Today in  the Lincoln Conspiracy:  June 30

After hearing testimony from more than 350 witnesses during a seven-week trial, the nine members of the Lincoln assassination conspiracy tribunal issued their verdicts on June 30, 1865.  All eight of the defendants were convicted and four -- Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt -- were sentenced to hang.  Another conspirator, Dr. Samuel Mudd, escaped execution by one vote.  He, Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlen were sentenced to life in prison.  "Ned" Spangler was sentenced to six years.

Today in the Lincoln Conspiracy:  June 12

Ford's Theatre

The assassination of the president was a profound shock to the nation.  It was an even more profound shock to the employees of Ford's Theatre.  Several of them actually lived at the theater.  After the assassination, the building was under the control of the U.S. Army.  Employees were required to get passes from the military to stay in their own rooms.

On June 12, 1865, Ford's employee Louis J. Carland appeared before Lincoln conspiracy tribunal.  He testified that, on the night of the assassination, he went in search of Ned Spangler, the theater employee charged as a conspirator.  Carland went to the room of another theater hand, Jacob Ritterspaugh, to ask where Spangler had gotten off to.  Ritterspaugh was quite shaken, according to Carland.  The man said he had been backstage when President Lincoln was shot.  He had seen John Wilkes Booth dash across the stage and out the back door.  Ritterspaugh said he pointed out the fleeing figure to Spangler and said that it was Booth. 

According to Carland, Spangler slapped Ritterspaugh across the mouth.  Then he thundered, “You don’t know who it is; it may be Mr. Booth, or it may be somebody else.”