Today in History:

The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators

On the positive side, the Official Record of the War of the Rebellion is chock full of stories and information.  On the negative side, the Official Record of the War of the Rebellion is chock full of stories and information.

Ah, the paradox.  There is sometimes just too much in there to find what you are looking for, however everytime I dig into it looking for something in particular I come away with something possibly more interesting.

For instance, in my first perusal, I sought information on William Cantrell (Quantril, etc.).  What I stumbled upon was the history of the Indian wars in Minnesota and the Dakotas during the Civil War.  Most recently I went delving into the history for a story I had run across one other time - the trial and hanging of Robert E. Lee's nephew after being discovered as a spy.  What I ran across was the record of the trial of the consipirators in President Lincoln's assassination.

This time, I have written this little article to link to the record so I can find it again ;-)

For those who are curious and want to know how Mary E. Surratt and Samuel Mudd were judged and based on what, the record is found here.  Happy reading!