Louis J. Weichmann (September 29, 1842 – June 5, 1902) was one of the chief witnesses for the prosecution in the conspiracy trial of the Abraham Lincoln assassination. Previously he was also a suspect. September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... killing and death of Abraham Lincoln From left to right: Major Henry Rathbone, Clara Harris, Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, and John Wilkes Booth. ...

Background and Early Life

Weichmann was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of German immigrants. The family surname was originally Wiechmann, but as in the case of many immigrants in the United States, the name underwent several phonetic spelling changes. His father Johann, was a Lutheran, and his mother Maria was a Catholic. Johann Weichmann was a tailor by trade, and he moved with his wife and their five children, first from the vicinity of Baltimore to Washington D.C. and later to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Louis attended the city's Central High School. He wrote in his autobiographical work, " A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865," that he desired to pursue a career as a pharmacist, but at the behest of his mother, he reluctantly agreed to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood. At the age of seventeen he entered the seminary at St. Charles College in Maryland. There he met and befriended a fellow seminarian, John Surratt. This friendship was to later have profound consequences for both of them. Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town[1][2], B-more Motto: The Greatest City in America,[3] Get in on it. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... The mortar and pestle is an international symbol of pharmacists and pharmacies. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... St. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,417 sq mi (32,160 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37°53N to 39°43N  - Longitude 75°4W to 79°33... John Surratt, in Zouave uniform John Surratt (April 13, 1844 - April 21, 1916), son of Mary Surratt, was accused of plotting to kidnap U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. ...

In 1862, a year after the outbreak of the American Civil War, both Louis Weichmann and John Surratt left the seminary without either of them becoming priests. Weichmann went to Washington, D.C., where he taught school for two years, at St. Matthew's Institute for Boys. After leaving this position, in 1864, he became a clerk in the Department of War, then under Secretary Edwin Stanton. Surratt had in the meantime become a courier and agent for the Confederacy. As a result of his earlier friendship with John Surratt, Weichmann took lodgings in the boarding house of Surratt's mother, Mary Surratt, in Washington D.C. This happenstance brought him into contact with the major conspirators involved in Abraham Lincoln's assassination. According to his subsequent testimony at the trial of the conspirators, Weichmann stated that John Wilkes Booth, David Herold, Lewis Payne, George Atzerodt, John Surratt and others continually met at Mary Surratt's boarding house. Weichmann further testified that on the day Abraham Lincoln was shot, April 14, 1865, he accompanied Mary Surratt to her other property in Surrattsville, (now Clinton, Maryland), where she delivered items that Booth later retrieved after the assassination. He further testified that Mary Surratt met with John Wilkes Booth no less than three times on that fateful day. Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated Booth's broken leg on the night Lincoln was killed, and claimed to have no knowledge of the conspiracy, was linked by Weichmann's testimony to the events for which he was tried and found guilty as well. 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is becoming very long. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Line drawing of the Department of Wars seal. ... Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814 - December 24, 1869), born in Steubenville, Ohio, was an American political figure, prominent in the American Civil War and in the Reconstruction era. ... A courier is a person or company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... Mary Surratt Mary Elizabeth Eugenia Jenkins Surratt (May/June 1823 in Waterloo, Maryland, USA – July 7, 1865 in Washington, D.C), was a member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy and the first woman executed by the United States federal government, for her role in the conspiracy. ... killing and death of Abraham Lincoln From left to right: Major Henry Rathbone, Clara Harris, Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, and John Wilkes Booth. ... John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor from Maryland, famous for his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. ... David Herold, Washington Navy Yard, 1865 Execution of the four persons condemned as conspirators (Mary E. Surratt, Lewis T. Powell, David E. Herold, and George A. Atzerodt), July 7, 1865, at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. David Edgar Herold (16 June 1842 – 7 July 1865) conspired with John Wilkes... Lewis Payne Lewis Payne (born April 22, 1844 in Randolph County, Alabama - executed July 7, 1865 in Washington D.C), alias Lewis Powell (April 22, 1844-July 7, 1865), was an associate of Abraham Lincolns assassin, John Wilkes Booth, who made an attempt on Secretary of State William Seward... George Atzerodt George Andreas Atzerodt (June 12, 1835 – July 7, 1865)[1][2] was a U.S. conspirator with John Wilkes Booth. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Clinton is a census-designated place located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. ... Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd (December 20, 1833 – January 10, 1883) was a Maryland doctor implicated and imprisoned for aiding John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. ...

Later Life

In his later years Weichmann moved to Anderson, Indiana where he opened a business school. One of his brothers, a Catholic priest, and two of his sisters lived there. Because of some lingering doubt as to the truth and motives of his testimony, Weichmann became a controversial and somewhat ostracized figure by many people. The fact that Mary Surratt was the first woman tried and executed for a capital crime, by the federal government, caused a backlash against him. There were strong anti-Catholic elements that attempted to link Lincoln's death to a Catholic conspiracy. Partially because of this, he swore out an affidavit, shortly before his death, reaffirming that all of his testimony concerning Abraham Lincoln's assassination was totally and completely true. He died a few days later in Anderson, and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery there. Anderson is a city in Madison County, Indiana, United States. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      The government of the United States of America, established by the U.S. Constitution, is... Anti-Catholicism is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at Catholics or the Catholic Church, which can range in expression from individual hatred to institutionalized, violent persecution. ...

Bibliography

• Weichmann, Louis J. A True History of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of the Conspiracy of 1865 (1975)