Dr Samuel A Mudd at Fort Jefferson Author:Robert Summers Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was one of eight persons convicted of conspiracy in the President Abraham Lincoln assassination trial of 1865. Most books on the Lincoln assassination end with the story of the conspiracy trial, the execution of four defendants, and the sentencing of the other four defendants, including Dr. Mudd, to prison. This book conti... more »nues the story of Dr. Mudd by describing his almost four year incarceration at the remote Fort Jefferson military prison, located on a tiny desert island in the Gulf of Mexico about 70 miles west of Florida. The information in this book is also contained in the author's much larger book on the complete life of Dr. Mudd, entitled The Fall and Redemption of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, also available on Amazon. Shortly after arriving at the prison, Dr. Mudd tried to escape by hiding on a visiting supply ship. Discovered, he spent the next three months in the fort's dungeon. Release from the dungeon brought the daily hardship of strict military discipline, bad food, mosquito infestation, boiling sun, disease, hurricanes, and loneliness. After almost four years, Dr. Mudd was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, in large part because of his heroic work during a 1867 yellow fever epidemic at Fort Jefferson. Many soldiers survived the epidemic only because of Dr. Mudd's tireless work. Towards the end of the epidemic, Dr. Mudd himself contracted yellow fever and almost died. After his pardon in 1869, Dr. Mudd's life returned somewhat to normal. He rebuilt his medical practice, brought his farm back to prosperity, and had five more children for a total of nine. He died at home with his family around him in 1883.« less