America’s National Parks Podcast
Society & Culture:Places & Travel
On a Sunday in November of 1864, John Wilkes Booth first made the acquaintance of Dr. Samuel Mudd. The men discussed a horse sale, and Booth was invited to spend the night at Mudd's home. On December 23, the two men met again, by accident, on a street in Washington, DC.
Four months later, John Wilkes Booth shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln. He broke his left leg in the process, leaping to the stage at Ford's Theater. He and his getaway man David Harold knocked on the door of Dr. Mudd at four in the morning for assistance. Mudd set, splinted, and bandaged the broken leg. The two stayed with Mudd for about 12 hours, as the doctor's handyman made a pair of crutches.
Within days Dr. Mudd was arrested and charged with conspiracy and with harboring Booth and Harold during their escape. Though he had met Booth on at least two prior occasions, Mudd told authorities he did not recognize his patient. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, one vote shy of the death penalty.
Mudd was imprisoned in Fort Jefferson, in what is today Dry Tortugas National Park, an isolated Gulf of Mexico island fort. He attempted escape but failed before an epidemic of yellow fever broke out on the island. The fort's physician died, and Mudd took over the care sick. Due to his efforts, he received a full pardon from President Andrew Johnson and was released from prison a hero.
In 1936, a film was made loosely based on Mudd's story called THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND, and then 2 years later it was adapted into a radio drama, starring Gary Cooper as part of the Lux Radio Theater. On today's episode of America's National Parks, we're playing for you that program, which we've remastered and edited lightly.
National Park News | Park Reservations in ’24, a Daring Whale Rescue, and More
The Vehicles of Yellowstone
Dinosaurs in Situ
Discovering The Bighorn
Changes to Park Passes, Grizzly Attack, Fossil Find, & More | National Park News
All Lincoln All the Time
Hopewell — America’s Newest World Heritage Site
Death Valley Closed for Weeks, Crack in Yosemite, Hiker Found by Webcam, and More | National Park News
Consumption in Mammoth Cave
Riding the Rails to Nature’s Wonders: National Parks by Train
The Secret Spy History of Camp David | Catoctin Mountain Park
2 New NPS Units, Lost in Death Valley, Plane Crash in Denali
Secret Cities
The Importance of...the Butt
The Kennedys and the Promise of a Better Future for Those Living With Disabilities
Yosemite Traffic Nightmare, Slew of Deaths in National Parks
Women Trailblazers of the National Park Service: Stories of Courage and Conservation
Two for the Price of One
National Park News: Pot Farms Keep Cropping Up In Death Valley National Park
Yellowstone After the Floods
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