Existing comment:
Edman "Ned" Spangler:
A stagehand at Ford's Theatre, Ned Spangler had known the Booth family for years. So it wasn't unusual for the actor to ask Spangler to watch his horse in the alley behind Ford's while he went inside for five minutes. Himself busy moving scenery between acts, Spangler turned the animal over to "John Peanuts" -- more properly known as John Burroughs -- a theatrical jack-of-all-trades who handed out programs and sold peanuts between acts.
For his troubles, Burroughs was severely struck in the head by Booth's bowie knife as the assassin lunged for his horse and dashed into the night. Within hours, Spangler was arrested and charged as an accomplice. In the trial that followed, he was convicted and given a jail sentence of six years -- the lightest penalty pronounced on any defendant. He was pardoned in 1869 by Andrew Johnson. |