Catholics And Mrs Mary Surratt

I: Background On Mary Suratt

Maryland’s Catholics And The Funeral Of Abraham Lincoln

Who Was Mary Surratt And How Catholic Was She?

The Particulars Of Her Trial

Mrs. Suratt, One Hundred Forty-two Years Later

II: Responses Of Catholics To Mrs. Surratt

Introduction: Secular And Non-Catholic Reactions To The Execution Of Mrs. Surratt

The Civil War Era Catholic Press On The Trial And Execution Of Mary Surratt

Pope Pius IX And The Fate Of The Lincoln Conspirators

Was John P. Brophy Really Amator Justitiae? Another Possibility Explored

Ripples And Concluding Remarks

Appendices

Selected Bibliography By Topics

Index

About The Author

Additional Info
Professor Kenneth J. Zanca analyzes the responses of mid-nineteenth century Catholics in America to Mrs. Mary Surratt’s trial and execution for her part in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. These reactions are placed within various contexts: the Catholic Church during America’s Civil War; the wider secular and Protestant culture of the Victorian era; the post-assassination climate of 1865; and Vatican politics. Previous studies of Mrs. Surratt have explored the issues of her guilt or innocence. This work takes a line of inquiry not yet explored by historians, Catholic or otherwise, in that it investigates reactions to her execution through the eyes of contemporary Catholic and Protestant witnesses and commentators.