Lue Porterfield in Century Magazine, February 1913, 562; LAS 3:873; Gifford in Surratt Trial, 327; William H. DeMotte lent them one flag, and the National Democratic Association provided another. The photographer’s assistant did not return either flag, and in a few days DeMotte wrote to the War Department asking for the return of his own. He said it could be identified by a triangular rent in the blue field. LAS 2:127. A receipt for the second flag was signed by Mr. John Miller on April 28. LAS 4:1238. Neither Harry Ford nor Gifford commented on the accuracy of Brady’s re-creation, as far as I can tell.
LAS 4:197 and M-619, 458:247; There is no official statement attributed to O’Laughlen, but these few scraps were published in the New York Herald, April 19, 1865, 1; M-473, 88:1039 and O.R. I:46 (3) 821.
Chicago clue in LAS 2:17; Booth taunts: LAS 3:590, LAS 2:433; George Surratt in LAS 3:111; Mercy Abbott in LAS 7:202–4; Mrs. Van de Water in LAS 7:357; Young in LAS 2:35; Addison F. Brown in Ft. Delaware, RG 110, entry 38; “Loyalty” in the Joseph Holt Papers, vol. 92 (he was identified later as T. A. Marshall); Quinn, quoted by William E. Morgan in LAS 2:71.
Henry Clay Young letter to Stanton, April 20, 1865, in LAS 2:34; Sewer report: Gen. James A. Hardie to Col. Timothy Ingraham, RG 393 (1), entry 5444; Search Delaware City ships: M-473, 89:37; Search 9:30 train from Baltimore to Philadelphia: M-473, 88:1109; Search all trains there for three days: M-473, 88:1111; Mance raid: M-473, 88: 1066; Most people believe the Canada trip was ordered by Police Superintendent A. C. Richards, but it was actually ordered by Baker.
Clark’s report: John A. Kimball affidavit for the Committee of Claims, House of Representatives, Thirty-ninth Congress, First Session, HR39A–H4.1, Record Group 233, National Archives (Kimball overheard Clark’s story, and escorted him to Augur’s office); Smith in M-619, 455:919–20.
Spangler in LAS 2:903 and Spangler’s own account in the John T. Ford papers, MS 371, Maryland Historical Society.
Henry W. Smith in M-619, 455:919–25; Wermerskirch in Surratt Trial, 486–87; No writer has questioned Powell’s appearance in a coat, even though his bloody overcoat had already been found in the woods. The explanation may lie in the observation of Private Price, who had recently noticed a few overcoats lying on the ground, evidently discarded by careless workers. See LAS 6:33; For the contents of Powell’s pockets, see LAS 5:542.
Olivia Jenkins in Surratt Trial, 748; Mary Surratt interrogation in LAS 6:235–36, 239–50.
Bell described his identification of Powell in Poore, 1:477–78. The photo found at Surratt’s is in LAS 15:370; Wermerskirch in Surratt Trial, 487.
Chapter 14: “Let the stain of innocent blood be removed from the land”
Two different sources suggest that Powell intended to head northeast. Richard M. Smoot said that conspirators in Southern Maryland were expecting three horsemen— Booth, Herold, and Atzerodt—to go through T.B. And Mary Surratt’s attorney, John Clampitt, quoted Powell as saying he intended to escape to Baltimore. Smoot in Ft. Smith Times, May 9, 1904, 6; Clampitt, “The Trial of Mrs. Surratt,” North American Review (September 1880): 223–40.
Louis J. Weichmann suggested that Powell had been hiding in Congressional Cemetery, but the coat was found miles from there. Powell was wearing a “drab coat” when captured, and I assume it was one of the coats Thomas Price saw abandoned along the road. Price in LAS 6:33, Charles H. Rosch in LAS 6:92; log of the U.S.S. Saugus; J. B. Montgomery to Gideon Welles, April 18, 1865, in the Missouri Historical Society.
The government farm incident was investigated and found to be a “humbug.” See Waite, LAS 3:881; Dr. Richard Neale, sixty-four, was arrested as a suspect in what turned out to be an ambush, not a skirmish. He was released on May 14. LAS 2:192; RG 110, commitment book of the Old Capitol Prison, 153, 165; M-473, 88:1086–87; Andrew Von Robey had succeeded John Surratt, Jr., as postmaster, and moved the post office to a new location west of the tavern. The three cavalrymen were Peter McNaughton, James A. Rankin, and George B. Seymour. M-619, 456:398–402; In an October 1865 letter to Joseph Holt, Dana seemed preoccupied with that raid on the government farm, and continued to believe the incident involved Booth, even long after the facts proved otherwise. It appears he pursued the matter vigorously, while ignoring Mudd’s report. Dana to Holt, in M-619, 458:467 and RG 110, commitment book of the Old Capitol, 153; and RG 393 (2), 20:22. George Dyer Mudd, who reported to Dana, was a second cousin of Samuel Alexander Mudd.
Ibid.; Dr. George D. Mudd in Poore, 2:392–93. Darkness fell, and they never made it to Wilmer’s house that day. Joshua Lloyd in M-619, 456:494.
Daniel S. Camenga to Kate Camenga, April 30, 1865, in Kate Camenga Papers, Perkins Library, Duke University.
Washington Evening Star, April 15, 1865, 2; and quoting the Whig, April 18, 1865, 4.
National Intelligencer, April 16, 1865, 1; There are many conflicting ideas about what “the Ides” actually means, but in ancient Rome it referred to the day of reckoning—the date on which the taxes came due. Here Booth writes as if the assassination of Lincoln has just occurred, but in reality his first passages were written several days later. The original Booth diary is on display in the Lincoln Museum at Ford’s Theatre.
John Mathews testified about the letter at the Judiciary Committee hearings on President Johnson’s impeachment. See James O. Hall, “That Letter to the National Intelligencer,” Surratt Courier 18 (November 1993): 4–8. A skeptical view of Mathews’s testimony appears in Thomas G. Shaffer, “The Gospel According to John Matthews,” Surratt Courier 18 (October 1993): 3–9.
Booth landed on the stage on his right foot, not his left. On April 15, John Devenay said that Booth “fell with his face towards me” (LAS 2:154). Charles Hamlin said the same thing. The New York Times, July 9, 1883, 1 (citing the Cincinnati Enquirer). Frederick Sawyer noted Booth’s quickness in a private letter, quoted in Civil War History 22 (March 1976): 64. The lieutenant was John J. Toffey, and his letter was dated April 17. Courtesy of William Toffey. The “real theatrical manner” was the phrase used by Sarah Hamlin in an April 15 letter (University of Maine at Orono). Twenty years later, General Roeliff Brinkerhoff still remembered the “swift stage walk” that Booth had evidently studied for effect. Brinkerhoff also recalled, “It is said his leg was broken by the fall, but I saw no evidence of it in his gait.” The Mansfield (Ohio) Herald, April 16, 1885.
Borrows in LAS 4:67 and Poore, 1:225; Stewart in LAS 4:58 and Poore, 1:70; Cobb noted no distress in Booth, and said that he “seemed to be very gentlemanly in his address and style.” LAS 4:171; Lloyd in LAS 5:148, and Poore, 1:115, 137. He also told the story to John A. Foster, who reported it in LAS 4:8.
Because of his gentle gait, Charley, the roan horse, was normally reserved for ladies. Thomas Davis, who worked at the Mudd farm, described the horse’s injuries (LAS 4:247). Aquilla R. Allen and William Washington Kirby believed they had discovered the switch, based on the word of Gabriel Thompson, a black man who saw the fugitives just before they reached Surrattsville (M-619, 455:608). Allison Nailor, son of Thompson Nailor, explained the horse switch in the Washington Evening Star on January 10, 1885; 2; This type of leg fracture is commonly seen in horseback riders, and generally occurs when the horse rolls quickly, giving the rider no time to remove his feet from the stirrups. The girth of the horse exerts a sideways pressure on the lower leg, snapping the smaller (outside) bone straight across. This accords perfectly with the injury Booth suffered. See the autopsy report by Surgeon General Barnes in Record Group 94, entry 623, file B, in the Treasure Room of the National Archives.
Herold in LAS 4:463, 483–84, 479.
Distribution of troops, O.R. I:46 (3) 870; Sleep rotation: R. Chandler to Maj. G. Worcester, April 16, in RG 393 (2), book 186, entry 6714; Extra rations: Capt. Musser, of Hardin’s Division, ibid.; James Otis Moore (22nd USCT) to his wife, Lizzie, April 23, 1865, in Moore Papers, Perkins Library, Duke University; Wood in M-619, 455:574. Aquilla R. Allen, who was working for Wood on the pursuit, had worked for many slav
e owners as the most celebrated “slave catcher” before emancipation.
Adeline (Mrs. Austin L.) Adams in LAS 2:908, RG 393 (2), entry 6709, and Old Capitol commitment book, 139; Conrad arrest in ibid.; Celestino’s arrest was witnessed by Weichmann, who mentioned it in Surratt Trial, 397. The captain was not prosecuted, but he was deported. Case of Benjamin Ficklin: LAS 7:414, LAS 7:405, and RG 110, entry 38; Bedee arrest order: M-473, 88:1057, and Stanton’s apology: M-473, 89:284.
The mobbed prisoners were identified in the press as Judson Jarboe, Grafton Suit, and William Berry. The Baltimore Sun, April 18, 1865, 2; Old Capitol commitment book, 139, identifies them as Jarboe, Berry, and George A. Baden; Powell’s being stolen as a child: unidentified clipping in the Lincoln Obsequies Scrapbook, Rare Book Room, Library of Congress; A. B. Newcombe was assigned to track down the Kentucky rumor, and he even brought the wife of George B. Payne down to identify the prisoner. Newcombe to Burnett in LAS 2:731; M-619, 456:355.
Seward in Poore, 2:9; Wells in Poore, 2:45.
Grant’s presence when the news came: Randall and Horner claim file, RG 233; Stanton to Wallace in M-473, 88:1058; Stanton to McPhail (through Wallace) M-473, 88:1061; McPhail’s prohibition on reporting leads was issued through his brother and assistant, William McPhail. M-619, 458:254; Augur’s order: J. H. Taylor, April 18, 1865, in Letters Received by the Provost Marshal, District of Columbia, RG 393 (1), entry 5444; McPhail’s defense in M-619, 458:247–52; Fulton’s letter in M-619, 458:256.
Surratt escape in Weichmann, A True History, 335; The description of Atzerodt was vague; James O’Beirne was told only that he was “of medium height, black hair . . . looks like a German, a smiling man.” O’Beirne’s diary, formerly in the papers of Otto Eisenschiml, now owned by Donald P. Dow; Francis Curran in LAS 3:518.
Sunrise salute: RG 393 (1), entry 5459, 413:109; Mrs. Lincoln’s preference for Illinois was not announced until eleven P.M. on the nineteenth, and she finally chose Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, on the night of the twenty-eighth. The remains had been in Cleveland most of that day. Stanton to Dix, M-473, 88:1090 and Stanton to John L. Stuart, April 28, 1865, in M-473, 89:190; Description of the scene: Washington Evening Star, April 19, 1865, 1; The Guard of Honor consisted of one captain, three lieutenants, and twenty-five first sergeants. Upholsterer John Alexander: Evening Star, April 20, 1865, 2; Honor Guard appointments in O.R. I:46 (3) 845; More escorts were to be added by state officials. Gen. John A. Dix was ordered to supplement the guard as he saw fit while the remains were in the state of New York. Stanton to Dix, M-473, 88:1113; Description of the corpse by George Alfred Townsend in San Francisco Chronicle, n.d. [1882?], clipping in Box 100, George Alfred Townsend Papers, Maryland State Archives; Brown and Alexander assigned the embalming to Henry Pratt Cattell, who used a method developed by Professor Suquet in Paris. Cattell quoted in Allen E. Roberts, House Undivided: The Story of Freemasonry and the Civil War (New York: Macoy Publishing, 1961), 76–77. Gurley’s eulogy was published in John Gilmary Shea, ed., The Lincoln Memorial (New York: Bunce and Huntington, 1865), 120, 122.
The hearse was built by George R. Hall, and the thousand-dollar coffin was made by R. F. Harvey and G. W. Harvey. Evening Star, April 17, 1865, 3; The costs of the funeral was borne by the government, and a treasury warrant was issued in the amount of $30,000 to the Interior Department on April 11, 1866, to cover the costs. See Treasury Department, Comptroller records, warrant 4976, National Archives. (My thanks to Markus Ring.) Transfer of the 22nd U.S. Colored Troops: O.R. I:46 (3) 816. Order of march in Washington was set in O.R. I:46 (3) 807–8, and more specifics were published in Shea, Lincoln Memorial, 129–34. Arrangements in Baltimore alone were staggering. See RG 393 (1), entry 2343, box 8. Marshal scandal: Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1865; Last-minute adjustment: Signal Corps records in RG 393 (1), entry 5459, 413:109.
John Walter Lee to his father, April 19, 1865, in Iowa State Historical Society; Troop estimates varied, but Edwin Stanton’s report to the president in November 1865 gave the following figures for Confederate troops in the field as of April 10: Richard Taylor, 42,293; Edmund Kirby Smith, 17,686; Joe Shelby, 200; and Joseph E. Johnston, 31,243. That meant that 91,222 men were still fighting for the South after Lee surrendered his 27,805 men. O.R. III:5, 532. Johnston began negotiations with Sherman on April 14, but Confederates remained on the run throughout the period of the talks. It should be noted that Mosby’s Rangers had not yet surrendered, but had been observing a truce during negotiations. Washington Daily Constitutional Union, April 26, 1865, 1. By executive proclamation, President Johnson declared the war over in every state except Texas on April 2, 1866, and on August 20, 1866, in that state as well. The U.S. Supreme Court deferred to those proclamations. See The Protector, 79 U.S. 700.
Sherman’s telegram in O.R. I:47 (3) 287; John C. Breckinridge to Davis, April 19, 1865, in LAS 15:451; This version of Davis’s reaction is drawn from William C. Davis, An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government (New York: Harcourt, 2001), 173–75. Davis made an exhaustive survey of the firsthand accounts, and concluded that the best-known version of Davis’s response—that of Lewis Bates—was a fabrication.
The five were Edward McHenry, Michael O’Callaghan, Henry T. Bevans, Lorenzo DeAngelis, and Charles Bostwick. DeAngelis in M-619, 456:523; McHenry in M-619, 456:516–17; O’Callaghan in M-619, 456:513; Bevans in M-619, 456:526; In RG 45, order of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox to Commodore J. B. Montgomery, for the use of a ship for Capt. Samuel Beckwith and six men to go to Chapel Point. (Beckwith brought the detectives and a telegraph repairman along.) The constable in question may have been John W. Wise. A fragment of a letter from him to “Dear Friend Surratt” was found during the investigation. LAS 7:688.
Smith in the Baltimore American, December 21, 1903; Two examples will illustrate the difference between Southern Maryland and Montgomery County. When William Harvin, a sawmill worker near T.B., guided some cavalry to Dr. Mudd’s house, he was threatened for cooperating with the Yankees (LAS 5:201). By contrast, Sgt. George Lindsley wrote to James Purdom on April 19, acknowledging his report of Atzerodt. He closed his letter, “Give my love [to] all the family And believe me Your friend. . . .” (LAS 2:233–34); Purdom’s source was a neighbor, Nathan Page (LAS 2:227–28); Delaware State Journal, April 28, 1865, 3; The original conversation at Metz’s was reported by James Leamon in Poore, 2:505. His brother, Somerset Leamon, gave a slight variation in Poore, 2:503. O’Daniel in M-619, 455:835; Purdom in M-619, 455:893; Gemmill in LAS 2:1014; The soldiers on the detachment were Privates David H. Barker, Albert Bendler, James Longacre, Christopher Ross, Samuel J. Williams, and George W. Young. More details on the Atzerodt pursuit, as well as their pass from General Tyler, are in Committee of Claims files, HR39A–H4.1, Record Group 233, National Archives.
Purdom in LAS 2:228; Gemmill in LAS 2:1015; John L. Smith said that Gemmill was suspicious because a cousin snickered when Atzerodt gave a false name. That may be true, but contemporary sources did not mention it. Gemmill in LAS 2:1017–18; Smith in Baltimore American, December 21, 1903.
Col. Timothy Ingraham issued Special Order No. 68, which sent detective James A. McDevitt to New York with Weichmann and Holohan, but Lafayette Baker was actually behind the order and the subsequent trip into Canada. Detectives Clarvoe and Bigley were with them there. Order in LAS 7:597; Weichmann in Surratt Trial, 443; Weichmann, A True History, 398.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 19; Clarke, Unlocked Book, 127–28; John Sleeper Clarke in LAS 7:410; Correspondence of the Attorney General, RG 60, National Archives; Washington Evening Star editorial, April 20, 1865.
Remains in the Rotunda: anonymous letter, Huntington Library, San Marino, California, HM 19954.
Lovett in claim file, RG 233; O.R. I:46 (3) 847; Original draft, in Stanton’s hand, is in M-473, 88:1092; This account of Lloyd’s interrogation is spliced together from testimony, letters, and memoranda submitted in support of reward claims. The original sources
are contradictory, and cannot be reconciled completely with one another. Cottingham in M-619, 458:362–366; M-619, 458:391–395; and Poore, 2:192–93. My emphasis in Cottingham quote; Lovett in M-619, 456:488; Joshua Lloyd in M-619, 456: 492–93; Williams in M-619, 456:501; and John M. Lloyd in LAS 2:199; Hidden guns were discussed in Cottingham’s claim file, RG 233.
Thomas Jones later claimed to have told Henry Woodland to return his boat to Dent’s Meadow every evening, but Woodland’s 1865 account indicates the boat was kept at Allen’s Fresh until Wednesday night. Jones, J. Wilkes Booth, 85; Woodland in LAS 6:451; William Tidwell used tide and weather data to determine the forces Jones might have taken into account as he planned Booth’s departure. However, as local watermen pointed out to me, the currents here are complex, and as Jones would have known, eddy currents can flow south along some parts of the crossing, then north on others, regardless of the tide. See William Tidwell, James O. Hall, and David Winfred Gaddy, Come Retribution (Oxford, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 1988), 456 (hereinafter Come Retribution).
The St. Mary’s sighting may have been related to the arrest at Great Mills of a man dressed in women’s clothing. Gen. James Barnes to Stanton, April 23, 1865, in M-109, naval historical files, 44:1133. Weather information comes from the logs of ships in the Potomac Flotilla. Jones, J. Wilkes Booth, 98–110. The Huckleberry farm is now privately owned and operated as the Loyola Retreat. David Herold recalled having only one paddle and one oar (LAS 4:464).
Murray in LAS 5:263; William H. Runkle, a newspaper editor working as a clerk to General Tyler, transcribed the conversations. M-619, 455:854; Stanton’s telegram to Tyler: M-473, 88:1106; Atzerodt and Richter on the Montauk: ship’s log; Atzerodt was moved on the twenty-third to the Saugus and placed in the windlass room. RG 45 and M-149, 80:385.
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