The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows
"Despite all that has been written about the April 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the story of John Surratt - the only conspirator who got away - remains untold and largely unknown. The capture and shooting of John Wilkes Booth twelve days after he shot Lincoln is a well-known and well-covered story. The fate of the eight other accomplices of Booth has also been widely written about. Four, including Surratt's mother, Mary; were convicted and hanged, and four were jailed....
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With all that has already been said and written, what more is there to tell about Lincoln's assassination that is new history of the case? There remains the curious story of the only successful conspirator, John Harrison Surratt, Jr., the son of Mary Surratt—the woman who died on the gallows for her part in the crime. The Last Lincoln Conspirator is the true story of how John Surratt was the only conspirator who got away with everything. How John Surratt did so is a tale of adventure and of mystery. Surratt began his flight the weekend Lincoln died not from Washington, but from Elmira, New York, where he was on a Confederate spy mission scouting out the huge Union prisoner of war camp in the city. Despite an uncontrollable tendency to babble to strangers who he really was and what he had done—exposing one after another each of the half-dozen aliases he'd assumed—Surratt managed to stay at large for the next twenty months during a flight that took him across three continents, over the Atlantic Ocean and half the Mediterranean Sea. He was finally captured six thousand miles from Washington. Surratt's adventure was to manage to flee nearly quarter way around the world with no plan and little money-seemingly hounded by avenging pursuers while recklessly scattering clues of his whereabouts-to end up alone and penniless in the ancient port of Alexandria, Egypt, sporting a tattered uniform as conspicuous as a clown's suit. The mystery is why the United States, which had tracked down his co-conspirators with such furious determination, five to their graves and another four into an island prison, and had once posted an enormous reward for his capture, seemed so diffident inbagging him. As it turned out, Surratt's flight turned out be successful anyway. He lived comfortably until April 1916, when he died in Baltimore peacefully at the age of 72, leaving a widow and four adult children, after having outlived not only all of John Wilkes Booth's other familiars, but also all the principal witness who had testified against him during two years in court. Gayla Koerting - Library Journal Jampoler (Sailors in the Holy Land) provides an engrossing account of the life and adventures of John Harrison Surratt, alleged Confederate agent and the youngest son of Mary Surratt, who was convicted and hanged as part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. John Surratt, however, was the only alleged member of the Lincoln conspiracy who ultimately escaped the hangman's noose. The author traces how the wily Surratt eluded authorities for almost two years across three continents, masterfully uncovering details about his escape-to Canada, England, Vatican City, Italy, and Egypt, where he was captured in 1866. Jampoler situates Surratt's criminal trial in 1867 in a larger perspective by placing it in the context of domestic politics, international law, diplomacy, and papal authority. Surratt was tried for kidnapping, which ended in a mistrial and his release. Thereafter, he lived in Baltimore, married into the family of Francis Scott Key, and died at the age of 72. Jampoler's research is meticulous, and this account is written in a style that immediately engages the reader, making it a welcome addition to academic libraries and all collections of Lincoln assassination literature.
List of IllustrationsCh. 1 "On the honor of a lady" 3Ch. 2 "Flight is the criminal's inarticulate confession" 45Ch. 3 "Such a wretch ought not to escape" 70Ch. 4 "The escape of Watson savors of a prodigy" 93Ch. 5 "I believe your name is Surratt" 128Ch. 6 "Seduced by the instigation of the devil" 156Ch. 7 "A new trial will doubtless follow" 180Ch. 8 "President Johnson was a drunkard" 219Ch. 9 "A verdict of acquittal" 246Ch. 10 "Free as an innocent child" 263Notes 275Bibliography 293Index 303
\ Library JournalJampoler (Sailors in the Holy Land) provides an engrossing account of the life and adventures of John Harrison Surratt, alleged Confederate agent and the youngest son of Mary Surratt, who was convicted and hanged as part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. John Surratt, however, was the only alleged member of the Lincoln conspiracy who ultimately escaped the hangman's noose. The author traces how the wily Surratt eluded authorities for almost two years across three continents, masterfully uncovering details about his escape-to Canada, England, Vatican City, Italy, and Egypt, where he was captured in 1866. Jampoler situates Surratt's criminal trial in 1867 in a larger perspective by placing it in the context of domestic politics, international law, diplomacy, and papal authority. Surratt was tried for kidnapping, which ended in a mistrial and his release. Thereafter, he lived in Baltimore, married into the family of Francis Scott Key, and died at the age of 72. Jampoler's research is meticulous, and this account is written in a style that immediately engages the reader, making it a welcome addition to academic libraries and all collections of Lincoln assassination literature.\ —Gayla Koerting\ \ \
