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John Surratt | |
|---|---|
 Surratt in 1868 | |
| Born | John Harrison Surratt Jr. (1844-04-13)April 13, 1844 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 1916(1916-04-21) (aged 72) |
| Burial place | New Cathedral Cemetery |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | U.S. postmaster, farmer, parochial school teacher,Pontifical Zouave, public lecturer, company treasurer |
| Known for | Co-conspirator in plan to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Friend ofJohn Wilkes Booth |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
| Parent(s) | Mary Surratt John Harrison Surratt |
| Espionage activity | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Service branch | Confederate Secret Service |
| Rank | Courier, spy |
John Harrison Surratt Jr. (April 13, 1844 – April 21, 1916) was an American Confederate spy who was accused of plotting withJohn Wilkes Booth to kidnap U.S. PresidentAbraham Lincoln. He was also suspected of involvement in theAbraham Lincoln assassination. His mother,Mary Surratt, was convicted ofconspiracy by a military tribunal andhanged; she owned the boarding house that the conspirators used as a safe house and to plot the scheme.
He eluded arrest following the assassination by fleeing toCanada and then toEurope. He thus avoided the fate of the other conspirators, who were hanged. He served briefly as aPontifical Zouave, but was recognized and arrested. He escaped toEgypt but was eventually re-arrested and extradited. By the time of his trial, thestatute of limitations had expired on most of the potential charges. He was tried in civilian court in 1867 in Washington D.C. and was not convicted due to a hung jury. He was never tried again.
He was born in 1844, to John Harrison Surratt Sr. andMary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt, in what is todayCongress Heights. His baptism took place in 1844 atSt. Peter's Church, Washington, D.C. In 1861, he was enrolled atSt. Charles College, where he was studying for thepriesthood[2] and also metLouis Weichmann. When his father suddenly died in 1862, Surratt was appointed the postmaster forSurrattsville, Maryland.
Surratt served as aConfederate Secret Service courier and spy. After he had been carrying dispatches about Union troop movements across thePotomac River, Dr.Samuel Mudd introduced Surratt to Booth on December 23, 1864, and Surratt agreed to help Booth kidnap Lincoln. The meeting took place at theNational Hotel, in Washington, D.C., where Booth lived.
Booth's plan was to seize Lincoln and take him toRichmond, Virginia, to exchange him for thousands of Confederate prisoners of war. On March 17, 1865, Surratt and Booth, along with their comrades, waited in ambush for Lincoln's carriage to leave theCampbell General Hospital to return to Washington. However, Lincoln had changed his mind and remained in Washington.
William H. Crook, one of Lincoln's bodyguards, claimed that Surratt had boarded theRiver Queen shortly before theThird Battle of Petersburg, using the name of Smith and demanding to see Lincoln, who was aboard at the time. Crook later stated his belief that Surratt "was seeking an opportunity to assassinate the President at this time".[3]
After the assassination of Lincoln, on April 14, 1865, Surratt denied any involvement and said that he was then inElmira, New York. He was one of the first people suspected of the attempt to assassinate Secretary of StateWilliam H. Seward, but the culprit was soon discovered to beLewis Powell.
When he learned of the assassination, Surratt fled toMontreal,Canada East, arriving on April 17, 1865. He then went toSt. Liboire, where a Catholic priest, Father Charles Boucher, gave him sanctuary. Surratt remained there while his mother was arrested, tried, and hanged in the United States for conspiracy.
Aided by ex-Confederate agents Beverly Tucker and Edwin Lee, Surratt, disguised, booked passage to England under a false name. He landed atLiverpool in September, where he lodged in the oratory at the Church of the Holy Cross.[4]
Surratt later served for a time in the Ninth Company of the Pontifical Zouaves, in thePapal States, under the name John Watson.[5][6]
An old friend, Henri Beaumont de Sainte-Marie, recognized Surratt and notified papal officials and theUS minister in Rome,Rufus King.[7]
On November 7, 1866, Surratt was arrested and sent to theVelletri prison. He escaped and lived with the supporters ofGaribaldi, who gave him safe passage. Surratt traveled to theKingdom of Italy and posed as a Canadian citizen named Walters. He booked passage toAlexandria, Egypt, but was arrested there by US officials on November 23, 1866, still in his Pontifical Zouaves uniform.[8] He returned to the US on theUSSSwatara to theWashington Navy Yard in early 1867.[9]
Eighteen months after his mother was hanged, Surratt was tried in theSupreme Court of the District of Columbia now theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia criminal court.[10] It was not before a military commission, unlike the trials of his mother and the others, as aUS Supreme Court decision,Ex parte Milligan, had declared the trial of civilians before military tribunals to be unconstitutional if civilian courts were still open.
JudgeGeorge P. Fisher presided over Surratt's trial, and district attorney E.C. Carrington, assisted byEdwards Pierrepont conducted the federal government's case against him.[11] Surratt's lead attorney, Joseph Habersham Bradley, admitted Surratt's part in plotting to kidnap Lincoln but denied any involvement in the murder plot. After two months of testimony, Surratt was released after a mistrial; eight jurors had voted not guilty, four voted guilty.
The statute of limitations on charges other than murder had run out, and Surratt was released on bail.[12]
Surratt tried to farm tobacco and then taught at the Rockville Female Academy. In 1870, as one of the last surviving members of the conspiracy, Surratt began a much-heralded public lecture tour. On December 6, at a small courthouse inRockville, Maryland, in a 75-minute speech, Surratt admitted his involvement in the scheme to kidnap Lincoln. He maintained that he knew nothing of the assassination plot and reiterated that he was then in Elmira.
He disavowed any participation by the Confederate government, reviled Weichmann as a "perjurer" who was responsible for his mother's death and said his friends had kept from him the seriousness of her plight in Washington. After that revelation, it was reported in Washington'sEvening Star that the band played "Dixie" and a small concert was improvised, with Surratt the center of female attention.
Three weeks later, Surratt was to give a second lecture in Washington, but it was canceled because of public outrage.[13]
Surratt later took a job as a teacher in St. Joseph Catholic School inEmmitsburg, Maryland. In 1872, Surratt married Mary Victorine Hunter, a second cousin ofFrancis Scott Key. The couple lived in Baltimore and had seven children.[14]
Some time after 1872, he was hired by theBaltimore Steam Packet Company. He rose to freight auditor and, ultimately, treasurer of the company. Surratt retired from the steamship line in 1914 and died of pneumonia in 1916, at the age of 72.[15]
He was buried in theNew Cathedral Cemetery, in Baltimore.[16]
Surratt was portrayed byJohnny Simmons in the 2010Robert Redford filmThe Conspirator.[17]
Surratt was portrayed by Josh Mikel in the 2024Apple TV+ miniseries seriesManhunt.[18]
Footnote 1 lists documents and works related to Surratt.
