American Brutus

by Michael W. Kauffman

  THOS. T. ECKERT

  Assistant Secretary Charles A. Dana sent Grant another telegram moments later. “Permit me to suggest to you to keep a close watch on all persons who come near you in the cars or otherwise, also that an Engine be sent in front of the train to guard against anything being on the track.” Grant did not want to create a stir, so he kept the news to himself. In a few minutes he handed the telegrams to his wife, and with hardly a word, they left for the Philadelphia-Camden ferry. From there, they continued to Burlington that night, and arrangements were put in place for the general’s immediate return from there.25

  A LIGHT RAIN FELL in the early morning hours, but a crowd still waited on Tenth Street for word of the president’s condition. Soldiers of the V.R.C. had herded everyone out of the theater and had put the street itself under heavy guard. Dr. George Saylor, an army assistant surgeon, saw that his brother John was posted near one of the theater doors. He complained of having missed an opportunity to visit the scene of the crime. Capt. James R. Stone, standing nearby, offered a solution. Stone had been ordered to inspect the building’s interior for signs of arson, and he would be glad to have the Saylors accompany him. They went inside for an unforgettable tour. Even by the light of a camp lantern, the signs of injury and panic were plainly evident. Bloodstains, broken chairs, playbills left in a hasty exit—these things told the story better than words. On the stage, they saw the green baize carpet, torn on the spot where Booth had landed. Above them was the flag that threw off his balance on the way down. The rocking chair still sat in the president’s box. Looking around, Dr. Saylor noticed a cane lying on the floor under the sofa. He picked it up and quietly tucked it under his arm.26

  Gradually, investigators filled in the details of the night’s events. It was Alfred Cloughly who described the aftermath of the Seward attack. Cloughly told Justice A. B. Olin that he had been taking a stroll with a lady when they heard the cries of “Thief! Murder! Stop that man!” coming from nearby Lafayette Park. Rushing toward the park gate, he saw a man on horseback just outside the Seward house, frantically trying to get his horse in motion. Cloughly ran toward him, but the horse started off, and he disappeared toward H Street. It occurred to Cloughly that soldiers might still have a chance to catch the assailant, so he ran over to the White House, where a company of infantry had been camping on the south lawn. The officer of the guard said he would do what he could.27

  As Alfred Cloughly finished this interview, another front in the investigation opened a few blocks to the west. In his office at Nineteeth and I streets, Col. Timothy Ingraham was informed that Lincoln’s assassin could probably be identified through his private papers. Ingraham was provost marshal of the Defenses North of the Potomac, with jurisdiction over the area north and east of the city. A balding man with a graying beard and steel-gray eyes, he was much hardened by the war. Once a merchant and customs official, he had commanded the 38th Massachusetts Infantry before taking on his present duties. As provost marshal, his work was directed at draft evaders and such, but as a father, he carried a special grudge against practitioners of “irregular warfare.” The year before, his son was almost killed by bushwhackers who shot him far from the field of battle in Louisiana. Since then, underground warfare had become a deeply personal matter. He needed no prompting to pursue the Lincoln conspirators.28

  Lt. William H. Tyrrell was one of Ingraham’s best men. Tyrrell was on duty when General George V. Rutherford reported that Booth had been staying at the National Hotel. The word was passed along to Ingraham, who ordered Tyrrell to take some men over there to see what might have been left behind. The National was a major landmark at Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It was one of Washington’s more upscale establishments, and was known for its political clientèle, especially New Englanders. Tyrrell and his men wasted no time getting there. They questioned the desk clerk, George W. Bunker, and learned that Booth had been staying in Room 228, on the fourth floor. He had left at about seven o’clock in the evening, and Bunker had not seen him since.

  Lieutenant Tyrrell had learned to be especially careful in situations like this. Once, last June, he was making an arrest, and let his guard down for a moment. The suspect had surprised him and bolted. Tyrrell chased the man down, but in the scuffle, he had taken a bullet in the side of the neck. Already wounded five times during the war, he had nearly been finished off for good by that last shot. He had no intention of letting down his guard again.29

  Room 228 was furnished with only the bare necessities. On a small table in the center of the room were some envelopes and a few sheets of paper. On the dresser were a clothes brush, a broken comb, and a pair of slippers. Next to them, in a brown paper wrapping, was a half-pound plug of Killikinick tobacco. In the bureau drawers were a few items of clothing and half a bottle of hair oil. On the floor were a black leather valise and a pair of scuffed boots. Taken together, the room had the look, as one reporter said, of “a hasty exit.” What interested Tyrrell, though, was a large wardrobe trunk by the wall. On its lid were marked the name “J. Wilkes Booth” and the word “theatre.” Inside was a wealth of evidence: some pistol cartridges, two pairs of handcuffs, a gimlet, a large quantity of papers, and the dress coat of a full colonel in the Union army. Tyrrell bundled up the papers and took them, along with the coat and handcuffs, back to Colonel Ingraham’s office. He turned the trunk and valise over to George Bunker, who took them to the hotel’s baggage room. They would remain unopened and forgotten there for years.30

  Out at the Navy Yard, telegrapher Henry H. Atwater finally got official confirmation of the tragic news. It wasn’t even directed to him, but came in the form of a pass-through message. General Halleck wanted to put the prison camp at Point Lookout, in the far reaches of Southern Maryland, on alert. Rumors predicted an uprising there, and the camp could be reached only through Atwater’s line.

  War Department, April 15.

  To Brig. Gen. Barnes, Point Lookout, Md.

  Stop all vessels going down the river and hold all persons in them till further orders.

  An attempt has been made tonight to assassinate the President and the Secretary of State. Hold all persons leaving Washington.

  (Signed) H. W. HALLECK

  Major General Chief of Staff

  Navy Yard, Washington

  To this army order, another was appended for the navy:

  April 15, 1 10 a.m.

  To S. Nickerson, Acting Vol. Lieut.

  Send the fastest vessel you have with the following message to Comdr Parker.

  (Signed) T. H. EASTMAN

  Lieut. Comdr. Potomac Flotilla.

  Navy Yard, Washington

  April 15, 1865 1 15 a.m.

  To Comdr. [Foxhall A.] Parker:

  An attempt has this evening been made to assassinate the President and Secretary Seward. The President was shot through the head and Secretary Seward had his throat cut in his own house. Both are in a very dangerous condition. No further particulars. There is great excitement here.

  (Signed) T. H. EASTMAN

  Lieut. Comdr. U. S. Potomac Flotilla 31

  At the Petersen house, James Tanner had finished taking down testimony and was rewriting his notes in longhand. He had recorded only six brief interviews, and of those, only James Ferguson, Harry Hawk, H. B. Phillips, and Alexander Crawford had actually witnessed the shooting at Ford’s Theatre; Alfred Cloughly and General Rutherford had been elsewhere.32

  While Tanner transcribed, Secretary Stanton composed a dispatch for the newspapers. He always sent these messages through General John A. Dix in New York, who (because of better telegraph connections) could disseminate them to the nation more effectively than anyone in Washington. Operators would clean up Stanton’s copy, removing all signs of confusion that were present in the original.

  War Department

  April 15.1 30 AM

  Maj. General Dix. New York

  Last evening about 10.30 PM at Ford’s Theater the President while sitting in his private
Box with Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris and Major Rathbun was shot by an assassin who suddenly entered the box and approached behind the President. The assassin then leaped upon the Stage brandishing a large dagger or knife and made his escape in the rear of the theater. The Pistol ball entered the back of the President’s head and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal. The President has been insensible ever since it was inflicted and is now dying.

  About the same hour an assassin (whether the same or another) entered Mr. Seward’s house and under pretense of having a prescription, was shown to the Secretary’s sick chamber, the Secretary was in bed a nurse and Miss Seward with him. The assassin immediately rushed to the bed inflicted two or three stabs on the throat and two on the face. It is hoped the wounds may not be mortal my apprehension is that they will prove fatal. The noise alarmed Mr. Frederick Seward who was in an adjoining room & hastened to the door of his father’s room, where he met the assassin who inflicted upon him one or more dangerous wounds. The recovery of Frederick Seward is doubtful. It is not probable that the President will live through the night. General Grant & wife were advertised to be at the theater this evening, but he started to Burlington at 6 o’clock this evening.

  At a Cabinet meeting yesterday at which General Grant was present, the subject of the State of the Country & the prospect of speedy peace was discussed. The President was very cheerful & hopeful spoke very kindly of General Lee and others of the Confederacy, The assassin when he proceeded upon the and the prospect of establishment of government in Virginia.

  The assassin when he jump

  The members of the Cabinet except Mr. Seward are now in attendance upon the President. I have seen Mr. Seward but he & Frederick were both unconscious.

  Edwin M. Stanton

  Sec of War33

  Sergeant Hatter, the messenger, had his relay team run this over to the War Department, seven blocks away. The operators there had been busy this night, but this was the first one from Stanton, and it would be the first official description of what had occurred in Washington that night.

  Vice President Andrew Johnson arrived at the Petersen house without fanfare. One can only guess what he must have been thinking. He was keenly aware that he had few friends in Washington. Many in this city, and some in this very room, did not want to see him become president. They regarded him as a lowlife—an uneducated man unworthy of the honor. Rumors of drunkenness at his inauguration only compounded the problem, and now, before he had even redeemed himself in the eyes of the public, he had been elevated to the presidency in the most regrettable circumstances. But Johnson did not share his thoughts that night. After a short visit to the deathbed, he returned to the parlor and assembled the Cabinet for a brief meeting.34

  Outside, the crowd erupted once more, and a few people rushed to the front windows to see what had caused all the fuss. It was another false alarm, and another dangerous passage for some unfortunate witness. These flare-ups were becoming routine, and the crowd grew more agitated whenever they occurred. Their excesses might be overlooked after all they had endured. Having started their day in a state of euphoria, they had been plunged into the deepest grief. Now, with every false alarm and every dashed hope, they became more volatile and prone to violence.

  The police took two separate approaches. Superintendent Richards prohibited the sale of liquor for the rest of the night, while Detective James A. McDevitt appealed to the crowd’s sense of reason. After one too many false alarms, McDevitt went out onto the front steps of police headquarters and asked the crowd for their attention. “You are the friends of the president,” he told them, “and so are we. You are anxious to see justice done to the perpetrators of this crime, but your anxiety is no greater than ours. If you will help instead of hindering us, we shall be able to do our work. These people who are coming to headquarters with us are not criminals. They are friends of the president, too. They are coming here to tell us what they know, so that we can use the information in capturing the assassin.” That seemed to work. Thereafter, witnesses were allowed to pass unmolested.35

  Reporter Lawrence A. Gobright had been fighting off souvenir hunters ever since Will Kent handed him the murder weapon. At least now he didn’t have to brave the mob. As he turned the derringer over to Sergeant Drill, they both noticed there were three extra caps in the stock. Drill took the gun and put it with the other items already booked in. The morning’s blotter would list them all: “One Pistol one Slouch hat. One Opera Glass Case, one Spur and two buttons one a brass and the other an india rubber button, also a hat supposed to be the President’s were brought to Office by Supt. Richards and A[cting] A[ssistant] S[uperintendent] [Bushrod] Reed.” Drill noted that everything but the president’s hat was supposed to be connected in some way to the assassination.36

  Ford’s orchestra leader, William Withers, came in to swear out a statement before Justice Miller. The justice asked Withers to describe what he was doing at the moment he heard the shot, and the answer caused a minor stir. “I was in the act of going under the stage to reach the orchestra when I heard the report of a pistol it excited my surprise as I had never heard of a pistol being fired in this play ‘The American Cousin.’ Just at that time a man came running by me and gave me a severe blow. I turned round he then cut me twice inflicting a rent in my coat vest and shirt which you can now see. I am satisfied that this man was J. Wilkes Booth for I had a good side view of him and heard him say do let me pass.” Other eyewitnesses had talked among themselves, and some felt that Withers had changed his story, giving different versions of the shooting every time he told it. The bickering had begun.37

  Investigators were not always sure what to make of the information that came streaming in. Some would prove valuable only in hindsight. Such was the case with the testimony of John Fletcher, who presented himself at police headquarters in the middle of the night. Fletcher was the foreman of Thompson Nailor’s livery stable, on E Street near Fourteenth. At about the time of the assassination, he had chased a man out of the city for failing to return a rented horse. When a cavalry sergeant suggested the animal might have been turned over to the police, Fletcher went to speak with them. Though police had not seen any horses, they knew that somebody had brought one in to General Augur’s headquarters a short while ago. They sent Fletcher up there, and thus began a chain of events that would grow in importance over the coming days.38

  Detectives John Clarvoe and James McDevitt hoped that some clues would lead to the discovery of Booth’s accomplices. When someone dropped a name, they made a note. Within the policemen’s circle was John Claggett Proctor, a reporter who worked for the Daily Morning Chronicle and until recently had worked for the Evening Star. On this night, Proctor slipped in to police headquarters to learn what he could about the investigation. Clarvoe and McDevitt had found an important lead, but they didn’t want it published. Proctor gave his word. According to the detectives, several parties were rumored to be close associates of John Wilkes Booth. One of them was a young man named John H. Surratt, who may have been the assailant of Secretary Seward. Surratt lived on H Street, and police were getting up a search party to go there now.39

  That Surratt clue remains one of the great mysteries of the Lincoln assassination story. The original tip was probably not recorded, and accounts written long after the event are incompatible with the known facts. McDevitt later claimed his informant was the actor John McCullough, but McCullough had left town the month before. A. C. Richards insisted it was he who first went to the Surratt house, following leads he had developed himself. That version is at odds with the records. Nevertheless, only four hours after the assassination, a party of detectives headed for the house at 541 H Street. It was a three-story brick town house built close to the street. The place was actually the home of John Surratt’s mother, Mary. Her late husband, John Sr., had owned it for years, but Mrs. Surratt had only recently moved there from her other place in the country. Soon afterward, she started taking in boarders.40

&nbs
p; The Surratt boardinghouse was just a few blocks from Ford’s Theatre, but that quiet neighborhood seemed worlds away from the Tenth Street turmoil. When police arrived, they found the shades down and the house dark. Light rain beat steadily on its tin roof. Two detectives stayed outside to cover the exits. David Bigley stood on the sidewalk, by the staircase that led to the front door. John Kelly kept an eye on the kitchen entrance; he could see the back yard from there as well. When all the exits were covered, Detectives Clarvoe, Charles Skippon, and McDevitt crept up the wooden steps to the front door.

  Louis J. Weichmann, a boarder, had just gone to bed when he heard a violent tug on the doorbell. Hastily pulling on his pants, Weichmann shuffled down to the front door in his bare feet. “Who is there?” he asked.

  “Detectives,” a man replied. “Is John Surratt in?”

  Weichmann cracked the door open and braced himself against the chilly night air. “No, sir. He is not in the city.”

  Though Mrs. Surratt had gone to bed, Clarvoe said he needed to speak with her, now. Weichmann said he would talk to her first, but as he turned to go toward her room, the detectives shoved the front door open and stepped inside. Clarvoe strained to see as someone cracked a door open at the far end of the hall and softly engaged Weichmann in conversation. The detective could not hear what passed between them.41

  Detective Clarvoe approached them and asked if the lady was Mrs. Surratt. He wanted to speak with her son, John.

  “John is not in the city, sir.” Mary Surratt said she had not seen her son in almost two weeks.

  The detectives hastily searched the house, waking and questioning everyone they found—thirteen people in all. All residents were accounted for: Anna Surratt, Honora Fitzpatrick, Olivia Jenkins, Mary Apollonia Dean, and Louis Weichmann. John T. Holohan, an old friend of Clarvoe’s, lived on the third floor with his wife and children. A couple of servants slept downstairs, in the kitchen.