WAS JOHN WILKES BOOTH A PAID ASSASSIN????

WAS JOHN WILKES BOOTH A PAID ASSASSIN?

  • YES

    Votes: 24 54.5%
  • NO

    Votes: 20 45.5%

  • Total voters
    44
In just the last two post (#40 & #41) we have two different stories "speculating" that Booth was indeed paid and even where the money came from. Who knows for certain, but obviously both of the presented claims can't be correct even though both appear to be well researched claims. But if all this "wealth" was at work in the planned killing of Lincoln then not a trace of it reared its ugly head even when it was needed the most - during the escape. In fact, the escape appears to be one completely lacking in money, sound planning, and resources. "Here you go John. Hopefully you'll eventually be able to find a boat to cross the river, then maybe hide in barns and such until you're in the clear." I mean, if this was the work of an intelligent, large, influential, and well funded organization, they sure dropped the ball BIG TIME.
Booth was not in the barn. It was a man named "Boyd" with red hair and freckles. That is why they sewed the body up into a blanket to bring it back. Think about it, if you just shot and killed the most wanted man in the United States, would you hide the body from everybody? Would you strap him on the hood like a trophy buck and show him off to everybody on the way back............:occasion14: getting free beers and cheers all the way back like the heroes that just captured and killed that assassin of the President of the United States?
Why do you suspect that the secret service men stole the body and would not stop for the army to catch up? Maybe they didn't want anyone in the Union Army detachment getting a better look at the body in the daylight on the way back??

From the Military report:
The command consisted of twenty-six enlisted men of the Sixteenth New York Cavalry, and E. P. DOHERTY,
First Lieutenant, Sixteenth New York Cavalry, commanding the detachment and the two gentlemen, Messrs. Conger and Baker, sent by Colonel Baker, making a total in all of twenty-nine men.
The assassin Booth lived about two hours. In the meantime a doctor was procured, who remained with Booth till he died. I procured a wagon, sewed up the body in a blanket myself, and placed it in the wagon. I then proceeded to Port Royal, where we arrived at 9 a.m. April 26, 1865, and crossed the river in a scow. While crossing my command Mr. Baker, without authority, moved off with the body of the assassin, taking with him the two men who had been previously detailed as a guard to the body, also one of the prisoners (Captain Jett, rebel). I was some time crossing my command, and experienced some difficulty in bringing Herold and the two Garretts along, having only one horse to mount the three; thus delay was occasioned. After proceeding some distance I procured an additional horse. Fearing some accident might happen to the body of the assassin and the prisoner Jett, whom Mr. Baker had taken with him. I dispatched an orderly to tell Mr. Baker to halt. The orderly rode over four miles at full speed, when, overtaking Mr. Baker, he told him to halt until the column came up. This Mr. Baker, however, did not do, but continued on missing me and the road. I arrived at Belle Plain at 6 p.m., and found the corpse had not yet arrived. I felt great anxiety, and was about to apply to Major Bosworth, Sixteenth New York Cavalry, who was at Belle Plain with his command, for a detachment of men to go in search of the body, when Mr. Baker arrived. I immediately asked him where the prisoner, Captain Jett, was. He replied, "he did not know; he had escaped." After a short delay the body of the assassin Booth was placed on board the steamer John S. Ide, and we proceeded to Washington, where I delivered over the body of Booth, Herold, and the two Garretts to Col. L. C. Baker, at 3 a.m. the 27th day of April, 1865.


Thanks, L.C.Baker

P.S. Why would the Army commander have anxiety and distrust for the secret service men that stole the body and took off with it?
 

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Citiboy, Have you ever heard of a book named "The Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth written by Finis Bates? Check it out.
Thanks L.C. Baker
 

Finis Bates is the great great grand father of Kathy Bates the actress. He was a lawyer from Tennessee that moved to Texas and claimed to have met J.W. Booth there still alive years after the assassination of Abe Lincoln. He was discredited by the War Department and they refused to cough up the $100,000.00 reward for the assassins capture , claiming he was already killed at Garrett's barn in April of 1865. Finis bates gave up and wrote the book to try and get the truth out, but he would never be taken seriously. Pretty sure the Feds wanted Booth to stay dead because it was the best thing for the country to believe. no sense opening up a fresh wound with new information on a closed case ....
Thanks L.C. Baker
 

The pooled funds from wealthy Confederates and sympathizers that was put together in the Fall of 1864 and traveled to New York City by a high ranking Knight in the K.G.C. to "support the cause". What other "southern cause" at that point in the Civil War was there to support with the funds that we know were assembled and transferred to New York?

KGC became OAK... Order of American Knights.
 

This is such an interesting thread , very mature , no name calling ect Really check on it daily

That being said in my post #6 I mentioned a tv show about people burning pages As I look back another post reported that there were 17 pages missing from a Diary , wonder if there is a link

Also there is a school of thought that Booth lived and dies in Oklahoma years later , maybe it wasnt a paid - " HIT " but rather he was provided financial support during years? John Wilkes Booth Granbury Texas Lincoln Assassination Outlaw Conspiracy

Isn"t Oklahoma a KGC hot bed ?

Just wondering

BOTH OK & Texas were HOT BEDS of KGC "activities". "JW"'s diary had 18 pages missing; PROBABLY a listing of "COPPERHEADS" (NORTHERN KGC) in Lincoln's "cabinet" & US Government, REB "safe-houses" (places & ppl)...
 

For many years the Spanish continued to scour this continent in search of the seven golden cities, they did this because of past reports of their existence, the actual sight of silver and gold among the Indians, and the stories and first hand accounts of the Indians themselves. In their day this was "conclusive evidence" to these Spaniards and so they believed the cities actually existed. In post #48 I see a detailed account of the handling of Booth's body, I see nothing else in the report representing facts to the opposite of those details. Granted, the report does leave room for "speculation" as does any such writing when we are already looking for that type of suggestive evidence. It's good to always ask why, but why isn't evidence of anything at all and as ECS often enjoys referencing, it can often lead to the endless string of promising rabbit holes. This isn't to say that none of the speculation is true, it's just to say that proving it takes hard, documented, conclusive facts, not more speculation.
 

For many years the Spanish continued to scour this continent in search of the seven golden cities, they did this because of past reports of their existence, the actual sight of silver and gold among the Indians, and the stories and first hand accounts of the Indians themselves. In their day this was "conclusive evidence" to these Spaniards and so they believed the cities actually existed. In post #48 I see a detailed account of the handling of Booth's body, I see nothing else in the report representing facts to the opposite of those details. Granted, the report does leave room for "speculation" as does any such writing when we are already looking for that type of suggestive evidence. It's good to always ask why, but why isn't evidence of anything at all and as ECS often enjoys referencing, it can often lead to the endless string of promising rabbit holes. This isn't to say that none of the speculation is true, it's just to say that proving it takes hard, documented, conclusive facts, not more speculation.

HA! Dig the old corpse up, then... I heard/read SOMEWHERE that it was Lincoln's "DOUBLE", that was killed; he had MANY enemies WITHIN his own government at THAT time & Lincoln and his family were put in the first "witness protection program" by the FEDS, Secret Service & the COPS assigned to "capture" "JW"... dunno. Lincoln's burial site; under FEET of concrete... WHY?
 

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...also for retribution for the DAHLGREN PLOT to assassinate CSA Pres Davis & his cabinet,uncovered by another Virginia Beale,CSA Col Richard L T Beale.

AND! COME RETRIBUTION was one of THREE "Code-Words" utilized by the REBS in MANY Ciphers...
 

...This isn't to say that none of the speculation is true, it's just to say that proving it takes hard, documented, conclusive facts, not more speculation.

The Greek skeptics maintained absolute certain knowledge was impossible for humans to obtain. This theory certainly applies to the Lincoln assassination controversy, but 'hard science' might convince the prudent observer that the body removed from Garrett's farm and autopsied in Washington was not that of JWB. Unfortunately, the request for a DNA analysis that might settle the matter was rejected:

"Although the results might be intriguing, and the temptation to exploit emerging technologies is strong, the need to preserve these bones (three cervical vertebrae saved from the autopsy to be compared with Booth's brother Edwin's DNA) for future generations compels us to decline the destructive test," wrote Carol Robinson, the Army's congressional actions manager for the U.S. Army Medical Command, which oversees the museum (National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington).

Booth mystery must remain so - for now - Philly.com
 

The Greek skeptics maintained absolute certain knowledge was impossible for humans to obtain. This theory certainly applies to the Lincoln assassination controversy, but 'hard science' might convince the prudent observer that the body removed from Garrett's farm and autopsied in Washington was not that of JWB. Unfortunately, the request for a DNA analysis that might settle the matter was rejected:

"Although the results might be intriguing, and the temptation to exploit emerging technologies is strong, the need to preserve these bones (three cervical vertebrae saved from the autopsy to be compared with Booth's brother Edwin's DNA) for future generations compels us to decline the destructive test," wrote Carol Robinson, the Army's congressional actions manager for the U.S. Army Medical Command, which oversees the museum (National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington).

Booth mystery must remain so - for now - Philly.com

Why did they autopsy the body? They knew what killed him, where is the reasoning in it? I believe it was to disfigure the remains so that they could not be identified as J.W. Booth or any other person. They would not let Booth's family or any other actors, or anyone that knew him personaly on board to identify him..........(wonder why?) Instead it was done by hand picked persons. As in Federal Government, picked persons to identify the (cut up )corpse as Booth. They put it on the boat in the middle of the bay, because they were afraid of what?, that it might get away? NO, they put it there to keep people from seeing it!!!
Thanks Baker
 

AND! COME RETRIBUTION was one of THREE "Code-Words" utilized by the REBS in MANY Ciphers...
Among the items that Booth left in his Washington hotel room was a printed copy of the VIGENERE TABLEAU,with an extra alaphebet beginning,"ZABC" to complicate the coded message.It was well known that the Confederacy used the Vigenere cipher for communication.The Federal government attempted to implicate the leaders of the CSA in the Lincoln assassination plot,citing the Vigenre reel that was seized in CSA Sec State Judah P Benjamin's office after the fall of Richmond-but Booth's cipher reel was more complicated and not identical to Benjamin's standard Virgenere.
The last official message of the Confederacy ,written in Vigenere,was sent by Jefferson Davis,April 24,1865,from Charlotte,NC.The key words needed to decipher this message were,"COME RETRIBUTION".
 

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The original question was/is: Was Booth a paid assassin? While no proof of this has ever surfaced, and there certainly wasn't any sign indicating any type of access to money/funding.....honestly.....given his disposition, I doubt Booth would of had to be paid. Probably all it would have taken is talk of resulting fame and promises of this or that. When we look at Booth and the other conspirators (that we know of) surely a much better plan and assault team could have been assembled had there been an abundance of wealth and funding. I just don't see any signs of wealth anywhere within the entire series of events. This is the point I've been trying to bring to the surface. The entire series of events were conducted with all the signs of a very low budget, simple affair.
 

Unless you're referencing a different story/theory, he didn't escape capture. In fact, given the period and the simple means afforded them, it didn't take them very long to round him up. I would think a well-funded body with unlimited resources and influence could have arranged to have him on a vessel and on his way out of the country rather quickly after the event. Instead, he is pretty much left to his own resources and means.

And what was accomplished with the Lincoln assassination? If not a simple act of revenge then what did this diabolical act and super powerful organization accomplish? In the end the policies of the north flooded into the south just as they would have done without the assassination. In other words, the killing of Lincoln changed absolutely nothing, a fact that is hard to imagine if indeed such an influential and powerful body really existed and had been behind the killing......but absolutely nothing changed, everything continued to progress just as if Lincoln had still been alive. At best, it was a final act of desperate men who maintained absolutely no control over much of anything.

You are still under the assumption that it was John Wilkes Booth in the Garrett's barn Bigscoop. And that the body the secret service sewed into a blanket to keep hidden from view was indeed J.W. Booth. David Harold, when first taken into captivity at Garrett's barn asked the Army men that took him into custody "Why did you shoot that other man in the barn?" They replied "You know it was John Wilkes Booth the assassin of the president!" Harold replied to them, "That mans name was Boyd, not Booth!"
Thanks, L.C. Baker:thumbsup:
 

The original question was/is: Was Booth a paid assassin? While no proof of this has ever surfaced, and there certainly wasn't any sign indicating any type of access to money/funding.....honestly.....given his disposition, I doubt Booth would of had to be paid. Probably all it would have taken is talk of resulting fame and promises of this or that. When we look at Booth and the other conspirators (that we know of) surely a much better plan and assault team could have been assembled had there been an abundance of wealth and funding. I just don't see any signs of wealth anywhere within the entire series of events. This is the point I've been trying to bring to the surface. The entire series of events were conducted with all the signs of a very low budget, simple affair.

Low budget? the price of GOLD was $12.00 an ounce. That is $192.00 a pound. If they paid him lets say $10,000 for his part in the assassination, that would have been 53 pounds of GOLD. It is obvious that he would not be able to get away carrying that much gold with him like a feed sack on his shoulder. Booth laid low and then traveled at a much later date to a K.G.C. selected place and collected his gold with a wagon.
Thanks for your input, L.C.Baker
 

You guys are killing me with this thread !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Found this link last night , Interesting link To TN and the possibility he lived beyond the barn Did John Wilkes Booth survive?


2724733114_d2e0da1b55.jpg

This is the body suspected of being John Wilkes Booth that you speak of.
L.C. Baker
 

A) There is "zero" proof that anyone other then Booth was shot in that barn. Again, at this date, there is zero proof.
B) There is "zero" proof that Booth lived beyond the events surrounding that barn. Again, zero proof.
C) There is "zero" evidence to suggest that wealth played any role in the Lincoln assassination. Again, zero proof.

What you do have is "circumstantial evidence" that suggest all these "possibilities". Believe me, I know this quandary all too well as I am in the same situation with a few little mysteries I've been exploring for many years....the only way to establish that Booth was a paid assassin is with "conclusive proof" of a direct transfer of funds to Booth from the party that hired him and also a document detailing the agreement/arrangements. All else is just circumstantial evidence suggesting "possibilities" which is why it isn't even "suppose to be" accepted as evidence in our courts. The burden of proof is a difficult task indeed but if any of what your circumstantial evidence suggest is true then that conclusive proof will be out there, somewhere. But until it is found there is no actual proof of anything. So, was Booth a paid assassin? So far, I've seen nothing that would convict him of it in a court room. This is the same manner I treat my own research efforts - could I prove it in court?
 

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