Mudd's Handcuffs

Handcuffs worn by convicted Lincoln assassination conspirator Dr. Samuel Mudd during transport to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas Islands, Florida. Though Mudd protested his innocence, a special military tribunal, convened after the Lincoln assassination, sentenced him to life in prison and sent him to the Dry Tortugas. In 1867 there was an outbreak of yellow fever at the prison. When the prison doctor died, Mudd took over the position, halting the spread of the disease. In 1869 President Johnson pardoned convicted conspirators Mudd, Edman Spangler and Samuel Arnold.