\

LuthM B. Baker (left), COL Lafayette Baker, and Everton J. Conger plan the pursuit of .

Identification and Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth: Reexamining the Evidence

Leonard F. GUllrKl1;C'

enator Carrel Dav;s, KYo' / Cotl1lot ("ol/t"eil't'. ifhe WO.f ill the baril_ ant! to hOl'e intjllirt't! ofhim 10 r('\'('al I how' "ew." see" myselfuny .~Uf­ why he lI'as lIot laken ali"t-, I /tavt­ til(' whol(' trall.mcrion . . ,[or] bring his S i!>juclUry t'videllct' 'hat BOOIII never $('('" ,m.l'bOl~I', or Jill' ,'vid('IIU' of hU((I' tip herC' ... leI all who hat! .w'ell \ I\'US k iIIe". tllI)'body, /lWI idf'flfijied Boolh af'N /tim IJlaying. all who llHOf'i(l/C'(/ wilh Senalor , AID: I he i.f said 10 1101·'(' h,'nl killed. Why.m him Oil Ihl' SIU!:l' ur ill Ihc' grt'en ruom submit 10 my friend from KellllU'ky much SNTl'I'J' oholl/ ii,' ... 77'l'rt' i~' a or al Ihl' IOI'l'flU' alit! OII/('r public ,hOf 'here ort! somt'things ,hat \1'(" must mystery ami a mO!>i inexp/ic'able mys­ place.\·, hal'(.' hod access 10 his bod)' 10 take judicial/lOri/-£> of JUSt as In,1I as tery 10 III)' mimi abow the whole af­ hOI'(' idelllijil'(/ it, 'hat Julim Caesar is dead. fair. ... [Booth) multi hal'e bel''' Senoror Henry B. Anthony, RI: I Senator Davis: I ~·..uuld rather haw' ('optured jtdl as Irl'lI ali\'(' us deat!. It am happy 10 r('liel'(' m)' frielld from !Huer It's/imunJ' ofIII" faCl. I wOn! it would harl' hl'l'" "'m'h mort' .wlisfac·­ Kl'muC"ky by i"formillg him thai a provt!d 11101 8001h wus ill Ihat hum. I tory 10 hOI'e brol/xht him lip hNl'aliv(' smallpart oflhl'skelelon of800lh is in

January-February 1993 17 Thousands o'''wanled'' poster. bearing John Wilke. Booth', liken... were In circulation within days of President Un­ coin', murder.

,he ul/a/omicol IIIl1seum of the Sur­ geon General. ... I do flOl kilO\\' holl' it is idelltijied. hili il is (·(,rtiJied 10 be that.(lj

Get Booth On the afternoon of Monday. 24 April 1865. 10 days after John Wilkes Booth assassinated . a lieutenant. Edward P. Doherty. reported to lafayellc Bak­ er's headquarters on Pennsylvania A"cnue in Washington. DC. SO did two men in whom Baker. the War Department's chief detective. placed principal confidence: his cousin. Luther B. Baker, and E"erton J. Conger. Both had been Baker's close aides in a locally active military unit Presiden~ which. under his command. had con­ Of our late beloved Abraham Lincoln, ducted limited field operations earlier in the Civil War. They were now pri­ II IftLL At LUCE. vate cilizens. Lafayette Baker reas­ signed them as wspecial detc<'tivcsw carrying Iheir former military rank $50,000· REWARD and ordered them into Virginia to ww. ok w."fOPMh.... 1...... 110 ...7 ...... ~ Boolh.~ .1Uliaipal =""In--..__ =-• 11_ scour Ihe country and wgel LT DoherlY commanded the 16th New York Cavalry detachment as­ 125,000 REWARD signed to Ihe mission as an escort. An Will 1M .,..w lbr u.. appr,t d

,. 'NAVY MEOICINE Garrett's Barn rushed into the barn exelaiming that Doheny's troops struck the Rappa­ the man had shot himself. Baker hannock at da..... n and by afternoon thought Conger had fired the bullet were at a fisherman's cottage near the but Hthe idea flashed through my mind ferry where they displayed photos of that if he had it had better not be John Wilkes Booth. Doheny pressed known."(4) the fisherman. William Rollins, into They took the man's weapons. a servicc as a guide. By nightfall that Spencer carbine and two pistols. car­ Tuesday, all his 25 soldiers and the 2 ried him first tothe foot ofa locust trcc detectives had crossed the river into and then. as fire enveloped the barn. Caroline County. Acting upon infor­ the Garrett's front porch. where he mation from Rollins (or his wife). they was placed with a mattress beneath his rode into Bowling Green and at the head. One of Doherty's soldiers rushed Star Hotel hauled a young ex-Con­ to Port Royal for a doctor. whose federate army private named William name, Charles Urquhart. would even­ Jett from his bed at gunpoint. And tually surface-but not so any record with Jett now their guide, the cavalry of his strange house call, nor a dealh lafayette C. Baker, the War Depart­ galloped back up the rutted highway certificate: nothing at all for posterity ment', chJef detective to the farm of R'ichard H. Garretl. beyond the impression that after ex­ Two men were sheltered there. One amining the mortally wounded man...... as a Washington youth named David the doctor merely closed his bag and tents ofwhich included a liule book in E. Herold. The other was older. had a rode off into the predawn gloom. which the Garrells had seen "Mr. bandaged leg. and supported himself never to be heard from. Boyd" writing.(5) on crutches. He had presented himself The man survived the shooting Conger set out at once with these to the Garretts as a wounded Confed­ about J hours. White he still breathed, items for Washington. Accompanying erate officer: one of his forearms bore Conger emptied his pockets. the con- him as far as the steamboat landing at the tattooed letters JWB. and he had given his name as James W. Boyd. After forcing the Garretts to reveal v that the pair slept within their large I , lobacco barn. the troops surrounded ~ it. Luther Baker shouting for the men inside to surrender. The lame man. called Boyd. demanded 10 know why he should do so and asked repeatedly who was besieging him. There followed through the locked barn door a verbal give-and-take dur­ ing which no names were ever volun­ teered. Herold chose to give himselfup and the door was unlocked for him to come out. As the soldiers seized the young man and tied him to a tree. he maintained that his companion in the barn Htold me his name was Boyd. H(3) Over LT Doherty's objections. detec­ tive Conger moved to the rear of the barn and set it afire. Between the barn's gaping side timbers its sole occupant could be seen, a stumbling silhouette against the gathering blaze until a shot rang out and he fell. The bullet had passed through his neck.. shattering vertebrae and severing the spinal cord. Luther Thl' I, how Harper. Weekly portrayed Baker reached him first. then Conger Booth', final .tand In Garrett', bam.

January-February 1993 19 An lIIustrallon from Lafayet1e Baker'. memoir portray. the a••a.sln'. la.t moments.

did not act as severely as I should have done with Mr. Baker."(8) Shortly before II p.m. the party with the body arrived off Alexandria where Lafayette Baker took charge of it. There ensued an unexplained delay of at least 3 hours before it was trans­ ferred to a tug and borne across the Potomac to the Washington Navy Yard. What followed is described in a testy letter written by LCDR Edward E. Stone. commanding officer of the ironclad monitor USS Montauk. laid up in the yard for battle repairs. Stone had been ashore at the time but learned from his officers that: Belle Plain was SGT Boston CorbCll. a any were made with the exception of former hatter and religious mystic who "Useless. useless. N(6) On this point. the a lug came alongside. on board of which "'as Baker. lhe detective, with a dead body. had rechristcned himself after the city last word might be granled the Sur­ said 10 be lhat ofJ.W. Booth. the assassin. Said in which he claimed to have been born geon General of the Army who con­ body was passed on board Wilh the implied agam. Upon arrival in the Capital. ducted an autopsy on the body from ullderstanding that it had been put on board for Conger officially rcportcd that Presi­ Garrett's farm: "Immediately after the safe·keeping. No orders whalever were left wilh lhe officer of the guard or the commanding offi­ dent Lincoln's killer had been tracked reception of the injury. there was very cer . concerning it. nor was any wriuen down. cornered. and shot while trying general paralysis ... deglutition [swal­ aUlhority for so disposing of il shown to any to escape. and that SGT Corbel! had lowing] was impracticable and one or officer of the vessel. It was a most informal and pulled the trigger. two attempts at articulation were unmilitary proceeding. which should Ilave been unintelligi ble. "( 7) nipped in lhe llud,(9) Conflict and Myth If such differences in testimony are Following anxious word from the The foregoing paragraphs recount traceable to rivalry for reward money, commandant of the Navy Yard that all that can reliably serve to convey this possibility alone justifies circum· the body was "changing rapidly. What what occurred at Richard Garrett's spection. At any rate. not even the disposition shall be made of it? "(10) farm on that April night nearly 128 record of the body's 18·mile journey the Secretaries of War and Navy con­ years ago. Impartial study shows that from the Rappahannock crossing to ferred before breakfast then sent a much else told and retold ever since the Belle Plain landing is without its reply across town: purporting to detail the capture and bizarre aspects. Luther Baker and a demise of John Wilkes Booth is so two-man military guard had charge of You will permit Surgeon General IJames and Ilis assistant. accompanied by Judge Advocate riddled with connict and myth as to be it and once across the river at Port Genl Holt. Hon Jolin A. Bingham.· Special necessarily viewed with caution. if not Royal. the detective pushed on ahead Judge Advocate. Major Eckert. Wm G. Moore. dismissed outright. of the troops. much to Doherty's con­ clerk of the War Department. Col. L.c. Baker. This is significantly the case respect­ sternation. As the lieutenant after­ Lieut. Baker. Lieut. Col. Conger. ehas Dawson. ing the captive's alleged last words. wards stated. "under some pretense or J.L. Smilh, Gardiner [sic) (phOlographer) • as­ sistant. to go on board the Monlauk. alld sec the The detectives Conger and Baker testi­ other [Baker] managed 10 send the body of John Wilkes Booth. fied that at different moments he mut· guard back to me with some frivolous Immedialely after the Surgeon General has teredo "Tell Mother I died for my message and stole away with the made his autopsy. you will have the body plact:d country." "I did what I thought was for body." And when Doherty reached in a strong box. and deliver it to lhe charge of the best," "Kill me. oh. kill me." NDid Belle Plain, the corpse was nowhere in Col. Baker-the box being carefullysealed.(l/) Jett betray me?" "My hands," and sight. After it had belatedly appeared. finally. NUseless. useless. NLT Doher­ to be placed aboard t he waiting •John A, Bingham. a rormer congressman from ty's report to his superiors contains no steamer. Baker blamed his ex-slave Ohio. laler served as the only civilian on the reference to any dying utterances and wagon driver for taking the wrong commission lhaluied lhe alleged Lincoln assas· 20 years later he publicly denied that road. Said Doherty in later years. "I sination conspirators.

20 NAVY MEDICINE All but 3 ofthe 13 cited in the above officers who he was. or seeming to pay the actor) as I would be with any guest order were connected with the War the slightest respect to Military eti­ in the hotel. I distinctly recognize [the Departmenl. The exceptions were the quette ... walks up to the corpse and body as Booth's)-first from the gen· photographers Alexander Gardner commences to cut adrift the wrap­ eral appearance. next from the India and his assistant Timothy O·Sullivan. pings.-U,l) Testimony was taken. but ink letters J. W.B. on his wrisl.- Which and Dawson. the latter a clerk at the not from LT Doherty. First thing that wrist? -rhe left."(l5) (Booth's initials National Hotel where the assassin had morning. Lafayette Baker had prom­ were on his right arm. according to a frequently stayed. The wording of the ised him career advancement and letter the War Department had just order reflects an official presupposi­ reward money. But since -publicity received from the Army's provost tion that the body was indeed Booth's, might frustrate plans.- Doherty was marshal general at .) If the nation (and posterity) wanted ordered to -go to your barracks and For reasons not officially explained. more convincing identification. the keep your mouth shut.-(/J) Also -dis­ decisions were made to secure addi­ proceedings aboard the floating iron­ posed of. It cannot be found. ~ accord­ tional "'witnesses,- Conveniently at clad during the next few hours would ing to Luther Baker. was ~a sworn hand. the captain's clerk on Momou/.:. have to suffice. statement'" he made before Joseph G. claimed to have known Booth person­ Holt. Judge Advocate General of the ally ~about six weeks, .. and recog­ A Parade of Witnesses Army. "before I gave up the body. I nized [I he body) when it was brought The weather that Thursday fore­ was the first to give evidence,"'(4) on board, ., from the general appear­ noon was warm for April. the Mon­ In the pilot room over the turret. ance."(/6) tQuk's armorplate hot to the touch. Holt and Bingham. the -SpecialJudge The Momouk's acting-master. Wil­ The body from Garrett's farm lay on a Advocate." took depositions and hur­ liam W. Crowninshield. had also bench alongside the rotatable gun ried through an abridged set of ques­ -known Booth~ 6 weeks. "was intro­ turret. an awning mercifully shielding tions. The hotel clerk Dawson. the duced to him on two different Qcca­ it from the sun's rays. Shortly before only private citizen other than the sions. He was about five feet ninc and noon. Joseph K. Barnes. Surgeon photographers authorized to -see the threequarter inches high." To this General of the Army. had come on body of John WjJhs Booth.~ claimed oddly meticulous estimate. Crownin­ board -and without informing any to have been ~merely as intimate [with shield added that he idemified the

USS Monr.uk (left) at the Phllad"phla Navy Yard about 1902. The Doctors (lett to right): Samuel Mudd set Booth's broken leg, Joseph K. Barnes directed the autopsy on Mon­ tauk, ..slsted by Joseph J. Woodward. John Frederk:k May's contradIctory tes­ timony lett several questions unan­ swered.

body "from my knowledge of its gen­ eral appearance."CIl) A Washington lawyer related to Man/auk's marine captain had "met [BOOlh] one evening at a 'hop' at the National Hotel" and recognized the cada\'er as Booth's from its ~general appearance ... I do not think I can be mistaken."(/8) Though readily approachable In the city of Washington. no stage acquaint­ and saw it was Booth's.judging by the ances of John Wilkes Booth viewed likeness I had."(21) the body. No personal friends or rela­ As iftoenhance the credibility oft he ti\'cs of the actor were summoned to proceedings aboard Montauk. yet one identify him. Some of Booth's co­ photographed the body aboard Mon­ more witness was required. Lafayelle conspirators in an alleged assassina­ tauk. his assistant. Timothy O'Sulli­ C. Baker, as head ofSecretary of War tion plot were actually on Momauk. van. carried the plate to their studio Ed ..... in M. Stanton's detective corps. shackled within the windlass room and accompanied by a government detec­ had already acquired the wanime rep­ the sail room. but they stayed there. tive under orders to take possession of utation of a scheming bully upon Almost as if to explain why no cate­ both plate and print once it was devel­ whose say·so innumerable citizens. gorical evidence was sought. it would oped. He was then to deliver these innocent and guilty alike. were locked be reported that "the shaving off the items to the Secretary of War or up in the Old Capitol Prison. When mustache. the outcropping of the Lafayette Baker. 11] even went into Baker came calling in person on Dr. beard. the untidy and disordered ap­ the dark room. ~ the detective remem­ John Frederick May to identify the pearance of the body. had so changed bered. He had not seen the body on remains on Montauk, ~I deemed it the assassin's look that his stage and MOIllQuk itself. but on his way to the most prudent to obey. ~(23) But when street acquaintances would hardly War Department he peeked into the he stood by the crude bier and the have recognized the corpse as that of envelope containing the picture. ~h tarpaulin cover was removed. May at John Wilkes Booth.~(l9) At the same looked just like the pictures attached once turned to Surgeon General time. newspapers reported that the to the [reward] postcrsexccptthat the Barnes and said, "There is no resem­ War Department was in possession of hair was longer on the sides, the mus­ blance in that corpse 10 Booth. nor can Booth's diary. but 2 years would P:ISS tache was shaggy and dirty.... Ithink I believe it to be him."(24) before there was any official an­ it was Booth... ."(lJ)· WaShington-born and eminent in nouncement to this effect. Everton Conger was asked if "the the fields of medicine and surgery. That Booth had indeed shaved off body on board this boat. which has May was middle-aged and married his mustache was reliably reported to been recognized by other witnesses as with six children. Thai he was believed the War Department. also that he had that of John Wilkes Booth. is the man to have once removed a tumor from fractured a bone in his leflleg, Records killed by you?"Conger replied yes, and Booth's neck was the stated reason for do not show who, if any, of the ~wit­ as for recognizing him at Garrett's his appearance on the monitor. After nesses" on Montauk were aware of farm. he did so "from his resemblance his initial astonishment. he asked if the those reporlS. Booth had rid himselfof to his brother. I had often seen his body had a scar on the back ofits neck the mustache on 15 April at the hQme brother. . play in the and Barnes said it had. Presumably. it of the Maryland physician. Samuel theater." On the same point. Luther would not be a neat scar, as Booth had Mudd. who set his fractured limb. In Baker testified that he had turned the reopened the wound during a subse­ Virginia. one of Richard Garrell'S fallen man over. ~Iooked at his face. quent stage performance. More likely. daughters would remember that their it would now resemble "a large. ugly visitor, ~Mr. Boyd," wore a mus­ °Bolh Ih~ photogr.llphic plal~ and 1M slngk looking scar instead of a neat line. tache.(lO) After Alexander Gardner prim disaPlX'arro. [Barnes] said it corresponded exactly

22 NAVY MEDICINE RlOCOfa. o! IIIe Columt>le Hi..oriuI ~-'Y. Vol2V·:Kl. P.n J. lta headed -Wounds and Injuries of the Spine~ appears: "CASE-J.W.B.­ was killed on April 26th 1865. by a conoidal pistol ball. fired at the dis­ tance of a few yards from a cavalry n=volver.~(19) The details that follow conform with the catalogue entry and go on 10 stale the impracticability of deglutition on the part of the victim and the unintelligibility of his ~one or two attempts at articulation.~(jO) At the National Museum of Health and Medicine (today part of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology). the original card allached to Specimen 4086 quotes the catalogue text. but shows word erasure and substitution with my description, ~(15) Docs [May) behind the sterno-cleido muscle 2!h done in 1931 to make it read ~pistol recognize the body as Booth's'! ~I inches above the clavicle. passing ball. ~ thus corresponding to the lext in do , .. though it is very much altered. through the bony bridge of the fourth Surgit'of lIislor)'. It looks to me older ... more fn..-ckled. and fifth cervical vertebrae-severing The corpse had a proclivity for dis­ I do not recollect that he was at all the spinal cord and passing out appearing acts. LT Doherty had lost it freckled.~ The doctor could not be through the body of the sterno-cleido on the trail back from Garreu's farm, mistaken? ~From the scar [and) the of the right side. 3 inches above the The macabre sleight of hand was featurcs. which though much changed clavicle. Paralysis of the entire body repealed at the Washington Navy and altered. still have the same appear­ was immediate."(27) Yard whose commandant. John B. ance. I think I cannOi be mistaken. I Barnes referred to a ~gu nshot Montgomery. a veteran of the War of recogni7e the likeness. I have no wound." nil> CalQlogup of /hp Surgi­ 1812. made known his ire and baffle­ doubt. ...~(16) cal Sec/ion ofIhe Uniled S,a/es Army ment. "The removal of the body [from Medical Museum. published under his Mati/auk] was entirely without my Autops)' direction in 1866. describes the wound knowledge suddenly and unexpect- Joseph K. Barnes was a Harvard­ as caused by: edly removed , This unusual trans- schooled doctor on close tcrms with action depriVed me of opportunity for a conoidal carbine bullet [lhat) en!ered the Secretary of War Stanton. to whom he enclosing the body in a box ... as righl side, cOmminuling the base of the right owed his status in the sphere of mil­ lamina oflhe fourlh ~erlebra, fracturing 'tlongi· ordered.-U/) itary medicine, Two weeks before. ludinally and separaling il from the spinous LeDR StOIlC (shortly thereafter to Barnes had been one of a half d07.en process. at the same time fracturing the fifth be replaced as MOfl/(Juk's captain by physicians engaged in the postmortem lhrough ils pt'diclt and in~ol\'ing lhal IranS-'erst his acting-master. one of the identifi­ examination of the slain President. process. The missile passed directl), through lhe ers) angrily likened the body's depar­ canal "..ilh a right irn:lination down\\'ard and 10 Now he would conduct an autopsy on lhe rear, emerging through the left bastS of the ture to its furtive arrival. "I'm sorry to the body just identified as the assassin. founh and fifth laminae. which arc com­ say that I was not present at eithcr time Barnes was assisted by Joseph J. minuted, and from which fragments were em­ or I should have put a stop to il. ~(jZ) Woodward. a brilliant young re­ bedded In the muscles ofthe ned.. The bulltl in searcher in phOiomicrography at the its course a"oided the large cen Ita] "cutls.I.?B) The Disposition recently established Army Medical Without mentioning names. the Under Lafayeue Baker's supervi­ Museum. then located two blocks east catalogue numbers the specimens of sion. the body was taken in a boat to of the White House. Afterwards. venebrae and spinal cord--From a the grounds of Washington's old peni· Woodward wrapped in brown paper case where death occurred a few hours tentiary. in wartime use. an arsenal. the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord after injury. 26th April 1865~ -as 4086 Partly shrouded in a gunny sack. it lay showing the track of the bullet, These and 4087. The year 1875 saw publica­ awhile in a small summer house upon a he carried to the Museum where in due tion of The Medical olld Surgical His­ jetty. An inquisitive passerby glimpsed course they were mounted and cata· lOry of the IVor of tht' Rebellio" its face and ~recogni1.ed it [as Booth's] logued. Surgeon General Barnes (/861-65). also under Dr. Barnes' from posters and circulars.~(jj) Its meanwhile wrote to Stanton that the direction. The cases reported here are next stop was in one of the old cells. cause of death was ~a gunshot wound generally identified each by the name then serving as an ordnance store­ in the neck-the ball entering just of thc soldier victim. but in a section room. where it was quickly interred.

January-February 1993 23 Nal'''''''1 Museum cl Heal'" and Me

A lucite rod traces the path of the bullet that killed the man in Garrett's barn (posterior and anterior [opposite page] views). It may be noted that Surgeon General Barnes' contradictory descriptions 01 the wound, neither 01 whk:h are wholly sup­ ported by the anatomIcal specImens, cast further doubt on the reliability of the identification and autopsy.

Two years later. during structural ren­ the Booth brothers. supervised the before hisdealh in 1891 Dr. Maycom­ ovation. the remains were transferred proceedings. Edwin was not present. posed a mcmoir in which he attributcd to anolher part of the facility. That Eyewitness recollections. most pub­ his identification of the body to ~my same year the War Department made lished decades later. contained refer­ mark ... unmistakably found by mc public the diary entries Booth had ences to physical features but at the upon it. Ncver in a human had a written while a fugitive. Conger testi­ timc it was locally reported that ~the grcater change taken place ... every fying that the booklet containing them flesh [has] disappeared. leaving vestige of resemblance to the living was laken off Ihe man killed at Gar­ nothing but a mass of blackened man had disappeared. But the mark of rett's farm.(34) Many of its pages had bones."(38) the scalpel during life remaincd indeli­ clearly been cut away. Conger. Stan­ Dr. Mudd. when under arrest for ble in death" scttling once and for all ton. and Thomas T. Eckert. his close alleged complicity in Lincoln's "the identity of the man who had assas­ aide and chief of the military tele­ murder. had dcscribed Booth's leg sinatcd the Prcsident." And the leg? graph. all stated that the booklet was injury as "a straight fracture of the "The right limb was greatly contused. in the same mutilated condition when tibia about two inches above the ankle. and perfectly black from a fracture of they had first seen it.(J5) Lafayelle There was nothing resembling a com­ onc of the long bones...."(4/) Baker. by that time no longer in pound fracture.~(39) In his leiter to An old man's memory playing him government service. testified to the Secretary Stanton after the autopsy on false? This was suggcstcd more than 30 contrary.(J6) MOII/llUk, the Army Surgeon General years later and drew it response from Early in 1869. after Stanton's depar­ had stated that ~the left leg and foot May's son. also a doctor. His fathcr's ture from the War Department and in wcrc encased in an appliance ofsplints statements were unfailingly reliable. If belated response to requests from and bandages. upon the removal of he said that thc right leg was bruised Edwin Booth. the remains were taken which. a fracture of the fibula (small and discolorcd. "that would undoubt­ up yet again and removed to a Balti­ bone of the leg) 3 inchcs above the edly mean that it was the right leg that more undertaker for transfer to the ankle joint, accompanied by consider­ was brokcn."(41) . There was more talk of able ecchymosis. was discovered."(40) Leiters that rencctcd puzzlcd orsus­ identification. and this time to be con­ In MOflfQuk's pilothouse that sultry picious minds reached the desk of thc firmed by·tocation of a plugged looth April Thursday no questions had been Judge Advocate General of the Army. in the skull.(37) Joseph. youngest of asked about the leg. However, shortly They had comc 10 the right place. In

24 NAVY MEDICINE ~."O<\&I MU"'l\lm (>1 H.-I", aM MlICl,c,"e. AfIP

All by MO_ Ja<:l

his memoir Dr. May refers to "'a com­ man broughl to the Navy Yard at 12. Hibhcn. p 149. mission of high functionaries of the Washington as that of the assas­ 13. Edward 1'. Doheny 10 Andrew .lohn,on. 2J Dee 1865. government formed to obtain evidence sin."'(46) 14. "",)<'a('/III1/'1II In"l'slixalion, p 48.1. as to [Booth's] idenl ificat ion. "'( 43) The 15. Charles Dawson testimony. 27 April "'commission" was Judge Advocate Rererences 1l)65. ""'(,Sligolion uml r"al Pal','r5 Rf'ialing 10 General Joseph Holt and his assistant I. CO"xrf5Sir>l!ul (ilo/>(-. 28 July 1866. p III/' Assaninulion vJ Pr,'sit/l'/1/ Lillcoln. 4292. Bingham. and the statements they 16. Charll.'s M. Collins le'llmon)'. 27 April 2. Baker lC. //i.'wry of 111/' UII;//'d SIUI"5 1865. """'J'ligalion amI Trial Papers. took on MOl1tauk were '.ppropri­ SI'",,'I S,'",;,"', P 534. 17. William w. Crowninshield testimony. 27 ately filed in the Judge Advocate Gen­ J. &mml SWI/luy II/'{uld. 11 Dec 188L See April 1865. (,"'f!.'ligUlioll ami Trial PupuJ'. eral's office. as was documentation al,o Slalemern or William S. Jell. 6 May 11165. 18. ScalDn Munroe Il.'SIimony,27 April 11165. detailing the search for Booth and the 11I1"'Slif(Ulhm ond Tr;ol Pop"", Rl'lolinx 10 II,.. In"/'5I;xalioll ami Triol PaIJI/fS. AJ'sossinOli(m of P,,'sid"1JI tim'ulll. capture at the Garrett farm. The 19. N,· ...· l'ork rrilt'lnf!. 29 April 11165. 4. Pitman B. Doheny ll.'stimony of 22 I\lay 20. &'51"" S"mluy flfralt!. II Dee I Ill) I. record oflhe manhunl and oflhe ritual 1865 in 17,,' ASSiJsS;I1Olivl/ vIl'r/".,idfm UI/culn 21. Ka17. pp 161-162. on MOil/Gill. was from the beginning, omllii/" Trial of Ihl' Compiralurs. p 95. 22. I'ilman H. E"erton J. Conger ltstimony. and would remain. part of the archives 5. I"'/X'odm",m '''''I'Mif(OIiml: Tf!slimullY 17 May 1865. p 91. Lluhcr IbkerSlaleml.'m. 27 of that office. One of the inquiring TiJk<.·1l lkfur/' II", Judidury Commill/'I' of Ilt/' April 1865. R,·.'v"/,' of lit/" AdiulllnI (;I'IIf!r"fs 1I00/sl' of RI'f)rl'-'/'I/!Uliw.• inlh/' In"/'sliXOliml of OfJic... 178(fs-1917. leiters. in 1912, asked "what became of Cltargl'S AgaillSl Allduw Jolm.lon. p 481. 13. Mo)' Jf~ Mark '!flitl' Scolp/"I. John Wilkes Booth and whether there o. The Repon ofL";ul. Ed,,"~rd I' Doherty. 14. Ihid. is positive proof of his having been SiXleenth N.Y. Ca,'alr~'. Wa~hington. DC, 29 }5. Jvltn r. Ma)' 11'.llimony. 17 Ap,,1 1lJ65. shot to death?"'(44) The Judge Advo­ April 1865. Wor of litl' H,'bl'1lion: OJ.fil"ial I""uligoliun and Triol Pap.'r,.. cate General replied that "This office H"fords ofIll/' Ullh",

January-February 1993 25 3S, Ibid.• P 324. pp 672-673. Boolh. Uppint'ol/'s Momhl.l·. Vol 49. Scp­ nalion. No,,11 Amtrirun R,."~,,. April 1896. 36. Ibid.• p 33. ltmbcr 1883, TIlt' N~ .. York Tribun,.. 29 April 186S. J7. "T'M Sallimo" A",~rkun. 17 feb 1869: 111t C",aloxU#' of rM SulXlrtll SNlilJl1 0/,1,1' Paullin C. The- Navy and tilt Booth conspi..-­ Rosr:or: T. n. WrlJ oICompi,uq. pp 527-5J I; Uni,,.d S'Olts Arm)' Mtdirul MuSt'u"" tors, Illinois S'Olt lIisw,.;NJII Surit'l)' JOUf/loJ. Smilh G. Anw,kun GOlllir: Th,. Sto"'olAm,.,;, Washinglon. DC;Go\'emmcnt Prinling OrrlC:e; Septembc:r 1940:J3. ru's UKtndu'y n,,.alrkal f"umil,·-Junius. 1866. Pilman B, Tht AJSilssimltiOll 01 PrtJidtnl Ed,,·in. und John Wilkts Boor". pp 231-249. 1111' CongrtssWnol Globt'. 28 Jul)' 1866. U",:oln o"d ,Ill' Trilliol/itt ConspirOlrHs. Cin­ 38. 11,,. &Ilimo,,. Am",Ir,m. 11 Feb 1869. Dohtn)' EP. Caplain Dohtny'li narralil,t. cinrnni:Moorc. Wlls1ach. and ~ldwin;186S. 39. Samuc:l Mudd ~Ialemenl. 21 April 11165. CtntUf)' Maga;"". January 1890. RKortls 0/ ,",, AdjulQnt Grntroft OfJirt. AS.\fUJ';mJlio" "nd T,illl Papt"s. Hibben Ii B. lIiuory o/Iht' Il'asltingw/I No,')' 1780's-1917. RG 94. National Archives. 40. Joseph K. Barnes 10 Edwin M. Slanlon. Yard. Washinglon. IX:Go~ernmenl Prinling Washinglon. IJC. 21 April 1865. RI'(,,,,ds 0//ltr AdjUlum Grnn· Office; 1890. Rl!'l"Qrtl,,· "/Iht Obi"/' 01,1,.. Stl'fl'lar)'o/ Wur. ufs Of/i'·". 1780's·1917, ''''I,,.urJlm/,,,, I",·tsligalion: T/'slimvny nG 101. Nalional Archi~es. Washington. DC, 41. May. Mark oflhe Scalpel. TnA,t" &-/urt Iht Judi(iary Commil/t,t "I'h,. Rtr'ortls 0/Ih,. SUf~ton G,."rral fA""I·). RG 42. William Maylo George M.llamy. 7 No ... lIouu 0/ RtprtumOliw·s ill/"t I",·tsligulim, v/ 112_ Nalional Arehi~C$. Washinglon. DC. 1927. Wilkerson Iile, EH S....-aim ColleC\ion. Char/{ts A/{a;ns, Antlrt..,JolmslJI1. 2nd Session. The- Rtport of Lieul. Ed ...... rd P. Doheny. Grorgelo.....n Unhocl1iil)' Lib..-ry. 39th Congress: lsI Session. 40th ConlreliS. Sixlcenlh N.Y. Cavalry. Washinglon. DC. 29 4J. Ma)'. Mark of lile Scalpel. WashinglOn. DC:Go,'ernment Prinling Offlee: April I86S. Wa,. 01 Iitt RthtllilJl1: Ojf"'''ul 44. John De Ha\ocn 10 War Depanmenl. 26 1861. Rtt'ords O/IM Union OM Conltdtrol~Ar",~t. Jan 1912. RNordJ ol/Iw Adjuumt Gtllt',ufs n.lmJionopolis Bull,.,in. 12 No... 11196. Series I. Vol 46, OJTK~. 178O's·1911. In.·~J/l1:0liOll o"d Triul PofJ't'rs Rtfoling 10 Iht Roscoe: T. Tilt' WrlJ 01 Conspiroq. New 45. Judge' Ad\'l)(';Ite Genc..-rs rt'ply 10 l)c ASSilssino,ion 01 Prtsidtm UnNJJn. RG 153. York:Prcnlicc·Hall: 1959. Haven \'ia Adjulanl Genc..-I·s orfice. JI Jan Records of the om~ of lhe Judgt Ad\'ocatt SCOll EH. Monograph in lJa\'id H. BalcsCol­ 1912. Rrrordsoll/K' Ad''fKUI,.G,.n,.,uf, OfTKt. Genc:raIIArm)'l. Nalional Archives. Washing­ Icction. Manuscript Di~ision. Library of Con­ 178f1s-1917. Ion. IX. grr:ss. Washinglon. IX. 46. Judge Ad\'OCale General's reply 10 M~ry Katz OM. Wimt',u to on fjo: n,.. UI,. ami Smith G. Amtri(oll GO/hir: Tilt SlOr)' 0/ S. Beall via Adjutant General's Orrice. 7 Dec Pllowgruplts 0/Alt:O:DmJ.., GQrd"u. New York: Amtriro's L"l1l'1l1lary 1'111'01' ....01 f-umily­ 1915. RI'l"Q,d, v/lht' A,/w}('ulf' Gnu·rafs QIP'·,., Viking: 1991. Jm,ius. f.il ...ill, ollli JoII" Wilkts BoO/h. New 178fYs-1917. Ma)' JF. Mark of Ihe Scalpel. Manuscripl York:Simon and Schusler; 1992. Division. Library of Congress. Wa~hinllton. Triol 0/11" Allrg,.rI A,sussh,s ami Cv"spira­ Bibliography "C. IOrs/or ,1,.. Murtl.., 0/ Prts/,Ittll Abraham Un­ Ba ker LC. IIi,I"'" olll,t Unitrd S,u,ts Mu}' W. Ltncr lO Gc:orlle M. Bailey. 1 Nov r"ln. :TB PcltniOn and Brolhers: ~r."./ S",,·iu. Philadc:lphia:LC Baker: 1861. 1927. Copy in Wilktrson file. E.H. S...·aim Col· 186S. 1"ht &llimfNt Ad,'t'IlMr. 29 April 1865. lcC'lion. Special Collcclions Oi\ision. George­ Wtullif/Xwn Nalional Rtpubliron. 211 April 1ht' SaI,imfN,. A"K',lrul/. 11 Feb 1869. lo....·n Uni\"C'l1iity Library. Washinglon. DC. 1865. 0 BaIt'S OH. Manuscnpt. Rare Books Di\'ision. n. Mtd"'al"nd SUI~it'OJ lIiSlOr)'o/'''t W..r Libra/)' of Congreu. Washington_ DC. 01'"'' RrlwlliOll (1861·186j). Vol I. Washing­ Leonard F. Gutuklgt is a historian and tile n" &swn Sundu)' Ut,lIld. II Dec- IllSl. Ion. OC:GO"'ernmtnl Printing orr1«; 1875. author of §c'oc..-I books on na,..1 history. lie Carpenln FG. The- capture of John Wilkes Munror: S. R«olleclionsofLincoln's Assassi- resides in AIc,o;andria. VA.

The Forensic Evidence

For this article. Navy M,dici", requcsted that a siudy man in Garrett's barn may have shot himself. The poste­ be made of the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord sec­ rior aspect of the spinal cord exhibils severe damage lion recovered by Dr. Joseph Woodward following the consislent with quadriplegic paralysis. The spinal cord's autopsy aboard USS MomauJc_ A tcam of forensic anterior aspect is intact. indicating that respiration palhologislS and anthropologisls from lhe National might have continued for several hoon. Museum of Heallh and Medicine and the Anned Forces With such a small sample to study. the scientists were Institute of Pathology in Washington. DC. were able 10 unable to dclenninc lhe precise age or tdeRtity of lhe cstablish thatthc fatal wound. caused bya largccaliber. victim. only that he was a young to middk-aged adult. low velocity weapon. entered the neck high on the right A forensic study ofthe long bones and skull augmenled side. traversing downward and exiting the neck low on by Ihe usc of video superimposition could establish once lhe left side. There is no evidence that the wound was and for all whether the body of John Wilkcs Boolh self-innicted. pUlling 10 rest one hypothesis that the reposes in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery. -Jk H

2. NAVY MEDICINE