The Assassin's Doctor

What did Dr. Samuel A. Mudd really know? At 4:00 a.m. on April 15, 1865, only hours after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth knocked on the door of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd's farmhouse in Southern Maryland. Booth's left leg had been broken during his escape from Ford's Theatre, and he desperately needed medical attention. Dr. Mudd had met Booth before. He treated the broken leg, allowed Booth and his companion, David Herold, to rest, and then watched them continue their flight. When federal investigators arrived at his farm a few days later, Dr. Mudd denied knowing the identity of the injured stranger. That decision transformed a respected country physician into one of the most controversial figures in American history. Was Samuel Mudd simply a country physician caught in extraordinary circumstances? Or did he know more about John Wilkes Booth's plans than he ever admitted? For more than 160 years, historians have debated Dr. Mudd's role in one of the most consequential crimes in American history. The Assassin's Doctor: A Biography of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd presents a comprehensive account of Dr. Mudd's life, the world in which he lived, and the events that forever linked his name to the Lincoln assassination. Based on original archival research conducted at the U.S. National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Maryland State Archives, the Maryland Center for History and Culture, Fort Jefferson—the prison where Dr. Mudd served his sentence—and other research institutions, this biography draws upon military records, trial testimony, personal correspondence, contemporary newspapers, government documents, pension records, and other primary sources. Rather than focusing solely on the assassination, the book places Dr. Mudd within the larger world in which he lived. It explores life in antebellum Southern Maryland, slavery in Charles County, the Mudd family's plantation, nineteenth-century medicine, religion, politics, and the Civil War before following Mudd through his encounters with Booth, arrest, military trial, conviction, imprisonment at Fort Jefferson, attempted escape, courageous service during the devastating yellow fever epidemic, presidential pardon, and the final years of his life. More than a biography, The Assassin's Doctor is also a valuable historical reference. It includes an extensive appendix of original historical documents, featuring trial testimony, official military correspondence, contemporary newspaper accounts, personal letters, government reports, and other primary sources that allow readers to examine the evidence for themselves. Carefully separating documented fact from generations of myth and speculation, Robert K. Summers presents a balanced, thoroughly documented examination of one of the most controversial figures in American history. Rather than telling readers what to believe, he lays out the historical evidence with clarity and fairness, allowing them to draw their own conclusions about Dr. Samuel A. Mudd's knowledge, actions, and legacy. Whether you are a student of the Lincoln assassination, the Civil War, nineteenth-century America, or simply enjoy well-researched history, The Assassin's Doctor offers an engaging narrative supported by meticulous scholarship. It is both the compelling story of a physician whose brief encounter with John Wilkes Booth altered the course of his life and an authoritative contribution to one of the most enduring debates in American history.