My pick is the First Assassin. This is of interest to me since I lived in Clinton, Md from the time I was thirteen until after I graduated from Surrattsville High School in 1958. Clinton was originally named Surrattsville, but after Mary Surratt was found to be involved in the assassination of President Lincoln, the name was changed to Robeysville and then in 1879 was renamed Clinton.
When I was about 13 I lived, with my parents, for a short time with an older gentleman who rented part of his house, whose doctor had been Doctor Samuel Mudd, the physician who was convicted and imprisoned for aiding and conspiring with John Wilkes Booth.
The original town founded in the 1770s was named Surratt's Villa and was a crossroads with just a couple of buildings. The main building served as the Post Office and an inn and was the residence of Mary Surratt who was a widow.
On 14 and 15 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth stopped by the Surrattsville tavern to pick up weapons and supplies. The U.S. Government alleged that Mrs. Surratt had gone there earlier with these supplies, and was in collusion with the conspirators, one of whom was her son, John Surratt. Because she was found guilty of complicity in the Lincoln assassination, Mary Surratt was hanged at the Capitol Prison in Washington D.C., on 7 July 1865. The local high school, however, retained the name of Surrattsville. where I graduated.
If I am fortunate enough to win, I would like a black cover.
Don Wood
