LINCOLN ROOM 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 the Class of 1901 
 
 founded by 
 
 HARLAN HOYT HORNER 
 
 and 
 HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER
 
 REMINISCENCES AND SOUVENIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION OF 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 J. E. BUCKINGHAM, SR. 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 PKBSS OF RUFUS H. DARKY 
 
 1894.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1894, l>y 
 
 J. E. BUCKINGHAM, Sn. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress.
 
 3 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The tragic story of the assassination of President 
 Lincoln is briefly told in the following pages, mainly 
 from the lips of those who were incidentally connected 
 with it, and the idea was entertained by Mr. John E. 
 Buckingham that the new generation would be glad to 
 read it in a condensed form. 
 
 The illustrations of the actors in that fearful drama, 
 the building in which it was enacted and the relics 
 which are in the possession of Mr. Buckingham add 
 greatly to the interest of the little volume, and it was 
 chiefly to present these in collected form that the nar- 
 rative was written. 
 
 That the public may look with favor upon the venture 
 and with the assurance that the accuracy of the facts 
 presented cannot be questioned, is the earnest hope of 
 Mr. Buckingham.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET 7 
 
 II. SURGEON-GENERAL BARNES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE 19 
 
 III. EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS 25 
 
 IV. PAYNE, WHO ATTEMPTED TO KILL SECRETARY SEWARD-- 39 
 V. JOHN WILKES BOOTH THE MOVING SPTIUT OF THE CON- 
 SPIRACY 47 
 
 VI. RELICS OF THE TRAGEDY IN POSSESSION OF MR. BUCK- 
 INGHAM .- 59 
 
 VII. BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE 62 
 
 VIII. MAJOR RATHBONE'S AFFIDAVIT 73 
 
 IX. A BUILDING THAT HAS A TRAGIC HISTORY 77 
 
 X RELICS OF MR. LINCOLN- . 84
 
 LINCOLN SOTJVBNIRS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 
 
 saddest and at the same time the most roman- 
 i tic incident in the history of this country was 
 the assassination of President Lincoln, which 
 took place on the 14th of April, 1865. The crime was 
 committed shortly after ten o'clock at night, in Ford's 
 Theater, which was located on Tenth Street, in Wash- 
 ington, D. C., and the man who fired the fatal shot was 
 John Wilkes Booth. 
 
 Those who were at the theater on that occasion will 
 never forget the shock that for an instant paralyzed 
 every energy in the vast audience as the sound of the 
 shot fell upon their ears and they then saw a man leap 
 from the box in which the President was seated, brand- 
 ishing a long knife in his hand. As he struck the 
 stage he hissed between his clenched teeth the words 
 " Sic Semper Tyrannis," and then rushing back behind 
 the scenes disappeared. It all happened in a moment 
 and the realization of what had taken place only came 
 with the explanation of Major Rathbone, who was in 
 the box with the Executive party, that the President 
 had been shot. 
 
 Those who were in the immediate front rows of the 
 orchestra were the first to comprehend the crime that 
 had been actually committed and many made a rush for
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 FIUST BAPTIST CHUllCII, AFTEUWAUDS FOKD'S THEATER.
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 9 
 
 the stage in order to capture or detain the assassin. 
 Mr. William Withers, who was the leader of the orches- 
 tra, was the first to come within reaching distance of 
 Booth, and to-day he has among his effects a dress coat 
 bearing the cuts across the sleeve and breast which 
 were made by Booth's knife on that fatal night. The 
 plans of the assassin had been too well laid ; he had his 
 trained assistants in waiting ; he reached the alley in 
 the rear, leaped upon his horse and fled across the Navy 
 Yard bridge accompanied by Herold, who was one of 
 the conspiring party. 
 
 The crime was committed at a time when the war 
 was over, when all the Southern armies had sur- 
 rendered and when the nation was looking forward to 
 peace ; and every one was thankful that the long and 
 bloody contest for the supremacy of the Union was 
 over. Had it occurred during the heat of excitement 
 while the war was going on it would not have struck 
 the nation witfi such peculiar force. But, coming as 
 it did, at a time when men's passions should have been 
 quiet, it sent a thrill of horror throughout the entire 
 length and breadth of the land. Had the assassin 
 been one who had lost fortune, or kinsmen, or friends, 
 by the war and who had worked himself into the be- 
 lief that he had been peculiarly wronged, there might 
 have been a shadow of an excuse for the crime, but it 
 was a man who was an actor, who w*s not interested 
 particularly in politics, upon whom honor and fame 
 had been bestowed by the people of the North in his 
 professional career and who, by his winning person- 
 ality, had made a wide circle of acquaintances and had 
 received many social attentions. Booth was the very
 
 10 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 FOKD'S TIIKATEK.
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 11 
 
 last man that his friends would have believed capable 
 of committing such a crime. The actual impelling 
 motive must ever remain a secret. The most chari- 
 table construction to be put upon his act is that he had 
 so brooded upon what he considered the wrongs of the 
 South that his mind had become unbalanced, and he 
 proposed to play the part of Brutus and rid the Repub- 
 lic of the man whom he considered to be its Caesar. 
 
 The man who saw more of Booth on that fatal 14th 
 of April night before he committed the crime, was Mr. 
 John E. Buckingham, who was then the Doorkeeper 
 at Ford's Theater. Mr. Buckingham, or "Buck" as 
 he is familiarly known by his friends and acquaint- 
 ances, has been associated with theaters all his life. 
 He was born in Baltimore, in January, 1828, and when 
 a boy became a call-boy in the old Front Street Thea- 
 ter. From there he gradually rose until he went to the 
 front of the house to take tickets, and he is probably 
 to-day the oldest and certainly the most respected 
 ticket taker in the United States. From the Front 
 Street Theater he went to the Baltimore Museum and 
 then to the Holliday Street Theater in that city, and he 
 came to Washington in 1861 to work at his trade, that 
 of a carpenter, in the Navy Yard. As soon as he came 
 here, Mr. John T. Ford desired to secure his services 
 at his theater in Washington and he accepted the 
 offer. The theater on Tenth Street, in which the assas- 
 sination was committed, had formerly been a church 
 and was altered into a theater in the early part of the 
 war. It was destroyed by fire in 1863 and had been 
 rebuilt and very handsomely decorated not many months 
 before the assassination. Mr. Buckingham was the
 
 12 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 JOHN T. FOUD.
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 13 
 
 doorkeeper, and on that fatal night he says that Booth 
 came in and out of the theater five times before he 
 finally committed the crime. 
 
 " In looking back over the occurrences now," says 
 Mr. Buckingham in speaking of the event, " I can see 
 that Booth must have been under great stress of ex- 
 citement, although his actions did not seem to me at 
 that time to be at all strange. He was naturally a 
 nervous man and restless in his movements. I remem- 
 ber he first came in and said as he took hold of two of 
 my fingers, 'What time of night is it?' I told him 
 to step into the lobby and there he could see the clock. 
 Next, he came and asked me to give him a chew of 
 tobacco, which I readily did. Afterwards I went into 
 the saloon just below the theater to get a drink, and 
 Booth was there drinking brand} 7 . I went back to the 
 door and he soon came again. He passed into the 
 house and stood a moment looking at the audience, 
 and then went out again. Shortly afterwards he re- 
 turned and passed in and around upstairs into the 
 balcony, humming a tune. I did not see where he went 
 at the time, for I was engaged in putting my checks in 
 a little closet that I had there, and was so occupied 
 when I heard the pistol shot. I turned just in time to 
 see him leap to the stage, although for a moment I did 
 not recognize the man as Booth. It was only when 
 he raised himself and gave utterance to the words, 
 'Sic Semper Tyrannis,' that I discovered it was John 
 Wilkes Booth. 
 
 "No one," continued Mr. Buckingham, " can picture 
 the horror and excitement that took possession of that 
 audience. Everybody jumped to their feet, ladies
 
 14 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIKS. 
 
 FORD'S THEATRE 
 
 Friday Evening. April 14th. 1865 
 
 LAST NIGHT 
 
 MR. JOHN DYOTT 
 
 MR. HAER7 HAWK. 
 
 TOM TAILORS COEBIUTQ! LCCEHTUC CCJttDT. 
 
 " OUR AMERICAN 
 
 COUSIN 
 
 BENEFIT of Miss JENNIE GOTOLAY 
 
 EDWIN ADAMS 
 
 COPT OF THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM.
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 15 
 
 screamed and fainted, men cried ' Stop him ! ' and sev- 
 eral jumped to the stage in their endeavor to prevent 
 Booth's escape. Finally ex-Mayor Wallack, who was 
 standing on the sidewalk in front of the theater, was 
 asked to come in and request the people to retire. He 
 did so willingly, begging them to retire as quietly and 
 as speedily as possible. In this way the theater was 
 emptied, and then attention was turned to Mr. Lincoln, 
 whose head had fallen forward, and who was evidently 
 unconscious and breathing stertorously. Mr. Lincoln 
 and his party occupied two boxes on that occasion and 
 the partition between them had been taken out so that 
 practically it was one large box. In one compartment 
 sat Mr. Lincoln and Miss Harris, the daughter of Sen- 
 ator Ira Harris, of New York, and in the other were Mrs. 
 Lincoln and Major Rathbone. Mr. Lincoln was uncon- 
 scious and Miss Laura Keene went up into the box and 
 took his head upon her lap and held it while an exam- 
 ination was made by some physician I don't remember 
 who who happened to be in the audience, as to the 
 character of the wound. It was found that the bullet 
 had gone through one of the cervical vertebrae and 
 lodged in the brain, and that the injury was necessa- 
 rily fatal. He was then taken across the street to the 
 house of a Mr. Petersen and Surgeon-General Barnes 
 was sent for. 
 
 "Personally I cannot tell of any of the subsequent 
 events in regard to Mr. Lincoln on that night, I was 
 so busily engaged in looking out for myself. The the- 
 ater was immediately taken possession of by United 
 States troops and a guard placed at every entrance. I 
 know it was months after that before I had returned
 
 16 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 JOSEPH S. SESSFOKD, TICKET SELLER, FORD'S THEATER.
 
 BOOTH'S FATAL BULLET. 17 
 
 to me an overcoat that I had left in the theater, and 
 then it was in such a condition, although it was com- 
 paratively a new garment, that I gave it away to a col- 
 ored man." 
 
 Mr. Joseph Sessford, who was in the ticket office of 
 Ford's Theater on the night of the assassination, re- 
 members distinctly the manner of Booth and of his 
 coming into the theater and going out again several 
 times during the evening. He can tell many anecdotes 
 of the man whose ability was great as an actor but 
 whose awful crime has left only obloquy upon a name 
 that is otherwise honored. Mr. Sessford corroborates 
 Mr. Buckingham in regard to Booth's actions just pre- 
 vious to his entering the private box and firing the fatal 
 shot.
 
 18 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SURGEON-GENERAL BARNES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE. 
 
 It will be remembered that the conspiracy embraced 
 not only the assassination of Mr. Lincoln but the death 
 of every member of his Cabinet, and on that same 14th 
 of April, 1865, the attempt was made by Payne to kill 
 Secretary Seward, who lived then in the house on Fif- 
 teen-and-a-half Street, more recently famous as the 
 residence of James G. Elaine and in which that states- 
 man died. 
 
 Surgeon-General Barnes, who was sent for as soon as 
 Mr. Lincoln was removed from the theater to the Peter- 
 sen house, had a thrilling experience that night. He 
 had been over to the house of his friend, Chief Justice 
 Cartter, who lived about the middle of the square on H 
 Street, between Fifteenth Street and Vermont Avenue, 
 playing whist. A little before 10 o'clock a man came 
 hurriedly to the door asking if Surgeon-General Barnes 
 was there and saying that he was wanted immediately 
 at Secretary Seward's. The man said that he had been 
 to General Barnes' house and had ascertained from there 
 where the Surgeon-General was. General Barnes, on 
 questioning him as to the matter with Secretary Sew- 
 ard, was told that a man had attempted to kill him and 
 had severely cut him in the face, arms and body with a 
 knife. 
 
 General Barnes immediately went right around the 
 corner to Mr. Seward's house and was accompanied by 
 Justice Cartter. When he reached the Secretary's side
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 MRS. LINCOLN.
 
 GENERAL BARNES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE. 21 
 
 he found him very much exhausted by the shock of 
 the encounter he had had with Payne and by the blood 
 which he had lost from the wounds made by the knife 
 of the would-be assassin. General Barnes immediately 
 commenced dressing Mr. Seward's wounds, in which he 
 was aided by Justice Cartter. and had nearly completed 
 his work when a carriage drove up to the door and the 
 bell was violently pulled. Judge Cartter himself went 
 to the door and there found a night-liner, driven by a 
 man whom he well knew, who gave him the informa- 
 tion that the President had been shot at Ford's Theater, 
 and had been taken to a house across the street, and 
 that he had been sent for to bring General Barnes to 
 his bedside. The man said he had been to General 
 Barnes' house where he had learned that he was at 
 Judge Cartter's, and that on going there he had been 
 informed that he had gone around to Secretary Sew- 
 ard's. The servant at Judge Cartter's house had told 
 the driver that Mr. Seward had been all cut to pieces,, 
 and was dying, and the man was thoroughly fright- 
 ened. 
 
 Judge Cartter went to Mr. Seward's room and calling 
 General Barnes aside told him of the shooting of Mr. 
 Lincoln and how imperative it was that he should at 
 once go to the bedside of the wounded Chief Magis- 
 trate. Mr. Seward's son and faithful attendant were 
 briefly informed of the circumstances and then General 
 Barnes and Judge Cartter went to the carriage in front 
 of the house. After they had got in Judge Cartter told 
 the driver not to spare his horses but to drive at the 
 topmost speed. The man was so thoroughly frightened 
 that he positively declared that he was afraid to drive
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS.
 
 GENERAL BARNES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE. 23 
 
 down by the theater. He said he wouldn't drive into 
 that crowd for all the money there was in Washing- 
 ton. Judge Cartter was a powerful man and jumping 
 out of the carriage took the negro by the shoulders and 
 thrust him inside with General Barnes and shut the 
 door. Then mounting the box himself he drove down to 
 the Petersen house. By the time they reached Eleventh 
 and F Streets the guard had already been placed and an 
 attempt was made to bar their progress. Judge Cartter 
 shouted, however, who was in the carriage and without 
 slacking his speed one bit continued until he pulled up 
 in front of the Petersen house on Tenth Street. 
 
 Years afterwards, when Judge Cartter was telling 
 the story of that night's ride to the writer, he said 
 that it was one of the most thrilling events of his life 
 and that he rarely alluded to it, because of the fearful 
 tragedy that it brought up so forcibly to his memory. 
 The shock at finding Secretary Steward prostrate and 
 bleeding from the wicked gashes of Payne's knife was 
 a severe one, but it was nothing in comparison to the 
 effect of the announcement that the President had been 
 shot and was dying. 
 
 Secretaries Stanton and Welles, who were already at 
 Mr. Lincoln's side, were glad to see General Barnes as 
 he walked into the room and took a seat beside the bed 
 on which the President had been laid to make an ex- 
 amination of the wound caused by the pistol bullet of 
 Booth. Carefully and tenderly the Surgeon-General 
 noted where the entrance had been made and the prob- 
 able course of the ball. He shook his head gravely, 
 and his announcement that the wound was fatal and 
 that death was but a question of only a few hours, only
 
 24 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 confirmed the sad forebodings of the two trusted secre- 
 taries, and Mr. Robert Lincoln, the President's oldest 
 son, who had reached his father's bedside and anxiously 
 watched the movements of the distinguished surgeon. 
 Mrs. Lincoln, prostrated with grief, and wholly over- 
 come by the shock of the tragedy, was in another 
 room and to her was conveyed the judgment of General 
 Barnes. She soon returned and taking her place be- 
 side the bed on which lay the dying President, kept 
 vigil with the others through the long and weary 
 watches of that fateful night until the end came at 
 7.23 on the morning of the 15th of April, when she be- 
 came a widow, the countrj r was orphaned by the loss 
 of its Chief Magistrate and the whole world mourned 
 the death of the greatest American since Washington.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 
 
 The incidents of the pursuit and the capture of Booth, 
 his tragic death in a barn on Garrett's farm near Port 
 Royal on the Rappahannock are too well known to 
 need any rehearsal cr at least more than a brief notice. 
 Lieutenant Dougherty, who was in command of the 
 pursuing cavalry, discovered that Booth and Herold 
 were secreted in a large barn and were well armed. 
 The cavalry then surrounded the barn and summoned 
 Booth and his accomplice to surrender. Herold was 
 inclined at first to accede to the request, but Booth ac- 
 cused him of cowardice and then they both perempto- 
 rily refused to surrender and made preparations to de- 
 fend themselves. In order to take the conspirators 
 alive the barn was fired and the flames getting too hot 
 for Herold he approached the door of the barn and 
 signified his willingness to be taken prisoner. Herold 
 then came out of the barn and gave himself up and 
 was securely handcuffed. Booth maintained a defiant 
 attitude, refusing to surrender and in a braggadocio 
 style challenged his pursuers to fight him by turns 
 singly. As the roof of the barn was about falling in, 
 and Booth manifested a disposition to make a bolt, he 
 was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett, of the Sixteenth 
 New York, the ball taking effect in the neck, from the 
 effects of which he died in about three hours. 
 
 Booth, before breathing his last, was asked if he had
 
 26 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 PKIVATE BOX IN WHICH MH. LINCOLN WAS ASSASSINATED
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 27 
 
 anything to say, when he replied: "Tell my mother 
 that I died for my country." 
 
 Herold and the body of Booth were brought to the 
 Navy Yard at Washington, and from there Booth was 
 buried first in the Arsenal grounds and his body was 
 subsequently delivered to his brother Edwin and finally 
 interred in the family lot in Baltimore. Herold was 
 placed in confinement in the Arsenal, where he and the 
 other members of the conspiracy, Payne, Atzerodt, Mrs. 
 Surratt, Dr. Mudd and Spangler, were tried by military 
 commission and Mrs. Surratt, Payne, Atzerodt and 
 Herold were hanged. The execution took place on Fri- 
 day, July 7, 1865. The prisoners had been defended on 
 their trial by able counsel and every effort had been 
 made, particularly in the case of Mrs. Surratt, to prevent 
 the execution. All applications for clemency were, 
 however, refused and the four named above paid the 
 death penalty. The execution was under the charge 
 of Major-General Hancock and the gallows was erected 
 under the direction of Captain Roth of General Har- 
 tranft's staff by workmen from the arsenal. It was 
 erected in the south yard of the building, between the 
 old shoe shop and the wall, and the platform was 
 reached by fifteen steps on the east side. There were 
 nine heavy uprights holding the floor, above which 
 arose, on the west side, the uprights supporting the 
 beams from which hung the four ropes, each being of 
 strong hemp, the slip consisting of nine twists and knot. 
 The dimensions were twenty feet long, ten feet high 
 to floor, twenty feet to beam, fifteen feet wide to plat- 
 form. The drops, of which there were two, were each 
 four feet by six, were directly beneath the beam and
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 MAJOR HATIIUONE.
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. !29 
 
 were held in their place by an upright which was 
 knocked from under by two pieces of scantling being 
 swung against it. The drop was six feet. 
 
 The day was intensely hot and the few hundred peo- 
 ple who were permitted to witness the execution stood 
 under umbrellas to protect them from the piercing rays 
 of the sun. On the top of the wall, to the west, paced 
 a sentinel in full uniform and up to the very time of 
 the falling of the drop, the eyes of those in waiting 
 turned eagerly backward, expecting that a reprieve 
 would come in the case of Mrs. Surratt. When the 
 criminals had been placed upon the platform, General 
 Hartranft advanced to the front and read in a clear 
 voice the death warrants of the prisoners. Following 
 upon this came the last few words of religious consola- 
 tion to the doomed ones. Fathers Wiget and Walter 
 administered the dying service of the Catholic Church 
 to Mrs. Surratt, holding the cross to her lips. Atzerodt 
 seemed to be muttering a prayer. Re 7. Dr. Gillette, 
 Rev. Dr. Olds and the Rev. Dr. Butler made earnest 
 prayers in behalf of each of the three men and then the 
 arms, ankles and knees of all were bound. The white 
 caps were drawn over their heads, the prop was knocked 
 away, the drop fell and the four criminals hung quiver- 
 ing in the air. 
 
 David E. Herold was the only son of the late A. 
 George Herold, who for over twenty years was the 
 principal clerk of the Navy Store at the Washington 
 Yard and who died in the fall of 1864 at his residence 
 near the Yard. David was born at the corner of 
 Eleventh Street east and I Street south. He was 
 noted for trifling, frivolity, wholly unlike the others
 
 30 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 31 
 
 of the family, who were of a retired disposition, see- 
 ing little company. David was very fond of horses, 
 dogs and guns, and was a great brag, never being with- 
 out something to boast of. His father was exceedingly 
 fond of sporting, and hunted frequently from Washing- 
 ton to Chapel Point, where he crossed to Virginia and 
 thence back to Alexandria, usually taking David with 
 him, and sometimes he and David would be out for a 
 month or more in hunting. David was never known 
 to drink until a few months previous to his arrest. 
 He was naturally averse to hard work and considered 
 bodily toil for his livelihood degrading. He attended 
 school in the eastern section of the city when of a ten- 
 der age, and finished off by three years' schooling in 
 Georgetown College, after which he entered upon the 
 drug business, his first engagement being with Dr. 
 Bates, corner of Seventh and L (Navy Yard), then 
 with Dr. F. S. Walsh, on Eighth Street west, and sub- 
 sequently for a few months with W. S. Thompson, near 
 the State Department, which was then a brick building 
 on the southwest corner of 15th Street and Pennsyl- 
 vania Avenue, and now forms the park on the north 
 front of the Treasury Department. After his father's 
 death he gave up his business, and spent most of his 
 time in the country, stopping with various persons be- 
 tween Washington and Port Tobacco, and he was often 
 seen drinking when in town. His most intimate ac- 
 quaintances never heard him mention politics at that 
 time, his whole conversation being of his exploits with 
 dog and gun. The family were of Episcopalian persua- 
 sion, the mother and his seven sisters being attached to 
 Christ Church, at the Navy Yard, but David seldom if
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS.
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 83 
 
 ever attended church. The family were highly es- 
 teemed in Washington. The grief of the family on 
 hearing the death warrant was heartrending. From 
 Herold's frivolous turn of mind and unstable char- 
 acter, it is believed that Booth did not rely upon him 
 to do any of the heavy work of the great tragedy, but 
 counted upon him as a valuable auxiliary in his flight, 
 from his local knowledge of the country through which 
 that flight was to be essayed. 
 
 George A. Atzerodt was short, thick-set, round- 
 shouldered, of muddy complexion, with brown hair, 
 light-colored mustache and goatee, unpleasant green 
 eyes, aged about thirty-three years, and a blacksmith 
 by trade. He was born in Germany, but raised in 
 Charles County, Maryland, where he spent the most of 
 his life. His character was none of the best and for 
 some years he was living with a woman, not his wife, 
 near Port Tobacco, by which woman he .had a child. 
 For some months previous to the assassination he had 
 been missing from Port Tobacco and it was believed 
 that he had been engaged in blockade running and 
 other traitorous practices. 
 
 Atzerodt alleged that during the latter part of Febru- 
 ary John Surratt and Booth wanted a man who under- 
 stood boating, and could both get a boat and ferry a 
 party over the Potomac. Surratt knew him, and under 
 influence of promises of a fortune, Atzerodt consented 
 to furnish the boat and do the ferrying. That plot failed, 
 however. On the 13th of March Atzerodt went to the 
 Kimmel House, and what took place afterward accord- 
 ing to his statement to the court was as follows : 
 
 I am one of the party who agreed to capture the President of the 
 United States, but. 1 am not one of the party to kill the President of the
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 MISS-LAUKA KEENE.
 
 EXECUTION OF THE CONSPIRATORS. 35 
 
 United States, or any member of the Cabinet, or General Grant, or Vice 
 President Johnson. The first plot to capture failed; the second, to kill, I 
 broke away from the moment T heard of it. This is the way it came 
 about: On the evening of the 14th of April I met Booth and Payne at 
 the Herndon House in this city at 8 o'clock He (Booth) said he himself 
 would take charge of Mr. Lincoln and General Grant, Payne should take 
 Mr. Seward, and I should take Mr. Johnson. I told him I would not do 
 it; that I had gone into the thing to capture, but I was not going to kill. 
 He told me I was a fool; lhat I would be hung anyhow, and that it was 
 death for every man that backed out, and so we parted. I wandered 
 about the streets until about 2 o'clock in the morning, and then went to 
 the Kimmel House, and from there pawned my pistol at Georgetown, and 
 went to my cousin's house in Montgomery County, where I was arrested 
 the 19th following. After I was arrested I told Provost Marshal Wells 
 and Provost Marshal McPhail the whole story; also told it to Captain 
 Monroe; and Colonel Wells told me that if I pointed out the way Booth 
 had gone 1 would be reprieved, and so I told him I thought he had gone 
 down Charles County, in order to cross the Potomac. The arms which 
 were found in my room at the Kirkwood House and a black coat do not 
 belong to me. On the afternoon of the 14th of April Herold called to 
 see me and left the coat there. It is his coat, and all in it belongs to him, 
 as you can see by the handkerchiefs, marked with his initial and with the 
 name of his sister, Mrs. Naylor. Now I will state how I passed the whole 
 of the 14th of April. In the afternoon about 2 o'clock I went to Kele- 
 her's stable on Eighth Street, near D, and hired a dark bay mare and rode 
 into the country for pleasure, and on my return put up at Naylor's stable. 
 The dark bay horse which I had kept at Naylor's before, on or about the 
 3d of April belonged to Booth, and also the saddle and bridle, and I had 
 charge of him to sell him, and I do not know what became of him. At 
 about 6 in the evening I went to Naylor's again and took out the mare, 
 rode out for an hour and returned her to Naylor's. It was then nearly 8 
 o'clock and I told him to keep the mare ready at 10 o'clock, in order to 
 return her to the man I hired her from. From there I went to the Hern- 
 don House. Booth sent a message to the "Oyster Bay," where I was, 
 saying he wanted to see me, and I went. Booth wanted me to murder 
 Mr. Johnson. I refused. I then went to the "Oyster Bay" on the 
 Avenue above Twelfth Street, and whiled away the time until 10. At 10 
 I got the mare and having taken a drink with the hostler, I galloped 
 about town, and went to the Kimmel House. From there 1 rode down to 
 the depot and returned my horse, riding up Pennsylvania Avenue to Kel- 
 eher's. From Keleher's I went down to the Navy Yard to get a room 
 with Wash Briscoe. He had none, and by the time I got back to the
 
 36 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS.
 
 EXECUTION OP THE CONSPIRATORS. 37 
 
 Kimmel House it was near 2 o'clock. The man Thomas was a stranger 
 I met on the street. Next morning, as stated, I went to my cousin's in 
 Montgomery County. GEORGE A. ATZEUODT. 
 
 Despite this statement of Atzerodt, there was no doubt 
 whatever that he fully entered into the plot up to the 
 very hour of its execution, and only lacked nerve at the 
 last moment to execute what he had promised. The 
 testimony, direct and circumstantial, was conclusive as 
 to this.
 
 38 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 PETERSEN'S HOUSE, OPPOSITE FORD'S THEATER, IN WHICH 
 MR. LINCOLN DIED.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAYNE, WHO ATTEMPTED TO KILL SECRETARY SEWARD, 
 
 Lewis Payne Powell was the son of the Rev. George 
 C. Powell, a Baptist minister, who lived at the time of 
 the assassination at Live Oak Station, on the railroad 
 between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, in the State of 
 Florida, and was born in Alabama in the year 1845. 
 Besides himself his father had six daughters and two 
 sons. He lived for some time in Worth and Stewart 
 Counties, Georgia, and in 1859 moved to Florida. At 
 the breaking out of the war Powell was a lad of six- 
 teen, engaged in superintending his father's plantation 
 and a number of slaves. In 1861 his two brothers en- 
 listed in the Confederate service, and Lewis in the same 
 year enlisted in Captain Stewart's company in the Sec- 
 ond Florida Infantry, commanded by Colonel Ward, and 
 was ordered to Richmond. At Richmond his regiment 
 joined the army of General Lee and was joined to A. P. 
 Hill's corps. With it he passed through the Penin- 
 sula campaign and the battles of Cliancellorsville and 
 Antietam. Here he heard that his two brothers had 
 been killed at the battle of Murfreesboro. Finally, on 
 the 3d of July, 1863, in the charge upon the Federal 
 center at Gettysburg, he was wounded, taken prisoner, 
 and detailed as a nurse in a Pennsylvania hospital. 
 
 From Gettysburg he was sent to West Buildings 
 Hospital, Pratt Street, Baltimore, and remained until 
 October, 1863, when he deserted for his regiment, and 
 walked through Winchester, met a regiment of Con-
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS 
 
 UED SPREAD USED ON THE BED IN WHICH MR. LINCOLN DIED.
 
 PAYNE, WHO ATTACKED SECRETARY SEWARD. 41 
 
 federate cavalry at Fauquier, -which he joined and re- 
 mained in that service until January 1, 1865. About 
 that time he deserted and came to Alexandria, sold his 
 horse, gave his name as Payne, took the oath of allegi- 
 ance as a refugee from Fauquier, and went to Balti- 
 more and took a room at the house of Mrs. Branson, u 
 lady he had met at Gettysburg. Here he fell in with 
 Booth, whom he had met in Richmond, and became a 
 ready ally to the atrocious conspirator, and much of the 
 preliminary blocking out of the work of the conspiracy 
 seems to have been done by this brace of cool, desper- 
 ate villains. 
 
 According to the statement of Payne, the plan was 
 first to come to Washington, where the gang of work- 
 ing conspirators were to go out on horseback to the 
 vicinity of the Soldiers' Home, capture President Lin- 
 coln and deliver him to the rebel authorities. Accord- 
 ing to the testimony of Lewis J. Weichman, such a 
 gang, including Booth, Payne and John Surratt, rode 
 out on horseback, one afternoon subsequent to the 4th 
 of March, and returned very much excited and discom- 
 posed, as if baffled in some cherished undertaking. The 
 supposition was that an attempt to waylay the Presi- 
 dent at that time was really attempted and miscarried, 
 but the scheme to carry off Mr. Lincoln in broad day- 
 light, to the Confederate lines, was too absurdly im- 
 practicable to have been really entertained by Booth, 
 at least, if any of his fellow conspirators were crack- 
 brained enough to be deluded by it. There is little 
 doubt that Booth meant murder whenever he should 
 come in contact with the President and be able to deal 
 the blow with any chance of escape.
 
 42 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 PILLOW CASES USED ON THE BED IN WHICH MR. LINCOLN DIED.
 
 PAYNE, WHO ATTACKED SECRETARY SEWARD. 43 
 
 Payne alleges that on the night of the fatal 14th of 
 April he met with Booth at the Herndon House at 
 8 o'clock, where the work of each was assigned, 
 and Booth directed him to meet him at the Anacostia 
 Bridge after the deed was done. They parted, not again 
 to meet in this world. 
 
 Mrs. Mary E. Surratt was raised near Waterloo, on 
 Calvert's manor, in Prince George County, Maryland. 
 Her maiden name was Jenkins. Her father died when 
 she was quite young. As she grew up she displayed 
 considerable force of character, and expressed a desire 
 to have a better education than was attainable in her 
 neighborhood, and she was sent to a female seminary 
 in Alexandria. 
 
 Returning to her mother's home she became an ac- 
 knowledged belle of Prince George County, and quite 
 as noted for her strong will, she seldom failing in any- 
 thing she undertook. She married Surratt about the 
 year 1835, and the couple first settled at a place known 
 as Condin's Mill, near Camp Stoneman (Giesboro), 
 which property Surratt inherited from an uncle named 
 Neal. After they had lived there a few years the 
 house was set on fire by their slaves, and the Surratts 
 barely escaped from the flames with their lives. 
 
 Surratt afterward engaged on the Orange and Alex- 
 andria Railroad as a contractor, and on finishing his 
 work returned to Prince George County and bought a 
 farm, on which he established the tavern known as 
 " Surratt's," and afterward was appointed postmaster 
 at that point, but he being an uneducated man the 
 duties of the office devolved upon his wife. They had 
 three children a daughter and two sons. One of the
 
 44 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 i 
 
 KBY OF THE CELL AT THE ARSENAL IN WHICH PAYNE WAS CONFINED.
 
 PAYNE, WHO ATTACKED SECRETARY SEWARD. 45 
 
 latter (Isaac) went South at the outbreak of the rebel- 
 lion, entering the Southern army, it is said. The other 
 son (John) stayed about home, spending his time in 
 idleness or worse. The father was known as a pro- 
 slavery man, and a sympathizer with the South in the 
 rebellion to some extent, but was not looked upon as an 
 open secessionist. He died about three years previous 
 to President Lincoln's assassination, and soon after his 
 widow leased the property and went to Washington, 
 where she opened a boarding house on H Street, which 
 house has since become notorious as the scene where 
 was concocted some of the most stupendous deviltry of 
 the world's history. 
 
 "Surratt's" (house and farm) was situated on the 
 mail route from Washington to Leonardtown, Md., 
 and was twelve miles from Washington, at the junc- 
 tion of the Marlboro and Piscataway roads. The house 
 was a comfortable two -story double frame building 
 containing nine rooms, and on the front and side were 
 porticos for the visitors to enjoy the fresh air during 
 the sultry seasons. The farm was well adapted for 
 gardening purposes, and though not very extensive, 
 was profitable for wheat and tobacco. 
 
 When Mrs. Surratt went to Washington to open a 
 boarding house she rented the tavern stand to John M . 
 Lloyd at a rent of $500 per annum.
 
 4(5 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 DETECTIVE WILLIAM WILLIAMS.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JOHN WILKES BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT OP THE 
 CONSPIRACY. 
 
 John Wilkes Booth, who was the moving spirit in 
 this whole conspiracy, that culminated in the assassi- 
 nation of President Lincoln, was an actor who had a 
 reputation that extended throughout the entire coun- 
 try. He was a son of Junius BrutuS Booth, the great 
 American tragedian, and a brother of the hardly less 
 famous Edwin Booth of the present day. The family 
 consisted of four boys, J. B. Jr., Edwin, John Wilkes 
 and Joseph, and two daughters, one of whom married 
 the celebrated comedian, John Sleeper Clarke. The 
 elder Booth and his family resided in Baltimore, where 
 all the children were born, and it was natural that they 
 should have the feelings which generally obtained in 
 the Southern States in regard to the negro and slavery. 
 When the war of the rebellion broke out all the family 
 espoused the Union cause, with the exception of John 
 Wilkes, who remained in the North, although it is be- 
 lieved he frequently went through the lines on secret 
 missions for the Confederate government. Still he 
 was apparently loyal to the Union, because he played 
 engagements in various theaters in the North, and he 
 became quite popular, both as an actor and as a man, 
 wherever he went. He was an extremely handsome 
 man, taller in stature and of better figure than either 
 of his brothers, and he had a winning personality that 
 attracted people to him. The writer met him and took
 
 48 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 SERGT. BOSTON COKBETT, WHO SHOT BOOTH.
 
 BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT. 49 
 
 tea with him in Boston the Saturday night before he 
 opened his first engagement as a star in that city, and 
 was deeply impressed with his modest bearing and his 
 winning manner. He was to open at the Boston 
 Museum on Monday night, and he had selected Rich- 
 ard III. as his initial character. He said he felt 
 timid about appearing before a Boston audience in 
 that character, which had been made famous both by 
 his father and his brother Edwin, and besides he knew 
 that Boston audiences were coldly critical anyway. 
 Still he believed that he could bring out whatever 
 power that was in him better as Richard, and make 
 a better first impression in that part than in any other 
 in his repertoire. I saw him on his opening night, and 
 while the performance was crude in some respects, 
 there were flashes of positive genius that, I was told 
 by those who had seen his father, brought back strik- 
 ingly memories of that greatest of Richards. 
 
 Booth was quite successful in his profession and made 
 a great deal of money, his income averaging about 
 $20,000 a year. As he was unmarried he had more than 
 enough to provide for his desires and during the last 
 two years of his life he was rather desultory in making 
 his engagements. He spent a good deal of time in 
 Washington, where he had a great many friends in all 
 classes of society. He was quite popular in social cir- 
 cles and he came very near marrying the daughter of 
 a distinguished New England Senator. Shortly before 
 he committed the crime which he expiated with his life, 
 he played "Pescara, the Apostate" at the same theater 
 in which he assassinated Mr. Lincoln, and I think but
 
 50 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 THOMAS A. JONES, WHO AIDED BOOTH'S ESCAPE.
 
 BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT. 51 
 
 a week before the crime was committed he played 
 Romeo to Avonia Jones' Juliet at the National Theater. 
 There is no doubt that it was the original intention 
 of the conspirators to capture President Lincoln and 
 hold him as a hostage until some terms should be made 
 recognizing the Confederacy. But the surrender of 
 Lee and the conclusion of the war rendered such a pro- 
 ceeding absolutely useless. One would naturally sup- 
 pose that after the war was over and there was general 
 rejoicing both North and South, that the long and 
 bloody conflict had been ended and that the soldiers who 
 formed the mass of the armies on both sides should once 
 again return to their homes and families and their or- 
 dinary avocations, that all designs upon the freedom or 
 life of the Chief Magistrate would have been abandoned. 
 But it appears that their plans were still kept up and 
 were changed from that of capture to assassination. 
 The house of Mrs. Surratt on H Street, where the meet- 
 ings of those engaged in the conspiracy were held, still 
 stands and is an object of curiosity and interest to 
 strangers visiting the city. Booth's plans were well 
 laid and his preparations for escape from the theater 
 and the city were successful. The way behind the 
 scenes was kept clear, while his fleet horse was ready 
 for mounting in the alley back of the theater, held by 
 Spangler and Herold, who accompanied him in his flight. 
 It is generally believed that had he not broken his leg 
 at the time he jumped from the box to the stage by his 
 spur catching in the flag that decorated the front of the 
 box, he would have made his escape complete and man- 
 aged to get out of the country before he could be cap- 
 tured. How he must have suffered that night riding 
 for his life with his broken leg dangling in the stirrup
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 THE CONSPIKATOK8.
 
 BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT. 53 
 
 
 
 until he reached the home of Dr. Mudd who rendered 
 him what brief medical aid was in his power. The 
 story of his pursuit by the United States soldiers, of his 
 finally being traced to the Garrett farm, of the capture of 
 Herold and the shooting of Booth by Boston Corbett, is 
 too well known to be rehearsed here. His body was 
 brought to this city, placed upon a gunboat until it 
 was thoroughly identified, then it was buried in the 
 Arsenal grounds and subsequently delivered over to the 
 family and now lies in the Booth plot in Greenmount 
 Cemetery, in Baltimore. 
 
 Booth's friends have always claimed that his mind 
 had become unbalanced by continually thinking over the 
 misfortunes of the South, and this is partially borne out 
 by the following letter which he left with his brother- 
 in-law, John Sleeper Clarke, "for safe keeping," and 
 which was handed to the United States Marshal at 
 Philadelphia after the assassination had been committed 
 and it was known that Booth was the criminal : 
 
 -, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR: You may use this as you think best. But as some 
 may wish to know when, who and why, and as I know not how to direct, 
 I give it (in the words of your master). 
 
 " TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN." 
 
 Right or wrong, God judge me, not man. For be my motive good or 
 bad, of one thing I am sure, the lasting condemnation of the North. 
 
 I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expres- 
 sion. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark 
 clouds to break, and for the restoration of our former sunshine. To wait 
 longer would be a crime. All hope for peace is dead. My prayers have 
 proved as idle as my hopes. God's will be done. I go to see and share 
 the bitter end. 
 
 I have ever held the South were right. The very nomination of 
 Abraham Lincoln, four years ago, spoke plainly of war war upon 
 Southern rights and institutions. His election proved it. " Await an
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 MRS. MARY SURTCATT'S HOUSE, 604 TT ST N. w., WASTIINGTON, D. c.
 
 BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT. 55 
 
 overt act." Yes, till you are bound and plundered. What folly. The 
 South was wise. Who thinks of arguments and patience when the finger 
 of his enemy presses on the trigger ? In a foreign war I, too, could say, 
 " country, right or wrong." But in a struggle such as ours (where the 
 brother tries to pierce the brother's heart) for God's sake, choose the right. 
 When a country like this spurns justice from her side she forfeits the 
 allegiance of every honest freeman, and should leave him untrammeled 
 by any fealty soever, to act as his conscience may approve. 
 
 People of the North, to hate tyranny, to love liberty and justice, to 
 strike at wrong and oppression, was the teaching of our fathers. The 
 study of our early history will not let me forget it, and may it never. 
 
 This country was formed for the white, not for the black, man. And 
 looking upon African slavery from the same standpoint held by the noble 
 framersof our Constitution, I, for one, have ever considered it one of the 
 greatest blessings (both for themselves and us) that God ever bestowed 
 upon a favored nation. Witness heretofore our wealth and power, wit- 
 ness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. I 
 have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment 
 from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. 
 Yet Heaven knows, no one would be willing to do more for the negro 
 race than I, could T but see a way to still better their condition. 
 
 But Lincoln's policy is only preparing the way for their total annihila- 
 tion. The South are not, nor have they been fighting for the continu- 
 ance of slavery. The first battle of Bull Run did away with that idea. 
 Their causes since the war have been noble and greater far than those 
 that urged our fathers on. Even should we allow they were wrong at 
 the beginning of this contest, cruelty and injustice have made the wrong 
 become the right, and they stand now (before the wonder and admiration 
 of the world) as a noble band of patriotic heroes. Hereafter, reading of 
 their deeds, Thermopylae would be forgotten. 
 
 When I aided in the capture and execution of John Brown (who was 
 a murderer on our western border, and who was fairly tried and convicted 
 before an impartial judge and jury of treason, and who, by the way, has 
 since been made a god), I was proud of my little share in the transaction, 
 for I deemed it my duty, and that I was helping our common country to 
 perform an act of justice. But what was a crime in John Brown is now 
 considered (by themselves) as the greatest and only virtue of the whole 
 Republican party. Strange transmigration ! Vice to become a virtue, 
 simply because more indulge in it. 
 
 I thought then, as now, that the abolitionists were the only traitors in 
 the land, and that the entire party deserved the same fate of poor old 
 Brown; not because they wished to abolish slavery, but on account of
 
 56 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 the means they have ever endeavored lo use to effect that abolition. If 
 Brown were living I doubt whether he himself would set slavery against 
 the Union. Most, or many, in the North do, and openly curse the Union, 
 if the South are to return and retain a single right guaranteed by every 
 tie which we once revered as sacred. The South can make no choice. 
 It is either extermination or slavery for themselves (worse than death) to 
 draw from. I know my choice. 
 
 I have also studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a 
 State to secede has been denied, when our very name, United States, and 
 the Declaration of Independence, both provide for secession. But there 
 is no time for words I write in haste. I know how foolish I shall be 
 deemed for undertaking such a step as this, wher$, on the one side, I 
 have many friends and everything to make me happy; where my profes- 
 sion alone has gained me an income of more than twenty thousand dollars 
 a year, and where my great personal ambition in my profession has such 
 a great field for labor. On the other hand, the South have never bestowed 
 upon me one kind word; a place now where I have no friends, except 
 beneath the sod; a place where I must become either a private soldier or 
 a beggar. To give up all of the former for the latter, besides my mother 
 and sisters, whom I love so dearly (although they so widely differ from 
 me in opinion), seems insane, but God is my judge. I love justice more 
 than I do a country that disowns it; more than fame and wealth; more 
 (Heaven pardon me if wrong), more than a happy home. I have never 
 been upon a battlefield; but oh, my countrymen, could you all but see 
 the reality or effects of this horrid war, as I have seen them (in every 
 State, save Virginia), I know you would think like me, and would pray 
 the Almighty to create in the Northern mind the sense of right and jus- 
 tice (even should it possess no seasoning of mercy), and that He would 
 dry up this sea of blood between us, which is daily growing wider. 
 Alas, poor country, is she to meet her threatened doom ? 
 
 Four years ago I would have given a thousand lives to gee her remain 
 (as I had always known her) powerful and unbroken. And even now I 
 would hold my life as naught to see her what she was. O, my friends, 
 if the fearful scenes of the past four years had never been enacted, or if 
 what had been, had been but a frightful dream, from which we could 
 now awake, with what overflowing of hearts could we bless our God and 
 pray for his continued favor. How I have loved the old flag can never 
 now be known. A few years since and the entire world could boast of 
 none so pure and spotless. But I have of late been seeing and hearing 
 of the bloody deeds of which she has been made the emblem, and would 
 shudder to think how changed she had grown. O, how I have longed to 
 see her break from the mist of blood and death that circles around her
 
 BOOTH THE MOVING SPIRIT. 57 
 
 folds, spoiling her beauty and tarnishing her honor. But no, day by day 
 she has been dragged deeper and deeper into cruelty and oppression, till 
 now (in my eyes) her once bright red stripes look like bloody gashes on 
 the face of Heaven. I look now upon my early admiration of her glories 
 as a dream. My love (as things stand to-day) is for the South alone. Nor 
 do I deem it a dishpnor in attempting to make for her a prisoner of this 
 man, to whom she owes so much of misery. If success attends me, I go 
 penniless to her side. They say she has found that "last ditch " which 
 the North have so long derided, and been endeavoring to force her in, 
 forgetting they are our brothers, and that it's impolitic to goad an enemy 
 to madness. Should I reach her in safety and find it true, I will proudly 
 beg permission to triumph or die in that same "ditch " by her side. 
 
 A CONFEDERATE, DOING DUTY UPON His OWN RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 J. WILKES BOOTH.
 
 58 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 HANGING OF THE CONSPIRATORS.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RELICS OF THE TRAGEDY IN POSSESSION OF 
 MR. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 Very few relics of that fearful tragedy when the 
 President of the United States was, for the first time in 
 the history of this country, stricken down by the hand 
 of an assassin, remain. Probably the greatest number 
 of mementoes of that sad event are in the possession of 
 Mr. John E. Buckingham, who was the doorkeeper of 
 the theater and whose experiences on the night of the 
 calamity have already been told. There is a piece of 
 the lace curtain that draped the box. He has also an 
 original program of the performance of " Our Ameri- 
 can Cousin," in which Laura Keene and her excellent 
 company appeared on that night. Besides these he has 
 the large key that unlocked the cell at the Arsenal 
 grounds in which Payne, the assassin of Secretary 
 Steward, was confined and from which he went forth 
 to pay the penalty of his crime upon the gallows. So 
 far as photographs are concerned, he has quite a num- 
 ber which he prizes very highly and which are of in- 
 calculable value as faithful representatives of the actors 
 and incidents in that terrible drama. He has photo- 
 graphs of President Lincoln, of John Wilkes Booth, of 
 Laura Keene, of the box as it appeared on the night in 
 question, of all th,ese mementoes mentioned above, and 
 one representing the execution of the prisoners in the 
 Arsenal grounds. 
 
 It has already been stated that as soon as possible
 
 60 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 after Mr. Lincoln was shot, he was conveyed across 
 the street to the house of Mr. Petersen, where he re- 
 mained until he died. That building is an historic one 
 now, and its former use is indicated by a tablet of white 
 marble placed in the outer wall stating that here Presi- 
 dent Lincoln died on the 15th of April, 1865. Mr. 
 Petersen's son has retained in his possession the pillow 
 cases and the coverlet which were on the bed on which 
 the martyred President was placed and where he 
 breathed his last. These still bear the stains of the 
 blood which flowed from the wound made by the as- 
 sassin's hand and are ghastly but eloquent evidences 
 of the saddest tragedy in American history.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. 
 
 There are two men living who probably had more 
 to do with Booth's escape and capture than any two 
 men now upon earth. Those two men are Thomas A. 
 Jones, who aided Booth's escape and kept him hid down 
 at Cox's farm until he could get an opportunity to let 
 him and Herold cross the Potomac and get into Vir- 
 ginia, and the other is Captain William Williams, at 
 present a detective in this city, who was a captain of 
 cavalry at the time of the assassination of President 
 Lincoln and who commanded the first party who really 
 started in pursuit of Booth. About three years ago the 
 two men met in this city and talked over the events of 
 a quarter of a century before. 
 
 Captain Williams was w.ell acquainted with Booth, 
 and on the night of the assassination he passed Booth 
 standing in front of Ford's Theater and asked him to 
 join him in a glass of beer. Booth thanked him and 
 declined. While the captain was in Doc Claggett's 
 restaurant, corner of Tenth and Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 the alarm was sent out that the President had been 
 shot at Ford's Theater. The captain ran to the theater 
 and there he was ordered to bring his cavalry from the 
 White House. The order was carried out, and in a 
 few minutes the clatter of the cavalry horses sounded 
 down the Avenue. After Captain Williams returned 
 to the theater Provost Marshal O'Beirne ordered him 
 to report to the Kirkwood House, Twelfth Street and
 
 62 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 HANGING OF THE CONSPIRATORS.
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. Q3- 
 
 Pennsylvania Avenue, where Vice President Johnson 
 was living, and guard him. This the captain did 
 through the long and trying night. There was little 
 rest for the Vice President. He paced the floor of his 
 room and would wring his hands and say : " They shall 
 suffer for this. They shall suffer for this." 
 
 About daylight the cavalry, under the command of 
 Lieutenant Lovett, dashed up to the front of the hotel, 
 and General O'Beirne commanded Captain Williams to- 
 take the cavalry and hunt for Booth. 
 
 " Where must I go ?" asked the captain. 
 
 " How do I know ? " replied the General. " Go, and 
 don't return to Washington until you find Booth ; but 
 mind don't harm a hair on his head." 
 
 Mounting a magnificent charger the captain clapped 
 spurs and with a " Come, boys ! " the cavalry were soon 
 going at a rapid speed toward the Eastern Branch 
 Bridge, which was successfully crossed by the captain 
 knocking the sentry down by running over him with 
 his horse. 
 
 "There was no time to stand and explain to the 
 sentry," said the captain ; "time was precious." 
 
 The first stop was made at Surrattsville, where John 
 M. Lloyd kept a tavern, and at which place Mrs. Sur- 
 ratt had left a field glass and two carbines for Booth 
 and Herold. Lloyd was arrested and sent back to 
 Washington under guard. 
 
 "And from here we went to Bryantown," said the 
 captain, eyeing Jones closely, " and of course I remem- 
 ber you. I can never forget that come-to-the-Lord- 
 and-be-saved expression you wear now and wore then. 
 But if I had known then what I do now, how different
 
 64 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 would things ha.ve been. Why, you ought to be shot ! 
 If you had told me where Booth was you would have 
 been the biggest man in America, and would have had 
 money by the flour-barrel full." 
 
 "Yes, and a conscience as black as purgatory," said 
 Jones, "and the everlasting hatred of the people I 
 loved. No, captain, I never the first time thought of 
 betraying Booth. After he was placed in my hands I 
 determined to die before I would betray him." 
 
 "Who placed him in your hands.?" 
 
 "Samuel Cox. It was on the morning of the 16th 
 of April, Sunday morning, that one of Cox's white men 
 came to my house on Huckleberry farm, and told me 
 that Cox wanted to see me at once. I suspected some- 
 thing, as I heard the evening before that Lincoln had 
 been killed. I had a horse saddled and rode over to 
 Cox's and there he told me that Booth and Herold had 
 been there, and wanted assistance to get across the 
 river. I was told where the men were in a pine 
 thicket, about a mile and a half from the house. I 
 was given instructions how to reach them without 
 being shot certain signs by whistling, etc. Upon 
 reaching the dense pines I met Herold, to whom I 
 explained that I was sent by Cox. I was then piloted 
 to where Booth was. He lay on the ground, wrapped 
 in a pile of blankets, and his face bore traces of pain. 
 Booth asked me many questions as to what people 
 thought of the assassination. He appeared to be proud 
 of what he had done. I at the time thought he had 
 done a good act, but, great God ! I soon saw that it 
 was the worst blow ever struck for the South. 
 
 "Well, captain, I can talk now, and I did the best I
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. 65 
 
 could for the poor fellow. I carried him something to 
 eat and papers to read, and tried to keep him in good 
 spirits until I got a chance to send him across the river. 
 The country, as you know, was full of soldiers and 
 detectives, and I did not know how soon I would get 
 him away. I think it was the following Tuesday I 
 went up to Port Tobacco to see how the 'land lay ' and 
 it was there, in the bar of Brawner's Hotel, you said 
 you would give $300,000 to any man who would tell 
 where Booth was." 
 
 "Yes ; and if you had given me the information you 
 would be to-day General Jones instead of a discharged 
 laborer from the navy yard." 
 
 "That may be true, but how could I give up the life 
 of that poor devil over there in the pine thicket, hover- 
 ing between life and death, and the confidence reposed 
 in me by the best friend I ever had, Samuel Cox. I 
 was a creature of circumstances. I did not know 
 Booth, but when Cox put him in my keeping nothing 
 would have tempted me to betray him. I could have 
 placed my hands on him, but honor and truth were 
 worth more to me than the entire wealth of the Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 "I have lived in plenty and I have lived in poverty, 
 but God knows I have never betrayed a trust or done 
 that which I believed dishonorable. While I was not 
 ashamed of the part I played in that sad tragedy, I was 
 never used to speaking of it. I preferred to have it 
 buried with the past, and but for the mean little spite- 
 work of Congressman Mudd this matter would have 
 never come out. 
 
 "But to return to Booth and Herold. I did the best
 
 66 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS.
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. 67 
 
 I could for them gave them plenty to eat and waited 
 my chances. At the expiration of the sixth day I was 
 over at Allen's Fresh and heard the officers give orders 
 for the cavalry to go down in St. Mary's County, that 
 the assassins were there. This was my chance, and 
 mounting my horse I made good time to where Booth 
 and Herold were concealed. Booth was glad to know 
 that his time to get into Virginia had come. 
 
 "The night was dark and Herold and I lifted Booth 
 onto my horse. I went a little in advance and Herold 
 walked by the horse, leading him. Our progress was 
 slow, but we finally reached my house and I made the 
 two men stay in the orchard while I went in to get 
 something for them to eat. Booth wanted to get off 
 the horse and go in, but I knew it would never do, as 
 there were too many negroes about. His appeals were 
 pitiful, but it was the best I could do. 
 
 "I had already told my negro, Henry Woodland, 
 where to leave the boat, and after we got supper we 
 proceeded to the river. We lifted Booth from the horse 
 and carried him to the boat and placed him in the stern, 
 while Herold took the oars. I then lighted a candle 
 and showed Booth by his compass how to steer to get 
 into Machodoc Creek, and gave him directions to Mrs. 
 Queensberry's, who I thought would take care of him. 
 
 "Booth was profuse in his thanks to me. and gave me 
 a few dollars for my boat. He offered me more, but I 
 thought he would need money worse than I, though it 
 was the only boat I had. That was the last I saw of 
 Booth. 
 
 "You remember my being under arrest at Bryan- 
 town?" said Jones to the captain.
 
 68 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 "Yes; and, Jones, let me say to you that myself and 
 other officers believed that you knew more than you 
 would tell, but that sanctimonious look of yours saved 
 you." 
 
 "Well, I could sit there and hear orders given and re- 
 ports received which I knew were lies. Some of the 
 reports of the scouting parties were lies made out of the 
 whole cloth, but of course I said nothing. I knew Booth 
 had hit the Virginia shore. I was cursed and abused 
 until I felt I could not restrain myself. Everybody 
 seemed to have a special spite at me. When you posted 
 the bills ordering all citizens to join in the search for 
 Booth, and that to furnish bread or water to him meant 
 death, I felt shakier than ever. After keeping me there 
 at the hotel several days I was told that I would have 
 to come to Washington, and was sent here in an ambu- 
 lance in charge of Detective Franklin, of Philadelphia, 
 who used every effort to get me drunk and make me 
 tell what I knew. He didn't succeed by a long jump, 
 and finally gave up and took it out in cursing me. I 
 remained seven weeks in Carroll prison, and was not 
 used as a witness, because nobody knew that I knew 
 anything." 
 
 "Did you know that Booth was going to kill Lin- 
 coln?" 
 
 "Upon the word of a man I did not. I did know that 
 plans were laid to kidnap the President and take, him 
 to Richmond, and, if the public roads had not been in 
 such an awful condition in the fall and winter of '63 
 and '64, the plans would have been carried out. The 
 weather had been very mild and the roads were soft 
 and muddy, making it impossible to make good time.
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. 6& 
 
 Everything for this scheme was in readiness all the 
 time. Booth was in it. Lincoln could have been caught 
 most any time at the Navy Yard or at the War Depart- 
 ment, where he frequently remained until late at night. 
 It would have been no trouble to have crossed the 
 Eastern Branch Bridge and, with relays of fast horses, 
 Port Tobacco could have been reached, and across the 
 Potomac he would have been sent. The boats and men 
 were in readiness all the time. Booth's bullet put an 
 end to this." 
 
 "You were in the secret service of the Confederacy?" 
 " I was chief signal agent of the Confederacy north 
 of the Potomac, and I may say that I worked day and 
 night for the same. I had charge of all rebel mail and 
 the boats along the river. I seldom missed getting the 
 mails into Richmond on time. I took great chances of 
 being killed, and when Richmond was evacuated I was 
 there to collect what was due me, $2,500, and did not 
 get a cent of it. I also had about $3,500 in Confeder- 
 ate bonds. It all went and I was left penniless. The 
 war was a bad thing for me all the way through. It 
 is pretty tough on me now in my old age, but I have 
 never regretted being true to my trust." 
 
 After Jones left, Captain Williams said: " I have 
 dealt with and sized up many men during my life, 
 but that man Jones beats them all. He has changed 
 very little during the past twenty-five years. This is 
 the first time I have seen him since we met at Port 
 Tobacco and Bryantown, and yet I remember every fea- 
 ture. He is a wonderful man and one that when he 
 believes he is right nothing can change. I remember 
 when I made that offer of $300,000 in the saloon, he
 
 70 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS.
 
 BOOTH'S ESCAPE AND CAPTURE. 71 
 
 was standing next to me at the bar and I could not de- 
 tect the least movement or change of his face. There 
 was something which told me that he knew where 
 Booth was or could give me the information which 
 would lead to his capture, but he wouldn't be worked. 
 No amount of money or glory would have tempted him. 
 No human being can read his face and tell what is 
 passing in his mind ; it is like a stone. He would have 
 gone the hemp route if the facts he now gives had been 
 known then. If he had only told me where Booth was, 
 Boston Corbett would never have had the chance to 
 shoot Booth. 
 
 " What a tragedy ! What a tragedy ! At 10 
 o'clock Friday night, April 14, 1865, Booth shot the 
 President, mounted a horse, and dashed through the 
 city and across the Eastern Branch Bridge, stopped at 
 Surratt's tavern and got his carbines and whisky. 
 Here he was joined by Herold and the two proceeded 
 to Doctor Mudd's, where Booth had his leg dressed, a 
 crutch made and shaved off his mustache. From here 
 he went to Cox's and there was placed in the keeping 
 of Jones. Great God, how my blood boils, and yet I 
 admire the loyalty and fidelity of Jones. His part was 
 the grandest of any that was played. Nothing could 
 tempt him ! In the pine thicket Booth was nursed by 
 his faithful friend until he could be sent to Virginia 
 and meet his death in Garrett's barn. While the flames 
 swept around him he stood like some wild beast hound- 
 ed to its death, and received the bullet from Corbett's 
 gun. Mrs. Surratt, Lewis Payne, George Atzerodt and 
 David Herold paid the penalty on the scaffold. Dr. 
 Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlin and Samuel Arnold
 
 72 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 were sentenced to imprisonment for life at Dry Tortu- 
 gas. Spangler got six years at the same place. Doctor 
 Mudd was pardoned afterward and is now dead. John 
 Surratt, who escaped to Italy, was brought back and 
 tried. He escaped on a plea of the statute of limitation. 
 Corbett. who killed Booth, is in an insane asylum, and 
 Jones is here to tell more than was ever known be- 
 fore."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MAJOR RATHBONE'S AFFIDAVIT. 
 
 The following is the affidavit of Major Rathbone, who 
 was seated in the box with President Lincoln when the 
 assassination took place : 
 
 District of Columbia, City of Washington : 
 
 . Henry R. Rathbone, Brevet Major in the Army of the United States, 
 being duly sworn, says that on the 14th of April, instant, at about 
 twenty minutes past 8 o'clock in the evening, he, with Miss Clara H. 
 Harris, left his residence at the corner of Fifteenth and H Streets, and 
 joined the President and Mrs. Lincoln and went with them in their car- 
 riage to Ford's Theater, in Tenth Street. The box assigned to the Pres- 
 ident is in the second tier, on the right-hand side of the audience, and 
 was occupied by the President and Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris and this 
 deponent, and by no other person. The box is entered by passing from 
 the front of the building in the rear of the dress circle to a small entry or 
 passageway, about eight feet in length and four feet in width. This 
 passage way is entered by a door which opens on the inner side. The 
 door is so placed as to make an acute angle between it and the wall be- 
 hind it on the inner side. At the inner end of this passage way is an- 
 other door, standing squarely across, and opening into the box. On the 
 left-hand side of the passage way, and being near the inner end, is a third 
 door, which opens into the box. This latter door was closed. The party 
 entered the box through the door at the end of the passage way. The box 
 is so constructed that it may be divided into two by a movable partition, 
 one of the doors described opening into each. The front of the box is 
 about ten or twelve feet in length and in the center of the railing is a 
 small pillar overhung with a curtain. The depth of the box from front 
 to rear is about nine feet. The elevation of the box above the stage, in- 
 cluding the railing, is about ten or twelve feet. 
 
 When the party entered the box a cushioned arm-chair was standing 
 at the end of the box farthest from the stage and nearest the audience. 
 This was also the nearest point to the door by which the box is entered. 
 The President seated himself in this chair, and except that he once left 
 this chair for the purpose of putting on his overcoat, remained so seated 
 until he was shot. Mrs. Lincoln was seated in a chair between the Pres
 
 74 
 
 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 - "
 
 MAJOR RATHBONE'S AFFIDAVIT. 75 
 
 ident and the pillar in the center above described. At the opposite end 
 of the box, that nearest the stage, were two chairs; in one of these, 
 standing in the corner, Miss Harris was seated. At her left hand, and 
 along the wall running from that end of the box to the rear, stood a small 
 sofa. At the end of this sofa, next to Miss Harris, this deponent was 
 seated. The distance between this deponent and the President, as they 
 were sitting, was about seven or eight feet, and the distance between this 
 deponent and the door was about the same. The distance between the 
 President as he sat at the door was about four or five feet. The door, 
 according to the recollection of this deponent, was not closed during the 
 evening. 
 
 When the second scene of the third act was being performed and this 
 deponent was intently observing the proceedings upon the stage, with 
 his back toward the door, he heard the discharge of a pistol behind him, 
 and looking around, saw through the smoke a man between the door 
 and the President. At the same time deponent heard him shout some 
 word which deponent thinks was " Freedom." This deponent instantly 
 sprang toward him and seized him. He wrested himself from the grasp 
 and made a violent thrust at the breast of deponent with a large knife. 
 Deponent parried the blow by striking it up, and received a wound sev- 
 eral inches deep in his left arm between the elbow and the shoulder 
 The orifice of the wound is about an inch and a half in length, and ex- 
 tends upwards toward the shoulder several inches. The man rushed to 
 the front of the box and deponent endeavored to seize him again, but 
 only caught his clothes as he was leaping over the railing of the box 
 The clothes, as deponent believes, were torn in this attempt to seize him. 
 As he went over upon the stage, deponent cried out with a loud voice, 
 " Stop that man." Deponent then turned to the President. His posi- 
 tion was not changed. His head was slightly bent forward and his eyes 
 were closed. Deponent saw that he was unconscious, and supposing him 
 mortally wounded rushed to the door for the purpose of calling medical 
 aid. On reaching the outer door of the passage as above described de 
 ponent found it barred by a heavy piece of plank, one end of which was 
 secured in the wall and the other rested against the door. It had been 
 so securely fastened that it required considerable force to remove it. 
 This wedge or bar was about four feet from the floor. Persons on the 
 outside were bearing on the door for the purpose of entering. Deponent 
 removed the bar and the door was opened. Several persons who repre- 
 sented themselves to be surgeons were allowed to enter. Deponent saw 
 there Colonel Crawford, and requested him to prevent olher persons from 
 entering the box. Deponent then returned to the box and found the 
 surgeons examining the President's person. They ha.d not yet found the
 
 76 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 wound. As soon as it was discovered it- was determined to remove him 
 from the theater. He was carried out, and this deponent then proceeded 
 to assist Mrs. Lincoln, who was intensely excited, to leave the theater. 
 On reaching the head of the stairs deponent requested Major Potter to 
 aid him in assisting Mrs. Lincoln across the street to the house to which 
 the President was being conveyed. The wound which the deponent had 
 received had been bleeding very profusely and, on reaching the house, feel- 
 ing very faint from the loss of blood, he seated himself in the hall, and 
 soon after fainted away and was laid on the floor. Upon the return of 
 consciousness deponent was taken in a carriage to his residence. 
 
 In the review of the transaction it is the confident belief of this de 
 ponent that the time which elapsed between the discharge of the pistol 
 and the time when the assassin leaped from the box, did not exceed 
 thirty seconds. Neither Mrs. Lincoln nor Miss Harris had left their 
 seats. H. R. RATHBONE. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn before me this 17th day of April, 1865. 
 
 A. B. OLIN, 
 
 Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A BUILDING THAT HAS A TRAGIC HISTORY. 
 
 A complete history of the building in which this 
 tragedy occurred will be of especial interest. Ford's 
 Theater was originally a church and was built by the 
 First Baptist congregation, the cornerstone having 
 been laid in 1833. It was located on the east side of 
 Tenth Street, between E and F, about midway of the 
 square The Rev. Obediah B. Brown was the pastor, 
 having been in charge of that congregation for forty- 
 three years, commencing at the time when the First 
 Baptist church was located at the corner of Nineteenth 
 and I Streets, Northwest, in the building now occu- 
 pied as a Baptist church by a colored congregation. 
 The Rev. Stephen D. Hill succeeded Mr. Brown as pas- 
 tor in the year 1850 and from that time until 1859 offi- 
 ciated in the Tenth Street church. The last service 
 that he held in the Tenth Street church was in Septem- 
 ber, 1859, and in the latter part of that year the congre- 
 gation moved to Thirteenth Street between G and H, 
 where a building for their accommodation had been 
 built. This building had been put up in 1S52 by 
 another Baptist organization which united with the 
 Tenth Street organization, making a new congregation 
 and retaining the name and title of the First Baptist 
 church. The Rev. Isaac Cole was the pastor of the 
 Thirteenth Street church and when the two congrega- 
 tions united he became a joint pastor with Dr. Hill.
 
 78 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 Rev. Dr. T. C. Teasdale succeeded Dr. Hill as the prin- 
 cipal pastor of the new First Baptist church. 
 
 On December 10, 1861, the trustees sold the Tenth 
 Street church to David W. Heath and he sold it to John 
 T. Ford. Mr. Ford was well known as a theatrical 
 manager and altered the building which, though the 
 deed is dated as given above in December, had been his 
 property for some months previous so that it could be 
 utilized for concerts and other performances. The first 
 invasion of secular performances was by the Carlotta 
 Patti Concert Troupe, which gave two performances on 
 November 19 and 21, 1861. The company consisted 
 of Miss Patti, Madame Patti-Strakosch, Signer Scola, 
 Signor Centimeri, Harry Sanderson, the pianist, and 
 T. Schremer. On Thursday, December 5, following, 
 George Christy's Minstrels opened the house which they 
 designated on their program as George Christy's New 
 Opera House for a short season. Among the company 
 were Glairville and Stratton, Haslam, Japanese Tommy, 
 Tim Hayes and C. O'Neil. They ran until January 
 25, 1862, when George Christy took a benefit, and the 
 following week they moved to Odd Fellows' Hall on 
 Seventh Street. There were then some repairs made 
 upon the building, which was fitted up so that complete 
 theatrical performances could be given, the stage being 
 widened and new scenery being painted. It was opened 
 on Wednesday evening, March 19, 1862, under the 
 title of "Ford's Atheneum " and the initial perform- 
 ance was the "French Spy," with Miss Lucille Western 
 in the title role. The staff of the Atheneum consisted, 
 according to the program, of John T. Ford, proprietor 
 and manager ; John B. Wright, stage manager ; Eugene
 
 A BUILDING THAT HAS A TRAGIC HISTORY. 79 
 
 Fenelon, late of the great Ravel Troupe, leader of or- 
 chestra ; and it was stated that the building had been 
 reconstructed by James J. Gifford, architect and builder. 
 On the 31st of March Edwin Forrest opened a long 
 engagement, appearing first in " Richelieu." His prin- 
 cipal support was John McCullough, George Becks, C. 
 
 B. Harrison and Miss Athena. Mr. Forrest only played 
 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 
 on the off nights John McCullough and Miss Annie 
 Graham played the principal parts in the " Maniac,'' and 
 the "Octoroon" was also put on. Mr. Forrest closed 
 his engagement of six weeks May 9, taking a benefit 
 and playing Claude Melnotte in the " Lady of Lyons." 
 On May 12 James H. Hackett opened as Falstaff, his 
 engagement lasting until May 23, when he closed, ap- 
 pearing in "The Kentuckian in 1815," and Mons. Mallet 
 in a " Postoffice Mistake." This closed the regular win- 
 ter and spring season. 
 
 On the 28th and 29th of May, Gottschalk and Brignoli 
 with an Italian opera and concert company gave two 
 concerts, and on June 2 the regular summer season 
 opened with " Mazeppa;" Stuart Robson and the Dwarfs, 
 Commodore Foote and Colonel Small, being the princi- 
 pal attractions. During this summer season, which 
 really lasted only about three weeks, a play called " The 
 Fast Men of Washington " was given. After the sum- 
 mer season closed a benefit was given to the widow of 
 
 C. B. Harrison, when the play "All That Glitters is Not 
 Gold " was presented, with Dan Setchell, John McCul- 
 lough, Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Bishop and others in 
 the cast. In the fall of '62 the building opened for 
 regular winter work, under the style of Ford's Thea-
 
 80 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 ter. Mr. John S. Clarke was the first star, opening in 
 "Paul Pry" and "Toodles." Then followed Maggie 
 Mitchell in "Margot, the Poultry Dealer," and " Fan- 
 chon " ; Gabriel Ravel Troupe ; C. W. Couldock and 
 Miss Couldock in "Gabriel Cox" ; Miss Caroline Rich 
 ings and Peter Richings in the " Enchantress." 
 
 On the 30th of December, 1862, at half-past five in the 
 afternoon, during the engagement of the Richings, 
 Ford's Theater was discovered to be on fire, and not- 
 withstanding the exertions of the fire department the 
 building was totally destroyed ; and thus ended the tale 
 of Ford's Theater, which had been constructed out of 
 the old Baptist church. 
 
 Mr. Ford was not at all disheartened although his loss 
 was heavy, as was that of the Richings Troupe, which 
 had all their wardrobe destroyed, but he at once set 
 about putting up another theater on the old site. He 
 pushed the work with his characteristic energy and the 
 present structure was opened in August, 1863, with the 
 " JSaiad Queen." This was followed by Maggie Mitch- 
 ell and then the other leading stars in quick succession, 
 and there was no break in its success until the fateful 
 tragedy on April 14, 1865. The new theater was an 
 extremely well constructed house and was perhaps the 
 fashionable theater of its kind. It was well furnished 
 and upholstered, and Mr. Ford from his long experi- 
 ence as a manager was able to present to the people of 
 Washington the very best attractions. During those 
 times the city was constantly filled with army officers 
 and people who were brought here by reason of the war, 
 and Washington from a comparatively rural village had 
 taken on an activity that had never been dreamed of.
 
 A BUILDING THAT HAS A TRAGIC HISTORY. 81 
 
 The influx of soldiers, the additional number of Gov- 
 ernment clerks required, the presence of army con- 
 tractors and those who were associated with them, 
 made money plentiful in Washington, and although 
 there was often great anxiety for the troops at the 
 front, there seemed to be no lack of inclination on the 
 part of those that were at the Capital to witness good 
 performances. President Lincoln was a great theater- 
 goer. He found rest from the cares of the great re- 
 sponsibility that was^ upon him in looking at a stage 
 performance, and the managers of the different theaters 
 were always glad to have him attend. On that fatal 
 night, even after he had signified his intention of being 
 present, he came very near not attending, and it was 
 some time after the performance commenced before his 
 well known form was seen wending its way back of 
 the balcony seats to the boxes which had been prepared 
 for his occupancy and which had been decorated in his 
 honor. He was recognized by the audience as he took 
 his seat in the box and was heartily cheered. Every- 
 body was in good humor. The long war which had 
 cost so much money and which had evolved such an 
 expenditure of precious blood upon so many hard-fought 
 fields was over. The supremacy of the Government 
 had been vindicated and those lately in rebellion had 
 surrendered. There had been a succession of rejoic- 
 ings at the National Capital and for nights the city had 
 been brilliantly illuminated in honor of the victory of 
 the Union arms. Little did the audience think as they 
 cheered the President, who was perhaps nearer to the 
 hearts of the people than any other man who occupied 
 that high office, that a scene not upon the bills but an
 
 82 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 act which would thrill them and the whole world with 
 horror would be so soon enacted. Little did Mr. Lin- 
 coln think as he turned his face to the stage and 
 watched the quiet humor of Asa Trenchard, the an- 
 tics of Lord Dundreary, the pathos of Mary Meredith 
 and the terrible lesson conveyed in the character of 
 Abel Murcott in the play of "Our American Cousin," 
 that that play would be the last thing that he would 
 look upon in life. 
 
 The story of the tragedy has already been told; it 
 need not be again repeated. With this ended the career 
 of the building as a theater. 
 
 Immediately after the removal of Mr. Lincoln from 
 the theater where he had been shot to the Petersen 
 house across the street, where he died, the theater was 
 taken possession of by the Government, guards were 
 placed at every entrance and for months it remained 
 closed, a silent but eloquent witness of the fearful ca- 
 lamity that had befallen the nation. Finally the Gov- 
 ernment purchased the building from Mr. Ford, com- 
 pletely remodeled it and it became a part of the Surgeon 
 General's Office of the War Department. Into this 
 building was removed the Army Medical Museum, con- 
 sisting of specimens of peculiar wounds and diseases 
 which had been developed on the field and in the hos- 
 pitals during the war, and it was a peculiar coincidence 
 that among the exhibits were three of the cervical ver- 
 tebrae of John Wilkes Booth, showing the wound from 
 the bullet fired by Boston Corbett, which ended the 
 life of the assassin. Thus, in the same building in 
 which he committed his crime was seen the ghastly 
 evidence of the manner in which he paid the penalty.
 
 A BUILDING THAT HAS A TRAGIC HISTORY. 83 
 
 If there is such a thing as bad luck it seemed to fol- 
 low this building, for the terrible accident which took 
 place June 9, 1893, has probably ended the usefulness 
 of that structure, even for Government employes. On 
 that day three of the floors fell through, carrying down 
 with them hundreds of Government clerks who, but 
 a moment before, had been quietly and faithfully at- 
 tending to their business. The final record of deaths 
 from this calamity was but twenty-two, but the serious 
 injury to many others cannot be estimated. This 
 frightful accident was a fitting termination to the career 
 of the building that had known many vicissitudes and 
 that started as a Baptist church.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 RELICS OP MR. LINCOLN. 
 
 As the result of the patriotic efforts of the Memorial 
 Association of the District, an organization which has 
 already accomplished a great deal in designating with 
 some permanent mark many of the places of historic 
 interest in this city, the house where Lincoln breathed 
 his last is now open to the public. It is a plain three- 
 story brick located on Tenth Street, just across the way 
 from Ford's old theater building, and has been used as 
 a private residence ever since the tragedy, nearly thirty 
 years ago. It has, however, undergone no changes, 
 and the long narrow room in the first story in the back 
 building where the great President died, is still the same 
 as it was. The association has leased the building, and 
 it now contains a remarkable collection of relics and 
 memorials of Lincoln. 
 
 This collection was brought together by the zeal and 
 energy of Capt. O. H. Oldroyd, who began as far back 
 as the year 1860 to collect everything that pertained to 
 the name and fame of Lincoln. He joined the first 
 wide-awake club before he was a voter. As the inci- 
 dents of that time grew, and artists and caricaturists 
 and correspondents increased and made history, Old- 
 royd kept up with the procession. He collected the 
 pictures of the first stirring scenes of that period. He 
 gathered the badges of all the political parties of that 
 day, and they were many, and the letter paper and en- 
 velopes, and stamps and currency of those days, all of
 
 RELICS OF MR. LINCOLN. 85 
 
 which had some significance, were preserved, together 
 with the first accounts of the firing on Sumter and the 
 comments on the same from American, English and 
 French prints, and all these he has in his collection 
 systematically arranged. He enlisted in 1861. While 
 he was in the army he continued his collection of every- 
 thing in which Lincoln was a figure. After the war he 
 was steward of the National Soldiers' Home at Dayton, 
 and while in that place his efforts to add to his collec- 
 tion were rewarded, but at considerable expense. 
 
 Until the spring of '93 this collection was in the house 
 in Springfield, 111., which was the home of Lincoln when 
 he was elected President. The property, upon the death 
 of Mrs. Lincoln, came into the possession of Robert T. 
 Lincoln, who, some years ago, gave it to the State of 
 Illinois. Mr. Oldroyd was made custodian, and kept 
 his collection in the house, where for a number of years 
 past it has been one of the points of interest to visitors 
 to Springfield. Last spring, however, another custodian 
 was appointed, and so Mr. Oldroyd removed the collec- 
 tion, which was his personal property. 
 
 He accepted the invitation of the association to bring 
 the collection to this city, and has completed its installa- 
 tion in the old Lincoln house. It is hoped that the col- 
 lection has now found a permanent home, and no doubt 
 this hope will be realized if Congress consents to pur- 
 chase the house. All told, there are about 2,500 articles 
 in this collection, comprising everything connected with 
 the life of Lincoln from his earliest days down to his 
 death. There are busts, pictures and medals almost in' 
 bewildering variety. The pictures, taken from news- 
 papers and photographs and sketches, give a vivid rep- 
 resentation of many of the stirring scenes in the life of
 
 86 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 the martyred President. There are pictures of his early 
 home, showing his humble origin. There is a rail which 
 is vouched for as having been cut by Lincoln himself. 
 The collection of the badges and medals used in the 
 political campaigns is interesting. The furniture in the 
 rooms was used by Lincoln and include his office chairs 
 and the kitchen stove. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln's place in the current literature of the 
 country is shown by the library of a thousand volumes 
 which contain accounts of Lincoln and references to 
 him in one capacity or another. Then there is a book- 
 case containing eighty-six distinct biographies of Lin- 
 coln, from the earliest down to the elaborate volumes 
 of the Nicolay-Hay history. A rare collection is some 
 350 pamphlets containing sermons delivered by minis- 
 ters in this country, as well as abroad, on the death of 
 Mr. Lincoln. There is hardly a phase in the entire 
 career of Mr. Lincoln that is not illustrated. As an 
 illustration of the impress which this man made upon 
 his times the collection is a wonderful success. 
 
 Not the least interesting of the collection is a lot of 
 manuscripts from distinguished and well-known men of 
 the country, each giving the writer's view of Lincoln 
 from his standpoint. There are over 200 of these. 
 They were all written at the personal request of Old- 
 royd. The list includes such men as Grant, Sherman, 
 Sheridan and Hayes. One paper is from Dennis Hanks 
 and another from the Rev. Dr. Barrows on the religious 
 side of Lincoln's life. A photograph of the writer ac- 
 companies each paper. 
 
 It is impossible to enumerate all the articles that are 
 now contained in the three rooms of the Tenth Street 
 house.
 
 EELICS OF MR. LINCOLN. 87 
 
 The throwing open of this collection to the public was 
 celebrated by a gathering of distinguished men, among 
 whom were the Vice President, Senator Cullom, Chief 
 Justice Fuller, Commissioner Ross, ex- Commissioner 
 Douglass, General and Mrs. Schofield, General "Wheeler, 
 Dr. and Mrs. Hamlin, Mr. T. W. Noyes, Rev. Dr. J. H. 
 Elliott, Bishop Keane, Rector of the Catholic University; 
 Mr. Jere Wilson, Mr. S. P. Langley, Secretary of the 
 Smithsonian Institute. 
 
 The exercises of the evening consisted for the most 
 part of speeches. The meeting was called to order by 
 the Chief Justice in his capacity as president of the 
 association. He spoke for a few moments of the ob- 
 jects of the Memorial Association as being typical of 
 the growth of feeling throughout the country regarding 
 reverence for things historic. He said that it was fit- 
 ting that this work of preserving historic relics should 
 be most prosecuted here in the Capital of the Nation. 
 Justice Fuller then introduced Senator Cullom, who 
 knew Mr. Lincoln longer and better than any other man 
 now alive. Senator Cullom spoke briefly but feelingly 
 of Mr. Lincoln. In fact, it seemed with this little col- 
 lection of people sitting about in the parlors of this 
 curious old house, discussing the merits and qualities 
 of a man who has now been dead some time, as though 
 they were speaking of one who had just passed away, 
 and whose death was a personal blow to each one. It 
 was an interesting and unusual evening. 
 
 Senator Cullom said in the course of his remarks that 
 nothing could possibly have gained his consent to re* 
 main away on such an occasion. It had been his good 
 fortune to live in Springfield, 111., the home of Mr. Lin-
 
 88 LINCOLN SOUVENIRS. 
 
 coin and the resting place of his ashes. His memory 
 of the great man ran back to the time when, as a small 
 boy, he used to hear his father speak of this rising 
 young lawyer by the name of Lincoln. He remembered 
 that when would-be litigants would come to his father 
 for advice as to what counsel to employ his father 
 would advise them to secure the services of Judge Logan 
 if he was there, referring to the county seat, otherwise 
 he would advise them to go to Lincoln, a young man 
 who would answer their purposes quite as well. Senator 
 Cullom first saw Mr. Lincoln as a lawyer in a murder 
 case, in which the lamented Colonel Baker participated 
 as counsel. He still considered that the greatest trial 
 he had ever seen. He knew Mr. Lincoln in the hust- 
 ings, knew him as a candidate for Congress, and in the 
 joint debate with Douglas, which is admittedly the 
 greatest debate ever held in this country. After such 
 an acquaintance he could say that Lincoln, all in all, 
 was the greatest and noblest statesman since the days 
 of Washington. 
 
 He spoke especially of this building and its possibili- 
 ties and said that he hoped it would be a Mecca for all 
 who loved liberty and the name of Lincoln. 
 
 Vice President Stevenson was introduced to make a 
 few remarks, in the course of which he said that it was 
 highly proper that this gathering should listen to the 
 words of an old friend and neighbor of Mr. Lincoln. 
 He could but speak in approval of all that Senator Cul- 
 lom had said. In his opinion, the Government should 
 own this building and make it a permanent memorial. 
 
 "I remember," said the Vice President, "in a me- 
 morial speech of Washington it was said that Virginia
 
 ICS OF 
 
 RELICS OF MR. LINCOLN. 89 
 
 :gave him to America and America gave him to. the 
 world. So of Mr. Lincoln, Illinois had given him to 
 America and America had given him to the world and 
 to the ages. It is proper that there should be here a 
 memorial for the children of our land of one of the 
 greatest and, even more, one of the kindest hearted 
 men that ever lived." 
 
 Bishop Keane followed with a brief address, in which 
 he paid an eloquent tribute to the memory of Mr. Lin- 
 coln. He said that partisanship is one of the men- 
 aces to our land and he thanked God that as an offset 
 to such tendencies the memories of an Abraham Lin- 
 coln were to be preserved. He then went on to speak 
 -of the desirabilities of a country which has so little of a 
 past, marking with a mark and a seal spots which like 
 this should be so dear to the memory of all patriotic 
 Americans. 
 
 Dr. Hamlin read letters of regret from the Secretary 
 of State, ex-President Harrison, ex-Vice President Mor- 
 ton, Cardinal Gibbons, President Gilman, of Johns Hop- 
 kins University; Dr. Gallaudet, Dr. Welling, of Colum- 
 bian University; President Seth Low, of Columbia 
 College; Mr. Hornblower, Justice Strong, Mr. Frank 
 Hatton, ex-Secretary Noble, and President Hastings, of 
 Union Theological Seminary.

 
 i