Armstrong Local Programming, Meadville PA: Bruce Barrett of the Crawford County Historical Society on Samuel Mudd's role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
homeboy is getting old in this video. Its likely a combination of multiple things. i don't think anyone should judge him too harshly for it. i doubt he was exhaling like that because of some negative emotion or expression. hes likely trying to catch his breath. his tone was pleasant enough and he presented the info well. cant ask for much more than that. at least he wasn't saying "like" or "Uhh" every 5 seconds like some people do.
Sarah "Fannie" Mudd, my 3rd Great Grandmother, was the sister of Dr. Sam Mudd. She stood as a witness for her brother during his trial. Despite the family's insistence on his innocence, the truth remains obscured: they perjured themselves to shield him. Why? Because slavery was entrenched in our family's interests. My 4th Great Grandfather, Henry Mudd, rented out slaves to local farmers who couldn't afford them, and the war diminished our wealth. Dr. Mudd's letters, especially those to my 3rd Great Grandmother, reveal his racist sentiments. Even my 2nd Great Grandmother, who married into the family, claimed to possess evidence of their complicity but took it to her grave. It's regrettable. The undeniable reality is that Dr. Mudd associated with Booth and facilitated introductions to others involved. In interviews following Mudd's death, his cousin acknowledged his involvement in the conspiracy to abduct the President, despite Dr. George Mudd's testimony in his favor.
Methodical research by many eminent, modern historians who have objectively studied this man have reached a consensus that is an indisputable fact: Samuel Mudd was as guilty as any of his fellow conspirators, if not more so. It is a fact that he met with Booth personally on at least three, perhaps four different occasions in many different venues. Mudd went to church with Booth, he imbibed with him, broke bread with him. It is a fact Booth was an overnight guest in his home prior to the assassination. It is a fact Mudd arranged and introduced Booth to John Suratt; Suratt introduced Booth to Mary Suratt, to Atzerodt, to Powell. Without Suratt Booth never meets these co-conspirators, all of whom hanged. It is a fact that Mudd informed Booth of Jones and Harbin providing him with letters of introduction to aid in his escape as well as reconnoitering the path near his father’s home with Herold for federal troops. I submit that without Mudd there are no other conspirators except for Herold, as well as O’laughlin and Arnold, both of whom already had bailed on Booth’s kidnap plot and had no part in the planning of the president’s assassination. If anyone charged was actually innocent I submit Edmund Spangler was a sad sack simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Factually, it is Mudd who played a very significant and integral part in assembling and connecting the majority of Booth’s party. Booth bragged to John Lloyd and other complete strangers: “I am the assassinator of the president”; however we are to believe that he did not mention this at all to a man he knew intimately, who expressed his mutual hatred of Lincoln to, and planned the kidnapping of the President with? We are to believe that Mudd did not recognize Booth when he arrived and admitted him to his home at 4AM? Incidentally, according to Mudd’s own deposition, during Booth’s overnight stay at Mudd’s home the previous December he took Booth to purchase a horse from his neighbor, Mr. George Gardiner, Sr. “I would know this horse if I should see him again”; Mudd testified; he can readily recognize and identify a horse but apparently not this human being of moderate fame he met with intimately several times within the previous 3-4 months. This is 1865, folks, in rural Maryland; I believe the average 18 year old living in Baltimore in 2017 encounters, meets, and interacts with more people in the course of one to two years than Mudd certainly ever met personally, up that that point, in his entire life. He was a rabid secessionist and avowed racist. He lied repeatedly, over and over again, regarding his whereabouts, knowledge and actions; this is no longer speculation but is now historical and objective fact. The only reason his “innocence” was ever called into question by contemporaries is because he was a physician; an educated man who contrasted sharply from the remaining conspirators. It only continued to be called into question in more modern times due to the efforts made on his behalf by his ancestors, some whom were also highly educated and successful physicians. (One family members was prominent correspondent and CBS and NBC national news anchor Roger Mudd who actually believed him to be guilty) This is something I certainly cannot fault them for however, they are either delusional or refuse to face the hard facts . With the passage of time and the study of human history there is only one conclusion any reasonable person can reach: That Samuel Mudd was then and is now guilty as charged in aiding and abetting by concealing Booth and Herold. He concealed and withheld information from authorities by waiting two days before having his cousin contact federal investigators. There is no evidence he had any prior knowledge of the assassination but he was certainly more than the simple country doctor fulfilling his duty some would have you believe. He escaped the gallows by only one vote. Objective and irrefutable historical facts now tell us he should have hanged considering those who eventually did. His name was, is, and always will be: Mudd.
My 3rd great grandmother was Elizabeth Mudd Cassidy of Perry County, Indiana. She was Dr. Mudd's cousin and the sister of Mary Mudd who married Mordecai Lincoln (President Lincoln's uncle). Personally, I've always felt that Dr. Mudd's involvement was inadvertent, at least to some degree. Oh yes, he may have been involved in some scheme to get President Lincoln out of the White House. But I honestly don't think he intended to get the man murdered. Many people don't realize - unless they are Lincoln researchers - that the Mudds and the Lincolns were intermarried families. Like you, the Lincolns who are alive today are my distant cousins, but on the Mudd side of the family. FYI - Diane Kennedy.
I don't know how he could not be guilty. It stretches the bounds of credulity to think that he was wearing a fake beard and that he didn't know who Booth was. He went to Mudd's place because he knew him.
Read the book by Nettie Mudd printed in 1911. It has anedotal notes from the lawyer that defended him. There were things done wrong at this trial. The book goes into that. After reading the book, I was impressed at the hero he turned out to be as he saved many prisoners at the dry Tortugas. This was a travesty of justice. The way his wife handled this was amazing!
@@kellyfisher4378 hardly a travesty of justice. He was introduced to Booth at St Mary's Church and on another occasion travelled with Surratt to meet Booth in Washington. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming that he was involved in the Kidnap Plot. As regards Booths escape after the Murder Plot he essentially aided and abetted Booth and Herold, stalled the persuing officers and did not disclose evidence (Booths boot) immediately.
@@frankoholik1760 please read the book by Nettie Mudd. She gives evidence that refutes your scenario. Dr Mudd sent for the soldiers via his brother. He told them what he knew. And did not lie to them as they claimed at the trial. Also, see how much money those soldiers made by getting to people to trial. It was a lot of money for the time. I believe Nettie Mudd's book as it was written on the anecdotal notes of his lawyer and had several letters between Dr Mudd and his wife. He saved several prisoners on the dry Tortuga's. I find this story as related by Nettie Mudd to be most fascinating. I feel he was a victim of circumstance that the government out for blood for the death of Lincoln. Dad to say, some were wrongly convicted.
I am a professor of history. This presentation belongs in elementary schools: he share nothing of historical value; no critical analysis and too much conjecture...
Thank you. I've provided some Mudd family information on this thread that I hope will shed more light on Dr. Mudd's case. Even though I am a Mudd descendant, I don't necessarily condone Dr. Mudd's actions. But by the same stroke, I think the video is a little slanted towards totally incriminating him, which is not necessarily fair. None of us were there to see what actually happened - Diane.
Elementary schools, old people's home. What's the difference? One has minds not developed and not able to fully comprehend what is said and the other minds in decline and not able to fully comprehend what is said. I think the lecture was entirely appropriate to the level of intelligence of the audience. If the lecturer gave deep historical facts and critical analysis it would have been lost on the geriatric crowd. An interesting example. I was enrolled in a history of jazz class at a college. The school got one of the preeminent authors and critics on the subject to teach the class. His teaching was a total failure. He only lasted one semester then he quit in disgust because he said the students were too stupid and lazy to understand his lectures. Me being a long time student of the history of jazz thoroughly enjoyed his lectures but I was the only person in the class who understood his lectures. He taught miles over the heads of the students.
A lot of exhaling and not much Information. You could cut down his lecture to three minutes and would miss nothing. The speaker seams not to have prepared his lecture.
Booth broke his leg when his horse fell on him going up Soper Hill fleeing into Maryland, not at Ford's theater. Not one person in attendance at the theater mentioned Booth limping across the stage.
he was 2 years too late... better to let abe live because he already destoyed the south and began the growth of big fed goverment... wish he got him in 1863
the constant loud exhaling is very bizarre
It gave me the impression that he has been made to tell this story over and over again {sigh}
It is distracting and disturbing.
I think it’s just nerves
homeboy is getting old in this video. Its likely a combination of multiple things. i don't think anyone should judge him too harshly for it. i doubt he was exhaling like that because of some negative emotion or expression. hes likely trying to catch his breath. his tone was pleasant enough and he presented the info well. cant ask for much more than that. at least he wasn't saying "like" or "Uhh" every 5 seconds like some people do.
That’s true, but the breathing noises are unpleasant to listen to and distracting, which does take away from the good content.
I always compared Booth's assassination of Lincoln to something like John Barrymore assassinating FDR .
It was that level of celebrity .
Sarah "Fannie" Mudd, my 3rd Great Grandmother, was the sister of Dr. Sam Mudd. She stood as a witness for her brother during his trial. Despite the family's insistence on his innocence, the truth remains obscured: they perjured themselves to shield him. Why? Because slavery was entrenched in our family's interests. My 4th Great Grandfather, Henry Mudd, rented out slaves to local farmers who couldn't afford them, and the war diminished our wealth. Dr. Mudd's letters, especially those to my 3rd Great Grandmother, reveal his racist sentiments. Even my 2nd Great Grandmother, who married into the family, claimed to possess evidence of their complicity but took it to her grave. It's regrettable. The undeniable reality is that Dr. Mudd associated with Booth and facilitated introductions to others involved. In interviews following Mudd's death, his cousin acknowledged his involvement in the conspiracy to abduct the President, despite Dr. George Mudd's testimony in his favor.
Methodical research by many eminent, modern historians who have objectively studied this man have reached a consensus that is an indisputable fact: Samuel Mudd was as guilty as any of his fellow conspirators, if not more so. It is a fact that he met with Booth personally on at least three, perhaps four different occasions in many different venues. Mudd went to church with Booth, he imbibed with him, broke bread with him. It is a fact Booth was an overnight guest in his home prior to the assassination. It is a fact Mudd arranged and introduced Booth to John Suratt; Suratt introduced Booth to Mary Suratt, to Atzerodt, to Powell. Without Suratt Booth never meets these co-conspirators, all of whom hanged. It is a fact that Mudd informed Booth of Jones and Harbin providing him with letters of introduction to aid in his escape as well as reconnoitering the path near his father’s home with Herold for federal troops. I submit that without Mudd there are no other conspirators except for Herold, as well as O’laughlin and Arnold, both of whom already had bailed on Booth’s kidnap plot and had no part in the planning of the president’s assassination. If anyone charged was actually innocent I submit Edmund Spangler was a sad sack simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Factually, it is Mudd who played a very significant and integral part in assembling and connecting the majority of Booth’s party. Booth bragged to John Lloyd and other complete strangers: “I am the assassinator of the president”; however we are to believe that he did not mention this at all to a man he knew intimately, who expressed his mutual hatred of Lincoln to, and planned the kidnapping of the President with? We are to believe that Mudd did not recognize Booth when he arrived and admitted him to his home at 4AM? Incidentally, according to Mudd’s own deposition, during Booth’s overnight stay at Mudd’s home the previous December he took Booth to purchase a horse from his neighbor, Mr. George Gardiner, Sr. “I would know this horse if I should see him again”; Mudd testified; he can readily recognize and identify a horse but apparently not this human being of moderate fame he met with intimately several times within the previous 3-4 months. This is 1865, folks, in rural Maryland; I believe the average 18 year old living in Baltimore in 2017 encounters, meets, and interacts with more people in the course of one to two years than Mudd certainly ever met personally, up that that point, in his entire life. He was a rabid secessionist and avowed racist. He lied repeatedly, over and over again, regarding his whereabouts, knowledge and actions; this is no longer speculation but is now historical and objective fact. The only reason his “innocence” was ever called into question by contemporaries is because he was a physician; an educated man who contrasted sharply from the remaining conspirators. It only continued to be called into question in more modern times due to the efforts made on his behalf by his ancestors, some whom were also highly educated and successful physicians. (One family members was prominent correspondent and CBS and NBC national news anchor Roger Mudd who actually believed him to be guilty) This is something I certainly cannot fault them for however, they are either delusional or refuse to face the hard facts . With the passage of time and the study of human history there is only one conclusion any reasonable person can reach: That Samuel Mudd was then and is now guilty as charged in aiding and abetting by concealing Booth and Herold. He concealed and withheld information from authorities by waiting two days before having his cousin contact federal investigators. There is no evidence he had any prior knowledge of the assassination but he was certainly more than the simple country doctor fulfilling his duty some would have you believe. He escaped the gallows by only one vote. Objective and irrefutable historical facts now tell us he should have hanged considering those who eventually did. His name was, is, and always will be: Mudd.
Good presentation, but the speaker should not breathe near the mike - Sounds like he wasn't far from collapsing at times! :-)
Fascinating...
I enjoyed this so much very interesting.
Excellent talk. And nice to see such an engaged audience.
Mudd and Booth went to church together in Dec 64 and both signed the register!
The presenter never talked about the trial of Dr. Mudd.
Descendant of Dr. Mudd here, my family is divided on whether or not they believed he conspired. 😂
My 3rd great grandmother was Elizabeth Mudd Cassidy of Perry County, Indiana. She was Dr. Mudd's cousin and the sister of Mary Mudd who married Mordecai Lincoln (President Lincoln's uncle). Personally, I've always felt that Dr. Mudd's involvement was inadvertent, at least to some degree. Oh yes, he may have been involved in some scheme to get President Lincoln out of the White House. But I honestly don't think he intended to get the man murdered. Many people don't realize - unless they are Lincoln researchers - that the Mudds and the Lincolns were intermarried families. Like you, the Lincolns who are alive today are my distant cousins, but on the Mudd side of the family. FYI - Diane Kennedy.
Diane Kennedy of course! I’m his 4th great grand child and we are related to the Lincoln’s from marriage like you said
Mudd here too🙌
See 20:50 @ czcams.com/video/86_1xTBFKtU/video.html
I don't know how he could not be guilty. It stretches the bounds of credulity to think that he was wearing a fake beard and that he didn't know who Booth was. He went to Mudd's place because he knew him.
“I want you to to name a famous actor”.
Audience: John Wilkes Booth.
How old are these people in this nursing home 😂
They knew the topic.
The fucking sighing!
Samuel Mudd is a relative of mine, likely he was guilty was the story I was told
Read the book by Nettie Mudd printed in 1911. It has anedotal notes from the lawyer that defended him. There were things done wrong at this trial. The book goes into that. After reading the book, I was impressed at the hero he turned out to be as he saved many prisoners at the dry Tortugas. This was a travesty of justice. The way his wife handled this was amazing!
@@kellyfisher4378 hardly a travesty of justice. He was introduced to Booth at St Mary's Church and on another occasion travelled with Surratt to meet Booth in Washington. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming that he was involved in the Kidnap Plot. As regards Booths escape after the Murder Plot he essentially aided and abetted Booth and Herold, stalled the persuing officers and did not disclose evidence (Booths boot) immediately.
@@frankoholik1760 please read the book by Nettie Mudd. She gives evidence that refutes your scenario. Dr Mudd sent for the soldiers via his brother. He told them what he knew. And did not lie to them as they claimed at the trial. Also, see how much money those soldiers made by getting to people to trial. It was a lot of money for the time. I believe Nettie Mudd's book as it was written on the anecdotal notes of his lawyer and had several letters between Dr Mudd and his wife. He saved several prisoners on the dry Tortuga's. I find this story as related by Nettie Mudd to be most fascinating. I feel he was a victim of circumstance that the government out for blood for the death of Lincoln. Dad to say, some were wrongly convicted.
Dr. Mudd is my great grandfather.
Dude this crowd is freaking hilarious. I think I'll retire there when I get old and fat 😁
Just a joke I promise. Great presentation btw!
Mrs. Mudd's story is even a little bit more interesting
I am a professor of history. This presentation belongs in elementary schools: he share nothing of historical value; no critical analysis and too much conjecture...
Thank you. I've provided some Mudd family information on this thread that I hope will shed more light on Dr. Mudd's case. Even though I am a Mudd descendant, I don't necessarily condone Dr. Mudd's actions. But by the same stroke, I think the video is a little slanted towards totally incriminating him, which is not necessarily fair. None of us were there to see what actually happened - Diane.
Elementary schools, old people's home. What's the difference? One has minds not developed and not able to fully comprehend what is said and the other minds in decline and not able to fully comprehend what is said. I think the lecture was entirely appropriate to the level of intelligence of the audience. If the lecturer gave deep historical facts and critical analysis it would have been lost on the geriatric crowd. An interesting example. I was enrolled in a history of jazz class at a college. The school got one of the preeminent authors and critics on the subject to teach the class. His teaching was a total failure. He only lasted one semester then he quit in disgust because he said the students were too stupid and lazy to understand his lectures. Me being a long time student of the history of jazz thoroughly enjoyed his lectures but I was the only person in the class who understood his lectures. He taught miles over the heads of the students.
Booth was a drama queen in all things.
A lot of exhaling and not much Information. You could cut down his lecture to three minutes and would miss nothing. The speaker seams not to have prepared his lecture.
That crazy, he was also one of my ancestors 💀
When Mudd went into Briyant town he went with Herald and was seen with that little rat before he turned ( Herald ) back to Mudds house........
Of course Johnson pardoned him
Yea, Dr. Mudd was a lying fool. I figured this out when I used to hook school and go to the Ford Theater among other sites. Great lecture too, thanks!
Booth broke his leg when his horse fell on him going up Soper Hill fleeing into Maryland, not at Ford's theater. Not one person in attendance at the theater mentioned Booth limping across the stage.
Booth told MUDD he broke his leg going up Soper's Hill. He in fact broke his leg during fall.
@@rmhouser19861Actually, many scholars doubt that he broke his leg at the theater. There is evidence it was the horse.
Stop the exhaling for the love of God. Also no sources sited…so all garbage without sources to factually backup the nice stories…
What is up with the constant sighing? Beyond annoying!!
J.Wilkes Boots
Very confusing presentation.
What? When? Where?
Terrible presentation.
he was 2 years too late... better to let abe live because he already destoyed the south and began the growth of big fed goverment... wish he got him in 1863