story she was murdered in retaliation because her son escaped who was not involved in this plot , not the first to be murdered by the government and she won't be the last even today there are mistrials in the system .
What happened too the security guard that was posted outside the Lincoln box?Was he on a coffee break?
John Fred Parker was an ex cop and a drink he went to a nearby tavern with Lincoln s valet and his coachman. He was charged with neglect of duty on may 3rd and the case was dismissed on June 2nd and HE KEPT HIS JOB He was dismissed from the police force for sleeping on the job which he had been caught doing before in 1868. A proud American who probably voted for trump
He went drinking
@@heathergustar638 u gave a good analysis and it's all true ....fast forward to the JFK assassination when the secret service and the government stripped down his security...the driver STOPPED the car at a designated spot where JFK got his brains blown out...FROM THE FRONT...no secret service agents were fired they all retired and collected their pensions...the same people who killed JFK are running the government today....I get ur uncontrollable hatred for Trump but let me tell u this Trump for better or worse is NOT a politician and was elected as an outsider because Americans are tired of the BS from both parties..Trumps election proved how ANY outsiders are not welcomed and how after JFK the election are rigged by the NWO to have us elect their puppet...Hillary was supposed to run against Jeb Bush so no matter who won we would have what we have now a 50 corrupt career politician who hasn't accomplished a dam thing for working Americans and struggles to speak complete sentence...I would love for u to tell us what Biden has done to improve ur life what he has done for working Americans...the sad part of it all is we no longer have free elections in 2 years we will have 2 puppets approved by the NWO and the middle class will continue to disappear...stop watching CNN and MSNBC and do some research ...this country went to hell on November 22 1963...the only thing new in the world is the history u haven't read yet....all the best..
At this point it’s down to this. It’s definitely possible that Mary does know that her son John Suratt Jr. and John Wilkes Booth we’re planning to do something to Lincoln. However her reason that she doesn’t want to tell the authorities either because she want to protect her son or she agrees with them that something must be done to Lincoln.
It's also possible that she didn't know anything. I doubt she really knew that much
Gen. Lee surrendered in April, the war was not officially declared over for many months later.
These who murdered the innocent for nothing more than doing their duty during a time of war, are themselves no less guilty. For though they themselves command men to fight and kill what are deemed to be the enemy, it is the commanders who hold the responsibility for the orders they give, and in time of war, no one is innocent.
How ye judge is also how ye shall be judged.
Marse
Surratt was hooded at her execution. She was not hooded while a prisoner IN HER CELL.
"She kept the nest in which the egg was hatched "
(President Andrew Johnson)
🙄 They all deserved what they got. Treason is treason and death is the penalty for their treason acts.
Really because sometimes treason is necessary
my teacher is michel surrat mary surrat is his grat great ant he told us and he has the DNA samples to show that she was his ant
Cool
"Don't let me drop!"
The actual quote from her was "don't let me fall" to a soldier next to her.
@@worriestrouble2606 And he said "It won't hurt for long."
Just like my mother would never give me up. She would choose death before dishonor.
death before dishonor? Are you kidding? Are you listening to yourself--"death before dishonor"? The most dishonorable things had already occured--the abetting of murder, and the treasonous acts she engaged in. What honor are you referring to? And now that we're on that subject, how cowardly was her son who, knowing full well the charges against his mother, chose to continue hiding in New York and allow his mother---though guilty, but far less so than her son--allowed his mother to hang from the end of a rope, then flee to Italy to live. VERY HONORABLE OF HIM. What a son; what a terrible excuse of a man; what a coward. Though I have no sympathy for Marry Surrat, I can only imagine the disappointment she must have carried in her heart & mind as she approached the gallows--disappointment in a son who would let her swing from the end of a rope without trying to exonerate her. With a son like that, who needs enemies.
I was raised in a house surrounded by women (mother, aunts, grandmother & several sisters). At the risk of sounding chauvinistic--which I am not--knowing how nosey (politically correct: curious and inquisitive) most women are, I fail to believe Mary Surrat did not know what was being planned in her boarding house right under her nose. I SIMPLY DONT BELIEVE IT. If nothing else, she was SURELY guilty of not speaking-up and notifying officials in D.C. of the treasonous acts to follow. Son or no son.
You're lucky b/c my mother would have surely given me up b/c I should have known better, & that's not the way she raised me--to murder, plan murders, or commit treason. And she would have had every right to turn me in. That's how my mother rolls, and she would be correct in doing so. Parents should lead by example, not "do as I say, not as I do."
@@everettjennings4443 well said.
The character you got playing Booth looks like something on Saturday Night Live. And yes Mary Surratt was guilty
Based on what evidence
Bullshit. So the authors think her innocent.
This woman was innocent,and a Christian woman that loved the Lord,u better believe these morons suffered for this travesty of justice,this trial wasn't ligit it was a military clown show,they all should've been put before a firing squad
this is terrible they probebly did this cuz they thought people would not take any care to this act because she was a woman
They murdered that poor woman.
I love Mary Surratt and the union and confederacy but if the purge was a real thing in 1865 if all crime was legal Mary Surratt would’ve enjoyed a crime free country but in reality she was tragically killed…
A president was assassinated and somebody had to pay the cost. Reminds me of the movie "The Oxbow Incident" with Henry Fonda.
Leave it to Johnson to mess this up
Remarkably, they hanged for about five minutes before they actually died. The four of them were made to sit on chairs that had been set over the traps. The effect of sitting them on chairs seems to have taken up some of the slack in the ropes, so that the length of their fall was reduced and the energy of their falling bodies at the moment when the ropes became taut was less as well.
The acting in this dramatization was quite good, possibly better than the historical accuracy of the whole episode as portrayed.
The four conspirators were given chairs to sit in prior to the hanging where they had the bindings put on their legs and arms and hoods over their heads. But they were made to stand and move out over the leaves of the gallows prior to the drop. They did not drop with chairs, which remained on the rear portion of the structure. They hung from the gallows for approximately 30 minutes before being cut down and buried in casement boxes next to the gallows (their bodies were later disinterred and released to their families for private burial elsewhere).
you need to get your facts straight. Look at the actual photos and you can see they were not sitting when they were actually dropped from the platform. It was determined that none of their necks were broken and its clear that they did not fall far enough for that to happen as the average person needs to drop 7 1/2 feet
Mary Surrat died instantly in her fall...the other 3 weren't so lucky, particularly Powell
What movie is this from
This only surface - the front persons of the conspiracy! and they were appointed for the misdeed .Who are they who were acted and initiated for this inhuman conspiracy? Who were the actual culprit to mastermind as well as implementation of the crime to kill one of the most Human persons in the world ever?
Henry is right again!
This is the History of world that actual culprit were rarely punished in this class devided society.
Are there any living descendants of Marry Surrat? If yes, What do they say about their accessed ancestor?
Well i know she is my aunt of 7 generations. Idk much researched but I'm not going biased because she is my aunt. I understand why the US did it but i don't know much information to pick a side.
Thou shall not kill point blank
puppet panel and jury.
What song is playing at 1:27
It’s called your mother
Really?
Powell and Herold didn't look like that in real life.
Well done
She wasguilty
Another example of CSA treachery and cowardice. Justice prevailed.
One of the most misunderstood people in history...I've written a 3 part concept song about her...her story is so sad.
RIP
Mary
Can you tell me her story?
It was still a Civil War crime even if the war is over. It just linger on because the war wage on in the Southern Front even though they lost. Even Boothe determined to have the South rise up to take over the cause once again. That was his intention. The Civi War hits everyone including civilians. Those that sides one way or another will be affected.
Abetting a crime in action and assisting at that is still a crime. The severity of punishment back then are often harsher than today's standard. I would give her life instead but time is different back then. To me, it is a military trial more than civilian.
The Southern politicians still linger that their Southern brethren are heroes and raises statues in the Deep South. They knowingly know they lost but praises rebels as heroes. Look at what happen to statues of Emperor Caligula. The Roman graces it to the ground, defaced his coins, erased the history books concerning his name, and etc.
wow Jimmy Carter was Mary Surratts defense attorney and over 100 years later he would become president!
Jimmy was helped by.......Perry Mason and Donald Trump
The whole government is corrupt it's all about money
Only in America!
@@jeromebrown3725 exactly.. but most Americans can't relate to what ur saying...
Military tribunal.. for a civilian. Law and order… more like hearsay vengeance inflicted
Which one of the conspirators refused to have African American guards posted outside his cell.......incredibly they were withdrawn on his request.
I think it could of went either way. She was probably innocent or she probably did know what Booth and the rest were conspiring too. But i dont think the government does what it wants like someone put on here. The American people wanted justice quick and it blinded them in to her probably recieving a fair trial. We all do stupid things when we are really pissed. Including the Government.
Babe Ruth I don’t know which one you are, Naive or ignorant! God help you.
@@mark109s God help us all .
I not one bit sad for Lincoln dying he did some unconstitutional stuff during the war
This information presented in this movie is absurd, blatantly biased and untruthful. Almost nothing depicted by the actors is accurate. The authors should be ashamed of themselves for such a distortion of historical events. It's a crying shame that people today are brainwashed by the content censorship and policies of TH-cam, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Did it matter you were a racist?
ha, conveniently left that out.
Orlando, is that dukes? Is it sun set orange.
Prisoners walking barefooted... seemed wrong.
It was thought that by checking Mary Surratt's cell phone records it could be found out if she received any calls from Booth. Trouble is she used a burner phone that yields no information. She purchased the phone in the Confederate Supply Co. store in Washington DC. She purchased the phone from a clerk working in the store named Lucy Hale who just happened to know Booth personally. Mary remarked to Lucy Hale , "So you know Booth too" Lucy replied, " I sure do. He is a bum actor who does not want to work any more and he asked me to marry him because he expects me to support him. When Booth found out I had a steady job working in this store he immediately asked me to marry him" Plus that lousy bum Booth was in here yesterday trying to sell a book he just wrote entitled ' I killed Lincoln" People in the store said your book is crap. The President is alive and well. Booth replied, " Not for long!
Sure she Was quilty
She wasn't "killed," she was hanged or executed - your choice.
4:40 - Not true.
Hershey PA, 1865
She thought slavery was a good idea
What the heck. WHY is "Mary Surratt" talking SO quietly she can barely be heard even with the volume all the way up? I know she wants to sound like the pitiful victim but good grief it is annoying and it sounds so contrived.
Joni Lackey she was probably being raped in jail by the jailers.
No one really in this is day and age knows the real truth of the full evidence that was given at that time in history..All we can do is base all of the fact on what we read and understand how our government works..In all of history as we know our government can and will do what they want to go forward with anything they want to convict someone of none truth..All they wanted was to shut down everyone to give the people of this time in his history and get it over with..If we were only there to have seen it with our own eyes and ears we could have made a better choice and base our decision on what we really know at that time..How can you come to best answer to some of what you read from people were not there..
😢😢😢🥺
The actress has a soft voice
I believe being hung (hehe) for being annoying is not right. But I think that’s what happened here.
😭
The Pope and the Roman Catholic Church got a free pass for their role.
That's why they were all hanged and not allowed to speak or defend themselves, otherwise it would hve led back to Pope Pious IX, who called Jefferson Davis his favorite son, and was the one who actually ordered the murder.