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31 days and counting: today, the Bransons.
last night's word count: 1,943 ~ mostly the testimony of Margaret Branson for the defense.
points/thoughts:
one could theorize that the prosecution was so convinced of Chammy's guilt that they needn't bother to make more of an effort beyond identifying him as the assailant in question, but it's odd that someone like Holt (grasping at any straw to connect this crime with the larger confederate government), would not have seized on the opportunity to expose the existance of a whole network that legitimately connected Chammy and Surratt and the confederate underground. not to mention the obvious fact that Maggie Branson's father seemed to have been running a boarding house that was a known hotbed of confederate activity ~ a crime which Mrs. Hen went to the gallows! but the man is never arrested or even questioned (even though his wife and daughters are). curious indeed. the investigation of the Bransons seemed to have gone on for some time after the trial. my theory: Chammy's arrest brought the matter to their attention, but proving it would take too long and they were in too big a hurry to convict.
go figure: they make stuff up about Chammy in Montreal with Thompson and Clay, but the truth right under their noses goes conveniently under the radar and stays there. i say there's something super-fishy about this. no one ever steps forward to claim anything until well after the execution ~ particularly about knowing Chammy rode with Mosby, etc. except to say that he used the name "Mosby" as an alias. even the real Mosby himself is suspiciouly silent on the subject.
if i had to posit a wild theory (why not, everyone else does?): the real Mosby was dirty in this business. he "loaned" Chammy to the Confederate secret service for the abduction plot and so Chammy was hanging around known agencies (the Branson house and Parr's china shop) awaiting orders. Surratt was his contact at those places. Then Surratt introduced him to Booth and Chammy liked him (whether he was starstruck or enjoyed Booth's lifestyle ~ cigars and champagne at Gautier's can't be all bad!). Chammy didn't like Surratt, and when things went bad the day of the kidnapping, he stayed with Booth either because he was convinced that the plot could work if they were patient or on orders to keep an eye on Booth. or it could be as simple as he genuinely had nowhere to go while he continued to wait for new orders.
i still contend his behavior on the night of the assassination was more than somewhat strange and his behavior ever after even stranger. i still think none of them had any idea what they were getting into when they agreed to embark on such an ill-conceived scheme. betty tries to make a case for Chammy being a cunning agent, but i just see a kid who realized too late he'd gone up the wrong tree and then resigned himself to the soldier's death he had anticipated from the start.
okay, brace yourselves: this is where it gets weird ~
Poppet makes him out to be a dupe, but Chammy seems to indicate that he never took orders from Booth, so the idea that Booth had him under his thumb is (in my opinion) spurious. It's hard to tell from Poppet whether he believed the boy was as gullible as he claimed (i am inclined to think that he did). it's beyond a doubt that Booth did convince him to kill Seward. that's all we know for certain.
now betty posits that perhaps they all had a drink (or four) before the business went down (certainly Booth was pretty well-liquored and Adzerodt was downright drunk). so it might have been a heat-of-the-moment sort of thing and they were all so boozed up so that it just sounded reasonable at the time. but no one at Seward's said Chammy was drunk or gave any indication that he might be (though his eyes were red, one said). if he had been drunk, it probably would have been obvious.
but what if he hopped up on something like morphine?
it would explain the following mysteries:
to further add to this, let's look at Chammy's history in the army: twice seriously ill (measles and typhoid) to the point of death. nearly dropped from his regiment for being unfit for the marches. wounded (slightly) at Gettysburg. possibly wounded or ill when in Mosby's rangers (why he "left" the rangers is a curiosity, which is why i say he was "reassigned" ~ and it may have been because he was unwell). in fact, Chammy didn't see a whole lot of action for the first three years he was a soldier. he was sick most of the time! then a pow. then with Mosby for about 6-8 months or so during which he saw a lot of nasty guerilla action (and which, according to one source at least, he found very off-putting). add onto this that Chammy had severe dental problems and sinusitis (probably as a result of his bad teeth). he probably suffered from toothaches and headaches. the common prescription for both: laudanum or morphine.
now there may be documentation out there to say that there were no traces or evidence of drug use in his history, but that's as good a theory as any why someone with normal (not above average or below average) intelligence could appear to be both cunning and idiotic to various people. why he's been characterized at both fearsome and genteel. why the jeckyl/hyde thing is so extreme that at least one silly historian was convinced that he was two different people.
and i appear to have gone way off the Branson topic, so i think i'd better stop now. this entry is nearly as long as the writing i managed to do last night!
: o p
[/endlengthywarblingthatwillhavenobearingonthestoryiamwriting]
i was up after midnight re-reading Poppet's memoir (i didn't mean to, i just got sucked into it ~ again). a couple of notable points Poppet makes:
bad bad.
: D
i'll post the "picture of the day" later.
last night's word count: 1,943 ~ mostly the testimony of Margaret Branson for the defense.
points/thoughts:
1. the Pitmann transcript conveniently omits all the material about Chammy's conduct at the Branson house (about twenty questions). if you only read the Pitmann transcript, it ends with Bing making an objection and the commission sustaining it (which looks much like a victory for Bing ~ and why wouldn't it? Bing had final approval on the published script. and of course his objection is worded completely different than what the newspaper says he said ~ nice). it's a minor point, but sheesh.so while the whole country is wondering who this prisoner is, there sits his arrest record in Baltimore, on suspicion of being a spy. yet this never comes up at the trial!
2. the omitted testimony is peculiar for a couple of reasons: it's all over the map. Branson almost reads like a reluctant witness and Poppet winds up leading her through the entire testimony (which i doubt would have been permitted by today's standards). at one point Maggie even contradicts herself saying she doesn't know whether the prisoner can read and then answers later that he spent his spare time reading.
3. my impression of Maggie on the witness stand: she's baffled and terrified and doesn't know what she's saying. certain historians have contended that Maggie helped Chammy escape from the hospital where he was captive in Baltimore. they also contend that Maggie's younger sister Mary and Chammy were doin' the nasty.
betty asks the question: why wasn't Mary put on the stand? Poppet seems to answer that in his memoir pretty simply: the girls were fearful and made bad witnesses! not to mention, everything they had to say was just more and more incriminating! why on earth should he put Mary on the stand?
4. it's not clear to me whether Chammy gave him their names or whether Poppet heard about their arrest in Baltimore (they were arrested for being known disloyalists). if the girls were in on the confederate spy ring running at the Branson house, they weren't terribly clever once they were arrested and terrorized. it's also possible that Mary was slated to testify but Maggie's poor performance on the stand made Poppet think twice about calling the younger sister.
5. as with most of the female witnesses, the prosecution doesn't spend much time cross-examining. it seems to me that they didn't like to make girls cry (and for this reason they didn't bully Anna either ~ i'll give them credit for that). but it doesn't change the fact that either Margaret Branson was putting on a really bad dummy act (in which case she should have come up with a much better story), or she really didn't know much about anything. in turn, it doesn't appear that Poppet knew much about what the Bransons might know. if he did, he never said so (and again, he wouldn't because it would have all been incriminating).
in which case, one wonders: why put them on the stand at all? if anything, their testimony does more harm than good (if someone wanted to make a case for Poppet deliberately undermining his client's chances of acquittal, here's the proof). it's impossible to know just what he was trying to get out them especially since Bing shut down the testimony on the precise point he was trying to make. (grrrrr). Poppet doesn't, in his memoir, expound on what good he thought bringing them in would do.
6. which leads us to the curious incident of Chammy's arrest in Baltimore on charges of being a spy. and this is where my conspiracy antennae start to stretch out a little.
one could theorize that the prosecution was so convinced of Chammy's guilt that they needn't bother to make more of an effort beyond identifying him as the assailant in question, but it's odd that someone like Holt (grasping at any straw to connect this crime with the larger confederate government), would not have seized on the opportunity to expose the existance of a whole network that legitimately connected Chammy and Surratt and the confederate underground. not to mention the obvious fact that Maggie Branson's father seemed to have been running a boarding house that was a known hotbed of confederate activity ~ a crime which Mrs. Hen went to the gallows! but the man is never arrested or even questioned (even though his wife and daughters are). curious indeed. the investigation of the Bransons seemed to have gone on for some time after the trial. my theory: Chammy's arrest brought the matter to their attention, but proving it would take too long and they were in too big a hurry to convict.
go figure: they make stuff up about Chammy in Montreal with Thompson and Clay, but the truth right under their noses goes conveniently under the radar and stays there. i say there's something super-fishy about this. no one ever steps forward to claim anything until well after the execution ~ particularly about knowing Chammy rode with Mosby, etc. except to say that he used the name "Mosby" as an alias. even the real Mosby himself is suspiciouly silent on the subject.
if i had to posit a wild theory (why not, everyone else does?): the real Mosby was dirty in this business. he "loaned" Chammy to the Confederate secret service for the abduction plot and so Chammy was hanging around known agencies (the Branson house and Parr's china shop) awaiting orders. Surratt was his contact at those places. Then Surratt introduced him to Booth and Chammy liked him (whether he was starstruck or enjoyed Booth's lifestyle ~ cigars and champagne at Gautier's can't be all bad!). Chammy didn't like Surratt, and when things went bad the day of the kidnapping, he stayed with Booth either because he was convinced that the plot could work if they were patient or on orders to keep an eye on Booth. or it could be as simple as he genuinely had nowhere to go while he continued to wait for new orders.
i still contend his behavior on the night of the assassination was more than somewhat strange and his behavior ever after even stranger. i still think none of them had any idea what they were getting into when they agreed to embark on such an ill-conceived scheme. betty tries to make a case for Chammy being a cunning agent, but i just see a kid who realized too late he'd gone up the wrong tree and then resigned himself to the soldier's death he had anticipated from the start.
okay, brace yourselves: this is where it gets weird ~
Poppet makes him out to be a dupe, but Chammy seems to indicate that he never took orders from Booth, so the idea that Booth had him under his thumb is (in my opinion) spurious. It's hard to tell from Poppet whether he believed the boy was as gullible as he claimed (i am inclined to think that he did). it's beyond a doubt that Booth did convince him to kill Seward. that's all we know for certain.
now betty posits that perhaps they all had a drink (or four) before the business went down (certainly Booth was pretty well-liquored and Adzerodt was downright drunk). so it might have been a heat-of-the-moment sort of thing and they were all so boozed up so that it just sounded reasonable at the time. but no one at Seward's said Chammy was drunk or gave any indication that he might be (though his eyes were red, one said). if he had been drunk, it probably would have been obvious.
but what if he hopped up on something like morphine?
it would explain the following mysteries:
1. why Davey had to take him to the house (something no one has really effectively cleared up).and get this: that chronic constipation problem that keeps going 'round and 'round? it's a side effect of morphine usage.
2. his peculiarly sluggish getaway (which also makes no sense. he didn't flee from the crime).
3. why he left all the evidence all over the place: horse, coat, hat, gun, knife, etc.
4. the fog he was in for those days he was lost before being arrested.
5. it would also go far to explain his bizarre behavior when he was finally arrested ~ his inability to keep his story straight (and what a story!), and his ludicrous "disguise".
to further add to this, let's look at Chammy's history in the army: twice seriously ill (measles and typhoid) to the point of death. nearly dropped from his regiment for being unfit for the marches. wounded (slightly) at Gettysburg. possibly wounded or ill when in Mosby's rangers (why he "left" the rangers is a curiosity, which is why i say he was "reassigned" ~ and it may have been because he was unwell). in fact, Chammy didn't see a whole lot of action for the first three years he was a soldier. he was sick most of the time! then a pow. then with Mosby for about 6-8 months or so during which he saw a lot of nasty guerilla action (and which, according to one source at least, he found very off-putting). add onto this that Chammy had severe dental problems and sinusitis (probably as a result of his bad teeth). he probably suffered from toothaches and headaches. the common prescription for both: laudanum or morphine.
now there may be documentation out there to say that there were no traces or evidence of drug use in his history, but that's as good a theory as any why someone with normal (not above average or below average) intelligence could appear to be both cunning and idiotic to various people. why he's been characterized at both fearsome and genteel. why the jeckyl/hyde thing is so extreme that at least one silly historian was convinced that he was two different people.
and i appear to have gone way off the Branson topic, so i think i'd better stop now. this entry is nearly as long as the writing i managed to do last night!
: o p
[/endlengthywarblingthatwillhavenobearingonthestoryiamwriting]
i was up after midnight re-reading Poppet's memoir (i didn't mean to, i just got sucked into it ~ again). a couple of notable points Poppet makes:
1. John A. paid the bill for George. i knew that already, but Poppet does specifically mention it. he mentions it in context of John's schizophrenic attitude about his brother's plight. John was a detective and fearful that he'd receive backlash from his brother's doings. but he still supported his defense.okay, i have work work work and i've been frittering away on this all morning.
2. Poppet subpoenaed the King Drunk. the King Drunk refused to show and wrote a nice letter saying he would not, under any cicumstances, testify. hmmm ~ what was the King Drunk afraid of? Poppet said he didn't press the matter, considering it more diplomatic not to offend the one man in all the world who could effect a pardon for the prisoners (silly Poppet ~ little did he know). but i think it's very interesting nonetheless.
3. that scene Poppet describes of Czar NastyOwlFace threatening to fire him (over and over again) gets funnier every time i read it.
bad bad.
: D
i'll post the "picture of the day" later.
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