The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confinement and Execution, as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ALLEN WEINSTEIN On behalf of the National Archives, I want to convey deep appreciation to Edward Steers, Jr., and Harold Holzer for their keen scholarship of Abraham Lincoln’s world. The Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft has found its way into the light, thanks to the persistence and dedication of National Archives staff members and partners. As indicated in the Preface, V. Chapman-Smith, Regional Administrator of the National Archives’ mid-Atlantic office, her archives program staff led by Leslie Simon, and colleagues at the Pennsylvania State Archives inspired this project. Tom Mills, Assistant Archivist for the Office of Regional Records Services, provided management guidance, and Jennifer Nelson, Director of Archival Programs for NARA’s regional archives, managed the project. David Haury and his team at the Pennsylvania State Archives have been exceptional colleagues and partners in this endeavor, supporting the scholars in their research and working with the National Archives’ conservation staff, notably Linda Blaser and Anne Witty, to complete needed preservation treatment of the Letterbook. Special thanks are also due to staff at the Pennsylvania State Archives: Linda A. Reis, CORE Services Section; Harry Parker, Chief of the Division of Archives and Manuscripts; Robert Weibel, former bureau chief; and Michael Sherbon, associate archivist, for generous help in making the materials available for study and reproduction. For digital expertise, thanks go to Steve Puglia of the National Archives’ Special Media Preservation Laboratory and the staff of LASON (Quang Diep, Dee Beaver, Don Tran, and John Smiraglia), whose volunteer efforts provided the high-resolution scans of the Letterbook appearing in this book and online. Appreciation also extends to the Abraham Lincoln Foundation of the Union League of Philadelphia for providing an image of the John Hartranft portrait from the League’s extraordinary art collection. We also greatly appreciate support from the Library of Congress, whose staff contributed to the visual content of this book from the library’s Civil War photograph collection. xiv acknowledgments Finally, we offer our deep thanks to MaryKatherine Callaway, Director, and her design staff at the Louisiana State University Press, publishing partners for this book. Their understanding of the relevance of this topic for current and future generations, and their expertise in multiple-channel publishing, have provided broad access to these exceptional federal records. EDWARD STEERS, JR. I wish to thank Laurie Verge, Director, and Joan Chaconas, Research Historian, at the Surratt House Museum; Betty Ownsbey, who brought the Letterbook to the attention of assassination students after years of dormancy; and Al Gambone, the biographer of John Frederick Hartranft, for their generous help in bringing this project to fruition. I want to also thank my co-author, Harold Holzer, a good friend of many years. To work with Harold can only elevate one’s own efforts, as this work demonstrates. HAROLD HOLZER I am grateful above all to my old friend V. Chapman Smith, Regional Administrator of the National Archives’ mid-Atlantic branch in Philadelphia, for inspiring this project and working so tirelessly to urge it into print. Thanks, too, to Jennifer Nelson, Director of Archival Programs, and the rest of the NARA team, for their invaluable help. I am indebted, too, to the professionals at LSU Press, especially Senior Editors Catherine L. Kadair and Rand Dotson. Chief Justice Frank Williams of the Rhode Island Supreme Court provided his usual invaluable advice on military tribunals. And my executive assistant, Kraig Smith, manned the phones, e-mails, and Xerox machine with his usual patience, efficiency, and good humor. Finally, while it is always a pleasure to work with Ed Steers, it becomes a special privilege—not to mention an education —to work on a Lincoln assassination project with the country’s leading authority on the Lincoln assassination. ...