Harford County Featured In Monday's Episode Of Jeopardy: Do You Know The Answer?

HARFORD COUNTY - Last night's game of jeopardy featured a question about Harford County history. Do you know the answer?

"An 1869 presidential pardon was granted to this man, due in part to a plea by the Medical Society of Harford County, Maryland."

The question was posed to three college students during Monday's episode of Jeoprady's "2023 High School Reunion Tournament." Despite being returning contestants, none of the three students answered the question correctly.

The answer is:

Who is Dr. Samuel Mudd?

Credit: Dr. Samuel A Mudd House Museum

Dr. Samuel Mudd was a 31-year-old doctor with four children at the time of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. When Lincoln was killed on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, broke his leg while fleeing fords theatre and required medical attention.

Booth arrived at Dr. Mudd's home on April 15, where the doctor splinted his leg and allowed the assassin to rest for several hours in an upstairs bedroom.

Booth was found on April 26, two weeks after the assassination, in a farm shed near Bowling Green. Union cavalry set fire to the shed, and Booth was shot while trying to escape.

Mudd was arrested for failing to alert authorities about Booth's presence. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment at the Dry Tortugas prison in Florida.

In 1867, an outbreak of yellow fever occurred at Mudd's prison. The prison doctor died during the outbreak, and Mudd was named the new doctor. He instituted strict hygiene protocols, which were able to stem the spread of infection and save the lives of hundreds of prisoners. Many of his fellow prisoners felt that his efforts during the outbreak were worthy of government clemency.

For his efforts, Mudd was granted a presidential pardon from Andrew Johnson in February 1869.