White Hose

[Nighthawk]

There was never any serious doubt in the academic world that Troy had once existed; Schliemann was one of several 19th century archeologists searching for the "lost city" of Troy but, unlike his contemporaries, he was successful. Better examples of "quasi-crypto-histories" would include the books Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Scotland's Forgotten Monarchy, both of which have spawned industries that have taken in the gullible. As far as television is concerned I'd suggest that any program putting forth as fact tales of the Knights Templar sailing to the New World, or John Wilkes Booth having eluded capture and escaping to India definitely fit the "quasi-crypto-history" template.
It's all well and good to say that, but the problem with "quasi-crypto-history" is that people tend to accept it at face value-- ancient astronauts had to have carved those huge designs on the plains high in the Andes, and von Daneken proved it in his book "Chariots of the Gods"-- and to them it becomes "the truth". Crackpot theories abound in virtually every sphere of human endeavor and while they may be accepted as gospel by the tin-foil hat brigade, they send a shudder down the spine of real historians and those people who are truly knowledgeable.

"To know that the tomato is a fruit is knowledge. Not putting it in a fruit salad is wisdom."

"Quasi-crypto-history" is a tomato in a fruit salad, and the worst kind of "illusion of knowledge".

The one problem with this is that there is evidence to support a lot of these claims- the ancient aliens theory, the Boothe theory... I don't take it at face value by any means, but there's enough there to cast some reasonable doubt...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The one problem with this is that there is evidence to support a lot of these claims- the ancient aliens theory, the Boothe theory... I don't take it at face value by any means, but there's enough there to cast some reasonable doubt...

Hmm. Reasonable doubt. Okay, here's the "reasonable doubt" on Booth having escaped to India:

1) Booth is shot in the neck in the early hours of April 26, 1865, by Sgt. Boston Corbet.
2) Mortally wounded, and paralyzed from the neck down, Booth is carried to the porch of the Garret family home, approximately 35 yards away.
3) Three hours later, just as dawn is breaking, Booth dies.
4) Booth is identified at the scene by Lt. Col. Everton Conger, who has seen Booth before, and has been actively distributing photos of Booth to the press and to Pinkerton's agents, as well as to others. So Conger knows what Booth looks like.
5) Booth's body is taken aboard the USS Montauk, where it is again identified by more than ten independent witnesses who knew Booth when he was alive.
6) Booth's body is also identified by a tattoo on its left hand (the initials JWB) and by a distinctive scar on the back of its neck.
7) At the autopsy of Booth three vertebrae were removed from the body and preserved (currently on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington DC).
7) The Rev. Richard Garrett was an 11 year old boy the night Booth died at his family's home. He had spent nearly two days in Booth's presence, and had seen the corpse before it was loaded into a wagon and removed from the Garrett family farm.
8) In 1921 he published a full account of Booth's death, and stated with an absolute certainty that it was Booth who had been killed by Sgt. Corbet's shot.
9) On February 18, 1869, the embalmed body of Booth was released from Government custody and buried in the family plot at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Md. Prior to burial the casket was opened and the remains identified by Booth's mother, his brother, and a sister. They were also identified by the Mayor of Baltimore, who had known Booth as a young man.

No one questioned the death of Booth as he was positively identified within minutes of his capture, and repeatedly identified in the days (and indeed, in the years) following his death.

In 1907 Finis Bates wrote a wholly fantastical novel entitled "The Escape and Suicide of John Wilks Booth", in which he claimed Booth went to Texas, married, and eventually took his own life. This book provided the idea for the book and the film "The Lincoln Conspiracy" both simultaneously released in 1977 by Schick-Sun Classics.

In 1977 I was 30 years old and worked briefly for Schick-Sun Classics, and I can state that aside from the facts that (1) the South lost the war & (2) Booth shot Lincoln, everything else in the film was made up by Chuck Sellier (the producer) and the the writers.

In December of 2010 descendants of the Booth family applied to have the vertebrae of John Wilks Booth in the National Museum of Health and Medicine DNA tested to conclusively prove that Booth was dead.

Not that anyone familiar with the events of April 29, 1865 ever doubted for a moment that Booth died that night.

As for the "ancient aliens"... Well-- if a Greek, sitting on the beach, with nothing more than a stick and a piece of string could accurately work out the circumference of the Earth more than 2000 years ago, I don't think we need Mr. Danaken's "quasi-crypto-history" to explain away the ingenuity of early man.

Oh, and the reason Boston Corbet shot John Wilks Booth? Six weeks prior Booth had appeared in Baltimore, playing the lead role in "MacBeth", wearing white socks and a kilt. Outraged at Booth's playing fast and loose with history, Corbet was moved to make the thespian pay at the first opportunity. And pay dearly, he did.

[Brian K]

Oh, and the reason Boston Corbet shot John Wilks Booth? Six weeks prior Booth had appeared in Baltimore, playing the lead role in "MacBeth", wearing white socks and a kilt. Outraged at Booth's playing fast and loose with history, Corbet was moved to make the thespian pay at the first opportunity. And pay dearly, he did.

LOL - clever segue back to the topic. I doff me bonnet to ye, sir.

[MacMillans son]

Oh, and the reason Boston Corbet shot John Wilks Booth? Six weeks prior Booth had appeared in Baltimore, playing the lead role in "MacBeth", wearing white socks and a kilt. Outraged at Booth's playing fast and loose with history, Corbet was moved to make the thespian pay at the first opportunity. And pay dearly, he did.

Oh how I do enjoy your posts Mr. MacMillan!!