The Conspirator: Hollywood's Take on the Mary Surratt Trial

This weekend, I watched The Conspirator again for the first time since I began working on my research for my paper. Because it is a Hollywood film, I did take everything it said with a grain of salt, but - that being said - I still managed to find some interesting details that might help me in researching and writing my essay.

Most of these were names. I discovered the names of Mary's lawyers, Frederick Aiken (her defense attorney) and Reverdy Johnson (the man in charge of her case). Johnson was actually a senator from Maryland, and, according to the film (something that I might have to look up to verify) refused to be her defense attorney because he believed that his being a "Southerner" would harm her verdict.

Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) and Sen. Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson)

Other names that I found helpful were Louis Payne, Lewis Weichmann, and John and Anna Surratt. Payne's last name was actually an alias - his real name, Powell, was unknown during the trials. His actions form one of the most damning pieces of evidence against Mary. He appeared at her home during the middle of the night, claiming to have been asked to dig a ditch for Mrs. Surratt. She claimed not to know him. Lewis Weichmann provided the main testimony against Mary at her trial, accusing her of being the mother of the plot. His book on the assassination and trial is already on my list of sources, and one that our library conveniently had a copy of. Finally, John and Anna Surratt were Mary's two children. John was definitely close to John Wilkes Booth - during the movie, Aiken calls him "Booth's right hand." Not long before the assassination, John left for Canada, leaving his mother to be snapped up by the government. His sister Anna was placed under protective custody by the government (at least, that's what it seemed like - it might have been house arrest, but the film was rather vague on this point). She gave evidence at the trial, and, from the movie's perspective, was madly infatuated with John Wilkes Booth. The research on these names should hopefully provide me with more information about what happened at the trial.

The film opened my eyes to a number of possibilities to narrow my focus even further - the deplorable conditions, for example, or the trial by military tribunal instead of civilian court. I think what this film has shown me, however, is the qualifications around Mary Surratt's guilt and innocence. While I believe she is innocent, so many others believe she is not. The testimony (at least from the film's perspective) seemed skewed in the government's favor, and the trial seemed to be a sham in order to find someone in the weeks after Lincoln's death to blame. 

I really enjoyed re-watching The Conspirator - it has definitely given me something to think about. 

Robin Wright as Mary Surratt in The Conspirator

The Conspirator is available for purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. It is also available to play and rent on Netflix and Amazon Prime as of this posting.