Hunt for Lincoln’s Assassin

At 3 p.m. Eastern time on Oct. 15, the National Geographic Channel will re-air “The Hunt For Lincoln’s Assassin”. This little flick means a lot to me, since I was fortunate enough to appear on camera. The documentary, which originally aired in April of this year, spotlights Everton Conger, the man whose biography I have been researching now for the past few years.

Conger was a detective in Lafayette Baker’s National Detective Police at the time Lincoln was murdered. In fact, in one of those ironic situations that history is so full of, when Lincoln was at Ford’s Theater watching “Our American Cousin” Conger was in Richmond watching a group of Connecticut soldiers put on a play. He went back to Washington that weekend where he joined Baker and other NDP operatives in the investigation.

Conger, Luther Byron Baker (Lafe’s cousin) and Edward P. Doherty, commander of the 16th New York Cavalry, were among the men who surrounded Richard Garrett’s tobacco barn in Virginia after Booth and David Herold were locked in by one of Garrett’s sons, who was afraid they would steal the family horses. For his services, Conger received $15,000 (about $150,000 in today’s money) of the reward money, some of which he lost in a Michigan hotel venture that was spearheaded by his old boss, Lafayette Baker.

There are a couple of problems with the documentary. It was made with the thought in mind that it would air around the time the Harrison Ford movie “Manhunt” was supposed to come out. Ford had been set to play Conger (although he is in his 60s and Conger was in his 30s when he captured Booth) but then decided to pull out of the project. Even though Conger was technically in charge of the posse, it was a group effort. However, the National Geographic show makes it appear that Conger was called into the hunt by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, which never happened. Conger and Stanton never met until after Herold was captured and Booth killed. I think the film company sold it to the NGC as a sort of supplement to the movie. Also, it makes it appear that before Conger left 11 days after Lincoln’s death, he was in the field looking for Booth. This never happened either, because Conger was suffering from two severe war wounds (he had been shot in the hips, in 1862 and then again in 1864). He never should have been on the patrol to Garrett’s farm, but there is some evidence that he knew the area when he rode with the First District of Columbia Cavalry.

By and large, the documentary gets 90 percent of the story right, which for television is saying something. Also appearing in the show (and much better known, I might say) are Michael Kauffman, author of American Brutus , Thomas Reed Turner, Thomas Goodrich, Terry Alford and my good friend Steve Miller. If you watch, look for a young man who is at the ropes of a wagon, hauling the actors who played Booth and Herold. His name is Justin and he was my driver while I was in Washington, D.C., being interviewed. This young man is going to be the next Spielberg someday!

Comments

One response to “Hunt for Lincoln’s Assassin”

  1. Richard Avatar

    As a distant relative of Everton’s and avid history buff [WWII & general military and world] it’s interesting to read the many web site comments on him and his service & actions; It’s also surprising to see how many folks don’t seem to know the 1 st Dist. of Columbia Cavalry formed at Lincoln request to the elder Laf. Baker who called on Everton who he knew from previous military service to be his deputy is the direct precurser to the US Secret Service. The unit was very limited in it’s area of concern, and was unique in being armed with Henry repeating rifles. The only Union outfit so armed, I believe. Family oral tales say he, not Corbet, shot Booth and my readings of testamony by the Bakers, Everton, and others @ Garrets farm don’t rule out that possibility. None of them conflict with this ‘tale’. Corbet’s spending the rest of his life in an insane asylm is puzzling to me also. There’s no way Everton could have done all the riding on horseback that he is known to have done if he was incapacitated and in fact the books tell of his having to ride when others chose to walk [so his discomfort was apparently aggravated by lengthy walking. ] I’d be interested in hearing about his 1883 Mont. suspension. I’ve been thinking of visiting his grave NW of Yellowstone Park next summer. I live in Cody, Wyo. not very far away. A paper back book, pub. 1977 aludes to a series of conspiracies related to the shooting and who was shot[this detracts from some other plausable ideas of what went on]. The missing Booth diary pages that Stanton took are also a huge mystery and strong efforts should be made to get the family to publish those pages! There were serious disputes and detailed reviews and justifications of how and to whom the revised reward money amounts were to go to and the apparent greed of the Sr. Baker seems evident in his own book the USSS in the late war as his shares were reduced and Everton’s share increased over all the others at the farm and at the DC office. Good luck with your book on Conger and let me know when it’s out, I’d like to add it to my small library of all things Conger!

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