autopsy of john wilkes booth

8/13/2019 Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth.

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LuthM Baker left , COL LafayetteBaker and Everton J Conger plan thepursuit of John Wilkes Booth.

Identification and Autopsyof John Wilkes Booth:Reexamining the Evidence

Leonard F. GUllrKl1;C

S enator Carrel Dav;s, KYo' /how' ew. see myselfuny . ~ U f -i >juclUry t videllct hat BOOIIII\'US k iIIe .Senalor Reverdy Johnson, AID: Isubmit 10 my friend from KellllU'ky,hOf here ort somt things ,hat \1 ( musttake judicial/lOri/-> JUSt as In 1I ashat Julim Caesar is dead.Senator Davis: I ..uuld rather haw'Huer It's/imunJ' III faCl. I wOn itprovt d 8001h wus il l Ihat hum. IJanuary February 1993

Cot l1 lot ( o l / t e i l' t '. i fhe WO.f l l the baril_why he lI'as l o t laken ali t-, I /tavtnever (' ( ' m . l b O l ~ I or Jill ' ,'vid('IIU't l lI) body, /lWI idf'flfijied Boolh af'Nhe i f said 1 1101 h, nl killed. Why.mmuch SNTl'I'J' oholl/ ii,' 77'l'rt' amystery ami a mO >i inexp/ic'able mys-tery 10 III)' mimi abow the whole affair. [Booth) multi hal 'e bel '' '('optured jtdl as Irl'lI ali\'(' us deat . Itwould harl hl'l' m h mort' .wlisfactory 10 hOI'e brol/xht him lip hNl aliv('

ant to hOl'e intjllirt't him 10 r('\'('altil(' whol(' trall.mcrion . . ,[or] bring hishU((I' tip herC' . . . leI all who hat .w'ell/tim IJlaying. all who llHOf'i(l/C'(/ wilhhim Oil Ihl' SIU :l' ur ill Ihc' grt'en ruomor al Ihl' IOI'l'flU' alit OII/('r publicplace.\, hal'(.' hod access 10 his bod)' 10hOI'(' idelllijil'(/ it,

Senoror Henry B. Anthony , RI: Iam happy 10 r('liel'(' m) frielld fromKl'muC ky by i formillg him thai asmallpart oflhl skelelon 800lh is in

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125 000 REWARDWill 1M .,..w lbr u.. appr,t d J JOIllf a .UUA.TT. 0 01 8oa4.b. . _ u - .125 000 REWARD

Of our late beloved r e s i e n ~ Abraham LincolnII IftLL At LUCE.50 000 REWARDww. = o w. fOPMh 1. . .. 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1Uliaipal In 11_

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,he ul/a/omicol l seum of the Surgeon General. . . . I do l l kilO\\ holl idelltijied. hili i l ,rtiJied 10 bthat l j

Thousands o wanled poster. bearinJohn Wilke. Booth liken werecirculation within days of President Uncoin , murder.

Get BoothOn the afternoon of Monday. 2April 1865. 10 days after John WilkeBooth assassinated Abraham Lincolna Union army lieutenant. Edward PDoherty. reported to lafayellc Baker s headquarters on PennsylvaniA cnue in Washington . DC. SO ditwo men in whom Baker. the WaDepartment s chief detective. placeprincipal confidence: his cousinLuther B. Baker, and E erton JConger. Both had been Baker s closaides in a locally active mili tary unwhich. under his command. had conducted limited field operations earliein the Civil War. They were now prvate cilizens. Lafayette Baker reassigned them as wspecial detc< tivcscarrying Iheir former mi litary ranand ordered them into Virginia tscour Ihe country and wgel B o o l h ~

LT DoherlY commanded the 16tNew York Cavalry detachment asigned to Ihe mission as an escort. Aofficer with combat experience. he dinOI relish subordinatinj,t himself tBaker s confidential agents. And wilthis simmering dispute over seniorityIhe party boarded the federal s teamtug. 101m S, Ide al Ihe Sixlh Slreewharf and cast of f at sundown.

They d e ~ n d e d Ihe Potomac Rivedisembarked at Belle Plain l O ~ a rmidnight. and crossed funnel-shapeKing George County at its narrowesterly side. the neck between thPotomac and th e RappahannocRivers. The two detectives separatefrom the main column and rode housto house. arousing inhabitan ts fromsleep with shouted questions, Congefor no clearly stated reason passinhimself off as ~ B o y d from Maryland1


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Thl I how arper kly portrayedBooth , final .tand In Garrett , bam.

rushed into the barn exelaiming thatth e ma n had shot himself . Bakerthought Conger had fired the bulletbut Hthe idea flashed through my mindthat if he had it had better not beknown. (4)

They took the man s weapons. aSpencer carbine an d two pistols. carried him first tothe foot of a locust trccand then. as fire enveloped the barn.the Garrett s front porch. where hewas placed with a mattress beneath hishead. One of Doherty s soldiers rushedto Port Royal for a doctor. whosename, Charles Urquhart. would eventually surface-but not so an y recordof his s trange house call, nor a dealhcertificate: nothing at all for posteritybeyond the impression that af ter examining the mortally wounded man.the doctor merely closed his bag an drode of f into the predawn gloom.never to be heard from.

Th e man survived th e shootingabout J hours. White he still breathed,Conger emptied his pockets. the con-

tents of which included a liule book inwhich the Garrells had seen Mr.Boyd writing.(5)

Conger set out at once with theseitems for Washington. Accompanyinghim as far as the steamboat landing at

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lafayette C. Baker, th e War Department chJef detective

Garrett s BarnDoheny s troops struck the Rappa

hannock at da n and by afternoonwere at a fisherman s cottage near theferry where they displayed photos ofJohn Wilkes Booth. Doheny pressedthe fisherman. William Roll ins, intoservicc as a guide. By nightfall thatTuesday, all his 25 soldiers and the 2detectives had crossed the river intoCaroline County. Acting upon information from Rollins (or his wife). theyrode into Bowling Green and at theStar Hotel hauled a young ex-Confederate army private named WilliamJett from his bed at gunpoint. Andwith Jett now their guide, the cavalrygalloped back up the rut ted highwayto the farm of R ichard H Garretl.Tw o men were sheltered there. One as a Washington youth named DavidE Herold. Th e other was older. had abandaged leg. an d supported himselfon crutches. He had presented himselfto the Garretts as a wounded Confederate officer: one of his forearms borethe tattooed letters JWB. an d he hadgiven his name as James W Boyd.

After forcing the Garretts to revealthat the pair slept within their largelobacco barn. th e troops surroundedit. Luther Baker shouting for the meninside to surrender. The lame man.called Boyd. demanded 1 know whyhe should do so and asked repeatedlywho was besieging him.

There followed through the lockedbarn door a verbal give-and-take during which no names were ever volunteered. Herold chose to give himselfupand the door was unlocked for him tocome out. As the soldiers seized theyoung man and tied him to a tree. hemaintained that his companion in thebarn Htold me his name was Boyd.H 3Over LT Doherty s objections. detective Conger moved to the rear of thebarn and set it afire.Between the barn s gaping sidetimbers its sole occupant could beseen, a stumbling silhouette againstthe ga thering blaze until a shot r angou t an d he fell. The bullet had passedthrough his neck shattering vertebraeand severing the spinal cord. LutherBaker reached him first. then Conger

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An lIIustral lon from Lafayet e Bakermemoir portray th e a a s ln la tmoments

did not act as severely as I should havdone with Mr. Baker. (8)Shortly before II p.m. the party

with the body arrived off Alexandriwhere Lafayette Baker took charge oit. There ensued an unexplained delayof at least 3 hours before it was transferred to a tug and borne across thePotomac to the Washington NavyYard. What followed is described in atesty letter written by LCDR EdwardE. Stone. commanding officer of theironclad monitor USS ontauk laidup in the yard for battle repairs. Stonhad been ashore at the time bulearned from his officers that:Belle Plain was SGT Boston CorbCll. aformer hatterand religious mystic whohad rechristcned himself after the city

in which he claimed to have been bornagam. Upon arrival in the Capital.Conger officially rcportcd that President Lincoln's killer had been trackeddown. cornered. and shot while tryingto escape. and that SGT Corbel hadpulled the trigger.

Conflict and MythThe foregoing paragraphs recountall that can reliably serve to conveywhat occurred at Richard Garrett 'sfarm on that April night nearly 128years ago. Impartial study shows thatmuch else told and retold ever sincepurport ing to detail the capture anddemise of John Wilkes Booth is soriddled with connict and myth as to benecessarily viewed with caution. if notdismissed outright.

This is significantly the case respecting the captive's alleged last words.The detectives Conger and Baker testified that at different moments he mutteredo Tell Mother I died for mycountry. I did what I thought was forthe best, Kill me. oh. kill me. NDidJett betray me? My hands, andfinally. NUseless. useless.NLT Doherty's report to his superiors contains noreference to any dying utterances and years later he publicly denied that20

any were made with the except ion ofUseless. useless.N 6) On this point. thelast word might be granled the Surgeon General of the Army who conducted an autopsy on the body fromGarrett's farm: Immediately after thereception of the injury. there was verygeneral paralysis deglutition [swallowing] was impracticable and one ortwo attempts at articulation wereunintelligi ble. 7)

If such differences in testimony aretraceable to rivalry for reward money,this possibility alone justifies circumspection. At any rate. not even therecord of the body's 18mile journeyfrom the Rappahannock crossing tothe Belle Plain landing is without itsbizarre aspects. Luther Baker and atwo-man military guard had charge ofit and once across the river at PortRoyal. the detective pushed on aheadof the troops. much to Doherty's consternation. As the lieutenant af terwards stated. under some pretense orother [Baker] managed 10 send theguard back to me with some frivolousmessage and s tol e away with thebody. And when Doherty reachedBelle Plain, the corpse was nowhere insight. After it had belatedly appeared.to be placed aboard t he waitingsteamer. Baker blamed his ex-slavewagon driver for taking the wrongroad. Said Doherty in later years. I

a lug came alongside. on board of which 'aColonel Baker. lhe detective, with a dead bodysaid 10 be lhat of J.W. Booth. the assassin. Saidbody was passed on board Wilh the impliedullderstanding that it had been put on board fosafekeeping. No orders whalever were left wilhlhe officer of the guard or the commandingofficer . concerning it. nor was any wriuenaUlhority for so disposing of il shown anyofficer of the vessel. It was a most informal andunmilitary proceeding. which should Ilave beennipped in lhe llud,(9)

Following anxious word from thecommandant of the Navy Yard thatthe body was changing rapidly. Whatdisposition shall be made of it? 10)the Secretaries of War and Navy conferred before breakfast then sent areply across town:You will permit Surgeon General IJames andIlis assistant. accompanied by Judge AdvocateGenl Holt. Hon Jolin A. Bingham. SpeciaJudge Advocate. Major Eckert. Wm G. Mooreclerk of the War Department. Col. L c BakerLieut. Baker. Lieut. Col. Conger. ehas DawsonJ.L. Smilh, Gardiner [sic) (phOlographer) assistant. to go on board the Monlauk. alld sec thebody of John Wilkes Booth.

Immedialely after the Surgeon General hasmade his autopsy. you will have the body plact:din a strong box. and deliver it to lhe charge ofCol. Baker-the box being carefullysealed. l/

John A, Bingham. a rormer congressman fromOhio. laler served as the only civilian on thecommission lhaluied lhe alleged Lincoln assassination conspirators.

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All but 3 of the 3cited in the aboveorder were connected with the WarDepartmenl. The exceptions were thephotographers Alexander Gardneran d his assistant Timothy OSullivan.and Dawson. the lat ter a clerk at theNational Hotel where the assassin hadfrequently stayed. The wording of theorder reflects an official presupposition that the body was indeed Booth s,I f the nat ion (and posterity) wantedmore convincing identification. theproceedings aboard the floating ironclad during the next few hours wouldhave to suffice.A Parade of WitnessesThe weather that Thursday forenoon was warm for April. the on-tQuk s armorplate hot to the touch.The body from Garrett s farm lay on abench alongside the rotatable gu nturret. an awning mercifully shieldingit from the sun s rays. Shortly beforenoon. Joseph K Barnes. SurgeonGeneral of the Army. had come onboard -and without informing any

officers who he was. or seeming to paythe slightest respect to Military etiquette walks up to the corpse an dcommences to cut adrift the wrappings.-U,l) Testimony was taken. butnot from LT Doherty. First thing thatmorning. Lafayette Baker had promised him c ar ee r a dv anc em ent a ndreward money. But since -publicitymight frustrate plans.- Doherty wasordered to -go to your barracks andkeep y ou r mou th shut.- /J) Also -disposed of. It cannot found. according to Luther Baker. was swornstatement he made before Joseph GHolt. Judge Advocate General of theArmy. before I gave up the body. Iwas the first to give evidence, (4)

In the pilot room over the turret.Holt and Bingham. the -SpecialJudgeAdvocate. took depositions and hurried through an abridged set of questions. The hotel clerk Dawson. theonly private citizen other than thephotographers authorized to -see thebody of John WjJhs o o t h ~ claimedto have been ~ m e r e l y as intimate [with

the actor) as I would with anyguestin the hotel. I distinctly recognize [thebody as Booth s)-first from the general appearance. next from the Indiaink letters J.W.B. on his wrisl.-Whichwrist? -rhe left. (l5) (Booth s initialswere on his right arm. according to aletter the War Department had justreceived from the Army s provostmarshal general at Baltimore.)

For reasons not officiallyexplained.decisions were made to secure additional witnesses,- Conveniently athand. the captain s clerk on Momou/ :claimed to have known Booth personally ~ a b o u t six weeks, and recognized [I he body) when it was broughton board, ., from the general appearance. (/6)

The omouk sacting-master. William W. Crowninshield. had also-known o o t h ~ 6 weeks. was introduced to him on two different Qccasions. He was about five feet ninc andthreequarter inches high. To thisoddly meticulous estimate. Crowninshield added that he idemified the

USS Monr uk left at thePhllad phla Navy Yard about 1902.


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The Doctors lett to right : Samuel Muddset 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 q ue st io ns u n an -swered.

body from my knowledge of its general appearance. CIl) A Washingtonlawyer related to Man/auk s marinecaptain had met [BOOlh] one eveningat a hop at the National Hotel an drecognized the cada\ er as Booth sfrom its ~ g e n e r a l appearance I donot think I can be mistaken. (/8)

Though readily approachable thecity of Washington. no stage acquaintances of John Wilkes Booth viewedthe body. No personal friends or relati\ cs of the actor were summoned toidentify him. Some of Booth s coconspirators in an alleged assassination plot were actually on Momauk.shackled within the windlass room andthe sail room. but they stayed there.Almost as if to explain why no categorical evidence was sought. it wouldbe reported that the shaving off themustache. the o ut cr op pi ng o f thebeard. the untidy and disordered appearance of the body. had so changedthe assassin s look that his stage andstreet acquaintances would hardlyhave recognized the corpse as that ofJohn Wilkes B o o t h . ~ l 9 At the sametime. newspapers reported that theWar Department was in possession ofBooth s diary. but 2 years would P:ISSbefore there was an y off icial announcement to this effect.

That Booth had indeed shaved of fhis mustache was reliably reported tothe War Department. also that he hadfractured a bone in his leflleg, Recordsdo not show who, if any, of the ~ w i t -nesses on Montauk were aware ofthose reporlS. Booth had rid himselfofthe mustache on 15 April at the hQmeof the Maryland physician. SamuelMudd. who set his fractured limb. InVirginia. on e of Richard Garrell Sdaughters would remember that theirvisitor ~ M r . Boyd, wore a mustache.(lO) After Alexander Gardner

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photographed the body aboard Mon-tauk. his assistant. Timothy O Sullivan. carried the plate to their studioaccompanied by a government detective under orders to take possession ofboth plate and print once it was developed. He was then to deliver theseitems to the Secretary of War orLafayette Baker. 11] even went intothe dark room. the detective remembered. He had not seen the body onMOIllQuk itself. but on his way to theWar Department he peeked into theenvelope containing the picture.looked just like the pictures attachedto the [reward] postcrsexccptthat thehair was longer on the sides, the mustache was shaggy and dirty Ithinkit was Booth . lJ)Everton Conger was asked if thebody on board this boat. which hasbeen recognized by other witnesses asthat of John Wilkes Booth. is the mankilled by you? Conger replied yes, andas for recognizing him at Garrett sfarm. he did so from his resemblanceto his brother. I had often seen hisbrother. Edwin Booth. play in thetheater . On the same point. LutherBaker testified that he had turned thefallen man over. ~ I o o k e d at his face.Bolh photogr.llphic p l a l ~ and 1M slngkprim disaPlX arro.

and saw it was Booth s.judging by thelikeness I had. 21)As ifto enhance thecredibilityof t heproceedings aboard Montauk. yet one

more witness was required. Lafayelle Baker, as head of Secretary of WarEd in M. Stanton s detective corps.had already acquired the wanime reputation of a scheming bully uponwhose sayso innumerable citizens.innocent and guilty alike. were lockedup in the Old Capitol Prison. WhenBaker came calling in person on Dr.John Frederick May to identify theremains on Montauk deemed itmost prudent to obey. ~ 2 3 But whenhe stood by the crude bier and thetarpaulin cover was removed. May atonce turned to Surgeon GeneralBarnes and said, There is no resemblance in that corpse 1 Booth. norcanI believe it to be him. (24)

WaShington-born and eminent inthe fields of medicine an d surgery.May was middle-aged an d marriedwith six children. Thai he was believedto have once removed a tumor fromBooth s neck was the stated reason forhis appearance on the monitor. Afterhis initial astonishment. he asked ifthebody had a scar on the back ofits neckand Barnes said it had. Presumably. itwould not be a neat scar,as Booth hadreopened the wound during a subsequent stage performance. More likely.it would now resemble a large. uglylooking scar instead of a neat line.[Barnes] said it corresponded exactly

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with my description, ~ 1 5 ) Docs [May)recognize the body as Booth's'do , though it is very much altered.It looks to me older more fn-ckled.I do not recollect that he was at all

f r e c k l e d . ~ The doctor could not bemistaken? ~ F r o m the scar [and) thefeaturcs. which though much changedand altered. still have the same appearance. I think I cannOi be mistaken. Irecogni7e the likeness. I have nodoubt. ~ 1 6 )Autops)'Joseph K Barnes was a Harvardschooled doctor on close tcrms withSecretary of War Stanton. to whom heowed his status in the sphere of military medicine, Two weeks before.Barnes had been one of a half d07 enphysicians engaged in the postmortemexamination of the slain President.Now he would conduct an autopsy onthe body just identified as the assassin.Barnes was assisted by Joseph J.Woodward. a brilliant young researcher in phOiomicrography at therecently established Army MedicalMuseum. then located two blocks eastof the White House . Afterwards.Woodward wrapped in brown paperthe cervical vertebrae and spinal cordshowing the track of the bullet, Thesehe carried to the Museum where in duecourse they were mounted and catalogued. Surgeon General Barnesmeanwhile wrote to Stanton that thecause of death was gunshot woundin the neck-the ball enter ing just

January-February 1993

RlOCOfa o IIIe Columt le Hi oriuVol2V:Kl P n J. t

behind the sterno-cleido muscle 2 hinches above the clavicle. passingthrough the bony bridge of the fourthand fifth cervical vertebrae-severingthe spinal cord and passing outthrough the body of the sterno-cleidoof the right side. 3 inches above theclavicle. Paralysis of the entire bodywas immediate. (27)

Barnes referred to a nshotwound. n l CalQlogup o /hp Surgi-cal Sec/ion o Ihe Uniled S,a/es rmyMedical Museum. published under hisdirection in 1866 describes the woundas caused by:a conoidal carbine bullet [lha t) en ered therighl side, cOmminuling the base of the rightlamina oflhe fourlh ~ e r l e b r a , fracturing tlongiludinally and separaling il from the spinousprocess. at the same time fractur ing the fifthlhrough ils pt'diclt and i n ~ o l \ i n g lhal IranS-'erstprocess. The missile passed directl), through lhecanal ilh a right irn:lination down\\'ard and 10lhe rear, emerging through the left bastS of thefounh and fifth laminae . which arc comminuted, and from which fragments were embedded n the muscles of the ne d The bulltl inits course a oided the large ce n Ita] cutls.I.?B)

Without mentioning names. thecatalogue numbers the specimens ofvenebrae and spinal cord--From acase where death occurred a few hoursafter injury. 26th April 1 8 6 5 ~ a s 4086and 4087. The year 1875 saw publication of The Medical olldSurgical His-lOry the or o tht Rebellio/861-65 . also under Dr. Barnes'

direction. The cases reported here aregenerally identified each by the nameof thc soldier victim. but in a section

headed -Wounds and Injuries of theS p i n e ~ appears: CA SE-J .W.B.was killed on April 26th 1865 by aconoidal pistol ball. fired at the distance of a few yards from a cavalry

n = v o l v e r . ~ 1 9 The details that followconform with the catalogue entry andgo on 10 stale the impracticability ofdeglutition on the part of the victimand the unintelligibility of his ~ o n e ortwo attempts at a r t i c u l a t i o n . ~ j O ) Atthe National Museum of Health andMedicine (today part of the ArmedForces Institute of Pathology). theoriginal card allached to Specimen4086 quotes the catalogue text. butshows word erasure and substitutiondone in 1931 to make it read ~ p i s t o lball. thus corresponding to the lext inSurgit of lIislor) .

The corpse had a proclivity for disappearing acts. LT Doherty had lost iton the trail back from Garreu s farm,The macabre sleight of hand wasrepealed at the Washington NavyYard whose commandant. John BMontgomery. a veteran of the War of1812 made known his ire and bafflement. The removal of the body [fromMati/auk] was entirely without myknowledge suddenly and unexpect-edly removed , This unusual trans-action depriVed me of opportunity forenclosing the body in a box asordered.-U/)

LeDR StOIlC (shortly thereafter tobe replaced as MOfl/(Juk s captain byhis acting-master. one of the identifiers) angrily likened the body's departure to its furtive arrival. I'm sorry tosay that Iwas not present at eithcr timeor I should have put a stop to il. ~ j Z )h DispositionUnder Lafayeue Baker's supervision. the body was taken in a boat tothe grounds of Washington's old penitentiary. in wartime use. an arsenal.Partly shrouded in a gunny sack. it layawhile in a small summer house upon ajetty. An inquisitive passerby glimpsedits face and ~ r e c o g n i 1 . e d it [as Booth's]from posters and c i r c u l a r s . ~ j j ) Itsnext stop was in one of the old cells.then serving as an ordnance storeroom. where it was quickly interred.

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Nal 1 Museum cl Heal and Me


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~ . O < \ I MU l\lm >1 H. - I , aM MlICl,c, e. AfIP

All by MO_ Jal ul (ilo/>(-. 28 July 1866. p4292.

2. Baker lC . //i.'wry o 111/ UII;//'d SIUI 5SI' ,,'I S,' ,;, ', P 534.

J. &mml SWI/luy II/'{uld. 11 Dec 188L Seeal,o Slalemern or William S. Jell. 6 May 11165.11I1 'Slif(Ulhm ond Tr;ol Pop , Rl' lolinx 10 II,..AJ'sossinOli(m o P,, sid 1JI tim'ulll.4. Pitman Doheny ll.'stimony of 22 I\lay1865 in 17,, ASSiJsS;I1Olivl/ vIl'r/ .,idfm UI/culnomllii/ Trial of Ihl' Compiralurs. p 95.

5. I '/X'odm ,m '''''I'Mif(OIiml: Tf slimullYTiJk< l lkfur/' II , Judidury Commill/'I' o Ilt/'1I00/sl' o RI'f)rl'-'/'I/ Uliw. inlh/' In /'sliXOliml oCltargl'S AgaillSl Allduw Jolm.lon. p 481.o The Repon ofL ;ul. E d , , ~ r d I Doherty.SiXleenth N.Y. C a , a l r ~ . W a ~ h i n g t o n . DC 29April 1865. Wor o litl' H,'bl'1lion: OJ.fil ialH fords o Ill/' Ullh


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3S, Ibid . P 324. pp 672-673.36. Ibid . p 33.J7. T M Sallimo A , ~ r k u n . 17 feb 1869:

Rosr:or: T. WrlJ oICompi,uq. pp 527-5J I;SmilhG. Anw,kun GOlllir: Th,. Sto 'olAm,.,;,ru's UKtndu 'y n , ,.a lrkal f umil,-Junius.Ed,,in. und John Wilkts Boor . pp 231-249.

38. 11,,. Ilimo,,.Am ,Ir,m. 11 Feb 1869.39. Samuc:l Mudd ~ a l e m e n l 21 April 11165.

AS.\fUJ';mJlio nd T,illl Papt s.40 . Joseph K. Barnes 10 Edwin M. Slanlon.21 April 1865. RI'(,,,,ds 0/ /ltr AdjUlum Grnnufs Of/i' . 1780's1917,41. May. Mark oflhe Scalpel.42. William Maylo George M.llamy. 7 No ...1927. Wilkerson Iile, EH S ....-aim ColleC\ion.Grorgelo .....n Unhocl1iil) Lib..-ry.4J. Ma) . Mark of lile Scalpel.

44. John De Ha\ocn 10 War Depanmenl. 26Jan 1912. RNordJ ol/Iw Adjuumt Gtllt',ufs

O J T K ~ . 178O's1911.45. Judge Ad\ l)( ;Ite Genc..-rs rt ply 10 l)cHaven \ ia Adjulanl Genc..-Is orfice. JI Jan1912. Rrrordsoll/K' Ad''fKUI,.G,.n ,.,uf, OfTKt.178f1s-1917.46. Judge Ad\ OCale General s reply 10S. Beall via Adjutant General s Orrice. 7 Dec1915. RI'l Q,d, v/lht' A,/w}('ulf' Gnurafs QIP .178fYs-1917.Bibliography

Ba ker LC. IIi, I o t Unitrd S,u,ts~ r . . / S ,,iu. Philadc:lphia:LC Baker: 1861.

1 ht llimfNtAd,'t'IlMr. 29 April 1865.1ht SaI,imfN,. A K',lrul/. 11 Feb 1869.BaIt S OH. Manuscnpt. Rare Books Di\ ision.

Libra/) of Congreu. Washington_ DC. swn Sundu)' Ut,lIld. II Dec IllSl.Carpenln FG. The- capture of John Wilkes

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111t C ,aloxU ' of rM SulXlrtll SNlilJl1 0/ 1 1Uni,,.d S'Olts Arm)' Mtdirul MuSt'uWashinglon. DC;Go\ emmcnt Prinling OrrlC:e;1866.

1111 CongrtssWnol Globt'. 28 Jul) 1866.Dohtn) EP. Caplain Dohtny li narralil,t.

CtntUf)' Maga; . January 1890.Hibben Ii B lIiuory o/Iht' Il'asltingw/I No,')'Yard. Washinglon. I X : G o ~ e r n m e n l PrinlingOffice; 1890.''''I,,.urJlm/,,,, I ,tsligalion: T/'slimvnyTnA,t &-/urt Iht Judi(iary Commil/t,t I'h,.

lIouu 0/ RtprtumOliws ill t I ,tsligulim, v/Char/{ts A/{a;ns, Antlrt..,JolmslJI1. 2nd Session.39th Congress: lsI Session. 40th ConlreliS.WashinglOn. DC:Go, ernment Prinling Offlee:1861.

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ASSilssino,ion 01 Prtsidtm UnNJJn. RG 153.Records of the ~ of lhe Judgt Ad\ ocattGenc:raIIArm) l. Nalional Archives. WashingIon. XKatz OM. Wimt',u to on fjo: n,.. UI,. amiPllowgruplts0/ Alt:O:DmJ.., GQrd u. NewYork:Viking: 1991.

Ma) JF . Mark of Ihe Scalpel. ManuscriplDivision. Library of Congress. W a ~ h i n l l t o n .C.Mu} W. Ltncr lO Gc:orlle M. Bailey. 1 Nov1927. Copy in Wilktrson file. E.H. S...aim CollcC lion. Special Collcclions Oi\ision. Georgelo ....n Uni\ C l1iity Library. Washinglon. DC. Mtd 'al nd S U I ~ i t O J lIiSlOr)'o/'''t W..r01' '' RrlwlliOll (1861186j). Vol I. Washing

Ion. OC:GO ernmtnl Printing orr1; 1875.Munror:S. RolleclionsofLincoln s Assassi-

nalion. No,,11 Amtrirun R , . ~ , , . April 1896.TIlt . . York Tribun,.. 29 April 186S.Paullin C. The- Navy and tilt Booth conspi..-

tors, Illinois S'Olt lIisw,.;NJII Surit'l)' JOUf/loJ.Septembc:r 1940:J3.

Pilman B, Tht AJSilssimltiOll 01 PrtJidtnlU ,:oln o d Ill Trilliol/itt ConspirOlrHs. Cincinrnni:Moorc. Wlls1ach. and ~ l d w i n ; 1 8 6 S .

RKortls 0/ , ,, AdjulQnt Grntroft OfJirt.1780's-1917. RG 94. National Archives.Washinglon. IJC.

Rl 'l Qrtl,,/IhtObi /' 01 1 .. Stl'fl'lar)'o/ Wur.nG 101. Nalional A r c h i ~ e s . Washington. DC,

Rtr'ortls Ih,. S U f ~ t o n G,. rral fA I). RG112_ Nalional A r e h i ~ C . Washinglon. DC.

The- Rtpor t o f Lieul. Ed ...... rd P. Doheny.Sixlcenlh N.Y. Cavalry. Washinglon. DC. 29April I86S. Wa,. 01 Iitt RthtllilJl1: Ojf '''uRtt'ordsO/IM Union OM C o n l t d t r o l ~ A r , ~ t .Series I. Vol 46,

Roscoe: T. Tilt WrlJ 01 Conspiroq. NewYork:PrcnliccHall: 1959.

SCOll EH. Monograph in lJa\ id H. BalcsColIcction. Manuscript D i ~ i s i o n . Library of Congrr:ss. Washinglon. IX .Smi th G. Amtri(oll GO/hir: lt SlOr)' 0Amtriro's L l1l'1l1lary 1 111 01 01 f-umilyJm,ius. f.il...ill, ollli JoII Wilkts BoO/h. NewYork:Simon and Schusler; 1992.

Triol 0/11 Allrg,.rI A,sussh,s ami Cv spiraIOrs/or 1 Murtl.., 0/ Prts/,Ittll Abraham Unr ln. Philadelphia:TB PcltniOn and Brolhers:186S.

Wtullif/Xwn Nalional Rtpubliron. 211 April1865. 0Leonard F. Gutuklgt is a his torian and tile

author of c oc..-I books on na,.. 1 history. lieresides in AIc,o;andria. VA.

The Forensic EvidenceFor this article. Navy M,dici , requcsted that a siudybe made of the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord seclion recovered by Dr. Joseph Woodward following theautopsy aboard USS MomauJc_ A tcam of forensicpalhologislS and anthropologisls from lhe NationalMuseum of Heallh and Medicineand the Anned ForcesInstitute of Pathology in Washington. DC. wereable10cstablish thatthc fatal wound. caused bya largccaliber.low velocity weapon. entered the neck high on the rightside. traversing downward and exiting the neck low onlhe left side. There is no evidence that the wound wasself-innicted. pUlling 10 rest one hypothesis that the

man in Garrett s barnmay haveshot himself. The posterior aspect of the spinal cord exhibils severe damageconsislent with quadriplegic paralysis. The spinal cord santerior aspect is intact. indicating that respirationmight have continued for several hoon.With such a small sample to study. the scientistswereunable to dclenninc lhe precise age or tdeRtity of lhevictim. only that he was a young to middk-aged adult.A forensic study of the long bones and skull augmenledby Ihe usc of video superimposition could establish onceand for all whether the body of John Wilkcs Boolhreposes in Baltimore sGreen Mount Cemetery. k H

NAVY MEDICINE

autopsy of john wilkes booth

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