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THE

CONSPIRACY TRIAL

FOR THE MURDER OF

THE PRESIDENT,

AND THE ATTEMPT TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT BY THE ASSASSINATION OF ITS PRINCIPAL OFFICERS.

EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION,

BY BEN: PERLEY POORE.

vol. n.

BOSTON: J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY.

18 65.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865,

Br J. E. TILTON <& CO.,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Stereotyped by C. J. Peters and Ron, 13 Washington Street, Boston.

Boston: Printed by John Wilson & Son.

1

THE TRIAL.

Q. Did he seem to be cutting at his head or throat ? or where ?

A. He seemed to be cutting down around his neck. The first time he struck at him, he struck him on the right cheek.

Q. Will you describe how he held the knife, and struck with it ?

A. The knife was held with the blade down. The knife was below his hand.

Q. Did it seem to be a large knife ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did he say any thing at all while stabbing him?

A. I did not hear him say any thing.

Q. Did you afterwards observe the wounds that were inflicted by his knife ?

A. I did.

Q. [Exhibiting a knife to the witness.] Look at that knife, and say if that is the knife that he used.

A. It was about the length of this ; but it looked as though it was not so wide as this one. He held it elevated in his right hand, with the blade down.

Q. Will you mention the number, and describe the character, of the wounds that were inflicted on Mr. Seward by him ?

A. There was one cutting his face from the right cheek down to his neck ; and then there was another cut, or perhaps it was the same one, on his neck. I thought at the time that it was done by the same blow. He was sitting partially up in bed at the time. I thought both cuts were made at once. And then there was one on the left side of the neck.

Q. Three wounds in all ?

3

4 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir, that I noticed. It was all blood when I saw it ; and I do not know but that there may have been more.

Q. Was Mr. Seward in his bed at the time?

A. He was.

Q. From what cause ?

A. From being thrown from his carriage.

Q . Were one or more of his limbs broken ?

A. I was told that one of his arms was broken ; he had it band- aged up : and his jaw was fractured.

Q. While being stabbed, did Mr. Seward get out of his bed, or did he remain ?

A. He remained.

Q. Did he receive all the stabs in his bed ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did he, during the struggle, roll from his bed, or remain in it ?

A. He rolled out of bed after we had left the bed. When I went back to the bed, I found that he was lying on the floor.

Q. You say that this man, during the whole of this bloody work, made no remark at all ? — said nothing ?

A. I did not hear him make any remark.

Q. When he came out of the room, had Frederick Seward risen from the floor ? or was he still on it ?

A. I did not see Frederick down at all.

Q. Where was he when this man came out?

A. The first I saw of Frederick, he was in the room standing up. When I came back into the room, he was inside the door, standing in the room.

Q. With what did this man strike you? You say he knocked you down when he came out of the room ?

A. He struck me with his fist. He had wound his arm around my neck ; but he let me go, and struck me with his fist.

Q. Did he immediately go down the stairway then ?

A. He did.

Q. Did you see him encounter Major Seward?

A. I did not see that.

Q. After he left, was any thing picked up which he had left behind him?

THE TRIAL. 5

A. There was a revolver, or parts of one.

Q. Was any part of his clothes — his hat or coat — left behind ?

A. His hat was left. The first I saw of it was in the room.

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness a slouch felt hat.] Will you look at that hat, and see if you recognize it ?

A. I should judge that to be the hat : I did not take particular notice of it. It looks like the hat that was found there.

[The hat was offered in evidence without objection.]

Q. Exhibiting a revolver to the witness.] Will you look at that revolver, and see if you recognize it ?

A. That is the revolver, excepting that part [the ramrod, which was disconnected] : I did not see that part.

Q. Is that the revolver which was picked up in the room ?

A. Yes, sir.

[The revolver was offered in evidence without objection.]

Q. The Mr. Seward you spoke of as being in bed was William H. Seward, Secretary of State ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did Mr. Seward reside at that time in Washington City?

A. He did.

Q. His bouse, of which you spoke, was in this city ?

A. Yes, sir.

At the request of General Wallace, an orderly was directed to place the hat on the head of the prisoner Payne, to see if it fitted him or not ; which was done, Payne smiling pleasantly.

General Wallace. Does it fit pretty loose, or pretty tight ?

The Orderly. Pretty tight.

Major A. H. Seward,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Are you or not the son of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State ? A. I am.

l*

6 THE TRIAL.

Q. Were you or not at his home, in this city, on the night of the 14th of April last \

A. I was.

Q. State whether or not, on that night, any one of the prisoners at the bar made his appearance at that house. Look at them.

A. Yes, sir : I saw this large man, with no coat on, that night [pointing to Lewis Payne].

Q. State all the circumstances attending your meeting with him.

A. I retired to bed at half-past seven on the night of the 14th, with the understanding that I would be called about eleven o'clock to sit up with my father. I very shortly fell asleep, and so remained until awakened by the screams of my sister ; when I jumped out of bed, and ran into my father's room in my shirt and drawers. The gas in the room was turned down rather low ; and I saw what appeared to me to be two men, one trying to hold the other, at the foot of my father's bed. I seized, by the clothes on his breast, the person who was held, supposing it was ray father, delirious ; but, immediately on taking hold of him, I knew from his size and strength that it was not my father. The thought then struck me that the nurse had become delirious, and was sticking about the room at random. Knowing the delicate state of my father, I shoved the person of whom I had hold to the door, with the intention of getting him out of the room. While I was pushing him, he struck me five or six times on the forehead and top of the head, and once on the left hand, with what I supposed to be a bottle or decanter that he had seized from the table. During this time, he repeated, in an intense but not strong voice, the words, " I'm mad, I'm mad ! " On reaching the hall, he gave a sudden turn, and sprang away from me, and disappeared down stairs. While in the vicinity of the door of my father's room, as I was pushing him out, when he came oppo- site where the light of the hall shone on him, I saw by the light in the hall that he was a very large man, dark straight hair, smooth face, no beard ; and I had a view of the expression of his counte- nance, — a short view, of course. I then went into my room, and got my pistol. It may possibly have taken me a minute, as it was in the bottom of my carpet-bag, to find it. I then ran down to the front door, intending to shoot the person if he attempted to return.

THE TRIAL. 7

While standing at the door, the servant-boy came back, and said the man had ridden off on a horse, and attacked the persons in the house with a knife. I then realized for the first time that the man was an assassin who had entered the house for the purpose of mur- dering my father.

Q. Did you then return to your father's room ?

A. I suppose it was five minutes before I went back to my father's room. Quite a large crowd came around the door. I sent for the doctors, and got somebody to keep the crowd off before I went up to the room. It might not have been five minutes, but certainly three, before I got back : I think, nearer five.

Q. Did you examine, on your return, the number and character of the wounds given to your father, and to your brother, Frederick W. Seward ?

A. No, sir : I did not examine them that night. I was injured pretty badly myself, I found, when I got up stairs again. I had a handkerchief tied around my head. After my father's wounds were dressed, I suppose about an hour, and after my own head had been bandaged, I went in and saw my father then, and saw that he had one very large gash on his right cheek, near the neck, besides a cut on his throat on the right-hand side, and one under the left ear. I did not examine my brother's wounds : in fact, I went into his room but for a short time that night. I did not know how badly hurt he was. The next day he was insensible, and so remained ; and it was four or five days before I saw what his wounds were.

Q. What were they when you discovered them ?

A. Two wounds, — one on the scalp, that was open to the brain ; and another one over the ear. After they took the pieces of frac- tured skull out, it left the covering of the brain open.

Q. Did your brother receive any stab from a knife ?

A. I never saw any thing of my brother during the whole time until it was over.

Q. Would the wounds indicate that a knife had been used, or simply a bludgeon ?

A. I could not tell ; but the surgeons seemed to think it was the hammer of a pistol that had done it. It was such a wound that t

8 THE TRIAL.

should have supposed myself could have been made by a knife ; but they seemed to judge it was made by the hammer of a pistol.

Q. Did you see the pistol which was picked up in the room ?

A. I did not see it. I knew it was in the house ; but it was taken away.

Q. Did you see any article of clothing ?

A. I saw the hat.

Q. Would you recognize it ?

A. I think I should.

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness the hat which is marked Exhibit No. 49.] Is that it ?

A. I am quite certain that is the hat.

Q. That was picked up in the room after the man left ?

A. Yes, sir : I saw the hat in the room. It was picked up, and put in a bureau-drawer ; and it was taken out of the bureau-drawer and shown to me the next day. I did not see it that night.

Q. You say you supposed he was striking with a decanter ?

A. At that time, I supposed it was the nurse. I did not have any idea of what the man was at until he was out of the house. It was something that he cut with ; but, not having any idea that it was a man with a knife, I did not think any thing about it.

Q. I understand you to say that it was with a knife you were struck ?

A. The surgeons think so ; and I supposed so myself, after the boy told me who the man was, and what he had been doing : but, at the time, I supposed I was being struck by a bottle or decanter. I supposed it was the nurse had got delirious sitting up there, did not know what he was about, and was probably striking about the room at any one.

Q. Do you feel entirely satisfied that the prisoner at the bar, Payne, is the same man who was there ?

A. I do.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. Be good enough to state to the Court whether this is the first time you have seen the prisoner since the evening you have de- scribed.

THE TRIAL. 9

A. No, sir : I saw him on board the monitor the next day after he was taken.

Q. Did you identify him then ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Please state the circumstances of the identification.

A. He was brought up on the deck of the monitor ; and I took hold of him the same way I had hold of him when I shoved him out of the room ; and I looked at his face, and he had the same appear- ance in every way that he had the few moments that I saw him by the light in the hall, — his size, his proportions, smooth face, no beard ; and when he was made to repeat the words, " I'm mad, I'm mad ! " I recognized the same voice, varying only in the intensity.

R. C. Morgan,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not, on the 17th or 18th of April last, you were in the service of the Government here, and in what capacity.

A. I was in the service of the War Department, acting under the orders of Colonel Olcott, special commissioner of that depart- ment.

Q. Will you state whether, on one or both those days, you had possession of the house of the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt, in this city ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State where that house is.

A. 541 H Street, in Washington City.

Q. State under what circumstances you took possession of the house, and what occurred while you were there.

A. About twenty minutes past eleven o'clock on the evening of the 17th of April, Colonel Olcott gave me instructions to go to the house, 541 H Street, Mrs. Surratt's, and superintend the seizing of papers and the arrest of the inmates of the house. I proceeded down there ; arrived there about half-past eleven o'clock ; had been there about ten minutes ; found Major Smith, Captain Wermerskirch, and some other officers, who had arrested the inmates of the house ;

10 THE TRIAL.

and they were in the parlor : they were about ready to go up. I had sent out an order for a carriage to take up the women found in the house ; and I heard a knock and a ring at the door : at the same time, Captain Wermerskirch and myself stepped forward, and opened the door. When we opened the door, the prisoner Payne [point- ing to Lewis Payne] came in with a pickaxe over his shoulder, dressed in a gray coat, gray vest, black pants, and a hac made out of, I should judge, the sleeve of a shirt or the leg of a drawer. As soon as he came in, I immediately closed the door. Said he, "I guess I am mistaken." Said I, " Whom do you want to see ? " " Mrs. Surratt," said he. " You are right : walk in." He took a seat ; and I asked him what he came there at this time of night for. He said he came to dig a gutter : Mrs. Surratt had sent for him. I asked him when. He said, " In the morning." I asked him when she had sent for him; where he last worked. He said, " Sometimes on I Street." I asked him where he boarded. He said he had no boarding-house ; he was a poor man, who got his living with the pick. I put my hand on the pickaxe while talking to him. Said I, " How much do you make a day? " — " Sometimes nothing at all, sometimes a dollar, sometimes a dollar and a half." Said I, " Have you any money ? " — " Not a cent." I asked him why he came at this time of night to go to work. He said he simply called to find what time he should go to work in the morning. I asked him if he had any previous acquaintance with Mrs. Surratt. He said, " No." Then I asked him why she had selected him. He said she knew he was working around the neighborhood and was a poor man, and came to him. I asked him how old he was. He said, " About twenty." I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Fauquier County, Va. Previous to this, he pulled out an oath of allegiance ; and on the oath of allegiance was " Lew- is Payne, Fauquier County, Va." I asked him if he was from the South. He said he was. I asked him when he left there. " Some time ago." He said, I think, two months ago ; in the month of February. I think he said. I asked him what he left for. He said he would have to go into the army ; and he preferred earning his living by the pickaxe. I asked him if he could read. He

THE TRIAL. 11

said, " No." I asked him if he could write. He said, " He could manage to write his name."

Q. Is that the pickaxe which he had on his shoulder? [Sub- mitting a pickaxe to the witness.]

A. Yes, sir.

[The pickaxe was offered in evidence without objection.]

I then told him he would have to go up to the Provost Marshal's office, and explain. He moved at that, and did not answer. The carriage had returned then that had taken off the women ; and I or- dered Thomas Samson and Mr. Rosch to take him up to the Provost Marshal's office. He was taken up by these two officers, and then searched. I then proceeded, with Major Smith and Captain Wer- merskirch, to search through the house for papers ; and remained there until three o'clock in the morning, searching for papers.

Q. Had Mrs. Surratt left before he came in, or afterwards ?

A. No : they were all prepared to leave, in the parlor. Mrs. Surratt was directed to get the bonnets and shawls of the rest of the persons in the house, so that they could not communicate with each other. She did so ; and they were just ready to go, and had started, as we opened the door, and heard the knock ; and we passed them out at the time we let him within. He just got in before they stepped out.

Q. She did not see him, then, before she. left ?

A. Yes, sir : she must have seen him as she passed out ; for, just as she was passing out, he passed right in.

Q. You had no conversation with her in regard to him ?

A. No, sir.

Q. Will you state what papers you found there ?

A. We found several letters.

Q. I understand you to say that Mrs. Surratt was not in his presence in the house ?

A. No more than passing out : she must have seen him.

Q. No conversation occurred ?

A. No, sir.

Q. [Handing an envelope containing photographic pictures.] Examine these papers, and state whether they are what you found there.

12 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir : I found them all in the house of Mrs. Surratt, 541 H Street.

Q. Did you find there the photograph of J. Wilkes Booth ?

A. No, sir. The next morning, I went down to the house ; and the officer in charge, who had been sent down at four o'clock, showed me the photograph of J. Wilkes Booth, with his name on the back of it ; and the officer said he had found it behind a pic- ture in the house. I told him he should turn it over at once to the Provost Marshal ; and he did so. I found a carte de visite of Jef- ferson Davis, Beauregard, Alexander H. Stephens, and Beauregard again, in the house. These are in the envelope now shown to me.

[The contents of the envelope were offered in evidence without objection ; being two photographs of General Beauregard, one of Jefferson Davis, one of Alexander H. Stephens, and also a card with the arms of the State of Virginia, and two Confederate flags emblazoned thereon, with the inscription, —

" Thus will it ever be with tyrants; Virginia the mighty; Sic Semper Tyrannis."]

Q. Give the full name of the man who found the photograph of Booth.

A. I think his name was Lieutenant Dempsey.

Q. Were you not afterwards at the Provost Marshal's office ?

A. About three o'clock in the morning, we got through our search ; and I went up with the papers to the Provost Marshal's office, and there saw the prisoner Payne in irons.

Q. Was Mrs. Surratt, the prisoner, there?

A. Mrs. Surratt had been taken up to the old Capitol, I think, before my arrival.

Q. Have you heard Mrs. Surratt say any thing in regard to the prisoner Payne at any time ?

A. No, sir.

Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :

Q. Whereabouts in the room was the photograph of Booth found ?

A. I cannot say. I did not find it.

THE TRIAL. 13

Q. Have you not been in the habit of seeing exhibited in the windows of bookstores, about the streets, photographs of Booth for sale?

A. I never had seen any of them before he assassinated the President.

Q. Have you not seen the photographs of Jefferson Davis and other prominent leaders of the Rebellion exhibited for sale at differ- ent stores ?

A. I never had any in my hand until I had these.

Q. Do you not know, from your own knowledge, that such pic- tures have been offered for sale in different bookstores, and that it is a common thing for people to have them ?

A. I have not seen people have them since the Rebellion. They might have had before.

Q. Since the assassination of President Lincoln, has it not been a common thing to see the photograph of Booth about ?

A. If it has, I have never seen it.

Q. Have you not seen it in the possession of different individ- uals ?

A. Never.

Q. Where was the photograph of Alexander H. Stephens found ?

A. It was found in the house, but as to what room I cannot state positively ; but I think it was found in the back room of the parlor.

Q. Was it not found in a travelling-sack, — a common leather bag?

A. No, sir : I am positive of that.

Q. Were any other of these pictures found in that bag?

A. No, sir : they were found in portfolios, or on the mantle- pieces.

Q. You state that you never have seen, in the possession of peo- ple whose loyalty has never been questioned, photographs of promi- nent leaders in the Rebellion ?

A. No, sir : not among the people I have-associated with have I ever seen them.

Q. You state that Mrs. Surratt made no remarks with reference to Payne ?

14 THE TRIAL.

A. As she passed out, — it comes to my recollection now, — I heard her mutter something. I did not know what it was : the men who took her up told me afterwards.

Mr. Aiken. You need not state that.

Q. Did you examine a travelling-bag that was taken from the house ?

A. No, sir : we took a travelling-basr, but did not examine it at the house, because we had no key to open it.

Q. Did you examine it after you left the house ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was not the photograph of Alexander H. Stephens exhib- ited to you here to-day found in the bag ?

A. No, sir : not a thing found in it.

Q. Not a thing found in the bag ?

A. Not an article. I saw it when it was opened at the Provost Marshal's office, and assisted in opening it.

Major W. H. Smith,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as

follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not, on the night of the 17th of April last, you were at the office of the Provost Marshal of this city, when the prisoner Mrs. Surratt was brought there, and the prisoner Payne.

A. I was not.

Q. Did you see them there afterwards?

A. No, sir.

Q. Were you at Mrs. Surratt's house while it was in the occupa- tion of the authorities ?

A. Yes, sir : I was in charge of the party that took possession of the house.

Q. Did you make any inquiry of her in regard to him ?

A. After questioning Payne in regard to his occupation, and what business he had at the house that night, he stated that he was

THE TRIAL. 15

a laborer ; that he came there to dig a gutter at the request of Mrs. Surratt. I stepped to the door of the parlor, and said, " Mrs. Surratt, will you step here a minute ? " Mrs. Surratt stepped there. Said I, "Do you know this man?" She said, raising her right hand, " Before God, sir, I do not know this man; and I have never seen him." I then placed Payne under arrest, and told him he was so suspicious a character, that I would send him to Colonel Wells's or General Augur's headquarters for further exami- nation.

Q. He was standing in full view of her when she said so?

A. Yes, sir ; within three paces of her.

Q. That was Mrs. Surratt, the prisoner at the bar ?

A. Yes, sir : if the lady will raise her veil, I can be certain. [Mary E. Surratt then raised her veil, which had covered her face.] The prisoner at the bar is the person.

Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :

Q. Did you examine a bag taken from Mrs. Surratt's house ?

A. I saw the bag, but did not examine it.

Q. Did you see it opened ?

A. The bag was not examined in my presence.

Q. Did you find any photographs in the house ?

A. A large number of them.

Q. What were they ?

A. They were of various descriptions. It would be impossible to tell, out of such a number, what they all were.

Q. Did you find a photograph of Jefferson Davis, and one of Alexander H. Stephens, in the house ?

A. I do not remember whether we did or not.

Q. Are you aware or not that it is a common thing for news- paper-dealers, and keepers of bookshops, to advertise for sale, and to sell, photographs of the leaders of the Rebellion ?

A. I am not. I have never given such things my attention.

Q. Have you never seen them exposed for sale ?

A. I cannot say that I have.

Q. Have you seen the photograph of Booth in the possession of people supposed to be loyal ?

16 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir : a great many of them, but only those to whom they have been given since this trial.

Q. Are you aware or not that it is a very common thing for photographs of eminent actors to be published, and scattered broad- cast for sale over the country ?

A. I am, of eminent actors.

Q. Will you state distinctly again whether or not you know where these photographs were found ?

A. They were found in various parts of the house, No. 541 H Street.

Q. Whereabouts? In any particular place ?

A. They were found in a photograph-album, in one instance, on the mantle-piece in the front parlor.

Q. What was in the photograph-album ?

A. Photographs.

Q. Of whom?

A. Different people, — people with whom I was not acquainted at all.

Q. You cannot tell whether they were photographs of Alex- ander H. Stephens, of Judah P. Benjamin, or the Assistant Secre- tary of State of the Rebellion there, or any of those persons ?

A. I could not, not being acquainted with those gentlemen.

Q. Did you find photographs of females in the album ?

A. Plenty of them.

Q. Did you take them to be mere family pictures?

A. It was impossible for me to judge : I never gave them a thought.

Q. Have you any recollection of a black travelling-bag that was found in that house ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Where did you find that ?

A. That was found in the back room on the first floor, supposed to be Mrs. Surratt's bed-room.

Q. Have you ever learned any thing of the contents of that bag?

A. No, sir : I have not.

Q. What was transpiring in the house at the time Mrs. Surratt

THE TRIAL. 17

made the asseveration to which you refer in regard to her knowl- edge of Payne ?

A. The man Payne had just come in at the front door ; and I was questioning him at the time in regard to what he was ; what his profession was, if he had any ; and what business he had, at that hour of the night, to come to a private house.

Q. How was Payne dressed at that time ?

A. Payne was dressed in a gray coat, black pantaloons, and rather a fine pair of boots. He had on his head a gray shirt-sleeve, hanging over at the side.

Q. A shirt-sleeve on his head ?

A. Yes, sir : a cut shirt.

Q. Were his pantaloons tucked into his boots?

A. Yes, sir : they were rolled up over the tops of them, on one leg only, I believe.

Q. He did not strike you at that time as being a gentleman from his looks and appearance ?

A. Not particularly so.

Q. His appearance was in no wise genteel ?

A. Not at all.

Q. Is it your opinion that any one would recognize a person in that garb, in that dress, who had seen him, if he ever did see him, well dressed, with such a thing as that on his head?

A. That, to the best of my belief, was the thing, the sleeve he had on his head at the time he was arrested, the end similar to a tassel.

Q. Do you think you would recognize a person fixed up in that way, with that shirt-sleeve on his head, and a pickaxe ?

A. I most certainly should.

Q. A person you had been in the habit of seeing dressed genteelly ?

A. Certainly.

Q. What remark did you make to Mrs. Surratt when you were about leaving the house ?

A. I made none when I was leaving the house.

Q. Did you say any thing about being ready ?

A. I said nothing at all. I told her to get ready. 2*

18 THE TRIAL.

Q. What was her attitude at that time ?

A. At which particular time do you mean ?

Q. At the time you told her to get ready ; you were going.

A. She was seated in a chair in the front parlor.

Q. Was she not kneeling ?

A. She was not.

Q. Who was present with you at the time this asseveration was made that she knew nothing of that man ?

A. Captain Wermerskirch and Mr. Morgan, two of my subordi- nates in the party.

Q. Is that all the remark she made about Payne ?

A. That was all the remark she made in my hearing.

Q. Now, once more, do not you know that it is a common thing for loyal people to have in their possession photographs of the leaders of the Rebellion ?

A. I know some that have those pictures.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Do you know of a photograph of J. Wilkes Booth having been found in that house ?

A. I do not. There was none found while I was there.

Q. When you called to Mrs. Surratt to come and look at Payne, who had just entered the house, you say she was seated in the parlor ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you ask her directly whether she knew this man, or had seen him before ?

A. I did immediately. I said, " Mrs. Surratt, will you please step to the door ? " She stepped to the door ; and I said, " Do you know this man ? and did you hire him to come and dig a gutter for you?" As I said before, she raised her right hand, and said, " Before God, I do not know this man, and have never seen him, and did not hire him to dig a gutter for me."

Q. Did he make any remark ? "

A. He said nothing j but I immediately arrested him.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. Mrs. Surratt did not attempt to evade the question in any way?

THE TRIAL. 19

A. No, sir : her answer was direct.

Q. Was it light in the hall at that time ?

A. Yes, sir : very light. The gas was turned on at full head.

By the Judge Advocate : Q. How was he dressed at that time ?

A. A gray coat and black pantaloons. I did not see the vest. Q. [Exhibiting to the witness the brown and white mixed coat marked Exhibit No. 54.] Is that the coat he had on? A. That is the coat, to the best of my belief.

By Mr. Clampitt :

Q. Did Mrs. Surratt express any surprise or deep feeling at the moment of her arrest ?

A. No, sir : she did not ask even for what she was arrested ; expressed no surprise and no feeling at all.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. How many persons were arrested together?

A. Four persons were arrested at once, — Mrs. Surratt, Miss Surratt, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, and Miss Jenkins.

Q. Was there an inquiry made at all of you as to the cause of the arrest?

A. No, sir : none whatever. When I went up the steps, and rang the bell of the house, Mrs. Surratt came to the window, and said, " Is that you, Mr. Kirby ? " The reply was, that it was not Mr. Kirby, and to open the door. She opened the door ; and I stepped into the hall, and asked, " Are you Mrs. Surratt? " She said, " I am, the widow of John H. Surratt ; " and I added, " The mother of John H. Surratt, jun. ? " She said, "I am." I said, " I come to arrest you and all in your house, and take you, for examination, to General Augur's headquarters."

Q. That occurred immediately on your entering the house?

A. Immediately on my stepping into the front door.

By Mr. Doster :

Q. How do you know that coat to be the one Payne had on? A. How would you know any thing you had seen before but from memory?

20 THE TRIAL.

Q. I am simply asking you how do you know ?

A. By the way anybody would recognize a thing after having seen it once, — by the impression that was made on the memory at the time.

Q. Are there any particular marks about this coat that make it look like the one you saw ?

A. The color and the general look of the coat.

Q. Are you sure that the coat he had on was not what is called Confederate gray?

A. I am very certain, as I have said before, that this is the coat.

Q. You are, then, certain that it was not Confederate gray ?

A. I have said before, that I am certain that this is the coat.

Q. Answer my question. I do not ask what you said before : I want an answer to the question I now ask.

A. I think I have already testified on that point. I do not know that I am called on to repeat more than three or four times.

Q. It is only necessary for you to answer that simple question, whether you are certain the coat the prisoner had on at that time was not what is generally called Confederate gray?

A. As near as I could judge by the light that was in the hall at the time, this was the coat.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Burnett :

Q. [Submitting to the witness a dark-gray coat.] Select now, between this coat and the one you have just had in your hands, which is the nearest the color.

A. The coat now shown me is the one. [The dark-gray coat was offered in evidence without objection.] I recognize the coat by the buttons. All that was wanted in the other coat was the buttons ; but it was hard, in the light in which I was standing, to tell. I recognize now, by the buttons, that the coat just shown me is the one.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. If you saw a gentleman dressed in black, with a white neck- cloth on him, presenting himself to you as a Baptist preacher, and, two months after that, you should meet the same person with a shirt-

TIIE TRIAL. 21

sleeve on his head, an old gray coat, his pantaloons stuffed into his boots, with a pickaxe on his shoulder, presenting himself as a laborer in the night, do you think you would immediately recognize him as being the same person ?

A. If I was very familiar with his countenance, I should.

Q. You would recollect all that, and yet you could not recollect a coat that you had only seen within a short time, but confounded it with one that was as different in appearance as those two coats here?

A. It is hard to remember the particular color of a coat, as any one will very well know, that you see at night-time, if they saw it by gas-light.

Surgeon-General Joseph K. Barnes, a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state to the Court whether or not, on the night of the 14th of April last, you were called to see Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, in this city, and in what condition you found hftn?

A. I was called upon on the night of the 14th of April, a few minutes before eleven o'clock, to go to the Secretary of State's. Upon reaching there, I found the Secretary wounded in three places; Mr. Frederick W. Seward insensible, and very badly wounded in the head. The rest of the family I did not see, as I was occupied with them.

Q. Will you describe the wounds of each of those gentlemen ?

A. The Secretary was wounded by a gash in the right cheek, passing around to the angle of the jaw ; by a stab in the right neck, passing into the body of this muscle [pointing out a muscle] ; by a stab in the right side of the neck, passing in at the same muscle.

Q. The wounds of Frederick Seward, his son?

A. Mr. Frederick Seward was suffering from a fracture of the cranium in two places, bleeding very profusely, exceedingly faint, almost pulseless, and unable to articulate.

22 THE TRIAL.

Q. How did the wounds seem to have been inflicted on his head?

A. By some blunt instrument, — the butt of a pistol, a loaded bludgeon, or something of that kind.

Q. What was the condition of Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, before that ? You were in attendance upon him, were you not?

A. He was progressing very favorably. He had recovered from the shock of the accident of ten days previously, and was getting along very well.

Q. Had his limb been broken ?

A. His right arm was broken close to the shoulder-joint, and his jaw was broken in two places ; but the serious injury of the first accident was the concussion.

Q. Do you know whether a pistol was picked up in the chamber of Mr. Seward that night ?

A. Not while I was there.

Q. Did you see one afterwards that was picked up ?

A. I never have seen the pistol.

Q. Were the wounds of Mr. Secretary Seward very dangerous in their character ?

A. Very dangerous.

Q. Is he still suffering from them ?

A. He is still suffering from them.

Q. You say you did not see any other member of the family, except Mr. Seward and his son ?

A. Major Seward was in the room ; but I did not treat him professionally.

Q. Did you treat professionally any of the others ?

A. No, sir.

Thomas Price,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not, soon after the night of the murder of

THE TRIAL. 23

the President, you picked up, somewhere in the neighborhood of this city, a coat ?

A. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 16th of April.

Q. Where did you pick it up ?

A. In a piece of woods that lies between Fort Bunker Hill and Fort Saratoga.

Q. Would you recognize that coat again if you were to see it?

A. I think I should.

Q. [Submitting to the witness two coats.] Look at these two coats, and see if either of them is the one.

A. This is the coat [selecting the brown and white mixed coat].

Q. Did you discover any trace of blood on the sleeve ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Show it to the Court.

The witness pointed out blood-marks on the right sleeve of the coat.

Q. How far from the city is that piece of woods that you speak of where you picked it up ?

A. About three miles.

Q. In what direction ?

A. East of the Eastern Branch.

Q. On any road ?

A. There is a road from one fort to another, and it runs through this piece of woods. On the eastern side of this road, in this piece of woods, I found the coat.

Q. Was the blood on it when you found it ?

A. Yes, sir : that is how I recognize it more particularly.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. When did you find that coat ? State the exact time you found it.

A. About three o'clock on Sunday, the 16th of April.

Q. Was it lying in the road, or not ?

A. I should think it was a road that was made by hauling out wood ; and the grass had grown over it : it was a by-road that was not used. There were no tracks of wheels ; but I think it was the

24 THE TRIAL.

formation of a road through those woods ; and, on the turn in the road, I got the coat.

Q. In what direction is that from Washington City?

A. A valley runs from the direction of Hare wood Hospital out between Fort Bunker Hill and Fort Saratoga ; and this strip of woods lies between these two forts, in the valley.

Q. It is north-east, then ?

A. Yes, sir : north-east of the city.

By the Court :

Q. You said it was on the east side of the Eastern Branch that you found the coat : was it not on this side of the Branch ?

A. I understand the Branch to run east from Washington : it was east of that, on this side of it.

Q. Was it not on this side, instead of the east side ?

A. On this side.

Charles H. Bosch recalled for the prosecution.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Were you present when the prisoner Payne was searched ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. [Submitting to the witness a package of articles.] Look at those articles, and state whether all or any of them were found upon his person.

A. They all were.

Q. Is there not among them a pocket-compass ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was that taken from his person ?

A. That was handed out by the prisoner himself to Mr. Samson, and from Samson to me.

Q. What prisoner ?

A. That big man there [pointing to Lewis Payne]. All these articles were taken from his person.

[The package was offered in evidence without objection, and is marked Exhibit No. 56.]

THE TRIAL. 25

Q. [Submitting to the witness a pair of boots.] Do you recog- nize these boots as the same that were taken from him ?

A. Yes : I recognize these boots. I had them pulled off in my presence.

[The boots were offered in evidence.]

His feet were incased in a very clean pair of socks, with bands tied up on the sides something like the Highland fashion.

Spencer M. Clark,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. [Submitting to the witness the boots.] Look at these boots, and state if you can discover any name written on them.

A. I had one of these boots yesterday for examination ; and I could then discover a name which has now mostly disappeared under the effect of the acid that I put upon it.

Q. Will you state what the name was ?

A. The name appeared to me to be J. W. Booth.

Q. Did it appear with entire distinctness ?

A. No, sir : both the J. and the W. were distinct ; the rest was obscure.

Q. Did it seem to have been effaced ? and how ?

A. When I first received it, it was simply a black mark, evident- ly a mark of ink, made over the surface, apparently to cover writ- ing. I first examined it by a microscope, and found that it was one coat of ink overlaid over another ; and then I attempted to take off the outer coat, and see what was below it. I succeeded par- tially.

Q. You say the letters "J. W." were entirely distinct. Were the other letters so obscure as to leave any doubt in your mind as to what the name was ?

A. Very little doubt. I cannot speak positively of a thing that is in itself obscure ; but it left very little doubt upon my mind that the name was Booth.

26 TEE TRIAL.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. What is your business ?

A. I have charge of the engraving and printing in the Treasury.

Q. I understood you to say that you had some doubt as to that name being Booth.

A. I had some little doubt at first as to the " B," whether it might not be a " P; " the lower part of the " B " being not as plain as the other part : but, on very careful examination, I satisfied my- self that it was a "B."

Q. What processes have you used to bring out the name of Booth?

A. I took off the outer coat of ink by the use of oxalic acid.

Q. Is it possible, by means of chemistry, to take off the outer coat, and leave the lower or inner coat undisturbed ?

A. Where the lower coat has remained exposed to the air longer than the upper coat, it is. The reason the latter part of the name in this case is more obscure than the first is because I left the acid too long on the outer coat, and it attacked the lower one.

Q. How do you separate the lower and upper coats ?

A. By washing, as fast as I dissolve the acid, with plain water.

Q. Is it clear to your mind where the lower coat ends and the upper begins?

A. It is only made clear by examination by the eye at the mo- ment. I put the acid on under a magnifier ; and the moment the outer coat disappears, and the next begins to show, I then destroy the acid.

Q. You can, then, distinguish whether the two coats have been put on at the same time, or at different times, can you ?

A. After trial. It was supposition before I tried. I supposed the lower coat had been exposed to the air longer than the outer, and made that trial to test it. That proved it.

Q. Did you have any idea what the purpose was of giving this boot to you for analysis ?

A. No, sir.

Q. Who gave it to you ?

A. Mr. Field, the Second Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

Q. Did he tell you to whom the boot was supposed to belong ?

THE TRIAL. 27

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And who had worn it ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who did he say had worn it?

A. Payne.

Q. Mr. Field said so ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You had, then, an impression that it was your duty to discover some name ; had you not ?

A. Yes, sir ; if it was there.

Q. And some one in connection with this case ?

A. I expected to find the name of Payne.

Q. And, not finding that, you naturally expected to find the name of somebody else connected with this case ?

A. I then followed out the letters until I thought I plainly dis- covered " th " at the end; and then the name of Booth came to my mind. That was before I had clearly determined upon the B.

Q. Is it possible, by any process of chemistry, to restore that name ? You say you have erased it.

A. There is no such process that I am aware of.

Q. Was it necessary for you to erase it in order to arrive at your conclusion ?

A. It is not erased : there is no erasure upon the letters. The writing has only been acted upon by the acid, which changes its color, — destroys the color of its ink.

Q. Is it readable still?

A. No, sir. The acid has acted on the lower coat ; the J. and W. are still readable.

Q. But you. think, taking it altogether, that there is still a rea- sonable doubt as to that being the name of J. Wilkes Booth ?

A. I should hesitate to swear to any thing so obscure as an oblit- erated signature. I entertain very little doubt that the name is J. W. Booth ; but I cannot swear positively to such a thing.

Edward Jordan, a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

28 THE TRIAL.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you please state to the Court whether or not you were associated with Mr. Clark in the examination which he made of the name upon that boot, and describe the process, and the result at which you arrived ?

A. I was only requested to look at the boot after it had under- gone whatever chemical preparation it had been subjected to.

Q. State the result of your examination.

A. I looked at the marks on the boot ; and I came to the conclu- sion that the name written there was "J. W. Booth."

Q. Did you examine it through a glass ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How are you engaged here ?

A. I am Solicitor of the Treasury.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. Did you know who the person was to whom it was supposed to belong ?

A. I did not.

Q. You did not know whom it came from?

A. I did not.

Q. Was it in the possession of Mr. Clark when you had it ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you have any suspicions as to why he had it in his possession ?

A. None in the world.

Q. How came you to see it ?

A. The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury called me, appar- ently accidently, as I was passing the door of the room in which Mr. Clark was, and said, " I have something curious to show you ; I wish you would look at it ; " or words to that effect.

Q. What day was that ?

A. Yesterday.

Q. Was the name distinctly legible ?

A. I do not think it was.

Q. How distinct was it ?

A. A part of the name was quite distinct.

THE TRIAL. 29

Q. What part?

A. The first letter, " J.," was very distinct ; the middle letter, " W.," was not so distinct ; the third initial was still less distinct in outline, but I thought quite as clear in its character. I do not mean to say as clear as the " J. : " that was the most distinct letter upon the article.

Q. Were the letters after " B " in the name clear?

A. No, sir. The first letter I thought was quite clear. I do not mean to say that it was a distinct letter, — there were none of those letters distinct ; but it was sufficiently so, I thought, to indi- cate very satisfactorily what it was. I thought the outline was quite visible and determinable ; but that it was distinct is not true.

Q. Were you asked what you thought that name was ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did you say ?

A. I said I thought it was the name of a very distinguished individual.

Q. Is that all you said ?

A. That is all I said then.

Q. Is Mr. Clark in the habit of receiving boots or other matters in reference to criminal trials ?

A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. . So, whenever you saw a boot there, you would naturally infer that it had some reference to a criminal trial ?

A. No : I did not infer that until I came to a conclusion as to what the name was : then I did, of course.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. I understand you to state that you arrived at the conclusion that this was the name, J. W. Booth, before you had received any intimation as to what it was supposed to be ?

A. Yes, sir.

Stephen Marsh,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

3*

30 THE TRIAL.

Q. Look at that boot, and state to the Court whether you made an examination of it with a view to ascertain what name was written there, and what was the result of that examination.

A. It was shown to me by Mr. Field, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, yesterday. I examined it. I thought I could make out certain letters on it. At first, I could make out the letter " J " or " I; " then " W.," and " h," the last letter ; then a capital " B " after the " W."

Q. Was that all you could make out ?

A. That was all I could make out on the first examination. Then I thought I could trace " t " next to the " h," the " J. W. B — th." That was all I could make out.

Q. Could you make out the intervening letters ?

A. I could not be satisfied as to them. The " B " and " th " I am quite satisfied of.

Q. Did you examine it through a glass ?

A. No, sir, I did not, but with the naked eye. There was a glass there ; but I did not look through it.

Q. In regard to the letters you have mentioned, you say you had no doubt ?

A. No doubt at all.

Q. In the intervening space, the blank space, was there room for one or two letters between " B " and " th " ?

A. There was room for from two to three letters. It would depend altogether on how they were written, — a space of nearly half an inch.

By Mr. Doster :

Q. How did you happen to see that boot ?

A. It was handed to me by Mr. Field, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, in his room.

Q. Had you ever seen the boot before ?

A. Not that I know of.

Q. What were you told ? Was any thing said to you about the boot before it was handed to you ?

A. I was told to examine it," and see if I could make out what name appeared to be written there.

THE TRIAL. 31

Q. Are you prepared to say that name was not John H. Boole ?

A. I can swear it was not : I would not be positive, but I am almost positive, that the last two letters are " th." That is what I make it out to be.

Q. And you cannot swear that it read " J. W. Booth " ?

A. I would not like to swear as to the two intervening letters.

Q. After you had seen the boot, what did you say?

A. I said I could make out the "J. W. h; " then after- wards "B" and " t."

Q. That is all you said?

A. Yes, sir.

William H. Bell recalled for the prosecution.

By direction of the Judge Advocate, the handcuffs were removed from the prisoner Lewis Payne, and he was directed to array him- self in the coats and hat previously identified. He accordingly put on the dark-gray coat, marked Exhibit No. 55, and over it the brown and white mixed coat, marked Exhibit No. 54, buttoned as an overcoat, and the hat, marked Exhibit No. 4 ; and he stood erect in this position.

The Judge Advocate. I wish this witness, who has been recalled for the purpose of seeing the prisoner Payne in this dress, to look at him now, and see whether he recognizes him.

The Witness. When he came in, he had on that coat and hat : he had on a white collar, and looked quite nice to what he looks now. That is the very same hat he had on : he had it bent down over one eye, one corner of it turned down. He had the same look he has now : he looked pretty fiery out of the eyes at me, — the same way he looks now.

Sergeant George F. Bobinson recalled for the prosecution.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Look at the prisoner Payne now in his present dress, and give your opinion whether he is the same man who came to Secre- tary Seward's on the night of the 16th of April last.

32 THE TRIAL.

A. He looks more natural now than he did before.

Q. Can you give an opinion to the Court whether that is the same man ?

A. I should think it was. I am not sure about it ; but I think it was.

Q. I believe you did not state precisely the hour at which this stabbing occurred : will you state it now, if you can ?

A. It was not far from ten o'clock.

Q. Was it before, or after, do you think ?

A. I should think it was after ten.

Q. Do you know whether the pistol which was picked up there in the room, after he left, was loaded or not ?

A. It was : I examined it.

Jacob Ritterspaugh,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. Do you know the prisoner Edward Spangler ?

A. I do.

Q. Do you know where he lived in Washington until he was arrested ?

A. He boarded where I board.

Q. Where was that ?

A. Mrs. Scott's, on the corner of Seventh and Gr Streets.

Q. Who arrested him ?

A. I do not know : I was not there at the time he was arrested.

Q. What is the name of the house ?

A. I do not know : there is no number on the house.

Q. Who owns it?

A. A Mr. Ford, I think.

Q. Does he live in it ?

A. No, sir : Mrs. Scott has it leased from Mr. Ford.

Q. Who lives in the house?

A. Mrs. Scott.

Q. Who occupied the room with Spangler ?

THE TRIAL. 33

A. He never slept there ; he just took his meals ; that was all.

Q. Did he have a room in the house ?

A. No, sir : he slept at the theatre.

Q. Did you see the rope that was taken there ?

A. No, sir : I know he had a valise there ; he used to keep it there. I do not know whether any thing was in it or not. The detectives came in, and asked me if Spangler had any thing there, and I told them I did not know any more than the valise ; and I gave it to them, and they took it, and went off with it.

Q. You know that that valise that you gave them was Span- gler's valise ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You do not know what it contained?

A. No, sir : I have never looked into it. They took it off. They asked me if he had any chests or trunks, and I told them no : he had no clothes there, nor any thing else.

Q. When did he bring the valise there ?

A. I do not know.

Q. When did you give it to the officers ?

A. On Monday night, the 17th of April last.

Q. Are you not commonly called " Jake " about the theatre?

A. I am.

Captain William M. Wermerskirch,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State to the Court whether or not, on the ni^ht of the 14th of April last, you were at the house of the prisoner, Mrs. Surratt, in this city.

A. I was, on the night of the 17th of April.

Q. Were you present when she and the prisoner Payne met ?

A. I was present.

Q. Did you or did you not hear Major Smith address any re- mark to her, or make any inquiry of her, in regard to the prisoner Payne ?

34 THE TRIAL.

A. He asked Mrs. Surratt whether she knew Payne, the man who came there.

Q. Was Mrs. Surratt then in the presence of Payne ?

A. She saw him.

Q. What was her reply?

A. She held up either one or both hands, — I cannot say, — and said, " Before God, I have never seen that man before. I have not hired him ; I do not know any thing about him ; " or words to that effect.

Q. Do you recognize the prisoner Payne as the man of whom you speak ?

A. Yes : this one is him [pointing to Lewis Payne].

Q. And the prisoner Mrs. Surratt is the woman of whom you speak ?

A. She is.

Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :

Q. Did you make any search of the premises while you were there ?

A. I did.

Q. What did you find?

A. I found a number of photographs, papers, a bullet-mould, and some percussion-caps.

Q. In whose room were the percussion-caps found ?

A. In the room of Mrs. Surratt : I think, at least, it was in her room. It was the back room on the lower floor. I also found there the bullet-mould.

Q. Were the percussion-caps lying around loose in the room ?

A. They were, I think, in one of the drawers of the bureau. The bullet-mould was on the top of a wardrobe.

Q. Was this room on the first floor of the house ?

A. It was on the first floor, — the back room. It was the back parlor.

Q. What were the photographs you found there ?

A. There was a number there : but I do not know whose like- nesses they were ; at least, I cannot now remember.

Q. Did you find the photograph of Jefferson Davis and of Alexan- der H. Stephens ?

THE TRIAL. 35

A. Yes, sir ; or, rather, they were not exactly photographs : I think they were lithographic cartes de visite, got up in the same shape that photographic cartes de visite are got up.

Q. Are you aware that different booksellers and dealers expose these photographs for sale freely throughout the country ?

A. I have seen them in Baltimore for sale.

Q. Even in Baltimore?

A. Yes, sir : I think, eighteen months ago, I saw them there for sale, though they were prohibited to be sold by an order of the com- manding general at the time.

Q. Have you not frequently seen photographs of the leaders of the Rebellion in the hands of persons supposed to be loyal ?

A. Not frequently.

Q. But you have seen them ?

A. I may have seen them : I do not recollect having seen any. I do not recollect any particular instance. I mean to say, I have seen them.

Q. You know it to be a common affair to have these photographs about freely through the country ?

A. No, sir : I do not know that.

Q. Have you ever seen the photographs of Booth in the hands of persons supposed to be perfectly loyal ?

A. I have seen photographs of him in the hands of persons perfect- ly loyal, but only in the hands of those who took an interest in having him arrested.

Q. Then you never saw any photograph of him before the assas- sination ?

A. No, sir : not to my knowledge at least.

Q. Is it not a common thing for the photographs of eminent actors to be exposed for sale about ?

A. I think it is.

Q. Is it not common for people to have such photographs of eminent actors, actresses, and distinguished persons in their al- bums?

A. I do not know. It may be for all I know.

Q. Whereabouts in the house were you when Mrs. Surratt made the asseveration to which you allude ?

36 THE TRIAL.

A. I was standing in the hall, very near the front parlor, afford- ing me full view of the hall and the interior of the front parlor.

Q. Was she in the parlor, or in the hall?

A. She was in the parlor, very near the hall-door ; or standing, perhaps, in the door.

Q. Was she kneeling, or standing, at the time you told her you were ready to go ?

A. I never told her so.

Q. What remark did you make to her, if any, at the time you were ready to take the people from the house ?

A. The remark was made by Major Smith, if I am not mistaken; not by me.

Q. What did Major Smith say ?

A. We had sent for a carriage to take her to the Provost Mar- shal's office ; and he informed her that the carriage was there, and ready to take her. Her reply was, that she requested a minute or so to kneel down first to pray.

Q. Then she did kneel and pray before she left the house ?

A. She knelt down : whether she prayed or not, I cannot tell.

Q. How was Payne dressed when he came in, or the person sup- posed to be Payne ?

A. He was dressed in a very dark coat, pants that seemed to be black ; and he had a very close-fitting head-dress, seemingly appar- ently to be a shirt-sleeve or the lower part of a drawer, closely fitting around his head, and hanging down for about six or seven inches, perhaps.

Q. [Submitting a sleeve of a woollen shirt to the witness.] Is that it?

A. It looks something similar to it ; and I think it is what he wore on his head at the time.

[The sleeve was offered in evidence without objection.]

Q. Were both legs of his pantaloons stuffed into his pants ?

A. That I do not know ; but I know he was full of mud up to his knees nearly.

Q. Do you think you could recognize the coat he had on if you should see it now ?

A. I think I could.

THE TRIAL. 37

Q. Do you recognize him now?

A. Yes, sir. I think the coat he had on then was not so long, and was darker than the one he has on now ; but I may be mistaken. [The prisoner Lewis Payne, by direction of the Judge Advocate, was then divested of the brown and white mixed coat, marked Ex- hibit No. 54, leaving upon him the dark gray coat, marked Exhibit No. 55 ; and the shirt-sleeve, marked Exhibit No. 53, was put on as a head-dress.] That is the way he had that head-dress on; and that, I think, is the coat he wore ; though I am not so sure in regard to that. The hall was not lit up very well : we had dimmed the gas- light purposely.

Q. The hall was not well lit up ?

A. It was not so well lit up where we were standing that I could positively swear that was the coat he wore then : it is as near the color and shape of the coat as can be.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham : Q. Is that the man ?

A. Yes, sir : that is the man who entered the house about mid- night.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. Do you think, if you should see a person dressed genteelly in black clothes, with a white handkerchief about his neck, representing himself to you as a Baptist minister, you would, two or three weeks after that, recognize him in this garb, in dim gaslight, and covered with mud, as the same person ?

A. I declare I do not know how Baptist ministers look.

Q. What is your religious persuasion and belief ?

A. I have been brought up as a Catholic.

Q. Do you think you would be able to recognize a person in such a garb in dim gaslight, when you had been in the habit of meeting the same person before genteelly dressed ?

A. If I was asked to identify him, and look at him, and say if he was the same man or not, I think I would. The prisoner had not taken any particular pains to disguise himself : his face looked just the same as it does now : the only difference that ever existed was the clothes.

VOL. II. 4

38 THE TRIAL.

Q. You have not the least doubt in your mind but that you would be able to recognize a man in those different garbs under these cir- cumstances ?

A. I think I would recognize him, even if he put on another coat, and besmeared himself with mud.

Q. Were any other remarks made to you by Mrs. Surratt in ref- erence to Payne ?

A. No, sir. Even the remark that I mentioned was not made to me.

Q. Did Mrs. Surratt manifest any desire to avoid your questions at any time on the recognition of this man if she did know him ?

A. I did not question her at any time at all. I only turned around when the question was asked. , Q. I simply asked what your impression was of her manner.

A. She did not seem to like it very well ; but, at the same time, she did not manifest much desire to evade it.

Q. From where you were standing in the hall, could you see into the parlor ?

A. I was standing at different parts of the hall. I was standing where I could not command a full view of the parlor ; and again I was at a point where I could see every thing that transpired in the parlor.

Q. Did you see any thing of a black bag in that house ?

A. Yes, sir : I have seen it.

Q. Was it opened in your presence ?

A. It was not. Our men had not the means of opening it : none of our keys fitted it ; and I had it sent up with the other things to the Provost Marshal's office to be opened there.

Q. Do you know positively, of your own knowledge, of any thing that was in it ?

A. No, sir.

By Mr. Clampitt :

Q. Where were the photographs found ?

A. All over the house, — in the front parlor, in the back parlor, and in the two rooms up stairs. Q. How many were found ?

THE TRIAL. 39

A. As far as I remember, three albums containing photographs, and some loose photographs besides.

Q. Were those photographs you speak of representations of the leaders of the Rebellion ?

A. I think they represented Jeff. Davis — I do not know him personally — and General Beauregard. Those are the only two I can remember now.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. Did you find photographs of Union generals there ?

A. I saw a photograph of General McClellan there.

Q. Do you not consider him a Union general ?

A. Yes, sir ; he has been a general on our side : that is all I know.

Q. Did you ever have the honor of serving under him ?

A. No, sir.

By Mr. Clampitt :

Q. Do you remember that he planned and fought the battle of Antietam ?

A. Oh, yes ! I recollect it.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Burnett :

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness a frame containing a photographic picture representing " Morning, Noon, and Night."] Do you rec- ollect finding this picture and frame in Mrs. Surratt's house ?

A. This picture was in the Surratt house, on the lower flooor, if I am not mistaken, in the back room, standing on the mantle-piece.

Q. Did you examine it ?

A. No, sir.

Q. Did you examine the picture under it ?

A. No, sir.

Q. You simply found this picture ?

A. I simply found it there, and left it there, because I did not think any thing of it.

Q. You identify the frame as being there, and say that this pic- ture was all that was visible ?

A. Yes, sir.

40 THE TRIAL.

Q. I understand you to say that you found the bullet-mould in the top of the wardrobe in Mrs. Surratt's room ?

A. I did.

Q. Will you state whether or not, when Mrs. Surratt was look- ing at the prisoner Payne, there was a full head of gas there in the hall, where he was standing ?

A. At the place where Payne was standing at the time, the spot was not only lit by the hall-light, but also by the light emanating from the parlor.

Q. A full light?

A. Yes, sir.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. Have you ever had any percussion-caps in your own posses- sion?

A. Yes, sir : I have.

Q. Have you had bullet-moulds ?

A. I do not think I have had. I may have had them ; but I do not remember it.

Q. Is it not a very common thing for people to have percussion- caps and bullet-moulds, particularly in these times?

A. That I do not know.

Lieutenant John W. Dempsey,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness a photographic representation of " Morning, Noon, and Night " in a frame.] State whether or not you saw this in the house of the prisoner Mrs. Surratt.

A. This picture I found in the back room, on the first floor

Q. Did you examine it ?

A. I did.

Q. State what you found underneath the picture that is now shown ?

A. The back part was all sealed ; and my curiosity was excited

THE TRIAL. 41

by seeing a piece torn off the back. I opened it, and found the like- ness of J. Wilkes Booth, — a side-face view.

Q. [Submitting to the witness Booth's photograh, Exhibit No. 1.] Is that the man?

A. That is the same face, with one exception, — that the picture I found in this room was a side-view. I turned the picture over to Colonel Ingraham. The person represented in both photographs is the same.

Q. Was the picture of Booth visible from this frame ?

A. No, sir.

[The picture and frame were offered in evidence without objec- tion.]

Q. You say the picture of Booth was not visible in this frame ?

A. It was not. The word "Booth" was written in pencil on the back of it. I will not positively swear that the initials " J. W." were on it ; but the word " Booth " was certainly on the back of the photograph.

Cross-examined by Mr. Aiken :

Q. Under ordinary circumstances, would you consider the finding of the picture of Booth to be proof that the person in whose house it was was engaged in a conspiracy ?

A. I do not understand you.

Q. Would you think the person guilty of treasonable practices in whose possession you should find a picture of Booth accidentally or in any other way ?

A member of the Court objected to the question, because it asked for the opinions of the witness on a hypothetical case.

The Commission sustained the objection.

By Mr. Aiken :

Q. Have you been in the habit of seeing pictures of Booth, and leaders of the Rebellion, exposed for sale about in different places ?

A. I was a prisoner for thirteen months ; and, during that time, I saw a good many of the leaders of the Rebellion, both personally and in pictures.

Q. I speak now of in the loyal States ?

A. No, sir : I have not.

4*

42 THE TRIAL.

Q. You never have seen photographs of Davis and Lee ?

A. Very few, except those seen in the newspapers, — the Sunday papers particularly.

Q. Have you seen them published in newspapers?

A. Occasionally, I think I have.

Q. In loyal newspapers at the North ?

A. I think in one instance I have, on or about the time the Re- bellion first broke out, — only exhibiting Jefferson Davis's portrait as the former Secretary of War, and then leader of the Rebellion. I think I saw it in one of the Sunday papers of New York.

Q. Have you not been in the habit of seeing the pictures of emi- nent actors in the hands of different parties who preserved them ?

A. I cannot say that I have noticed particularly so. I have seen some.

Q. Have you seen them exposed for sale at different places?

A. Within the last four years, I have had very little to do with any thing outside of the army ; and, if I did formerly, it slipped my memory.

Q. Do you not think you have ?

A. I am not much of a theatrical character myself; and for that reason I have nothing to say, and do not know any thing about it.

Q. I am not inquiring about your being a theatrical character. I ask you if you have not been in the habit of seeing the pictures of eminent actors exposed for sale throughout the country.

A. I have seen likenesses of Forrest, Macready, and others.

Louis J. Weichmann recalled for the prosecution :

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. Look at the prisoner Payne, and see whether you ever saw him dressed with that coat on before [the prisoner being dressed as before directed by the Judge Advocate] .

A. Yes, sir : he had that coat on the time he last came to the house, when he staid there three days.

Q. [Exhibiting a vest to the witness.] Look at this vest, and see whether you ever saw that vest before.

THE TRIAL. 43

A. Yes : he had that vest on. I know it by the buttons.

[The vest was offered in evidence without objection.]

Q. Did he, during that three-days' sojourn in Mrs. Surratt's house, wear a white cravat ?

A. He wore a black cravat.

Q. Did he ever wear a white cravat while at her house at any time ?

A. No, sir : I never saw him with a white cravat.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. Did all this happen at a time when you were giving informa- tion to the War Department and at the same time on an intimate footing with Mrs. Surratt and her family ?

A. I was on an intimate footing.

Q. I ask you about the time.

A. The time, as near as I can recollect, was about the 15th of March. It was on this occasion that Payne once went to the theatre with John Surratt to see the play of " Jane Shore : " I can fix the time more easily by that date. I communicated my sus- picions to Captain Gleason the very morning —

Q. No matter about Captain Gleason : I want the time.

A Member of the Commission (General Wallace). Allow the witness to answer the question.

A. I communicated my suspicions to the War Department the very morning after this horseback-ride took place.

Mr. Doster. I object to that testimony. I am asking the wit- ness to fix a certain time when he did a certain thing. All he has to do is to answer as to a certain date. It is unnecessary for him to go into particulars about the War Department.

A. I communicated my suspicions to Captain Gleason —

Mr. Doster. I object to that. I want you to answer, and tell me exactly what time this visit of Payne was.

A. The second and last visit of Payne, to my recollection, was about the 14th of March. He came there on the evening of the —

Q. Was it the visit when you say he had this coat on ?

44 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir : it was on the evening of the 13th of March. He remained three days, — the 14th, 15th, and 16th. On the 15th of March, he went in company with John Surratt to the theatre —

Mr. Doster. I wish —

The President. The counsel will allow the witness to answer the question ; and, if he objects to the answer, let him make it for- mally after the witness has got through.

A. I remember the fact of his having been there, by Payne going to the theatre with Surratt at this time. It was when "Jane Shore" was playing. Forrest was playing at the theatre at that time. Forrest played four nights that week. Payne went with John Surratt, Miss Fitzpatrick, and Miss Dean. Surratt had got a ten-dollar ticket. The next day, this horseback-ride occurred ; and the next day (the 17th) I communicated my suspicions to Captain Gleason, of the War Department. I had spoken to him previously, on various occasions, about this blockade-runner, and about this woman ; but I cannot fix the precise date.

Mr. Doster. I object to the reception of the testimony just given so far as it goes further than a mere answer to my question. I asked the witness to fix a date. He has fixed the date ; namely, the evening of the 13th of March. Beyond that I asked nothing; and all that he has said beyond it is mere surplusage, and does not bear on the case.

Assistant Judge Advocate Burnett. The gentleman asked him further, whether that date was the time when he communicated his suspicions to the Government. That was an additional part of the question ; and the witness has gone on to fix it.

The Commission overruled the objection. By Mr. Cox :

Q. Do I understand the witness now to fix the 16th of March as the date of that horseback-ride ?

The Witness. Yes, sir : to the best of my recollection.

THE TRIAL. 45

Colonel H. H. Wells recalled for the prosecution.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. State to the Court whether you had the prisoner Payne in your custody on the night of his arrest, — the 17th of April last.

A. I had.

Q. Was he dressed in the dark-gray coat he now has on ?

A. Yes, sir : he had on that coat, a pair of black pants, and something that looked like a skull-cap. I took off his coat, shirt, pants, vest, and all his clothing, the next day, on board of the monitor.

Q. [Submitting to the witness a pair of pantaloons and a vest.] Do you recognize these ?

A. These were worn by him. He had a white shirt on at the time, a linen shirt, and an undershirt minus one sleeve.

Q. [Submitting a box containing the various articles named.] Do you recognize them all ?

A. Those are the articles : there is a very distinct mark by which they can be recognized. I pointed it out to the prisoner at the time in the examination. I described to her what I supposed his condition was when he committed the assault, and said to him that I should find the blood on the coat-sleeve inside of the coat he is wearing. I found it also on the white shirt-sleeve. [The wit- ness exhibited the blood-spots thus referred to.] I called his atten- tion to it at the time, and said, " What do you think now ? " He leaned back against the side of the boat, and said nothing.

[The articles referred to were offered in evidence without objec- tion.]

I also took from him the boots that have been shown here. There was then upon them a broad ink-stain, that is now to be seen on one of them, on the inside. I asked him where he got those boots. He said that he bought them in Baltimore, and had worn them three months. I called his attention to the falsehood that was apparent from the fact that the boots had only been slightly worn. He made no reply to that. I then took him away with me,

46 THE TRIAL.

and sent one of the boots to the Treasury Department, — if possible, to ascertain what that name was.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. I understood you to say that you saw blood on the coat the prisoner has on now ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Whereabouts was that blood ?

A. On the lining of the sleeve.

Q. Which side ? — outside ?

A. No, sir : I turned the sleeve up, inside ; I think, on the left arm.

Q. Did you not threaten the prisoner at the time ?

A. No, sir : I did not.

Q. Did you not, at the time you were examining about those boots, and he told you he had worn them three months, tell him he was a liar ?

A. I think I did : I told him that several times.

Q. You are very positive, however, that the blood was found on this coat ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you see blood on any other coat ? .

A. Yes, sir : on the overcoat that was brought to me from near Fort Bunker Hill, there were stains that appeared to be blood-stains. I called the prisoner's attention to the fact ; and I said, ' ' How did that blood come there?" Said he, "It is not blood ! " I said, " Look and see, and say if you can tell me it is not blood." He looked at it again, and said, " I do not know how it came there."

Q. How did you know it was blood ?

A. Because I saw it.

Mrs. Eleanor Bloyce (colored),

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Where do you live ?

A. At Bryantown.

THE TRIAL. 47

Q. Do you know the prisoner Dr. Mudd ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How far does he liv<* from Bryan town ?

A. About four miles, I reckon.

Q. Will you state whether or not, on the day after the Presi- dent was murdered, — that is to say, on Saturday, the 15th of April last, — you saw Dr. Mudd riding into Bryantown ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Can you state at what hour that was about ?

A. I cannot.

Q. What hour do you think ?

A. It was getting late in the evening. It was a dark, foggy day : I could not see the sun.

Q. Do you think it was three or four o'clock ?

A. I think so ; but it might have been later. I do not know : I cannot say.

Q. Was he alone, or accompanied by somebody else ?

A. There was a gentleman with him when he passed.

Q. Were you near enough to observe that person ?

A. No, sir : I was not near enough to him to observe the gentle- man. I live about a quarter of a mile from the road.

Q. Were both on horseback?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How far do you live from the town?

A. Not more than half a mile.

Q. Did they both go into town together ? or did only one of them go to the town ?

A. I do not know. They were together until they were out of my sight.

Q. How long was it before Dr. Mudd returned?

A. A short time.

Q. How long after that was it before you went into town your- self?

A. Not more than eight or ten minutes.

Q. On your arriving there, did you find the soldiers from Wash- ington ?

A. Yes, sir.

48 THE TRIAL.

Q. Did you hear the murder of the President spoken of then?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You do not know how long those soldiers had been in town?

A. No, sir : I found them there.

Q. You think it was not more than ten or fifteen minutes be- fore the doctor passed, returning home, when you went into town ?

A. No, sir : I do not think it was any more.

Q. Was this other man riding with him?

A. Yes : when he went. When Dr. Sam. came back, the gentle- man was not with him.

Q. Will you state what you heard in town that day about the President being murdered, — what was said ?

A. I did not learn any thing, only that he was shot on Friday night at the theatre.

Q. Did you or not hear it said who had shot him ?

A. No, sir : I did not.

Q. You just heard this on the streets ? or did you make any par- ticular inquiries ?

A. I heard it from persons talking in Bryantown.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stoke :

Q. How far did you say you lived from Bryantown?

A. Not more than half a mile.

Q. You say Dr. Mudd came back by himself?

A. Yes, sir : when I saw him. When he passed me the first time, I saw a gentleman with him. When he returned, I did not see the gentleman with him.

Q. Do you know who that gentleman was ?

A. No : I do not. I was too far from the road to know what gentleman it was.

Q. How far were you from the road ?

A. I reckon I live about a quarter of a mile from the road ; but I know the doctor.

Q. Can you tell what sort of a looking man the other one was ?

A. No, sir : I was too far from the road to tell you what sort of a looking gentleman it was.

Q. When you went into Bryantown yourself, you did not see him there ?

THE TRIAL. 49

A. No : he had returned before I went to Bryantown. I went to Bryantown in a very short time after he passed my house.

Q. If he had come back the same road without Dr. Mudd, he would have had to pass your house in the same way ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you would have been likely to see him ?

A. No : I was not all the time there. I happened to be stand- ing at the door, and looking down the road, when I saw Dr. Mudd pass, and a gentleman with him. When he went back, the gentle- man was not with him.

Q. How long do you think the doctor staid in Bryantown ?

A. I do not think he staid a quarter of an hour ; but I do not know : I have not any thing to tell by.

Q. Was it not a dark, cloudy evening?

A. Yes, sir : it was a dark, drizzly, foggy evening.

Q. Was it getting on to sunset ?

A. It was getting late in the evening, — not exactly towards sunset.

Q. How far does Dr. Mudd live from Bryantown?

A. I reckon, about four miles, — perhaps not that far : I do not know the exact distance.

Q. Could you tell whether it was an old man or a young man who was riding with Dr. Mudd ?

A. I could not tell.

Q. Could you tell what sort of a horse he was on ?

A. I did not take much account of it, because I have often seen the doctor pass that road. The horse appeared to me to be a bay horse.

Q. The horse the other man was riding ?

A. Yes, sir : the horse the other gentleman was riding.

Q. What sort of a horse was the doctor riding?

A. I think, a kind of dark-gray ; but I did not take much no- tice of the horse, because I know the doctor when I see him.

Q. Were they riding fast or slow, or at the usual gait ?

A. A tolerable gait, like he generally rides.

Q. Not riding faster than persons usually ride in the country?

A. No, sir : no faster than usual.

VOL. II. 5

50 THE TRIAL.

Q. Could you tell whether the man with the doctor was a large man or a small man ?

A. I could not. I was too far from the road ; and I took hut little account of it. I did not pay much particular notice.

Q. Were they riding side by side, or one before the other ?

A. They were riding side by side when I saw them.

Q. The soldiers had been passing about there that day, had they not?

A. Not that I know of. I never heard of it until I went to town.

Q. You did not see any pass your house ?

A. I did not.

Q. Which road do you live on ? Is it up the swamp ?

A. I live on the right.

Q. On the road that leads up the swamp ?

A. I live on the road that leads up to Dr. Mudd's ?

Q. There is no road that turns out between your house and Bryantown, is there ?

A. No, sir : not going down to the town.

Q. There is no road between your house and Bryantown but one ? — no fork at all ?

A. No, sir.

Q. And, if the man that went with Dr. Mudd had returned, he would have been obliged to go by your house ?

A. Yes, sir : he was obliged to go through Bryantown, or go back the same way as he went.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Did the doctor return before you started to the town ? or did you meet him ?

A. He had passed my house before I started : a very short time, though.

Mrs. Becky Briscoe (colored), a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Where do you live ?

THE TRIAL. 51

A. At Mr. John McPherson's.

Q. How far from the town of Bryantown ?

A. A very little distance : I do not know exactly.

Q. Half a mile, or a quarter of a mile ?

A. I reckon, about a quarter of a mile.

Q. Do you know the prisoner Dr. Mudd ?

A. Yes : I know Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Q. State whether, on Saturday, the day after the President was murdered, you saw Dr. Mudd riding into town, or not.

A. Yes, sir : I saw the doctor riding with a strange gentleman : I do not know who he was.

Q. What time of day was it?

A. I reckon, about three o'clock.

Q. Could you tell whether it was a young man who was riding with him ?

A. I could not tell that. I was standing in the kitchen-door ; and this gentleman was on the other side of Dr. Mudd : Dr. Mudd was on the side next to the house.

Q. Do you know whether they went into town together, or sepa- rated ?

A. This gentleman went towards the bridge, and the doctor kept on to Bryantown ; and this gentleman came back again.

Q. Where did he go when he came back?

A. He kept on down the road to the swamp : when I saw him again, he and Dr. Sam. were going up the road together.

Q. Did he go into the swamp ?

A. He just stood there at the swamp.

Q. Did he stay there until the doctor came back ?

A. Yes : he staid until the doctor came back.

Q. How long do you think the doctor was gone ?

A. Half an hour, I reckon, — a very little while.

Q. How far is the bridge you speak of from the town ?

A. A little distance from the town, — about half a mile, I expect.

Q. Is it nearer the town than your house ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Is it quite near ? Is it in sight of the town ?

A. Yes, indeed : it is in sight of the town.

52 THE TRIAL.

Q. You say, that, when they got there, he turned back, and went to the swamp ?

A. Yes : this gentleman came back; and Dr. Mudd went on to Bryantown, and staid a little time.

Q. Did you go to town that day ?

A. Yes, sir : I went after he came back.

Q. How long after ?

A. A very little while. I was almost ready then to go to Bryan- town.

Q. When you got into the town, will you state whether you heard of the murder of the President?

A. I never heard it until I got into town : then I heard it.

Q. Did you hear it said by the people who were talking who was supposed to have murdered him ?

A. No, sir : I never heard that until two or three days after, when I heard that the man who killed him was named Booth.

Q. You heard the fact that he had been killed spoken of in town ?

A. Yes, sir.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stone :

Q. Do you live at Mr. John McPherson's?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. At the house there ?

A. Yes, sir ; and I was standing in the door when Dr. Mudd and that gentleman came up.

Q. There are no woods between McPherson's and Bryantown ?

A. No, sir ; no woods.

Q. The bridge is just a little way from there, at a gate?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. That swamp which you spoke of is not Heschre Swamp?

A. No, sir.

Q. You mean the run on the other side of your house ?

A. Yes, sir ; just right down below the barn.

Q. You say Dr. Mudd and this man went along, and the latter stopped at the bridge ?

A. Yes, sir : he stopped at the bridge, and came back again.

THE TRIAL. 53

Q. Came straight back ?

A. Yes ; and went as far as the swamp.

Q. How long was it then before you went to town ?

A. A very little while : I cannot tell how long it was.

Q. Did you meet the doctor coming out of town as you went in ?

A. No, sir : I did not meet him. I was going to get ready to go to Bryan town when I saw the doctor passing.

Q. Dr. Mudd came back before you started to Bryantown?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Can you see the run at the swamp there from McPherson's ?

A. You cannot see it unless you go a little distance from the barn.

Q. Did you go that little way from the barn ?

A. No, sir : I did not. I was down in the branch, getting wil- lows for Dr. Marshall.

Q. You were down in the branch?

A. Yes, sir ; but I did not go into the same branch that the gen- tleman was in : it was only a little hill there.

Q. You went to another branch to get willows, and you saw over in that branch ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was he doing?

A. He was doing nothing, sitting there on the horse ; but I did not notice him particularly. I saw him again going up the road with Dr. Sam. Mudd.

Q. Did you know what sort of horse he rode ?

A. I think both of them were on bay horses.

Q. Did Dr. Mudd come back from Bryantown before you left the branch you were in getting willows ?

A. Yes, sir : I was down there on the hill when he came by.

Q. Could you tell whether it was an old man or a young man ?

A. I could not tell that.

Q. How long did you stay at Bryantown that evening ?

A. Until almost night.

Q. Was it not pretty late in the evening when they passed ?

A. I think, quite late, — about three o'clock in the evening.

Q. WTio else saw those two persons riding ? 6*

54 THE TRIAL.

A. There was one boy at the wood-pile, cutting wood. He said, " There is a strange man, I don't know who he is, going with Dr. Sam. : it must be Hamilton Southards come from Virginia." I did not know who he was.

Q. How many soldiers had you seen pass there that day ?

A. I did not see any soldiers pass that day. The soldiers were in Bryantown when I got there.

Q. To whom did you first tell that you saw this man riding with Dr. Sam. ?

A. I told my mother first ; and then, as people came to talk about it, I told most of them there that I saw this man with Dr. Mudd.

Q. "Was that your mother who was last on the witness-stand ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. After Dr. Sam. and the person who was with him went to Bryantown, did you notice any one else passing up or down the road?

A. No, sir : I did not notice any person else.

Q. You saw no one pass either up or down ?

A. No, sir.

Q. Can you see into Bryantown from the bridge ?

A. Yes, indeed ; you can see into Bryantown.

Q. You can see it from your house V

A. Yes : we can from Mr. McPherson's house.

Q. Can you not see Bryantown from a great distance up the road after you cross the swamp ?

A. You can see the top of Bryantown right plain : you cannot see down in the streets plain.

Q. You can see one place only there, — that by where Mr. Turner used to live ; but you cannot see any of the rest of the town, can you ?

A. You can see the brick house there and Bean's store.

Q. You say that your mother was the first person to whom you mentioned this circumstance ?

A. Yes : my mother is the first one I told about it.

Q. Whom else did you tell ?

A. I told the black ones there about it, — those that live on our place.

THE TRIAL. 55

Q. Did you tell the boy whom you have referred to ?

A. Yes : I asked him if he knew that man that rode with Dr. Sam. ; and he said he did not know him.

Q. Name any one else whom you told besides your mother.

A. I told Baker Johnson.

Q. Any one else that you know of?

A. The rest of the folks. I told Mr. Henry Johnson and Maria Ivirby about it.

Q. Did you tell Mr. McPherson himself?

A. No, sir.

Q. When did you tell your mother and these other folks ?

A. I told my mother that day ; and then I told them all about it next day (Sunday) ; and I told them about it two or three times since, as they were talking about that man.

Q. Did you tell all the folks in the house that that man rode back by himself?

A. I did not tell the white folks so : I told the colored folks.

Q. Did you tell them the spot in the swamp ?

A. Yes, indeed.

Q. Where he waited for Dr. Mudd ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that, when Dr. Mudd came back, he and the doctor kept on up the road ?

A. Yes, sir.

On motion, the Commission adjourned until to-morrow (Saturday) morning, May 20, at eleven o'clock.

Saturday, May 20, 1865. On Saturday, the Commission proceeded with its investigations as follows : —

Hon. C. A. Dana,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

56 THE TRIAL.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state to the Court what position you occupy in the public service ?

A. I am Assistant Secretary of War. •

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness a revoking cylinder in a frame, with a table, composed of letters of the alphabet variously arranged, pasted on the cylinder.] Look at that article, and state whether you have seen it before, and under what circumstances.

A. I took this out of the office of Mr. Benjamin,, the Rebel Sec- retary of State, at Richmond. Richmond was evacuated on Monday, the 3d of April. I arrived there on the Wednesday following, the 5th ; and, on the 6th of April, I went into Mr. Benjamin's office, and there this was found. I sent it to Major Eckert, at the War Depart- ment, who has charge of ciphers there. I saw it was a key to the official rebel cipher ; and, as we had a good many of them to decipher at different times, this seemed to be very interesting ; and I brought it away accordingly.

Q. Did you find it in his trunk ? or where ?

A. No : Mr. Benjamin's office had consisted of a series of three or four rooms. I think there were four rooms in succession. Ben- jamin's own personal office was the inmost of all. This was the next room to that, in the room where his library was : it seemed to be a room occupied, I should say, by his most confidential clerk or assist- ant. It was there standing on a shelf among his books and other things. Most of the articles had been taken away from the office ; the records had all been taken away : but I found several interest- ing documents, and this among them.

By the Court :

Q. What is the object of this instrument?

A. This is a key to a cipher. The purpose of this cipher is to use letters of the alphabet for other letters, as " a " for " x " and for "m," &c, which follows a regular system. By shifting the pointers fixed in the frame over the cylinder, according to certain principles, you understand a cipher-despatch. You can decipher it by the help of this, or can put a despatch into cipher by this.

THE TRIAL. 57

Major T. T. Eckert recalled for the prosecution.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. [Submitting to the witness the cipher marked Exhibit No. 7, and also the Exhibit No. 59.] Look at the cipher which is Exhibit No. 7, which is said to have been found in the trunk of J. Wilkes Booth, and compare it with the other cipher of which the Assistant- Secretary of War (Mr. Dana) has just spoken, and state whether or not they are the same.

A. They are the same. I have examined and compared them.

Q. You are somewhat familiar, are you not, with the deciphering of ciphers of that kind ?

A. I am.

Q. You have no doubt as to their being the same ?

A. None at all.

Q. Will you state whether or not cipher-despatches from the rebel authorities have, from time to time, fallen into the hands of the department, and been referred to you for examination ?

A. They have been.

Q. Will you state whether or not they were the same cipher with these of which you are now speaking ?

A. Some were worked on the same principles.

Q. I speak now particularly of cipher-despatches of the 13th and 19th of October last. Have you them in your possession?

A. I have.

Q. Have you the originals ?

A. We have not the originals. We have copies of the originals.

Q. Will you produce them ?

[The witness produced copies of the originals of the despatches, and also translations of the despatches as deciphered.]

Q. State whether or not those despatches are written in the same cipher with the others of which you have spoken.

A. I think they are written in the same cipher. There may be a difference of the key, as every thing depends on that ; but the principle is the same.

Q. Have you translated them ?

58 THE TRIAL.

A. My clerks have.

Q. Do you mean that the cipher used is the same as that on the wheel designated Exhibit No. 59 ?

A. They were worked out without this cipher, or any knowledge of this at the time ; but it is the same principle as the wheel.

Q. Are these translations of those despatches?

A. [After examining the originals and translations.] These are the translations.

The despatches were read, as follows : —

" October 13, 1864.

" We again urge the immense necessity of our gaining immediate advantages. Strain every nerve for victory. We now look upon the re-election of Lincoln in November as almost certain ; and we need to whip his hirelings to prevent it. Besides, with Lincoln re-elected and his armies victorious, we need not hope even for recognition, much less the help mentioned in our last. Holcombe will explain this. Those figures of the Yankee armies are correct to a unit. Our friend shall be immediately set to work as you direct."

"October 19, 1864.

" Your letter of the 13th instant is at hand. There is yet time enough to colonize many voters before November. A blow will shortly be stricken here. It is not quite time. General Longstreet is to attack Sheridan without delay, and then move North as far as practicable, towards unprotected points.

" This will be made instead of movement before mentioned.

" He will endeavor to assist the Republicans in collecting their ballots. Be watchful, and assist him."

Q. You state that these cipher-despatches were copies ? *

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Will you please state whether or not the originals were sent to their destination ?

A. The originals were sent to Richmond.

Q. They passed through the War Department, and were for- warded ?

THE TRIAL. 59

A. Yes, sir.

Q. From what direction did the cipher of the 13th of October come ?

A. It came from Canada, as I understood.

Q. And went to Richmond ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And the answer to it, of the 19th, — from what direction did it come ?

A. From Richmond, and went to Canada.

Brigadier-General Alexander J. Hamilton,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not you are familiar with the handwriting of W. S. Oldham.

A. Williamson S. Oldham is his name. I am as familiar with it, I think, as I am with the handwriting of any one living.

Q. [Submitting to the witness the letter signed " W. S. Oldham," and marked Exhibit No. 42.] State whether or not that letter is in his handwriting.

A. It is.

Q. Will you state whether or not, at the time of writing it, he was a member of the Senate of the so-called Confederate States, from Texas?

A. I will answer you, that, in 1861, I was present when he was elected by the Rebel Legislature of Texas to a seat in the Senate of the Rebel Government ; and since then I know, simply as a matter of public history, that he has occupied that position.

Q. Was he elected for six years ?

A. Yes, sir : I so understood it. I have seen many speeches of his from the Rebel Senate, and resolutions and bills introduced by him, in the public prints.

Q. You are a citizen of Texas?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Formerly a member of Congress from that State ?

60 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know any thing of the Professor McCullough spoken of in the body of that letter ?

A. I know nothing of the parties named in the letter. I know only the writer of the letter.

Surgeon- General Joseph K. Barnes recalled for the prosecution.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not you made an examination of the body of J. Wilkes Booth after his death, when brought to this city.

A. I did.

Q. Describe to the Court the scar which is alleged to have been on his neck.

A. The scar on the left side of the neck was occasioned by an operation performed by Dr. May, of this city, for the removal of a tumor, some months previously to Booth's death.

Q. What was its peculiar appearance, if it had any peculiar appearance ?

A. It looked like the scar of a burn, instead of an incision.; which Dr. May explained, from the fact that the wound was torn open on the stage, when nearly healed.

Q. How near was it to the ear ?

A. Three inches below the ear, upon the large muscle of the neck.

Frank Bloyce (colored),

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State where you live.

A. I live in Charles County, Md.

Q. In town, or in the country?

A. In the country.

Q. How far from Bryantown?

A. About half a mile.

THE TRIAL. 61

Q. Were you in Bryantown on the Saturday after the murder of the President ?

A. I was there in Bryantown on Saturday evening.

Q. At what time were you there ?

A. About three or four o'clock, as near as I can come at it.

Q. About four o'clock ?

A. Between three and four o'clock.

Q. Did you or not see the prisoner Dr. Mudd there ?

A. Yes, sir : I saw him there on Saturday evening. I was in the store buying something.

Q. What time do you think it was when you saw him there ?

A. Between three and four o'clock on Saturday.

Q. Wliere did you see him, — in the streets, or in the store?

A. He came in the store while I was in there.

Q. Will you state whether or not the soldiers from Washington had then arrived in Bryantown 'I

A. I do not know exactly whether they had or not.

Q. You did not see them ? You do not know whether they had or not ?

A. No, sir.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ewing :

Q. Were you around about the town during that time?

A. Yes, sir : I was in the store. I was not about the town : I was in the store buying some things. I did not take much notice of Dr. Mudd there then, I had met him so frequently.

Q. At what time did you leave the store ?

A. When I left the store, the road was guarded.

Q. At what time did you leave the store ?

A. I left the store just before night. He was gone before I was.

Q. At what time did you go into the store ?

A. I went into the store just as quick as I went into the town. It was between three and four o'clock. I never stopped at any place, but went straight to the store.

Q. How long had Dr. Mudd left it before you left it ?

A. I do not know about that. I do not know when he started.

VOL. II. 6

62 THE TRIAL.

I did not see him when he started from the store : I did not take that much notice.

By the Court :

Q. Which one of the Dr. Mudds was it ? A. Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Q. Was the report of the President's, assassination in Bryantown at that time ?

A. I do not know.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. Did you hear any thing about the President's assassination? A. No, sir : I did not. I never heard it until the door was guarded.

Q. Then you heard it, did you? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And that was a little before night? A. Yes, sir : a little before night.

By the Court :

Q. You heard it before you left Bryantown ?

A. Oh, yes, sir !

John H. Ward,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state where you live ?

A. At Bryantown, Charles County, Md.

Q. Will you state whether you were there on the afternoon of the day following the murder of the President, — Saturday, the 15th of April ?

A. I was in Bryantown then. I live in the suburbs of the vil- lage. I left my home, went to the village so soon as I finished my dinner, and arrived there about one o'clock. As soon as I arrived, I observed that the military were in town with Lieutenant Dana ; and I perceived also that there was a very great excitement, not only with the military, but with the people. Seeing the soldiers

THE TRIAL. 63

alight, I imagined at once they were going to search the houses. I went home, as there was no one there but my wife, fearing lest she should be alarmed, and remained there some time, expecting it likely the soldiers would search the houses. Soon afterwards, a negro came up, and said the President had been assassinated. I immediately left home, and went to the village. After staying there but a short time, Lieutenant Dana put the village under mar- tial law ; and people began to get excited about getting home. Many of them wanted to get home, and thought it likely that they would be detained there for several hours, and would frequently go and make application to the commanding officer to let them go ; but he refused to do so. I returned home. Whether I said, or it was said in my presence, that Dr. Mudd —

Q. State what you know about Dr. Mudd. Did you see Dr. Mudd the prisoner there ?

A. I cannot say positively that I did see Dr. Mudd. The ex- citement was so great, that I cannot say positively that I saw him at the village.

Q. What is your best recollection about your having seen him on that occasion ?

A. I would not like to say positively that I saw him there ; but it recurs to me by faint memory that he was there. I could not swear positively that he was there. The excitement has been so great since then, and at that particular time, that it would be im- possible for me to weigh the thoughts of that day at the present moment.

Q. You say you reached the town at about one o'clock ?

A. I judge so, sir.

Q. You found the military there, and the people very much excited ? i A. Very much excited.

Q. You returned home ?

A. I returned home.

Q. And then you came back to the town at what time ?

A. 1 suppose I remained home about three-quarters of an hour.

Q. And then, when you returned to the town, did you or not hear of the assassination of the President ?

64 THE TRIAL.

A. I heard it.

Q. Did you hear, in connection with it, the name of the as- sassin ?

A. I did.

Q. What name?

A. Booth. Some gave the name of Booth, and others Boose ; but the inference was that it was Booth.

Q. Did you hear it spoken of, everywhere where the assassina- tion itself was spoken of, that he was the assassin ?

A. At Bryan town, where I was, I heard it spoken of by every- body, — first by the military, and they communicated the idea to the citizens, and they spread it about that Booth was the assassin.

Q. At what hour do you suppose it was that you heard it ?

A. I suppose it was between one and two o'clock. It was a very cloudy day, and I never paid any particular attention to the time of day ; but it was between one and two o'clock.

Cross-examination by Me. Ewing :

Q. At what time did you leave Bryantown the second time that you went up ?

A. I could not tell exactly the moment of the day, because I had no time : it was a real cloudy day ; and I was paying but little attention to the passing moments of the day, and could not give any precise time that I left.

Q. I said about what time ?

A. I suppose it was between two and three o'clock.

Q. Do you mean between two and three o'clock that you left the second time ?

A. Between two and three o'clock that I left the second time. I guess it was verging on one o'clock when I first arrived at Bryan- town ; and then I found the excitement. I left immediately ; staid but a very short while ; and, in a very few moments, it was told me that the President had been assassinated. I came immediately to Bryantown, and remained there some while afterwards. Indeed, I could not state how long I remained before I left for home.

Q. Did you hear that the President had been assassinated before you left Bryantown the first time ?

THE TRIAL. 65

A. No, sir. The first knowledge I had of it was by the darky.

Q. You said that some said the name of the assassin was -Boose"?

A. That name was spoken by the soldiers with whom the English language was hardly conversant. They could not say "Booth" audibly.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. I suppose they were German soldiers ? A. I suppose so. Very likely, if you had told them the name was " Booth," they would call it " Boose," or something like that.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. Some said it was " Boose," and some said it was " Booth"?

A. Yes, sir. Those who could speak audibly told me it was 11 Booth j " and those who seemed to have an amalgamation of the languages called it "Boose."

Q. Where were you when you first heard that the President was assassinated ? Were you at your house ?

A. No, sir : I left my house when I heard it.

Q. Where did you hear it first ? At your home ?

A. I heard it at home ; I heard it at my house ; and I have told you it was on the authority of a darky that I heard it.

Q. Who was the " darky " ?

A. A brother of the fellow whose testimony you have just taken.

Q. What is his name ?

A. Charles Bloyce. He told me that the President had been as- sassinated. I immediately left home, and went to the village, where I found it a current report.

Q. Did you ask him who had assassinated the President ?

A. I have no knowledge of asking him that.

Q. Did he tell you who had ?

A. He never told me. I do not know that he understood who did it.

Q. In what direction from the centre of the town do you live ?

A. I live in a north eastern direction, principally in the suburbs of the village.

6*

66 THE TRIAL.

Q. Do you live near or on the road between Bryantown and Dr. Mudd's?

A. I live very close to the road leading through Bryantown ; but I was never at Dr. Mudd's house. I know the direction ; but I should suppose it was between four and five miles — from what I have heard of Dr. Mudd's house — from Bryantown.

Q. Do you live near or on the road between Bryantown and Dr. Mudd's ?

A. I do not.

Q. Where is it your impression that you saw Dr. Mudd in the town?

A. If it be Dr. Mudd that I saw, I saw him going to his horse ; but I could not say positively that it was Dr. Mudd. I must put in a " don't know " as to whether it was Dr. Mudd.

Q. Did you see the face of this person that you supposed to be Dr. Mudd ?

A. Not that I know of; but I could tell Dr. Mudd by a side- view or a back-view, if I was to see him anywhere.

Q. If you saw his back, then, as he was walkiDg off, you would know that it was Dr. Mudd ?

A. Being near to the doctor, I should.

Q. How close were you to this person that you thought was him?

A. I would say about ten or twelve yards, standing on the porch of the store.

Q. And you are only able to swear to an impression ?

A. To an impression, — not positively.

Q. And a faint impression ?

A. To a faint impression : I cannot swear positively.

Q. What was the color of the horse that this man was going to?

A. I did not note the color of the horse. I paid no attention to it, and was not thinking of his horse.

Q. Do you know the horse that Dr. Mudd usually rides ?

A. I have seen him on different horses, I think. I have seen him sometimes ride a bay horse.

Q. Was the horse that this man was going to one of the horses you have seen Dr. Mudd ride, or like one of them ?

THE TRIAL. 67

A. If it be Dr. Mudd that was there, the horse to which he was going was amid many horses ; and there were so many horses con- nected together there, that I could not state any thing in regard to the color of the horse.

Q. It was on your first going into Bryantown that you saw him ?

A. No, sir : the second time.

Q. Fix again the hour when you went there the second time.

A. I suppose it was three-quarters of an hour after I went home ; say about three-quarters after one.

Q. About a quarter before two o'clock ?

A. Or a quarter before two.

Q. Was this person then in the town ? Did you see him as you went in ?

A. In leaving the house, I came into the back of the store ; and it was in front of the store that I saw the person.

Q. It was immediately on your arrival the second time ?

A. On my arriving the second time.

Q. Did you hear any other name in connection with the assassi- nation of the President, except the names of Boose and Booth ?

A. I did not at that particular time ; not on that day, Saturday, April 15th.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Did you know the prisoner, Dr. Mudd, very well when you saw him ?

A. I am personally acquainted with Dr. Mudd, and have been for two years and five months ; and, before that time, I had a tran- sient acquaintance with him.

Lieutenant David D. Dana,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state whether or not, on the day following the mur- der of the President, you went in pursuit of the assassin in the direction of Bryantown ?

68 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir : I did.

Q. Will you state at what hour you and your men arrived there on that day ?

A. I had sent a guard of four men ahead of me into the town ; and they kept ahead of me all the way to the town. They arrived there twenty minutes or half an hour before I did. I arrived there near one o'clock that Saturday afternoon, the Saturday following the assassination.

Q. Will you state whether or not, on your arrival, the intelli- gence of the assassination was spread through the town ?

A. Yes, sir : it was. I communicated the intelligence to the citizens, and also told the name of the party assassinating the Presi- dent.

Q. Did you mention as the assassin the name of Booth ?

A. Yes, sir : J. Wilkes Booth. Some of the citizens asked me if I knew for a certainty that it was him ; and I told them, " Yes : as near as a person could know any thing."

Q. Are you or not quite certain that at that hour — say one o'clock — it was known throughout that village ?

A. As early as a quarter-past one, it was known all through the village that the President had been assassinated, and who the assas- sin was.

Q. Are you acquainted with the prisoner at the bar, Dr. Mudd ?

A. I am not.

Q. You have no knowledge whether you met him on that occa- sion or not ?

A. No, sir : I have not.

Robert Nelson (colored),

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate : Q. Do you live in Washington ?

A. Yes, sir : I live here now. I did come from Virginia ; but I live in Washington now.

Q. Look at that knife [submitting a knife to the witness], and

TBE TRIAL. 69

state whether or not you found it in the street : if so, when and where.

A. This looks like the knife I found in front of Secretary Sew- ard's house ?

Q. Opposite it ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. When did you find it there ?

A. It was on Friday his family got hurt ; and I found it on Sat- urday morning.

Q. The Saturday morning after he was stabbed ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you find it quite near the pavement, or out in the middle of the street ?

A. Out in the street.

Q. To whom did you give the knife ?

A. There is one gentleman I see here now [pointing to Surgeon John Wilson, United-States Army], that took it after I gave it to one oflicer at the door : I do not see here the first one that took it.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. How do you know that knife to be the same one you found ?

A. I do not know that it is the same one : I say it is like the one I found.

Q. Did you take the knife you found out of the sheath ?

A. It was not in a sheath.

Q. Whereabouts exactly did you find it ?

A. Right in front of Secretary Seward's house, in the middle of the street.

Q. Was it in the street, or the gutter ?

A. It was in the middle of the street, not in the gutter.

Q. Right in front of the door ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What time of the day did you find it?

A. It was early in the morning : I was going to market. I sup- pose it was between five and six o'clock in the morning.

70 the trial.

John Wilson, a witness for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Look at that knife [submitting to the witness the knife shown to Robert Nelson], and state from whom you received it, and when.

A. This is the knife I received from the colored boy who has just left the stand. I received it on Saturday, the 15th of April; probably about ten o'clock in the day.

Q. Where did this boy Nelson give it to you ?

A. He gave it to me in the library-room of Mr. Seward's house. He brought it in at the door, and handed it to me.

Joseph B. Stewart,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State to the Court whether or not you were at Ford's Thea- tre on the night of the assassination of the President.

A. I was.

Q. State whether or not you saw the assassin leap from the Presi- dent's box upon the stage.

A. I did.

Q. Did you or not follow him? State the circumstances of your pursuit.

A. I did follow him. At about near half-past ten, I was sitting in the front seat of the orchestra, on the right-hand side. There are two aisles in the orchestra. My seat was the one forming the cor- ner-seat on the left-hand side of the right-hand aisle, which would brino- me immediately next to the music-stand. The report of a pis- tol, which was evidently a charged pistol, — a sharp report, — startled me. I was talking at the moment to my sister, who sat by me, my head leaning to the left. I glanced still farther left, and im- mediately back to the stage ; and at the same time an exclamation was made, and simultaneously a man leaped from the President's box, alighting on the stage, exclaiming, as he came out, some words

THE TRIAL. 71

which I understood. He came down with his back slightly to the audience ; but, rising and turning, his face came in full view. At the same instant, I rose up, and attempted to leap on the stage di- rectly from where I sat. My foot slipped from the rail. My eye, at the same time, discovered the distance ; and, without stopping my motion at all, I turned, and made two or three steps on the railing, and jumped on the stage to the right of the foot-lights from where I sat ; keeping my attention all the time, after selecting my course, upon the man who was crossing the stage, and who had just jumped from the President's box. When I reached the stage, as I was reaching it, looking in an angle to the left, I perceived that he dis- appeared at the same instant around the left-hand stage-entrance. Being on the stage, I crossed it as quick as possible. I had never been on the stage, and knew nothing about the condition of the building, or the means of exit ; but I supposed the person was get- ting out, and I followed the direction he took. I exclaimed, " Stop that man ! " three times. The last time, and when I had passed the length of the stage, and turned to the right, and when, I suppose, within a distance of from twenty to twenty-five feet from the door, the door slammed decidedly, — came to, closed. I was going just as fast as I could, and got to the door, of course, very quickly. Coming against the door, I touched it first on the side where it did not open. I then caught hold of the door at the proper point, opened it, and passed out. ■ The last time that I exclaimed, "Stop that man ! " some one said, "He is getting on a horse ; and at the door, almost as soon as the words reached my ears, I heard the tramping of a horse. On opening the door after the balk at the door which prevented me from opening it at first, I perceived a man mounting a horse. He was at that instant rather imperfectly mounted. The moon was just beginning to rise ; and I could see a little elevated better than I could immediately down to the ground. The horse was moving in a quick, agitated motion, as a horse will do if pre- maturely spurred in mounting, with the rein drawn a little to one side ; and, for a moment, the horse described a kind of circle from the right to the left, which I noticed. I noticed at the same time that there were on the left some tenement-houses. I ran in the direc- tion where the horse was heading ; and when within eight or ten feet

72 THE TRIAL.

of the head of the horse, and almost up within reach of the left flank of the horse, the rider brought him round somewhat in a similar circle from the left to the right again, crossing over ; the horse's feet rattling violently on what seemed to be rocks. I crossed in the same direction, aiming at the rein, and was now on the right flank of the horse. He was rather gaining on me then, though not yet in a forward movement. I could have reached his flank myself with my hand when perhaps two-thirds of the way over the alley. Again he backed to the . right-hand side of the alley, brought the horse forward and spurred him, and at the same instant crouched forward down over the pommel of the saddle ; and the horse went forward then, and soon swept to the left up towards F Street. I still ran after the horse some forty or fifty yards. I commanded the person to stop in the alley. The horse went on rapidly after starting- forward. It all occupied a space of a few seconds from the time I reached the stage until this occurred.

Q. You say you found the door closed : did you see anybody standing about the door ?

A. I did.

Q. One or more persons?

A. I passed several persons in that passage-way, ladies and gen- tlemen, — one or two men : I think, in all, perhaps five persons, as near as I could estimate without being able to count them. Near the door, on my right-band side, I passed a person standing, who seemed to be in the act of turning. I was noticing every thing that came before me, as I was impressed with what had occurred ; and I saw a person who did not seem to be moving about like the others. Every one else I saw but that one person was in a terrible commo- tion, and moving about.

Q. Could you describe that person's appearance ? Do you think you would recognize him again ?

A. I would not like to undertake to recognize him positively ; but I have a very distinct impression in my mind about the size and ap- pearance of that man.

Q. Look at the prisoners here, and say whether either of them, in your opinion, is that person.

A. I know none of these prisoners ; and I see but one face among them there that would call to mind that person.

THE TRIAL. 73

Q. Which is that ?

A. There it is [pointing to Edward Spangler].

Q. Is that the person ?

A. That man looks more like the person I saw near the door than anybody else I see there. He makes the impression of the man's visage as I caught it as I was going along very rapidly.

Q. Describe his bearing.

A. As I approached the door, about as far as from here to the wall of this room [indicating a distance of about fifteen feet], the person who was at the door was facing towards the door ; but, as I got nearer, he turned around partially, so that I had a view of him. The view I had was the view of a person turning from a quarter, describing three-quarters of a circle j and, as he turned, the size and visage were observed so far as to leave on my mind an impression of the visage.

Q. Was he turning away from the door ?

A. Turning from the door, and towards me.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ewing :

Q. There is a passage-way between the scenes and the green- room, about two and a half or three feet in width, through which Booth ran as he passed out of the door. Was it in that passage-way that you met this person ? or was it between the scenes ?

A. I do not know where the green-room is. I never was on the stage before. If I had a diagram of the building, I could point out the spot.

Q. [Submitting to the witness the diagram heretofore offered in evidence, and marked Exhibit No. 48.] This is a plan of the thea- tre : now describe the locality.

A. When I was coming through the passage from the front of the stage to the door, I saw a person near the side-door, as I advanced in that direction rapidly ; and I observed a person standing at the outer door, who, as I have described, was turning from the right to the left when I noticed him. It was in what you may call the pas- sage, — the one that leads from the front to the rear of the theatre, after passing over the stage and turning to the right, — going towards the small door.

VOL. II. 7

74 THE TRIAL.

Q. About how far from the door did the man stand ?

A. About three feet.

Q. Did you notice him there just after the door closed?

A. Just after it slammed. I was approaching the door. It was my expectation, when I reached the stage, to catch the person who had jumped from the President's box, inside of the house, or very soon after he should get out of it ; and I was watching very closely every person whom I approached.

Q. If this man had been the person who slammed the door, would you have noticed him doing it ?

A. No, sir. A person standing in that position could, by a reach of the arm, have slammed the door, and I could not have noticed it.

Q. But would not that have thrown him around ? would it not have given him a motion different from the motion that he was making as you approached ?

A. I recollect well the action of the door. It is a narrow door, — not a wide door. Approaching it, it opens inwards to the right as you approach. When I came against the door, I came with my hand, and somewhat damaged my hand against a part of the hinge. The door was very narrow; and any one standing in that man's posi- tion could have slammed the door very easily by reaching his hand to it.

Q. Which way does the door open, — towards the side that the President was on, or from the side that the President was on ?

A. Aproaching the door from the stage to the rear, it hinges from the right to the left. Entering it from the outside, it would swing back from the left to the right to the inside. I came vio- lently against the door when I went to open it.

Q. That is, the lock of the door, when the door was shut, was on the side nearest the side on which the President sat ?

A. If you will give me a slip of paper, I will describe the way the door stood.

Mr. Ewing. The Court has been there.

The Witness. Then they will understand me. The lock of the door, approaching it, was on my right-hand side, the hinge to the left.

THE TRIAL. 75

Not knowing which side it swung on, I came against it on the left ; and therefore I had to change my position before I could get out. If the door had been opened so that I would not have been stopped at it, I could have got the range of that horse outside.

Q. But the person you speak of, who, you think, resembles the prisoner Spangler, as you approached towards the door, was turning from left to right ?

A. No : the other way. The door being on his right-hand side, he was turning to the left.

Q. Had he his back towards the door ?

A. His right side stood quarter-face to the door, coming to- wards me.

Q. His body was moving around from the door, and towards you?

A. Yes : from the door.

Q. That is not the motion that the movement of shutting the door would gradually give to the body, is it ?

A. That would be owing to which hand the door was shut with.

Q. With either hand ?

A. With the right hand, it might or might not.

O DO

Q. Where were you in the passage when you noticed that person? How far down the passage had you got ?

A. I noticed him in about the second stride I made after I heard the door slam. At the moment the door did slam, I had just passed one person ; and then one or two more, in a great deal of agitation, came out within the passage-way ; and I am sure that not more than two strides brought me in view of the door. The light being more

O DO

dim, and my eyes just escaping from the foot-lights, I did not see so well ; but I could see the door there, and noticed this person. Of course, I passed the person, and could easily have put my hand on him.

Q. Will you please mark on the plat or diagram already shown you the position in which you were when you saw that person? Put your initials on the plat at the spot, and indicate the position where that person stood.

The Witness marked with his initials on the diagram, which is Exhibit No. 48, the point supposed by him to be the door which

76 THE TRIAL.

was slammed, his own position at the time, and the position of the person near the door.

Q. Please mark also the positions of the other persons that you saw in the passage, as near as you can.

The Witness marked the positions as indicated by the question, and added, —

I have made these marks as indicating, as near as I could form a judgment in such a rapid transit as I was making, the positions of the persons I met.

Q. State as well as you can recollect whether the persons you saw there were gentlemen or ladies.

A. I think the majority of the persons that I observed were ladies.

Q. Did you notice Miss Laura Keene ?

A. I did not particularly : I should find it difficult to have no- ticed particularly any of the ladies, unless I had some means of knowing them, or had my attention called to them, any more than I knew that they were there, — that they came out. All those persons, up to the point I described, were very much agitated, — seemed very much confused. I saw another person to the right, or rather caught a glimpse of him ; but that person was considerably in to the right of where the person was that I described as being near the door, and was moving.

Q. Moving which way ?

A. In on the stage.

Q. Moving from the door?

A. He was moving almost at right angles to my course, off to my right.

Q. Was be moving away from the door, or getting nearer to the door?

A. He was moving away to the right, — not moving away from a straight line with the door ; but that person had not come from the door, or I would have seen him.

Q. You mean, that, as he moved, he got farther from the door?

A. Yes, sir : farther from the door, and farther from me.

Q. Did you notice any person in the alley except the one who mounted and rode off?

THE TRIAL. 77

A. As I passed out of tbe door, on the right side, a small per- son passed directly under my right elbow. I caught a glimpse of and rather felt the person. As I approached the horse at the nearest point, — I got to the horse before he was sheered around from the right to the left, — some one ran rapidly out of the alley.

Q. Was it probably the person you noticed passing at your elbow ?

A. No, sir : that person never passed me ; he was left behind me, wherever he went to.

Q. Could you recognize that person if you saw him?

A. No, sir : I could not. There was no light inside by which I could recognize him. The person, whoever it was, was a small person.

Q. Was he as tall a person as the prisoner Spangler ?

A. No, sir : I should think, not by four or five inches.

Q. Could you see whether the person who you now think was Spangler wore any whiskers or mustache at that time ?

A. If he did, it was not prominent, and I did not observe it so distinctly ; and yet I am under the impression that his face was slightly bearded, but not to that prominent degree which would attract or fix or settle my attention much. The visage was what I took in, — the side-face, the profile.

Q. Your impression is that his face was bearded ?

A. Not prominently. I should have thought he had some beard on his face ; but you can imagine, if you associate your ideas with the attention I would be paying to any one who came near me, con- sidering the object I was about, how this thing would strike me.

Q. Do you think he had a mustache only, or a mustache and side-whiskers ?

A. I cannot undertake to say that there were any side-whiskers. I did not expect to be asked these questions : but I have always since then been under the certainty that I saw a person inside, near the door ; and, associating the appearance of that person, I have in my mind a certain profile, a certain visage, a certain appearance which rests in my conviction, and in my intelligence, as to the person I saw. Q. As to the mustache ?

A. I am under the impression that there was some beard on the face ; but I would not undertake to designate a mustache. If there 7*

78 THE TRIAL.

was one, it was not sufficiently prominent to make it marked in any way.

Q. Could you recollect how he was dressed ?

A. No, sir.

Q. Could you recollect the color of any of his clothing?

A. I did not stop to take that particular notice. My recollec- tion on that subject is, that the person had on a gray or darkish suit. My recollection would be against its being a decidedly black suit.

Q. Have you seen the prisoner Spangler since then till now ?

A. No, sir : I never saw him since then until to-day.

Q. And you swear now simply to a mere impression, hardly a fixed opinion, as to his being the person ?

A. I do not undertake to swear positively that that person sitting there was the person I saw. I do say that I saw a person there ; and I see no person among these prisoners who calls to mind the appearance of that person, except the one that I have indicated ; and that one, I am told, is Mr. Spangler.

Q. I wish to know how strongly you are of opinion, or under the impression, that that was probably the man, or whether you are under that impression.

A. I am decided in my opinion that the person now referred to resembles the person I saw there.

Q. I believe you returned to the theatre, after you chased Booth up the alley ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You then came back to this door ?

A. I entered the same door that I had gone out of.

Q. Do you not recollect meeting the prisoner Spangler as you came back ?

A. If I did, I did not notice him in particular. When I got out from the door, and from the time I reached the stage, I saw no one behind me ; nor did I see any person after I passed beyond the door, except the person on the horse, whom I believed to be Mr. John Wilkes Booth, until I had run as far as I did run after the horse, which was around the alley and up to the left some little dis- tance. I then turned and came back, and saw that nobody had come out from the theatre up to that time. I asked some of the per

THE TRIAL. 79

pie in the buildings back if they had seen more than one horse there, and how long they had seen the horse there ; and I got some answers from them which occupied but a moment, and then went on into the theatre. One of the persons stated that he had seen one horse there ; and that was all they seemed to know. When I got inside the door again, I met four or five persons approaching the door, and, jasfc at the door, one person, a policeman, a man with a police-mark on, and not this prisoner. . Inside the door, a number of persons came against me. The persons rapidly accumulated on my observation, returning into the house : the stage, the scenes, and the passage-ways, were all filling up.

Q. Do you recollect asking, when you came in, who that person was ? or who it was that shot the President ?

A. Oh, yes ! I asked that question several times.

Q. Do you recollect this prisoner Spangler answering your ques- tion, saying it was Booth ? .

A. No, sir : I do not. I asked this question, and recollect that one person answered it, — "Are you satisfied it was Booth? have you any doubt it was Booth? " That was my belief; and I was rather eliciting the views of others. I would not undertake to say that he might not have been one of the persons who heard me ask the question, and, deeming it addressed to him, answered it ; but I am not aware of addressing any question directly to that person.

Q. When you got out of the door, the person was just rising into his saddle, was he ?

A. He was in his saddle, crouching forward ; his left foot was in the stirrup ; he was leaning to the left. The horse was moving with a quick sort of a motion, making apparently more exertion than headway at that time, but still going pretty fast, aud circling around. He was sufficiently mounted to go with the horse without being un- balanced : he was getting the horse under control very fast for a for- ward movement.

Q. You cannot say, then, that he had just got into the saddle ?

A. He was just completing his balancing himself in the saddle ; but I should form the opinion, from his position and the motion of the horse, that, the moment he got his foot in one stirrup, he spurred

80 THE TRIAL.

the horse, and, having the rein drawn more on one side than the other, for the moment lost control of him, so far as making him take a straightforward movement.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. I understood you to say that all the persons you met in the passage, as you approached that door, exhibited signs of agitation, except this particular man ?

A. Yes, sir; intense. Every person that came under my notice, in the brief space of two or three seconds that I ran through the stage, was greatly agitated, and seemed literally bewildered. The only person who did not seem to be under the same state of excite- ment was the person who was near the door.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. How long did it take you, after you entered that passage, to get to the door ?

A. I could hardly time myself.

Q. You were running ?

A. Just as hard as I could, and was only obstructed by the pass- ing of those persons. Of course, it could not have been long : it could not have been five seconds from the time I got on that stage until I reached that door. It was very quick. I realized in my own mind something wrong immediately on hearing the report of the pistol. I knew there was no pistol fired in the play : and then the discharge of the pistol was overhead ; and it was a charged pistol, in my opinion. It was discharged either by accident or design, of course ; and the de- sign was solved by the circumstance of a man jumping out with a dagger in his hand ; and the impression struck me instantly that there was something wrong. My impression was, that that person coming from the President's box had assassinated or attempted to assassinate him. Every action which I performed and every effort that I made, after I started to get upon the stage, was acting under that convic- tion and impression to the last ; so much so, that I stated to the peo- ple in the tenement-houses in the rear, before I returned, that the person who went off on that horse had shot the President.

Q. You saw only the side-face of the person near the door ?

THE TRIAL. 81

A. A profile ; but his full face passed around as you would see my own face now in turning from left to right.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Did I understand you to recognize, or to suppose you recog- nized, Booth when he alit upon the stage ?

A. Yes, sir. After I went out and returned, I took my family home, and immediately ran down the street towards Mr. Stanton's. I perceived persons in front of there, and then turned, and went rap- idly to the police-station, and gave my name, and the information I had, to Superintendent Richards, of the police, and, upon his question, said to him that I believed I knew who it was that had committed the deed ; that I believed it was Booth ; and he said he believed so too.

Q. You had known him before by sight ?

A. I had known him in this way : I had known him by sight ; and I was, some two years ago, one evening, at the Metropolitan Hotel, introduced to him. I had seen him on the stage ; and I had noticed him more during the last winter around the hotels. I went down two evenings to a hop at the National Hotel with some ladies, and I noticed him there leisurely around the parlor. I had not a doubt in my mind whom I was running after when I ran over the stage ; and I should have been surprised to find it anybody else. I made every exertion to get through, and was astonished that the persons on the stage did not obstruct him ; but they seemed very much bewildered. I felt a good deal vexed at his getting away, and had no doubt, when I started on the stage, that I could catch him.

By the Court : .

Q. How long should you judge it to be from the time you heard the door slam until you saw the man balancing on his horse ?

A. Not over the time in which I could make two steps.

Q. Were you nearer the door when you heard it slam than the horse was on which was the man ?

A. That I cannot determine ; for the horse was outside, and I was approaching the door through a passage-way that I had never been in before, and was only admonished of the position of the door by approaching it ; and the slamming of the door indicated to me that

82 THE TRIAL.

there was a door slammed right directly in front of the position I then occupied ; and I am sure it could not have been over the second stride after that. As the light reflected back along the passage-way, the door came in view ; and this person that I have descr ibed was in the position described, and turning towards me from the d 3or ; and, I suppose, in three strides more I was at the door.

Q. Are you satisfied that the door was closed by some other per- son than the person who went out at the door ?

A. I cannot possibly be satisfied of that at all. There is nothing to exclude from my mind the possibility of the door having been closed by the person who went out, — by Booth himself ; but I did not see him close the door. The first notice of the door was on my ear, and in a moment it was in view. At the same moment, I perceived the persou standing as I have described ; and the matter transpired then as I have stated in my observation.

Q. Are you satisfied that the person you saw inside the door was in a position, and had the opportunity, if he had been disposed to do so, to have interrupted the exit of Booth ?

A. Beyond all doubt.

Q. And, from his manner, he was cool enough to have done so ?

A. lie showed no agitation like the other people did.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. Were not the other parties that you have spoken of also in a position to have interrupted the exit of Booth ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. All of them?

A. They were at the moment I saw them. They might have been two or three feet to the right or left in the scene-way before I saw them. Everybody I met could, if he had seen fit, have ob- structed my motion ; and, if those persons occupied the same position when Booth went through, they could have obstructed his motion.

Q. That is all you meant to say ?

A. One person only could not have obstructed my motion ; and that was the person who was apparently three, four, or five feet off to the right. I could have passed out the door without his obstructing me. That is the person whom I described, who seemed to be passing off

THE TRIAL. 83

to the right. All the other persons I saw could, and in fact did, obstruct my motion by their presence, but made no physical effort.

Q. The person of whom you speak as being nearest to the door was in no better position to obstruct the movements of Booth, as far as you know, than any of the others ?

A. None whatever, so far as I know.

Q. Was he not in a position which would be natural to a person who had run to see who it was was passing out, and who, as the door slammed, turned ?

A. Yes. A person who had made an effort to discover that object would occupy that position.

By the Court :

Q. This man was nearest of all, though, to the door ?

A. Yes : nearest to the door.

Q. And could have opened it, and gone out before you went out ?

A. Oh, yes ! It would have been but a step to the right, and a reach to open it : the door was immediately within the control of the person who stood there.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. Do you know whether the persons you passed in the passage, any of them, knew that the assassination had been committed ?

A. That would be but a conjecture. They acted more like peo- ple who were astounded at something that had just occurred, without any means of knowing what their impressions were of the character of the occurrence : they were in that state of agitation.

Robert Anson Campbell,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state to the Court where you reside ?

A. In Montreal, Canada.

Q. Are you or not connected with the Ontario Bank of that city ?

A. I am first teller.

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness an account headed, "Jacob Thomp-

84 THE TRIAL.

son in account with the Ontario Bank."] Will you look upon that account, and state to the Court whether or not it is a correct abstract from the books of that bank ?

A. It is. I examined the account before I came away ; and these are the papers I brought along with me.

Q. What is the account ?

A. It is the account of Jacob Thompson with the Ontario Bank, Montreal.

Q. Will you state the day on which the account commenced?

A. The account commences May 30, 1864 ; but, prior to this, he left sterling exchange drawn on the rebel agents in Liverpool, I think, for collection. As soon as that was collected, it was placed to his credit. The first advice we had was May 30, 1864 ; and that was £2,061. 17s. ljd., and £20,618. lis. 4d., amounting to $109,- 965.63.

Q. Will you state when the account closed?

A. The account closed April 11, 1865.

Q. Will you state the aggregate amount of the credits, and the agoreo-ate amount drawn from the bank ?

A. The aggregate amount of the credits is $649,873.28. There is a balance now still left to his credit of $1,766.23.

Q. All the rest has been drawn out ?

A. All the rest has been drawn out. He has drawn out lately, say since the first of March, about $300,000 in sterling exchange and deposit-receipts. He drew out a deposit-receipt at one time of $180,000 ; at another time, $100,000 in sterling exchange ; at another time, $19,000.

Q. Will you state the amount drawn out between the 1st and 10th of April?

A. The first entry in April is on the 4th. That was a very small check, — $100. Then, on the 6th of April, there is a de- posit-receipt for $180,000. The banks in Canada give deposit- receipts, — I do not know whether you do here or not, — which are to be paid when presented, upon fifteen days' notice.

By the Court :

Q. Was that in one bill ?

THE TRIAL. 85

A. Yes, sir. I am not sure about that, though. I did not draw it out, although the entries went through my hands ; but I think it Was in one bill. Then he drew a bill, on the 8th of April, of £440. 12s. Id. sterling ; and also one of £4,000 sterling on the same day. On the 24th of March, he drew $100,000 ; that is additional to the $180,000. The $100,000 drawn on March 24 was $100,000 in exchange ; while the 180,000 drawn on April 6 was on a deposit- receipt, not exchange.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. There are pencil-marks in the account. Explain what they mean.

A. Those I put there myself, as memorandums in checking over the account.

Q. Do you know Jacob Thompson personally?

A. Oh, yes, sir ! I know him well.

Q. Will you state whether or not, since the 14th of April last, he has left Montreal ?

A. He has. I heard him say myself that he was going away. I know that he has not been since in the bank in Montreal. He used to come in the bank two or three times a week, whenever he had any business there ; and, the last time he was in, he gave a check to the hotel-keeper, which I cashed ; and he then left the hotel. His friends stated to me that he was going to Halifax, overland. The navigation was not open at that time ; and I was told that he was going overland to Halifax, and then going to Europe.

Q. Can you fix the date when that was ?

A. I could not fix that.

Q. He has disappeared, however ?

A. Oh, yes !

Q. Did he leave any thing to his credit when he went finally ?

A. Yes, sir: $1,768.23. It is entered to his credit now. This sterling exchange was drawn to his credit, and also the deposit- receipt ; or, if there was more than one deposit-receipt, they were all drawn to his credit : but I think there was only one.

Q. You say that navigation was not open through the St. Law- rence when he left ?

VOL. II. 8

86 THE TRIAL.

A. No, sir : it was not open then.

Q. How long did it continue in that way ?

A. I think, about two weeks longer. I know, at the time, I thought it strange that he was going overland, when if he had wait- ed two weeks longer, or about that time, he could have taken the steamer. That was the talk in the bank, at the time, among the clerks.

Q. He was known to and recognized by the Ontario Bank as the agent of the Confederate States?

A. No, sir : his account was just opened as " Jacob Thompson."

Q. But still he was known as the agent of the Confederate States ?

A. Outside people said so. I never heard him say what he was ; but it was the newspaper report that Jacob Thompson was their financial agent. We knew that he brought Southern sterling exchange-bills drawn on their agents in the old country. How they came to him we did not know.

Q. They were brought to your bank ?

A. Yes, sir : to our bank for collection.

Q. He did not seem to be engaged in any business in Canada requiring these large sums of money ?

A. Not that I know of. Part of the time he was residing in Upper Canada, and part of the time in Montreal.

Q. Have you any knowledge, derived during his transactions with the Ontario Bank, that he, and those associated with him, also had large money transactions with other banks in Canada ?

A. Oh, yes ! I know of one transaction of $50,000, I think it was, that came through the Niagara District Bank. I am not sure about the amount.

Q. Where is that bank situated ?

A. At St. Catherine's. That was a check drawn to the order of Mr. Clay, and deposited by him in the Niagara District Bank ; and that bank sent it to us to put it to their credit. That was Aug. 16, 1864.

Q. Do you mean Clement C. Clay?

A. Clement C. Clay.

Q. Did you know J. Wilkes Booth, the actor?

THE TRIAL. 87

A. I had one or two transactions that I know of with him. That is all I can remember at present.

Q. How often did you see J. Wilkes Booth in Canada?

A. I could not say. He might have been in the bank a dozen times ; but I remember distinctly of seeing him once.

Q. He had a small account there, had he not ?

A. Yes, sir ; and still left to his credit four hundred and some odd dollars. I brought a memorandum of it with me.

Q. Have you any knowledge how that credit arose ? Was it from a deposit made by him ?

A. From a deposit.

Q. In specie, or in a bill?

A. In notes. That did not go through my hands : it went through the hands of the second teller, the receiving-teller. I re- member there was $200 in $20 bills. The bar row says, " Davis's check on Merchants' Bank, $255 ; ten $20 bills " (Montreal bills), " $200 ; " altogether $455. That is the bar row of the bank, on the deposit memorandum.

Q. Who is Davis?

A. A broker who kept his office opposite the St. Lawrence Hall, just across the road. I am not sure whether he [Booth] was in- troduced by Mr. Davis or by Mr. P. C. Martin.

Q. Where is Davis from ?

A. He is from the States somewhere, either from Richmond or Baltimore : I am not sure which. When Booth came into the bank for this exchange, he bought a bill of exchange for £61 and some odd shillings ; and, at the time he bought the exchange, he said, " I am going to run the blockade ; and, in case I should be captured, can my capturers make use of the exchange? " I told him no, not unless he indorsed the bill : the bill was made payable to his order. Then he said he would take three hundred dollars' worth, and pulled out three hundred dollars, — I think it was in Ameri- can gold, — and I figured up what three hundred dollars would come to at the rate of exchange, — I think it was nine and a half then, — and gave him sixty-one pounds and some odd shillings ; and he bought the bill of exchange. These are the only two transac- tions he has had with the bank, that we have any minute of.

88 THE TRIAL.

Q. [Exhibiting to the witness the bills of exchange found on Booth's body.] Will you look at these bills of exchange, and see whether they are the same ?

A. Oh, yes ! these are the Ontario Bank bills of exchange : no doubt of that.

Q. I understand you to say that that is the exchange you are talking about ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What is the date of the bill of exchange ?

A. Oct. 27, 1864.

Q. Will you state whether or not these drafts indicated that the disbursements were for use in the States generally ?

A. We can never tell. We never ask a man any thing about that. A man doing business with us deposits what he likes ; and we never ask any questions. He draws checks for what he likes ; and we do not know what he is going to do with it, and do not ask him what he is going to do with it. The drafts in one or two in- stances were made payable to bearer. For instance, this one of Thompson's for fifty thousand dollars was not made payable to order. As a general thing, checks are not payable to order, but payable to bearer: but, in certain instances, "bearer" is scored out, and over " bearer " they put " order ; " but it is very seldom done. Besides this exchange, Thompson has bought from us several times United-States notes, — greenbacks as they are com- monly called.

Q. In large sums ?

A. Yes, sir: on Aug. 25, he bought $15,000 in greenbacks; on July 14, $19,125 in greenbacks. That is in gold, you know.

Q. You calculated it in gold ?

A. Yes, sir : I could not say what the amount of greenbacks was ; but that is what he paid for it in gold. At that time, I think, exchange was about fifty-five.

Q. Did any of these transactions occur during the past spring?

A. Yes, sir : in March.

Q. What date ?

A. March 14, $1,000 at 44! ; for which he paid $552.50 in

THE TRIAL. 89

gold. Then, again, I find, that, on the 20th of March, he bought £6,500 sterling again at 9 J. Then he bought drafts on New York very often ; in several instances at least.

Q. Is that a correct statement of the amount as it is on your books ?

A. Yes, sir.

[The account referred to was then offered in evidence without objection.]

The Judge Advocate stated that he was about to present for ex- amination a witness whose testimony would be of such a nature, that it was deemed important to prevent its publicity at the present time ; and he therefore suggested that the Court direct the enforce- ment of the sixth rule adopted for the government of its proceed- ings during the taking of such testimony : which suggestion was acquiesced in by the Court ; and the court-room was cleared of all persons, except the members of the Commission, the Judge Advo- cate and his assistants, the accused, their counsel and necessary guards, and the official reporters of the Court.

After being in session with closed doors for some time, the Court adjourned until Monday morning at ten o'clock.

Monday, May 22.

The Court met at the usual hour, ten o'clock, a.m., and pro- ceeded to the examination of witnesses. For reasons which were stated on Saturday, the same necessity still existing, the Court sat with closed doors. Afterwards the following testimony was taken : —

Miss Hoxora Fitzpatrick, a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. State, if you please, to the Court, your name and residence.

A. My name is Honora Fitzpatrick. I am a resident of Wash-

s*

90 THE TRIAL.

Q. At whose house did you reside during the month of March last in Washington ?

A. At Mrs. Surratt's.

Q. The house of the prisoner at the bar ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State to the Court, whether, during the time of your resi- dence at her house last winter, you saw John H. Surratt, and other men in company with him, there.

A. I saw John Surratt there.

Q. State what other men you saw there during the time of your stay last winter.

A. I saw Mr. Booth there.

Q. John Wilkes Booth ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State whether you saw any of the prisoners at the bar there during your stay last winter.

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who are they?

A. There is one, Mr. Wood there [pointing to the prisoner Lewis Payne] ; and another, Mr. Atzerodt.

Q. Is that the one [pointing to Lewis Payne, one of the ac- cused] you call Mr. Wood ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did he call himself by any other name than Wood ?

A. I did not know him by any other name.

Q. How often did you see this Mr. Wood at Mrs. Surratt's house ? and when ?

A. I never saw him there but twice.

Q. When was that ?

A. I do not know exactly the time he came.

Q. In what month was it ?

A. I saw him there once in March.

Q. How often did you see this Mr. Atzerodt that you speak of there ? and at what time ?

A. He did not stay there at the house at all any time.

Q. Did you see him there several times ?

A. He was there for a short time.

THE TRIAL. 91

Q. Do you understand whether lie staid there over night onee ?

A. Yes, sir : he did.

Q. Look at the other prisoners at the bar, — that one at the bar talking [pointing to David E. Herold, one of the accused, who was in conversation with his counsel].

A. I do not know him : I never saw him.

Q. State to the Court whether you accompanied Surratt and this Wood [Payne] to Ford's Theatre one night last March.

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State whether you occupied a box in that theatre that night with them.

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Which box was it that you occupied ?

A. I do not know.

Q. On which side of the theatre was it, as you went in ?

A. I did not pay any attention which side it was on.

Q. And cannot tell now which side it was on?

A. No, sir.

Q. Was it the upper or lower box?

A. I think it was the upper.

Q. State whether John Wilkes Booth came into that box that night while you and Surratt and Wood were in there.

A. Yes, sir : he did.

Q. What other lady accompanied you ?

A. Miss Dean.

Q. When did you leave Mrs. Surratt's after going to the theatre ?

A. I went on a visit to Baltimore.

Q. When did you start on that visit ?

A. In the six-o'clock train the next day after going to the theatre.

Q. How long were you absent ?

A. I was absent a week.

By the Court :

Q. Do you recollect, on entering the theatre, whether you turned to the right or to the left to get to the box you occupied ? A. No, sir : I do not know which side I turned to.

92 THE TRIAL.

Captain Edward P. Doherty,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State to the Court whether or not you had command of the cavalry that went from this city in pursuit of the assassin of the President, J. Wilkes Booth ?

A. Yes, sir : I had command of the detachment of the Six- teenth New- York Cavalry that captured Herold and Booth.

Q. The circumstances of that capture have been fully detailed by other witnesses. I will ask you to mention the part you took, if any, in the capture of the prisoner Herold, and state to the Court all that he said on the occasion of his capture.

A. There was considerable conversation with reference to the arms that were inside of Mr. Garrett's barn. We requested Booth to come out of the barn, and Herold also. Booth at first denied that there was anybody there but himself; but finally he said, " Captain, there is a man here who wishes to surrender awful bad; " and Mr. Baker, one of the detectives who was there, said, "Let him hand out his arms." I stood by the door, and said, "Hand out your arms, and you can come out." Herold replied, " I have no arms; " and Mr. Baker said, " We know exactly what you have got." I said, " We had better let him out." Mr. Baker said, "No: wait until Mr. Conger comes here." I said, "No: open that door!" — directing a man to open the door: " I will take that man out myself." The door was opened ; and I directed Herold to put out his hands. I took hold of his wrists, and pulled him out of the barn. I then put my revolver under my arm, and ran my hands down him, to see if he had any arms ; and he had none. I then said to him, "Have you got any. weapons at all about you? " He said, " Nothing at all but this," — pulling out a piece of paper, being a map of Virginia, which I put in my pocket. Just at this time the shot was fired, and the door thrown open ; and I dragged Herold into the barn with me. Booth had fallen on his back. The soldiers and two detectives, who were there, went into the barn, and carried out Booth. I took charge

THE TRIAL. 93

of Herold ; and, when I got him outside, he said, "Let me go away ; let me go around here : I will not leave ; I will not go away." Said I, "No, sir." Said he to me, "Who is that that has been shot in there in the barn ? " — " Why ! " said I, " you know well who it is." Said he, " No, I do not : he told me his name was Boyd." Said I, "It is Booth ; and you know it." Said he, " No : I did not know it ; I did not know that it was Booth." I took him, and tied him then by the hands to a tree opposite, about two yards from where Booth's body was carried, on the veranda of the house, and kept him tied there until we were ready to return. Booth in the mean time died ; and I sewed him up in a blanket. Previous to this, I had sent some cavalry-men for the doctor ; and we got a negro, who lives about half a mile from there, with a wagon, and put the body on board the wagon, and started for Belle Plain ; and the body was waiting my orders there.

Q. Where did Herold say he had met this man ?

A. He afterwards told me that he met him about seven miles from Washington by accident, on the night of the murder. I think he said between eleven and twelve o'clock that night.

Q. Did he not persist in saying that he did not know him at all?

A. At first, he said he did not know him, and said that his name was Boyd.

Q. Did he state where they went after they met in Maryland ?

A. He told me that they went to Matthias Point, and crossed there.

Q. Did he mention the houses at which they stopped on the way?

A. No, sir ; not to my knowledge. Dr. Stewart was mentioned as one in whose house they were ; but whether he said so or not, I do not distinctly recollect.

Cross-examined by Mr. Stone :

Q. Did you hear Booth say any thing about Herold's innocence ?

The Judge Advocate objected to the question; and it was varied as follows : —

Q. Did Booth say any thing further in reference to Herold ?

94 THE TRIAL.

A. Booth said that he wa3 the only guilty man or party, or words to that effect.

Q. Herold made no resistance at all, did he ?

A. No, sir : excepting coming home, he said his feet were sore, and he could not walk ; and I procured a horse, and tied him on it.

By Mr. Clampitt :

Q. Did not Booth remark, " This man was innocent " ? Was not this his expression ?

A. He used words to that effect ; but I cannot swear those were the exact words he used.

William E. Clever,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State whether or not you reside in this city, and what your business is.

A. I keep a livery-stable on Sixth Street, in Washington City.

Q. Will you state whether or not J. Wilkes Booth at any time kept a horse or horses in your stable ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. When?

A. In January last.

Q. Will you describe any of the animals that he kept there ?

A. He kept a one-eyed bay horse there part of the time.

Q. State how long he kept him, and under what circumstances the horse was taken from your stable.

A. He kept him there about one month.

Q. When did he leave the stable ?

A. He sold the horse on the 30th of January.

Q. To whom?

A. To Mr. Sam. Arnold.

Q. Do you mean the prisoner Samuel Arnold?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you see the horse afterwards?

THE TRIAL. 95

A. Yes, sir : I saw the horse eight days afterwards, when Mr. Arnold paid me the livery.

Q. Do you know any thing about the terms of the sale, or the circumstances of it?

A. I do not : only Mr. Booth told me he had sold the horse to Mr. Arnold ; and Mr. Arnold paid me the livery.

Q. You saw him afterwards in Arnold's possession ?

A. Yes, sir ; and he paid me the livery on taking him away.

Q. Have you seen that horse recently ?

A. No, sir : I have not seen him since.

Q. I believe you said he was taken away by Arnold on the 30 th of January?

A. The 8th of February. Mr. Booth sold him on the 30th of January.

Q. By whom was he taken away in February ?

A. By Mr. Arnold.

Q. Samuel Arnold, the prisoner?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. On the 8th of February last ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. I will ask you whether or not you saw Booth and John H. Surratt, and any of these prisoners, together at your stable, either riding out or otherwise ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. When?

A. John H. Surratt used to hire horses from me to go down the country to parties in January last. I have the date on the book. I cannot recollect the time now.

Q. With whom was he generally ?

A. Mr. Booth ; and, after three or four visits down the country, Mr. Booth left word that Mr. Surratt was to use his horse any time he thought proper, any time he came for him.

Q. Did you ever see the prisoner Atzerodt with them ?

A. No, sir ; but I have seen him at the stable with horses.

Q. But not with those men ?

A. No, sir : I saw him there with horses for sale.

96 THE TRIAL.

Q. With whom was Arnold generally associated when he was at your stable ?

A. I never saw him with anybody there. He came there alone.

Q. Was Atzerodt there frequently?

A. No, sir : I do not think I ever saw him there but once.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ewing :

Q. Did you ever see the prisoner Arnold at your stable after the 8th of February ?

A. No, sir ; not to my knowledge.

Q. How many times did you ever see him at your stable ?

A. I do not think I ever saw him but the one time after he paid me, — twice.

Q. You never saw him but twice ?

A. No, sir.

The Judge Advocate requested the witness to proceed to the stable on the corner of Seventeenth and I Streets, and examine a one-eyed horse there for the purpose of identification ; and, on his return, his examination was continued as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. State now whether, since you left the witness-box before, you have been to the stable, and examined the horse of which I spoke.

A. I have been.

Q. State whether that is the same horse of which you spoke in your testimony.

A. The very identical horse.

Q. At what stable did you find him ?

A. The stable of General Augur's headquarters, on the corner of Seventeenth and I Streets.

Q. Ts that the horse that Arnold bought of Booth?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You do not know what payment was made on the horse?

A. I do not.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. How do you know that Arnold bought the horse of Booth?

THE TRIAL. 97

A. I do not know it; only Booth told me so ; and I credited it to Mr. Arnold the next morning, — put the livery to him.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Burnett :

Q. You mean you charged the livery to Arnold ?

A. Yes, sir ; and he afterwards called, and paid me $8.

By Mr. Doster :

Q. Have you ever seen that horse in the possession of the pris- oner Atzerodt ? A. No, sir.

Marshal James L. McPhail

recalled for the prosecution.

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state to the Court whether or not the prisoner O'Laughlin has been in the rebel service ?

A. He has, sir.

Q. How long was he in the military service of the rebels ?

A. I think, about one year.

Q. How long is it since he left that service ?

A. He came into the lines about the time of the battles of Antie- tam and South Mountain. He came in at Martinsburg. I think it was in September, 1863, according to my recollection, that the bat- tle took place. That was the date, however, that he came in.

Q. Do you know whether or not he has taken the oath of allegi- ance ?

A. He stated to me that he had taken the oath of allegiance at Martinsburg. In hunting the records of the Provost Marshal's of- fice this morning, before leaving home, I found the oath of allegi- ance of one Michael O'Laughlin j and, looking at the writing, myself and others concluded that it was his.

Q. What is the date of that ?

A. June 16, 1863. I will state that Mr. O'Laughlin sent for me to correct what he said was an error. When he was first brought to my office, he stated that he had not reported. He sent for me to correct that error, — to say that he had reported at Martinsburg, and

VOL. II. 9

98 THE TRIAL.

taken the oath of allegiance. This oath is dated at Baltimore, June 16, 1863, and signed " M. O'Laughlin." -

Cross-examined by Mr. Cox :

Q. Does it appear on the face of that oath that it was taken at Baltimore ?

A. Yes, sir. Shall I read it ? Mr. Cox. Yes, sir.

The witness read the oath, as follows : —

Headquarters Middle Department,

8th Army Corps, Office Provost Marshal. I, Michael O'Laughlin, do solemnly swear that I will bear true allegiance to the United States, and support and sustain the Consti- tution and laws thereof; that I will maintain the national sovereignty paramount to that of all State, county, or corporate powers, or any ordinance of same ; that I will discourage, discountenance, and for- ever oppose, secession, rebellion, and the disintegration of the Union ; that I disclaim and denounce all faith and fellowship with the so-called Confederate States and Confederate armies, and pledge my property and my life to the sacred performance of this my solemn oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States. And further : I will not attempt to trade, directly or indi- rectly, and have no business transaction whatever, with any person living in the so-called Confederate States. So help me God.

Witness :

R. H. Marshall,

Lieut, and Asst. Provost Marshal.

M. O'Laughlin. [l.s.] Baltimore, June 16, 1863.

Q. Are you sure that the statement he made with reference to Martinsburg did not refer simply to the point at which he came into the lines ?

A. He stated to me that he came into the lines at Martinsburg, and there took the oath.

Q. You are satisfied that he said he took the oath there ?

THE TRIAL. 99

A. That is what I understood him to say ; that was my under- standing.

Q. He told you that he came into the lines there ?

A. Yes, sir ; at Martin sburg.

Q. Could you possibly be mistaken about his having said that he had taken the oath there instead of at Baltimore ?

A. He sent for me to correct the statement he had made first to me, that he had not reported at Baltimore ; and he stated that he had come into the lines at Martinsburg, and there taken the oath. That is my recollection of it. It is customary, even in taking the oath of parties outside of the city, for them to report in the city when they arrive, or else they render themselves liable to arrest.

Q. Is that oath signed by him ?

A. This is signed " M. O'Laughlin."

Q. Do you know his handwriting ?

A. I have seen his handwriting ; and, as I have stated, I believe that to be the handwriting. I have seen a good deal of it within the last two or three weeks.

Q. You never saw him write, did you ?

A. I think not.

Q. Did you ever see any letters of his that he acknowledged to be his own ?

A. I have seen letters with his signature, but none that he ac- knowledged to be his own. I had no conversation with him about letters.

Mr. Cox asked the Court to exclude the oath of allegiance signed " M. O'Laughlin," produced by this witness, from the record, on the ground that the witness had not shown such a familiarity with the handwriting of the accused, Michael O'Laughlin, as to justify him in swearing that the signature to the oath was his genuine signa- ture.

The Judge Advocate stated that he had not offered, and did not propose to offer, the paper in evidence.

Mr. Cox withdrew his request.

By the Court :

Q. Do you know that O'Laughlin has ever been in the rebel ser- vice ?

100 THE TRIAL,

A. Only from his own declarations.

Q. He stated that to you ?

A. Oh, yes, sir !

Q. Do his family reside, and have they resided, in Baltimore for some time ?

A. They have resided in Baltimore within my recollection. I have known them, I suppose, for thirty years.

Dr. T. S. Verdi,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By the Judge Advocate :

Q. Will you state to the Court what is your profession ?

A. I am a physician.

Q. Will you state whether or not, on the night of the attempted assassination of Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, you were called to his residence professionally ?

A. Yes, sir : I was called by two servants from the house of Mr. Seward.

Q. At what hour in the night ?

A. I do not recollect to the minute ; but it was probably half-past ten o'clock, — perhaps a little sooner.

Q. On Friday night, the 14th of April ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Will you state in what condition you found Mr. Emrick W. Hansell ?

A. I found Mr. Hansell in the south-east corner, on the same floor with Mr. Seward, lying on a bed. He said he was wounded : I un- dressed him, and found a stab over the sixth rib, from the spine ob- liquely towards the right side. I put my fingers into the wound to see whether it had penetrated the lungs. I found that it had not ; but I could put my fingers probably two and a half inches or three inches deep. Apparently there was no internal bleeding. The wound seemed to be an inch wide, so that the finger could be put in very easily and moved all around.

Q. Had the stab the appearance of being just made ?

THE TRIAL. 101

A. Yes, sir : it was bleeding then, very fresh to all appearances. Probably it was not fifteen or twenty minutes since the stab had occurred.

Q. Did you see the other persons in the house of Mr. Seward who were stabbed on that evening at the same time ?

A. I saw every one of them.

Q. Mention who they were. You need not describe their wounds.

A. I saw the Hon. William H. Seward, Frederick Seward, Ma- jor Augustus H. Seward, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Hansell.

Q. They were all at that moment wounded, and their wounds bleeding ?

A. Yes, sir : I had left Mr. Seward about nine o'clock very com- fortable in his room ; and when I saw him next he was in his bed covered with blood, with blood all around him, blood under the bed, and blood on the handles of the doors. Miss Fannie Seward and Mr. Robinson were in the room.

Cross-examined by Mr. Doster :

Q. Did you see Mr. Frederick Seward on that occasion ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Will you state to the Court whether or not he was sensible, — conscious ?

A. He was sensible ; he was conscious ; but had great difficulty in articulating. He wanted to say something ; but he could not ex- press himself. He knew me perfectly well. He had a smile of recognition on his lips ; and, as I looked upon his wound on the fore- head, — it was on the forehead, — he was evidently impressed with the idea that the severest wound was in the back of the head ; and he commenced saying, " It is, it is;" and he would put his finger to the back of his head. I examined the wound, and found that his skull was broken ; and I said to him, " You want to know whether your skull is broken or not ? " and he said " Yes." He was sensi- ble for some time ; but probably in half an hour he went into a sleep from which he woke in about fifteen or twenty minutes, and we at- tempted to put him to bed. Then he helped himself considerably. We put him to bed, and he went to sleep, in which he remained for

9*

102 THE TRIAL.

sixty hours, and then improved in appearance, and gradually became more sensible.

Q. Did you also give an opinion, after examining the wounds of the elder Mr. Seward, as to whether they were mortal or not ?

A. Yes, sir. When I saw Mr. Seward, I saw terror in the ex- pression of all his family, evidently expecting that his wounds were mortal. I examined the wounds, and immediately turned round to the family, and said, " I congratulate you all that the wounds are not mortal; " upon which Mr. Seward stretched out his bands and re- ceived his family, and there was a mutual congratulation.

Q. How long was that before Dr. Barnes made his appearance ?

A. Probably twenty minutes.

Q. Was or was not Mr. Seward, at the time when this attack was made, in a critical condition ?

A. No, sir. He had improved very much from a former acci- dent he had had, when his jaw was broken ; but he was evidently improving then.

Q. Will you state what the effect of these wounds upon Mr. Sew- ard was, in reference to his former condition ?

A. The effect, principally, was from loss of blood, which weakened him very much, and made his condition still more delicate and difficult to rally from the shock. The wound itself created more inflammation in the swollen cheek, — the cheek that had been swollen by the injury received before, — and rendered the union of the bones more difficult.

Q. Have you not, at some time before this trial, stated that the wounds received by Mr. Seward had a tendency to aid his recovery from his former accident ?

A. No, sir. That is an idea that got afloat from the fact that the cheek was very much inflated and swollen, and that, by cutting into it, it could probably recover faster ; but that was not my opinion, and I never expressed it.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. It does not help a man who is injured to cut him over the face?

A. Not much ; unless he has an abscess.

THE TRIAL. 103

By Me. Dostee :

Q. Have you seen such an opinion ?

A. No, sir : I have heard it expressed lately about ; but I do not know who originated it.

Joseph Boeeoughs recalled for the prosecution :

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. State to the Court whether or not you were working at Ford's Theatre in January last.

A. Yes, sir : I was working there.

Q. State if you know the stable in the rear that was occupied by Booth with his horses and carriage.

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State if you know who fitted up that stable for Booth.

A. Spangler, and a man by the name of George.

Q. What Spangler ?

A. Ned Spangler.

Q. The prisoner here at the bar ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did he do that in January last, before Booth put the horses in it?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did he do to the stable ?

A. He raised it up a little higher, and put stalls in it.

Q. How many stalls did he put in it ?

A. Two.

Q. Did he prepare a carriage-room too ?

A. Yes, sir ; but first he had to raise it higher for the buggy.

Q. Was Booth there at the time when he was doing it?

A. He was there sometimes : he was there a little once.

Cross-examined by Me. Ewing :

Q. Did Booth occupy the stable with his buggy and horse?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. From that time on until the assassination ?

104 THE TRIAL.

A. Yes, sir. First he had a horse and saddle in there ; and then he sold that horse, and got a horse and buggy.

Q. He had the horse and buggy there until the assassination? A. Yes, sir.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. I would like to know what horse and buggy, if any, he sold

before that time.

A. He sold the horse that he brought there first, — the horse and saddle.

Q. Was there any buggy sold before that time ?

A. No, sir : he sold the buggy last, — the horse and buggy.

Q. When was it sold ?

A. It was sold on Wednesday, I think.

Q. Was that the Wednesday before the President was murdered ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who sold it for him ?

A. Spangler.

Q. What Spangler?

A. Ned Spangler.

Q. The prisoner here ?

A. Yes, sir.

By Mr. Ewing :

Q. Do you know to whom he sold it ?

A. No, sir : I do not know who he sold it to. He brought it down to the bazaar on Maryland Avenue, but could not get what he wanted for it ; and then he sold it to a man who kept a livery- stable, he said.

Q. He took it down to the bazaar ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Is that where they sell horses and carriages ?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you not go with Spangler when he went clown to the bazaar ?

A. Yes, sir : I went with him down to the bazaar.

Q. Did not Booth and Gifford tell Spangler on Monday to take it to the bazaar ?

THE TRIAL. 105

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you cleaned it off?

A. Yes, sir : I went out there, and cleaned it off.

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham : Q. That was on the Monday before the murder, as I understand it?

A. Yes, sir.

James L. Maddox,

a witness called for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows : —

By Assistant Judge Advocate Bingham :

Q. Were you employed in Ford's Theatre last winter?

A. Yes, sir : I was.

Q. State to the Court who rented the stable for Booth, which he occupied with his horse during the winter, and on the night of the murder of President Lincoln.

A. I did.

Q. When did you rent that stable ?

A. I think it was in December last.

Q. From whom did you rent it ?

A. Mrs. Davis.

Q. For whom did you rent it ?

A. For Mr. Booth.

Q. How was the rent paid to Mrs. Davis, — monthly or quarter-

A. Monthly.

Q. Who paid the rent?

A. I did.

Q. Who furnished the money ?

A. Mr. Booth gave me the money.

Q. Were you present at the decoration of the President's box on Friday