There is a group of five or six maybe eight depends how the memory is on any given day that send e-mails about things that interest us, us being a group of retired and almost retired cops. Somebody will start a hare running and the rest will contribute as their inclination and technical expertise allows.

We had one discussion that went on for two weeks and before it was over included input from retired Green Berets from outside the group. The “Flap or Whistle” discussion was highly technical and covered topics ranging from terminal velocity, to aerodynamics. We were unable to resolve the matter, both sides held to their stated position.

Today’s Hare was started by Doug. It involved the back story, as reported in this article, about Boston Corbett

The Crazy, Unknown Story of the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth

Boston Corbett, First Transsexual Soldier, Killed John Wilkes Booth

He isolated himself on his land and shot at kids who ventured too close to his home. He once dug his own grave, telling his neighbor it was where he wanted to be buried when he died. In January 1887, a veteran’s organization offered him a job as an assistant doorkeeper at the Kansas State Legislature in Topeka. The job was short-lived, however – the following month, Corbett, brandishing a revolver, chased members of the House of Representatives out of the building. Corbett was arrested, and a judge sent him away to the Topeka Asylum for the Insane.

In May 1888, Corbett escaped from the asylum and rode on horseback to the home of a fellow Andersonville POW in Neodesha, Kansas. Corbett claimed he was headed to Mexico, left Neodesha, and was never seen or heard from again.

In 1958, a Boy Scout troop erected a plaque at the site of Boston Corbett’s dugout home near Concordia, Kansas. This is the only physical reminder of the man who killed John Wilkes Booth, and who robbed the American public of their chance to learn the details of the plot that ended the life of President Abraham Lincoln.

Yeah old Boston sounds like a hoot. Well first up is Ken. Ken is an expert on the civil war and has written several books dealing with military equipment of the era. He is familiar with the Boston Corbett story and supplies additional information, not available in the original Internet story. The other thing is that while he is a historian by inclination, it is not reflected in his prose. It could be that history isn’t boring at all, just most of the people that write it.

This story doesn’t begin to touch the tip of the iceberg. Corbett was the original poster child for “howl at the moon, shit on the floor” crazy.

He was apparently raised in a home that was governed by a strict interpretation of the Bible and likely was subjected to treatment which would today be classified as headline quality abuse. He enlisted early in the war as a rabid abolitionist, but was described in some circles as having a deep seated hatred for blacks.

At some point during the war he was exposed – one has to assume for the first time – to the prostitutes who followed the columns of soldiers on both sides. I’m guessing, but it’s a pretty safe guess based on his actions, that he had no experience with women. Upon viewing these soiled doves and feeling the “stirrings” for the first time in his life, obviously in violation of his early religious teachings, he did the only thing he knew to do to prevent sinning with those women – he cut his pecker off. Nothing fancy – just whipped it out and lopped it off. The concept of abstinence was evidently out of the question.

In today’s army – transgender surgery notwithstanding – whacking your johnson off with an ax in front of the rest of the platoon would get you a Section 8 and a discharge.  However, there was a real manpower shortage during the CW, and this sort of moon bat behavior was not all that unusual in the mid-19th Century. So, he was placed on convalescent leave in a field hospital, he defied the threat of infection and pneumonia that took many wounded soldiers, and survived to rejoin his unit. Upon return to active duty, I guess in recognition of his dedication to duty, he was promoted to sergeant (this has a familiar ring to it in so far as our mutual career experiences go).

By the time his unit had cornered Booth, Corbett was given to spouting Bible verses at inopportune times, and regularly talked to himself. You have to wonder what the other guys must have thought of him. His psychosis was completely out of control.  Although the troops had been ordered to take Booth alive, Corbett sniped Booth through a crack in the barn wall. Booth was illuminated by the fire set by the troops to drive him out. This was the last straw with his CO. I don’t know at what point Corbett was discharged from the army, but I have to assume it was shortly after they returned to DC with Booth’s body.

So, when we’re sitting around telling old war stories, preparing to describe an officer featured in the story and you are tempted to say, “he was fucking nuts”, remind yourself “not so fast………..at least he wasn’t Corbett”. Crazy is relative.

I might have a quiz in two weeks to see which version of the Corbett story you recall the Internet story or Ken’s. In the meantime, I will add my two cents to the story. In the spirit of revisionist history I offer the new title above.