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His Name was Mudd Trivia Quiz

Dr. Samuel Mudd was found guilty as a conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Here are ten questions about the life of Dr. Mudd.

A multiple-choice quiz by ditsyquoin. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
ditsyquoin

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
351,580

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
558

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Dr. Mudd spent almost all of his life in a slave state that remained in the Union during the Civil War. What was the name of that state? Hint

Maryland

Virginia

Kentucky

Delaware

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Question 2 of 10

2. Dr. Mudd was the father of nine children. What church did he and his family regularly attend? Hint

All Saints Episcopal Church

Ark and Dove Prebyterian Church

John Wesley AME Church

St. Mary's Catholic Church

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Question 3 of 10

3. After John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln on April 14, 1865 he fled towards Virginia. Why did he and his accomplice, David Harold, stop at the Mudd farm at 4 A.M.? Hint

They needed fresh horses and Mudd was known for raising fine thoroughbreds.

Harold was cold and hungry and saw a lit candle in the window.

They thought they were in Virginia and would be safe there.

Booth had broken his left leg and needed medical attention.

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Question 4 of 10

4. When did Mudd report Booth's visit to the military authorities? Hint

After Mass on Easter Sunday, he asked his cousin to relay a message to the authorities but he did not say it was a matter of great importance.

Military detectives tracked Booth to the Mudd farm on Saturday, April 15th and arrested both Dr. and Mrs. Mudd.

As soon as Booth and Harold left the farm, he rode to Bryantown and spoke with the commander of the 13th New York Cavalry.

He never reported the visit as he was afraid that Booth would return and kill his family.

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Question 5 of 10

5. Dr. Mudd and seven others were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder President Abraham Lincoln. What was the outcome of the trial? Hint

All eight were found guilty and were sentenced to death by hanging.

John Surratt and his mother, Mary Surratt, were sentenced to death. The others were given life sentences.

Mudd and Edmund Spangler were set free. The others were executed or sentenced to life imprisonment.

All eight were found guilty. Four were hanged. Three, including Mudd, were sentenced to life in prison and one was given six years.

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Question 6 of 10

6. What evidence at the trial was the most incriminating against Dr. Mudd? Hint

The testimony of Louis Weichmann, that he, John Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, and Dr. Mudd met on December 23rd in Washington. Dr. Mudd had denied meeting Booth except in Bryanstown so it appeared Mudd had something to hide.

The testimony of Mrs. Mudd that her husband had told her to hide the "shooting irons" inside the attic wall on the morning of April 14, 1865.

The boot with the name J Wilkes inscribed in it that was found in Dr. Mudd's home.

The testimony of Elzee Eglent, a slave, that Dr. Mudd once shot him in the leg and threatened to send him to Richmond.

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Question 7 of 10

7. Two months after Dr. Mudd arrived at the Florida prison, Fort Jefferson, he tried to escape. Why was he so desperate? Hint

He received an anonymous message that John Surratt had set up a safe haven in Havana for the prisoners.

Control of the prison was being transferred to the United States Colored Infantry. As a recent slave owner, he feared that he would be treated harshly.

He felt he was a prisoner of war and it is every prisoner of war's duty to try to escape.

The prison was infested with mosquitoes and he feared that he would contract yellow fever.

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Question 8 of 10

8. After the prison doctor contracted yellow fever and died, Dr. Mudd took over attending the sick. What was the consequence of this act? Hint

There were no consequences. Dr. Mudd served out his life sentence.

Dr. Mudd was pardoned by President Johnson in 1869 and sent home.

Dr. Mudd escaped in a coffin and lived the rest of his life under an assumed name.

Dr. Mudd also contracted yellow fever and died at the prison in 1867.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Dr. Mudd returned to his farm in southern Maryland in 1869. Which of the following statements in NOT true about his final years? Hint

He ran for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic and Conservative ticket.

He and his wife had five more children.

He resumed medicine and farming.

He took in fellow prisoner, Edmund Spangler, and provided for him until Spangler died in 1875.

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Question 10 of 10

10. One of the true conspirators eluded capture until 1867. Unlike his mother Mary, he was tried in a civil court rather than before a military tribunal. He was set free as a result of a hung jury. What was his name? Hint

George Seurat

John Surratt

John Cassatt

Jefferson Davis

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Dr. Mudd spent almost all of his life in a slave state that remained in the Union during the Civil War. What was the name of that state?

Answer: Maryland

Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri were all slave states that did not secede. Except for his time in prison, Dr. Mudd lived his entire life in Southern Maryland.

2. Dr. Mudd was the father of nine children. What church did he and his family regularly attend?

Answer: St. Mary's Catholic Church

Dr. Mudd and wife, Sarah Dyer Mudd, were devout Roman Catholics who usually attended St. Mary's in Bryantown Md. On the fateful Easter Sunday of 1865, Dr. Mudd attended the much smaller and remote St. Peter's Catholic Church.

3. After John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln on April 14, 1865 he fled towards Virginia. Why did he and his accomplice, David Harold, stop at the Mudd farm at 4 A.M.?

Answer: Booth had broken his left leg and needed medical attention.

In November of 1864, Booth visited the Mudd farm under the pretense of looking for land and horses to purchase. Days before Christmas of 1864, they met again in Washington and had drinks. Historians disagree as to whether this was a chance meeting or if Booth was trying to recruit Mudd to his plot.

4. When did Mudd report Booth's visit to the military authorities?

Answer: After Mass on Easter Sunday, he asked his cousin to relay a message to the authorities but he did not say it was a matter of great importance.

Mudd claimed to have not recognized Booth on the night that he set his leg, but he did consider the men suspicious. He did not learn of the assassination until the afternoon of April 15th. Because it was Holy Saturday, his wife urged him to stay home with the family until it was time to go to Mass on Easter Sunday.

She argued that a man with a broken leg could not get very far and would soon be captured.

5. Dr. Mudd and seven others were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder President Abraham Lincoln. What was the outcome of the trial?

Answer: All eight were found guilty. Four were hanged. Three, including Mudd, were sentenced to life in prison and one was given six years.

Booth had been killed on April 26th. John Surratt was still at large.

Those that weren't executed were to be imprisoned at the penitentiary in Albany, New York. President Johnson changed the location to the military prison in the Dry Tortugas islands of Florida.

6. What evidence at the trial was the most incriminating against Dr. Mudd?

Answer: The testimony of Louis Weichmann, that he, John Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, and Dr. Mudd met on December 23rd in Washington. Dr. Mudd had denied meeting Booth except in Bryanstown so it appeared Mudd had something to hide.

Dr. Mudd never denied setting Booth's leg. Although several slaves gave witness, their testimony was found to be largely irrelevant by the court. Mrs. Mudd did not testify and guns that were hidden in the wall were found at the Surratt house.

7. Two months after Dr. Mudd arrived at the Florida prison, Fort Jefferson, he tried to escape. Why was he so desperate?

Answer: Control of the prison was being transferred to the United States Colored Infantry. As a recent slave owner, he feared that he would be treated harshly.

In 1867 an epidemic of yellow fever occurred and more than half of the soldiers and prisoners became ill. The link between mosquitoes and yellow fever was not made until the 1890's, after Dr. Mudd had died.

8. After the prison doctor contracted yellow fever and died, Dr. Mudd took over attending the sick. What was the consequence of this act?

Answer: Dr. Mudd was pardoned by President Johnson in 1869 and sent home.

Before he left office in 1869, President Johnson gave over 13,000 pardons, including one to Jefferson Davis. Co-conspiritors Arnold and Spangler were pardoned shortly after Dr. Mudd. O'Laughlin had died in prison of yellow fever.

9. Dr. Mudd returned to his farm in southern Maryland in 1869. Which of the following statements in NOT true about his final years?

Answer: He ran for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic and Conservative ticket.

Dr. Mudd died in 1883 at the age of forty-nine. He left behind his wife Sarah and seven children. As he lay dying, his wife is reported to have said, "How can you leave me with a house full of children?"

Answer: John Surratt

After gaining his freedom, John Surratt tried to earn a living giving public lectures on the assassination plot but eventually public outrage forced him to cancel the tour.

Source: Author ditsyquoin

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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