On May 1, 1865, two weeks after Abraham Lincoln's assassination,
recently inaugurated president Andrew Johnson appointed John
Frederick Hartranft to command the military prison at the
Washington Arsenal, where the U.S. government had just incarcerated
the seven men and one woman accused of complicity in the shooting.
From that day through the execution of four of the accomplices, the
Pennsylvania-born general held responsibility for the most
notorious prisoners in American history. A strict adherent to
protocol, Hartranft kept a meticulously detailed account of his
experiences in the form of a letterbook. In The Lincoln
Assassination Conspirators, noted Lincoln scholars Edward Steers,
Jr., and Harold Holzer, in partnership with the National Archives,
present this fascinating historical record for the first time with
contextual materials and expert annotations, providing a remarkable
glimpse behind the scenes of the assassination's aftermath.
Hartranft oversaw every aspect of the prisoners' daily lives,
from making sure they were fed and kept clean to ensuring that no
one communicated with them except on the written orders of
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. In his Letterbook, Hartranft
scrupulously recounts the arrival of each prisoner and describes
the prison routine -- which included three simple meals a day, a
twice-daily cell inspection by Hartranft himself, and frequent
physical examinations by an army physician. The prisoners wore
wrist and leg shackles and, controversially, most of them wore
special hoods designed to isolate them from their surroundings.
When the conspirators' trial began, the nation waited eagerly
for news, and many sought retribution against those they held
responsible for the nation's grief. Hartranft resisted calls for
both vengeance and mercy and continued to treat his notorious
charges as humanely as possible, facilitating meetings with clergy
and sending letters to and from family members. Yet, as his
detached, detailed description of the execution of four of the
conspirators shows, he did not allow emotion to impede the
performance of his duty.
The legal and moral issues surrounding the conspirators' trial
-- the extraordinary use of military rather than civil justice, the
treatment of the accused while incarcerated, the fine line between
swift and precipitous justice -- remain volatile, unsettled issues
today. Hartranft's keen observations, ably analyzed by historians
Steers and Holzer, will add a riveting new chapter to the story of
Lincoln's assassination.
General
Imprint: |
Louisiana State University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
March 2009 |
First published: |
March 2009 |
Editors: |
Edward Steers Jr.
• Harold Holzer
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Paper over boards / With dust jacket
|
Pages: |
208 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8071-3396-5 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8071-3396-5 |
Barcode: |
9780807133965 |
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