Here’s Some Mud In Your Eye
Have you ever been drug through the mud? How about being called a stick in the mud? Sounds clear as mud, right? Well, here’s some mud in your eye if you have or have not heard some of these references.
Surely you made mud pies as a kid. The recipe is easy and only needs two ingredients, dirt and water. Mississippi mud pie is a delectable treat down south. People live in mud huts, mud wrestle, and have mud turtles as pets. Women have mud facials, and the American coot is nicknamed the mud hen. People take mud baths and have mud rooms in their houses.
Seems we’re obsessed with mud. Sure, doesn’t sound like a bad thing, eh? Unless, of course you say, “His name is mud.” Those are fighting words!
Ford’s Theatre
The Civil War was over, leaving President Abraham Lincoln exhausted and in need of some relaxation. He went to Ford’s theater to watch the play, “Our American Cousin.” Actor John Wilkes Booth was a regular performer at Ford’s theater and saw an opportunity to assassinate the President. Sneaking into the Presidential box, Booth shot President Lincoln in the back of the head with a .44-caliber cap and ball pistol made by Henry Derringer of Philadelphia.
A metropolitan police officer assigned security detail to the box was rumored to have gone to a nearby bar during intermission for a drink and failed to get back before the start of the show, making Booth’s attack easier.
After the attack, Booth leaped from the balcony, yelling, “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Thus always to tyrants!) The South is avenged.” Translation: “Thus always to tyrants! The South is avenged.”
Booth then stole a horse from a nearby funeral home and made his escape to southern Prince George’s County in Maryland. Having broken his ankle from the leap from the balcony at Ford’s theater, he needed medical attention.
Doctor’s Orders
The year prior, Booth met with a man named Dr. Samuel Mudd regarding the sale of a horse. A month after their initial encounter, he and Mudd shared drinks with John Surratt and Louis Weichman in a hotel room rented by Booth. They discussed the possible kidnapping or assassination of President Lincoln. Booth carried out the plan almost a year later.
At 4 a.m. on April 15, 1865, Booth and David Herold arrived at Dr. Mudd’s house. Mudd used his medical kit, set Booth’s leg and allowed the two men to rest at his home. Mudd later told investigators he did not recognize Booth, although they had met several times before. Mudd’s medical kit and Booth’s boot and spur were recovered at his residence and used as evidence in Mudd’s trial and seven other conspirators.
Guilty!
The military tribunal convicted Dr. Mudd, sentencing him to life in prison at Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas, Fla. In 1867, a breakout of yellow fever swept through the prison, killing the prison doctor, leaving Mudd to take over the position and ultimately halt the spread of disease. In 1867, President Andrew Johnson pardoned Mudd and two other conspirators — Edman Spangler and Samuel Arnold. But Mudd’s name will forever be drawn through the mud for his actions. So, whenever you hear someone being referred to as mud, you’ll know from where it originated.