Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century

Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century by Nicholas J. C. Pistor   272 pages

I distinctly remember when I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I had to do a report on Civil War-era photographer Mathew Brady. I remember cutting pictures from a “National Geographic” to illustrate it, and my cousin helping me type it. The pictures and process were so much different than how the nightly news covered the Vietnam War.

It seems that at that time, Brady was getting credit for most of the indelible pictures that we know of today from that time period. Over the years,  it seems that Brady started getting less and less credit as more research came to illuminate Alexander Gardner, once a student of Brady’s, was the real mastermind behind those stirring photographs.

In this book, author Pistor uncovers the true nature of the men’s professional abilities. I was a little taken aback to learn how Gardner posed many of the battle scenes. Given the 1860s process of developing the glass-plate negatives, it’s no wonder that the image that we see are taken after days or even weeks after the battles. It was also a disconcerting to learn that Gardner posed the bodies for the utmost affect.

Brady was known mostly as a portraitist. He photographed the celebrities of the day and made them available to the public to buy and trade (much like we think of baseball cards today). And the public loved them. Learning how bad Brady’s eyesight was made me wonder how he was able to produce any worthwhile photographs.

Gardner, on the other hand, was a robust Scot immigrant who had studied and worked with Brady. Gardner made history when he was the only photographer allowed to photograph the Lincoln assassination conspirators and the only one allowed to record their execution. Also, Gardner was the man behind the cloth of the last photograph take of President Abraham Lincoln (February 1865).

The book’s timeframe flowed well, centering on the time from 1851 to Summer 1865, with an Epilogue dating 1875. The action during each chapter was rather choppy, as author Pistor had a tendency to want to go back in time to explain something.  All in all, it was a good read.

“Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century ” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Hanging Mary

Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham   400 pages

If you aren’t an Abraham Lincoln history buff, the name Mary Surratt won’t mean anything. Mary was the boarding house owner where John Wilkes Booth met with his fellow conspirators. She is also the first woman executed by the U. S. government.

A lot is known about Mary, biographical information mainly. But the truth of her role, or non-role, in Lincoln’s assassination is mystery to this day. In this first historical fiction work about Mary, which I know of, author Susan Higginbotham weaves an interesting story about Mary, John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt,  and the others who played major roles in killing Lincoln. One of the questions that has haunted historians is what role did John Surratt, Mary’s son, play in the assassination and why did he never return to defend his mother after she was arrested?

Billed as the “The Untold Story of Lincoln’s Assassination,” Higginbotham tells the story from two viewpoints. First is Mary, then one of her boarders, Miss Nora Fitzpartick. Of course, Nora’s appearance, which I knew nothing of, sent me scouring Google to determine if she was a real character, or a plot device. She is real, although not much is known about her.

The story begins in August 1864 and ends on July 7, 1865, immediately after the hangings. There is an Epilogue for Nora that in June 1869.

I liked the back and forth of the narrative between Mary and Nora. It provides a realistic look at the time and at the players, especially the charming Mr. Booth. I didn’t get swept up in the story like I had hoped. That’s why I give Hanging Mary 4 out of 5 stars.

Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehand's at Ford's Theater

Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford’s Theater by Thomas A. Bogar    377 pages

I’ve been a student of Abraham Lincoln for many years. I enjoy reading about him and his family.

I always seem to learn something new. When I stumbled across this 2013 gem from Regency History, I knew I was onto something.

 None of the other books I had read or movies I had seen every delved into this particular aspect of the assassination. As Bogar researches this unmined area, he makes some interesting revelations.

 The book is about the forty-six actors and stagehand that were either on stage or backstage after John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Now approaching the 150^th anniversary of this event, figures from the past seem to hover back in the gaslight for another review.

The people who were in John T. Ford’s employment that night had their lives complicated, distributed, disrupted, and even destroyed. Some could never outrun Lincoln’s ghost; others, like Peanut John completely disappeared from history.

The crux of the true-life expose is how most of Ford’ employees were arrested and tried. Not many history books cover this aspect of the assassination.

 While not a page-turner, Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination: The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford’s Theater is an interesting, revelatory read. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.