John Wilkes Booth researcher Nate Orlowek joins S.T. Patrick and the Midnight Writer News Show to discuss the possibility that John Wilkes Booth did not die in Garrett’s Farm on April 26, 1865. Orlowek has been studying the case for 47 years and was inspired in large part by Theodore Roscoe’s monumental Web of Conspiracy. After having some exchanges with Roscoe, which Orlowek discusses on this episode, his journey with this story began. Tonight, he discusses the choosing of Ford’s Theater as the location for the assassination, potential ties to Andrew Johnson, the roles of the other conspirators, the lack of security protecting Lincoln a this very dangerous time, Booth’s prowess as an actor, Booth’s final words on stage, his potential destination, the mysterious man in the barn (If not Booth, then who?), the military autopsy and the lack of familial identification, the missing autopsy photograph, the John B. Wilkes theory, and much, much more.
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On the matter of how many occupants there were within the Presidential box as Booth entered, Nate Orlowek should look again at Otto Eisenshiml’s ground-breaking Why Was Lincoln Murdered? (London: Faber & Faber, 1937).
In chapter 4 (see pages 33-40), What Really Happened at Ford’s Theatre, he will find that there five present, not four. The fifth occupant, admitted in the initial statements but quietly disappeared in all subsequent, was Lincoln’s footman, Charles Forbes.
I have both Otto Eisenschmil books and I think they do have a value, but they also literally have a value. They aren’t cheap, though they are now being republished, and not everyone has them because they wee so hard to find for so long. I don’t know if Nate has them or not, but I know that he did say that he liked them but that he also saw some problems. And that seems to be the case with most of the community. Eisenschiml was really the first to challenge the narrative. For that, he’ll always be important – he and Finis Bates. — S.T.
https://archive.org/details/whywaslincolnmur00eise/mode/2up
Why was Lincoln Murdered? full text online:
https://archive.org/details/whywaslincolnmur00eise
Thanks, Paul. If anyone is into the case, I highly recommend downloading this. — S.T.
What would be Johnson’s motivation behind killing Lincoln? I don’t think I caught that during the show.
How ironic that nearly 100 years later another VP Johnson is rumored to be the brains behind assassinating his predecessor as well! Even setting up the motorcade route and controlling the scene like the first VP Johnson did as the author mentioned in the show.