Is the story of Lincoln’s assassination---and the fate of his killer incomplete?
After hearing of a book by a direct descendant of John Wilkes Booth, I am wondering if such rumors may be true.
I’m something of a history buff, particularly with regard to the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Maybe it’s my upbringing in Washington, D.C., where, as a youngster I took a class trip to Ford’s Theatre.
We walked the narrow hallway where Booth on that fateful night crept, sneaking up to the door of the President’s box. We saw the small hole he drilled in the door in order to spy into that box, biding his time and planning his attack.
We also visited the house across the street where the 16th President was carried—and where he died. We saw the bed-upon which Lincoln was laid diagonally (because of his height)—and one of the blood soaked pillows, encased in glass.
It is a sobering sight—and immediately transports you back to that awful day—and the circumstances which created a turning point in our history.
The book is called, “The Curse of Cain”, written by Theodore J. Nottingham. Nottingham makes no attempt to absolve his distant relative of the crime. He does, however, make several claims in the book, the most startling of which is his assertion that Booth did not die in a burning barn under a hail of gunfire.
Nottingham states that Booth escaped to live overseas for many years—and then returned to the United States.
Check out this video promoting the book-embedding the video was disabled by request, so you’ll have to click directly on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcozhIHMq3U&feature=grec_index
Here is a two-part ,well done amateur video of the events of April 14, 1865:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaDCQOMWcug&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqPVrd9qzIw&feature=related
The revelation of a conspiracy is really nothing of the sort---that much is historical fact. Nottingham’s assertion that it was internationally influenced IS something new. It’s also interesting to realize the level of celebrity that Booth enjoyed at the time of the killing. John Wilkes Booth was a very famous actor. He likened it to Tom Cruise assassinating a sitting U.S. President.
How much is fact, how much is fiction and how much is flawed research may never be conclusively decided.
The only thing I know for sure is that I’m going to buy and read this book!
If you’d like my blog in your inbox, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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