Unfortunate Dr. Mudd
On April 14th, 1865 John Wilkes Booth murdered President Lincoln at Ford’s Theater, after the Civil War was over. John Booth broke his ankle jumping on the stage of Ford’s. John Booth conspired with two other men, David Herold helped Lewis Payne attempt to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Herold, after escaping the authorities, met Booth and they came to Bryantown to fix Booth’s ankle. Dr. Samuel Mudd fixed the bone and hospitalized Booth and David Herold. After Mudd’s trial, he was given a sentence to life imprisonment for treason and conspiracy. His sentence was not right for him. Dr. Mudd should be innocent because he only fixed someone’s ankle and was not involved with Booth. The doctor took care of people while
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Mudd was sleeping peacefully in his house when he heard a knock on his door. He was surprised to find two strangers asking for help in the middle of the night. One of the strangers told a lie that Booth was hurt by his horse, therefore they needed help and a place to stay. Mudd did not recognize David Herold and John Wilkes Booth until he already helped them. There were no witnesses to prove Mudd guilty and Mudd had no idea that Booth killed President Lincoln.
Dr. Mudd wanted Booth to be put to justice. When he heard that John Wilkes Booth killed the president, Mudd told his cousin George Mudd to report about John Wilkes Booth to the calvary that just arrived in the town. Mudd knew people would suspect him so he told the cavalry about where Booth was heading. When the soldiers questioned Mudd about taking care of the murderers, he said that he helped two strangers and one of the travelers broke their ankle.
Although Dr. Mudd met Booth before the assassination, he didn’t know Booth’s plans to kill or kidnap the president. Mudd was for the Confederacy and owned eleven slaves before Lincoln freed all slaves. There were no witnesses to prove that Mudd was part of the conspiracy. Edwin Stanton was in charge of finding the conspirators and any suspects. In the end, he arrested any suspects who came in contact with Booth. Unfortunately, Mudd was arrested. The trial was set by the military, so the prosecution did not help