The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln [Hardcover]

Kate Clifford Larson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2008

In The Assassin’s Accomplice, historian Kate Clifford Larson tells the gripping story of Mary Surratt, a little-known participant in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln, and the first woman ever to be executed by the federal government of the United States. Surratt, a Confederate sympathizer, ran the boarding house in Washington where the conspirators-including her rebel son, John Surratt-met to plan the assassination. When a military tribunal convicted her for her crimes and sentenced her to death, five of the nine commissioners petitioned President Andrew Johnson to show mercy on Surratt because of her sex and age. Unmoved, Johnson refused-Surratt, he said, “kept the nest that hatched the egg.” Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, The Assassin’s Accomplice tells the intricate story of the Lincoln conspiracy through the eyes of its only female participant. Based on long-lost interviews, confessions, and court testimony, the text explores how Mary’s actions defied nineteenth-century norms of femininity, piety, and motherhood, leaving her vulnerable to deadly punishment historically reserved for men. A riveting narrative account of sex, espionage, and murder cloaked in the enchantments of Southern womanhood, The Assassin’s Accomplice offers a fresh perspective on America’s most famous murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Was Mary Surratt an accomplice in Lincoln's assassination and justly sent to the scaffold? Larson freshly tackles these questions in this spirited narrative, mining just about every shred of evidence. While having started out believing in her subject's innocence, she ends up convinced that Surratt was guilty of joining John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill the president. Less sure, however, that Surratt should have swung from the gallows, Larson (Bound for the Promised Land) leaves this deeply freighted moral question open, as it should be. The tale itself could not be better told, nor could the cast of characters be brought more to life. What mars the work is Larson's maddening, anachronistic use of Mary to name her subject (no Abe for Lincoln here, no John for Booth) and her missing the chance to draw out the implications of the role of Surratt—a widow in an otherwise all-male plot—for our understanding of women's place in her day. But it's now up to those who still think Surratt innocent to prove Larson wrong. They'll be hard put to do so. Illus., maps. (June)
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Review

"Spectator"
"Larson captures brilliantly the atmosphere of Mary Surratt's trial in a crowded court room -- murder trials attract morbid spectators -- during the sweltering heat of a Washington summer. Her description of the drama of Mary's last hours, when she was broken by a death sentence that neither she nor her lawyers had believed possible, makes compelling reading."

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1ST edition (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465038158
• ISBN-13: 978-0465038152
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Was she guilty?, June 13, 2008

By 

Brent M. Jones (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln (Hardcover)

More specifically, was Mary Surratt guilty of helping plot the murder of Lincoln? Author Kate Clifford Larson is so convinced of Mary's complicity, she calls her Booth's accomplice. The evidence against her is circumstantial but compelling.

Even today, there is a reluctance to attribute guilt to Mary Surratt. She was widely viewed as loving, kind, and regular in church attendance. Weichmann testified to her exemplary character. Fellow inmate Virginia Lomax cited examples of her kindheartedness to others in prison. Even Mary's ex-slave, Rachel Semus (p. 187), testified Mrs. Suratt always treated her fairly and she thus never had reason to complain. [As a descendant of slaves, I certainly don't grant Mrs. Surratt a pass. Unfortunately however, even our most revered figures - Washington and Jefferson - engaged in this detestable commerce. Second, at a time when incivility and sometimes cruelty to slaves were not uncommon, Mary was utterly blameless. Compare with "kindly" Dr. Mudd who shot a slave for insubordination (Edward Steers, "His Name is Still Mudd"). Compare with Lewis Paine who was arrested after stomping a black maid for talking back.]

Mary Surratt's saintly image frustrates attempts to see her as complicit in Lincoln's demise. But, says author Larson, she lied when she denied knowing Paine. She lied when she denied knowing David Herold who had visited frequently at her tavern. And why the many visits by Booth to her H Street boarding house, the two sometimes disappearing for clandestine conversations lasting an hour and longer? Why could she not find that exculpatory letter from her son, purportedly received the very day detectives demanded it?

Why the April 11 hushed tones with Lloyd about having "shooting irons" ready soon? If the guns were for no sordid purpose, say hunting, why the intrigue? And on the April 14 trip to the country, supposedly to transact urgent business, why did she not actually seek out Mr. Nothey who only lived 3 miles from the tavern? She could have sent Nothey's letter via a 3-cent stamp, avoiding a $6 horse and buggy rental and a 5-hour round trip, especially, Larson notes, since she allowed Nothey another 10 days to respond (p. 85). Urgent indeed.

The prosecution stated this was all subterfuge for the real reason for the trip: to prepare for Booth's visit that night.

Why did Mary call Booth an instrument of the Almighty sent to punish the proud and licentious people of Washington?

Author Kate Larson cites two incriminating meetings between Mary and Richard Smoot. Initially regarding him with suspicion, Mary brightened considerably when he revealed he owned the boat requisitioned to kidnap Lincoln. And when Smoot returned the day of the assassination demanding payment, Mary whispered the boat would be needed that very night.

Atzerodt's Lost Confession compromises Mary more than just a little, but less widely known is Larson's assertion that both Herold and Atzerodt implicated Mary the night before their execution (p. 208). Paine steadfastly asserted Mary's innocence, but according to Larson, his statements were made in part to appease an hysterical Anna who harangued him at length to clear her mother.

In isolation, alternative explanations can be made for all of Mary's actions but taken together, her behavior seems far, far more consistent with guilt than not. My opinion: the evidence abundantly supports Mary's knowledge of and active participation in Booth's original plan to abduct Lincoln. However, evidence of her endorsement or even knowledge of Lincoln's assassination plot fails to convince beyond a reasonable doubt. Unfortunately for Mary, reasonable doubt was not a legal stndard in 1865. Like the author states, Mary knowingly gave aid, comfort, advice, encouragement, and concealment to the conspirators and thus she was guilty of aiding and abetting -- and subject to the harsh consequences.

This volume was difficult to put down and at the end, one wished to read more. Larson provides details not commonly found elsewhere. We learn just who Mary's H Street boarders were and why they came to live there. We meet Mr. Holahan and learn his seedy occupation. We are taken to a time when friends and associates were addressed "Mr." and "Miss," a courtesy even extended to Miss Apollonia Dean, aged 9, and all the other boarders. We also find that Mr. Holahan's wife was related to Mary's friend and neighbor, William Kirby ("Is that you, Mr. Kirby?" asked Mary when detectives came to search the house). We discover exactly when the Holahans moved out, and the dollar amounts of Weichmann's monthly rent and Lloyd's yearly lease on the tavern.

Finally, we discover that two weeks prior to the assassination, two others moved into the boarding house, namely, black servant Susan Ann Mahoney Jackson and her fiancée. Miss Jackson's statements to authorities helped spell the end for Mary.

Ms. Larson has provided an eminently readable, fascinating, and unbiased review of Mary Surratt's role in the Lincoln conspiracy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Inaccuracies But Interesting At Any Rate, April 22, 2010

By 

Gail K. Powers "Abra" (Harbor Country, Mi,N. Naples, FL, Chicago area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln (Paperback)

Having read previously MANHUNT (and other books by James Swanson) and AMERICAN BRUTUS, I felt this book fell short a bit. Nonetheless, as the first book I've read primarily devoted to Mary Jenkins Surratt and her alledged participation in the Lincoln Assassination, I found this book flawed but compeling reading.
This book could easily be split into two parts.....before the assassination and after the assasination. Mrs. Surratt's participation up until the point of the assassination appears potentially damaging at the very least. Based on the testimony of people such as Louis Weichmann (her boarder), Mrs. Surratt appears to be complicite in a plot to kidnap Lincoln and hold him hostage. She offered her home to Booth and the conspirators over and over again as the initial plot was hatched. She took trips into Southern Maryland to convey information and secure supplies necessary to affect the kidnapping plot. She appeared to aid her son John on numerous occasions. John was a known confederate spy and operative. Mrs. Surratt herself was loyal to the cause of the south. The fact that she was involved at least on a superficial level in the plot to kidnap Lincoln was fairly obvious. However, things get a little fuzzy once the game plan evolved into an assassination plot. While evidence suggests she may have well been involved, it probably isn't as completely convincing because things evolved so quickly from a kidnapping plot to a assassination.
After the assassination, the conspirators were rounded up rather quickly. A speedy trial was held and within a matter of a couple months a verdict was handed down on the evidence that was presented. The veracity of the evidence has long been viewed as questionable as some information was withheld and testimony may have been altered. In detail, that is covered in this book. Four of the conspirators were given a death sentence, and the others who appeared to be involved peripherally(as opposed to direct involvement)were given prison sentences to be served in the Dry Tortugas.
As Mrs. Surratt was a woman and her link to the assasination plot appeared less certain/convincing, there was a near certainty that she would not be sentenced to death. After the death sentence was handed down, her attorneys requested leniency on her behalf and felt that President Johnson would surely grant the request. The president never interceded and Mrs. Surratt was hung as scheduled. Later it was claimed that the request never reached the president. Another one of histories mysteries, I suppose. So much conflicting evidence on that issue alone muddies the truth.
Why did I like this book? Mrs. Surratt was brought to the forefront because she was the subject of the book. There was a lot of information about her upbringing, marriage, loyalty to the southern cause, financial circumstances, the prevailing attitudes of the time regarding women and inheritance. I also found the information regarding the spy system in place aiding the south's interests fascinating. There were a lot of small elements that the author explained in detail that brought the Surratt family and their times to life for me. Much of the basic information pertaining to the subsequent trial and conviction would have been more interesting if that aspect hadn't been covered already in the other books I've read. It was old territory for me, but necessary for most readers of this book.
The things I didn't like in this book? I thought the author took some unnecessary liberties in the manner she portrayed Mrs. Surratt and some of the key players. While John Wilkes Booth was obviously an important link in this conspiracy. Mrs. Surratt as well as her daughter were portrayed as being blindly infatuated with him and Mrs. Surratt was portrayed as borderline glamorous. In reality, she was an ordinary middle-aged widow handling the responsibility of her home and family. There was an implication that Mrs. Surratt did not get along with her mother or brothers and had nothing to do with them, but nothing to really support that assertion conclusively was provided. Boarder Louis Weichmann was very religious and wanted to advance his theological studies (presumably as a catholic priest) yet he was seen as the spurned would-be suitor of Anna Surratt. That seemed inconsistent based on the information provided consistently about Weichmann. There were a lot on inconsistencies that made no logical sense to me except to fill the pages of a book.
I've been to Mrs. Surratt's grave. The author claims it is at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore. It is at Mt. Olivet Cemetery on Bladensburg Rd NE in Washington DC. Minute elements such as these made me wonder if errors like this are few or many.
Other reviewers pointed to other errors such as whether Mrs. Surratt was born from a prominent catholic family or was she an episcopalian convert to catholicism. From what I was able to find, the conversion story is true based upon a genealogical study of her family performed by the Surratt Museum staff. This information is not sourced in the book nor is the information obtained about the Surratt/Neale family and her husband's illegitimate son or her husband supposedly being a catholic from the same genealogical study. Additionally, Mrs. Surratt's mother is buried at St. Ignatius Cemetery in Oxon Hill MD which is a catholic cemetery and seemingly contradicts the assertion that her mother was an Episcopalian! Goofy stuff I know, but considering all the information out there regarding the Surratts even minor things are going to raise flags.
This is a decent book and I found it interesting as it was from the perspective of Mrs. Surratt involvement. However, it seems irresponsible if I don't point out that if you end up reading this book you should also read the Swanson books as well as AMERICAN BRUTUS. I feel that they all enhance one another and helps present a fuller picture. If you have an interest in civil war history or Lincoln, I highly recommend this book and the others mentioned. It is an exciting and complex story devoid of a happy ending.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Woman Who Nurtured a Nest of Conspirators, June 30, 2008

By 

Dr. Watson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln (Hardcover)

At last, we have a judicious and thoroughly unbiased account of Mary Surratt's involvement in the assassination of Lincoln. Professor Larson goes to great lengths to give Mary the benefit of the doubt. Court records and trial transcripts are gone over with a fine tooth comb proving what many have surmised for years: Mary was a willing co-conspirator who allowed all of the conspirators, including Booth, to use her boarding house and tavern at Surrattsville, as a meeting place for planning the death of Lincoln. There are new tidbits of information concerning Mary's inept lawyers, if you can call what they did, practicing law. Yet, even with their obvious stupidity, what was revealed by the witnesses, indicate that Mary was not the pious, innocent boarding house keeper she pretended. Even the Catholic clergy brought in as character witnesses, couldn't vouch for much; many didn't even know her that well.

The evidence exists that President Johnson did receive information regarding a stay of execution for Mary, but with all the evidence, it is obvious that he had no choice but to let the matter proceed.

It is only in the afterglow of the hangings, that public furor over the execution of the first woman by the federal government, increased to a rising crescendo, egged on by Southern sympathizers.

Highly recommended, I would only suggest that the author, in a revised edition, include an extensive bibliography that would better assist those who are new to this area of Civil War study.