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549

Eyewitness Letter to President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination -- ''...lead many people to believe t

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Political Memorabilia Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 3,750.00 USD
Eyewitness Letter to President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination -- ''...lead many people to believe t

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Auction Date:2014 Apr 29 @ 17:00 (UTC-7 : PDT/MST)
Location:11901 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90025, United States
Intriguing autograph letter signed by Almarin C. Richards, Washington DC Police Superintendent and attendee at Ford's Theatre the night of President Lincoln's killing. Here, Richards writes to Louis Weichmann, former friend of Mary and John Surratt, about the ''Catholic plot'' to assassinate the President and Weichmann's persecution by the Catholics for his role in Mary Surratt's execution. Anti-Catholic sentiment ran high during the Civil War. Letter in pen reads, ''...Of course I know nothing of the course of Father Walter and other Washington Catholics toward you relating to Mrs. [Mary] Surratt and the Conspiracy. I do know however that I would rather stand in your place in relation to that matter than in that of those who are seeking to make it appear that Mrs. Surratt was innocent of the crime with which she was charged and for which she forfeited her life. The fact that certain prominent Catholics in Washington have so persistently persecuted you and others who were prominent in bringing her and the other conspirators to justice has done more to lead many people to believe that the assassination was the outcome of a Catholic plot than any or all other circumstances. In fact there is nothing else developed that could lead to a suspicion that could in any way inculpate any one of the authorities of that church. Mrs. Surratt was privy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States and justly expiated her offense upon the gallows. Whether she should have her executive clemency extended to her is quite another question. Very Truly Yours, A.C. Richards''. 8'' x 10'' letter is datelined Eustis, FL, 3 July 1898, written to Weichmann for a book that he was writing on the assassination. Slight separation at the folds, else very good condition.
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