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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, a simple country doctor wrongly imprisoned for treating Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth? Or is he a confederate agent conspiring with Booth to shoot the President and aid in the assassin’s escape? Some consider Mudd an innocent man caught up in unfair circumstances, but his involvement in the assassination remains a point of controversy. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| April 26, 1865 | Mudd is arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder President Abraham Lincoln. |
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| June 29, 1865 | Mudd sentenced to life in prison, sent to the Fort Jefferson military prison. |
| July 24, 1865 | Mudd and three co-conspirators arrive at Fort Jefferson with three of the other convicted co-conspirators. |
| September 25, 1865 | Mudd attempts to escape on a supply ship. |
| August 18, 1867 - November 14, 1867 |
Mudd is lauded for treating fellow prisoners in yellow fever outbreak. |
| February 8, 1869 | After Presidential pardon, Mudd returns to Maryland medical practice. |
| 1877 | Mudd runs as a democratic candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates. |
| January 10, 1883 | Mudd dies of pneumonia at the age of 49. |
