However, according to her tenant, John Lloyd, Surratt told him to get the "shooting irons" ready to be picked up.Trindal, p. 161; Larson, p. 130. On April 14, Surratt said that she would once again visit the family tavern in Surrattsville to collect a debt.
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Swanson, p. 19. He gave her a package (later found to contain binoculars) to give to Lloyd for pick-up later that evening. Surratt delivered the package that afternoon, and (according to Lloyd) again told Lloyd to have the "shooting irons" ready for pick-up.Swanson, p. 22.
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He gave her a package, later found to contain binoculars, for Lloyd to pick up later that evening. Surratt did so and, according to Lloyd, again told Lloyd to have the "shooting irons" ready for pickup and handed him a wrapped package from Booth.Swanson, p. 22.Trindal, p. 157.
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Surratt delivered the package, and (according to Lloyd) again told Lloyd to have the "shooting irons" ready for pick-up and handed him a wrapped package from Booth. (Booth and Herold picked up the rifles and binoculars that evening as they fled Washington after Lincoln's assassination.) Lloyd repaired a broken spring on Mrs. Surratt's wagon before she left.
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She said she made the trip to collect a debt owed her by a former neighbor. But according to her tenant, John Lloyd, Surratt told him to get the "shooting irons" ready to be picked up.Trindal, p. 161; Larson, p. 130. On April 14, Mary Surratt said she would once again visit the family tavern in Surrattsville to collect a debt.Larson, p. 83.
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Lloyd claims that Mary sent binoculars to Booth and prepared shooting irons and whiskey for Booth and Herold on the night of the assassination. Aiken angers Lloyd by implying that he was bribed for his testimony in whiskey. Lloyd is dragged out of the courtroom after he threatens Aiken. While attempting to attend a party at the Century Club, Aiken finds his membership has been revoked because for defending Mary Surratt.
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Surratt (an individual who could have verified Lloyd's version of the "shooting irons" story). The nine-member military tribunal hearing the case sentenced Mary Surratt, George Atzerodt, David Herold, and Lewis Powell to death on July 5, 1865. As their crimes had occurred in an area under military jurisdiction, the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act denied them any appeal. The four were hanged at the Washington Arsenal on July 7, 1865.
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Surratt, but most of their case rested on the testimony of just two men—John Lloyd and Surratt boarding house tenant Louis Weichmann. Lloyd testified on May 13 and 15, 1865, regarding the hiding of the carbines and other supplies at the tavern in March, and the two conversations he had with Mrs. Surratt in which she told him to get the "shooting irons" ready. The defense called Captain Cottingham, and unintentionally damaged its case.
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Powell's arrival at her boarding house, three days after the president's murder, was critical evidence against her, the government argued. The prosecution presented nine witnesses, but most of their case rested on the testimony of just two men: John M. Lloyd and Louis J. Weichmann. Lloyd testified on May 13 and 15, 1865Leonard, p. 109. on the hiding of the carbines and other supplies at the tavern in March and the two conversations he had with her in which she told him to get the "shooting irons" ready.
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After Lincoln was assassinated, Surratt was arrested, then tried by a military tribunal the following month, along with the other conspirators. She was convicted primarily due to the testimonies of Lloyd, who said that she told him to have the "shooting irons" ready, and Louis J. Weichmann, who testified about Surratt's relationships with Confederate groups and sympathizers. Five of the nine judges at her trial asked that Surratt be granted clemency by President Andrew Johnson because of her age and sex. Johnson did not grant her clemency, though accounts differ as to whether or not he received the clemency request.
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As part of the plot to kidnap Lincoln in March 1865, John Surratt, Atzerodt, and conspirator David Herold hid two Spencer carbines, ammunition, and some other supplies at the Surratt tavern in Surrattsville. On April 11, Mary Surratt rented a carriage and drove to the Surrattsville tavern to collect (she later said) a debt owed her by a former neighbor. But according to Lloyd, Surratt told him to get the "shooting irons" ready to be picked up. Worried that the inn might be searched by federal troops, Lloyd was concerned about the weapons left in his possession.
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In the opinion of historian Roy Z. Chamlee, both legal teams appeared to have flaws in their cases, and except for Reverdy Johnson, neither team employed highly skilled attorneys. The government's case was hindered by its failure to call as a witness the man who shared Lloyd's carriage when he talked with Surratt and could have verified Lloyd's version of the "shooting irons" story or Metropolitan Police Chief A.C. Richards whose investigation had had the most success in the early days of the investigation. The government did not fully investigate Booth's meetings with Surratt at noon or the evening of the murder, and its questioning and cross-examination of witnesses was poorly prepared and weak. What is most important, according to historian Roy Z. Chamber Jr., is that the government had botched the attempt to apprehend John, Jr. The defense's case, too, had a problem.
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