The Lincoln Conspiracy

Today in the Lincoln Conspiracy:  June 13

Most of what we know about conspirator Lewis Powell comes to us from testimony at the Lincoln assassination conspiracy trial.  The defense argued that he was insane and presented the testimony of two doctors to support the claim.

Lewis Powell at the Washington Navy Yard, 1865

On June 13, 1865, Dr. James C. Hall examined Powell in a small room off the main courtroom.  Later that day, he presented his findings to the military tribunal.  He testified that Powell was a man in a vigorous state of good health (except for a bout of constipation).  He also noted that the man's head was markedly asymmetrical, with the left side "much more developed than the right."  Hall asked Powell a series of questions, aimed at drawing him out and evaluating his mental faculties.

Hall testified that Powell had a sluggish memory and that he was slow to respond to simple questions.  The doctor told the court, "His mind is naturally dull and feeble, and, I presume, has not been cultivated by education."  Hall also asked Powell if a crime -- like the one with which he was charged -- could ever be justified morally.  Powell's response: "...in war a person was entitled to take life."  The doctor concluded, based on that answer, that there were reasonable grounds for a suspicion of insanity.  Under cross-examination, Hall admitted he was not prepared to declare Powell was, in fact, insane.  He protested that such a conclusion could only be based upon numerous examinations of the subject.  He said his single examination was, by necessity, too cursory to reach such a judgment.

The examination was cursory indeed.  During the course of his interview, Hall asked Powell for his mother's maiden name.  Powell said he couldn't remember.  Apparently, the doctor never asked the prisoner for his own name.  Throughout his testimony, Hall referred to him as "Payne", the alias Powell had adopted in order to enter war-time Washington.