The Assassin's Doctor - E-book - ePub

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D. C. on April 14, 1865. Eight persons, including Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, were arrested for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth. A military court found all eight guilty. Four were executed by hanging for taking part in the actual assassination. The other four were sentenced to prison. Dr. Mudd and two of the others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The fourth man was sentenced to six years imprisonment. One of the men died in prison during a yellow fever epidemic in 1867. The other three, including Dr. Mudd, were pardoned by president Andrew Johnson in 1869. There are two parts to this book. The first part is the story of Dr. Mudd's life, his early years and education, his marriage to Sarah Frances Dyer, his children, his slaves, his involvement with John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assassination, his conviction at trial, his imprisonment at the Fort Jefferson military prison, his life-saving work during a horrific yellow fever epidemic there, and his life after being pardoned.
He ran for the Maryland state legislature in 1877, but didn't win. He died at home in 1883, surrounded by his wife and children. The second part of the book is a collection of important historical documents concerning Dr. Mudd's life. Many have never been published before. The collection begins with a letter found in Georgetown University's Special Collections describing how the teenage Sam Mudd was expelled from the school for rowdy behavior.
But for this event, Sam Mudd would probably have never switched to medical school, become a doctor, and met John Wilkes Booth. The collection also includes a report found in the National Institutes of Health's Medical Library describing how Dr. Mudd treated his yellow fever patients while in prison. The Assassin's Doctor is the story of a man who lost everything important to him - his home, family, children, reputation, and freedom - only to recover everything by risking his life, and almost losing it, to save the lives of those who imprisoned him.
When the yellow fever epidemic was over, all the surviving soldiers at Fort Jefferson signed a petition to president Andrew Johnson asking him to pardon Dr. Mudd for helping save their lives. The Assassin's Doctor abounds in fascinating stories of the life of Dr. Mudd and those around him. It will make an interesting and valuable addition to your bookshelf.