UNRAVELLING THE CONSPIRACY.
_Arrest of Spangler, O'Laughlin, Atzerodt, Mudd, and Arnold._
Not only was the government bending every energy to overtake and
capture Booth and Herold, but also to find out who were their
co-conspirators. It undertook a systematic investigation of Booth's
haunts, associations, habits, and employment during the recent past.
Hotel registers were overhauled, liverymen interviewed, and each clue
followed up, so that in a short time enough was known to lead to the
arrest of Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt,
Samuel Arnold, and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, in addition to those heretofore
spoken of as having been arrested. By this time the evidence in
possession of the government made it clear that what had occurred was
but a partial accomplishment of a great conspiracy, which had its
origin with the agents of the rebel government in Canada; and that its
execution had been entrusted to John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt,
as leaders, and to such assistants as they should select and employ.
[Illustration: EDWARD SPANGLER]
It was soon discovered that Booth's intimate associates, with whom he
held private confidential intercourse, were John H. Surratt, and his
mother, Mary E. Surratt, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, Dr. Samuel
A. Mudd, David E. Herold, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O'Laughlin; and
that the house of Mrs. Surratt was the headquarters of the conspirators
in Washington. Arnold and O'Laughlin were intimate personal friends
and associates of Booth at his home in Baltimore. Booth, Payne,
and Atzerodt were frequent callers at the house of Mrs. Surratt,
where they were always made welcome; their business was always of a
private, confidential nature, and was with John Surratt when he
was at home, but in his absence was with Mrs. Surratt herself. Booth
had every privilege granted to him in that house, his requests for a
private conference being always responded to by John or his mother.
To Booth it seemed to be a matter of indifference which of the two
it was. In tracing his movements the last few months preceding the
assassination, it soon became evident that he was acting under the
impulse of a purpose that had entire possession of his mind. Having
undertaken to secure the accomplishment of the assassinations planned
by Davis and his Canada Cabinet, in the latter part of October,
1864, he was constantly employed in making his preparations for the
fulfillment of his contract, and gave no time or thought, apparently,
to anything else. He entirely abandoned his profession, that of an
actor, and lost all interest in the stage. He no longer consorted
with those of his profession to any extent, except as it might be
in preparation for the work to which he had devoted his life, and
accepted, instead, the fellowship of such low-browed scoundrels as
Payne and Atzerodt as better suited to his purpose. They became
mere tools in his hands, sympathizing with him fully in his intense
disloyalty, but being actuated at the same time by a mercenary motive,
the evidence justifying the conclusion that they had a promise of a
large pecuniary reward. He spent a great deal of time with these men,
studying their characters, and schooling them in the parts they were
to act. They were all known to the liverymen of the city, of whom they
very frequently obtained horses to ride about the suburbs and study
the roads, that they might be thoroughly familiar with the locality
when the time should come for them to make their escape. They were all
known, also, to go constantly armed with revolvers and bowie-knives by
those who had opportunities of seeing them together in their private
intercourse. They boarded at different hotels, and frequently changed
their boarding-places, but were frequent visitors of each other at
whatever places they might be stopping, and their intercourse was
always observed to be that of privacy; and so it became a just cause
for suspicion to have been an intimate companion of Booth, and finally
led to the arrest of them all.
With regard to the relations existing between Booth and John H.
Surratt, and his mother, Mary E. Surratt, the evidence showed that they
would always retire to an upstairs room whenever a lengthy conference
was desired; but that they frequently held short private conferences
in the parlor, when it could be done without danger of interruption.
Booth's right to thus come into the house and demand these private
interviews was never questioned, but granted with the alacrity due to a
common purpose that required it.
_Foundation for the Arrest of Mrs. Surratt._
The agents of the government, in pursuing their investigations,
obtained evidence that Mrs. Surratt's house had been the meeting-place
or headquarters of the conspirators, and that she was in private,
confidential intercourse with Booth. One of the principal witnesses
against her was Louis J. Wiechmann, who had been for several months a
boarder in her house, and whose friendly relations with the family were
due to the fact that he had been a fellow-student with John H. Surratt
at St. Charles College, in Maryland, and to the further fact that they
were co-religionists. Wiechmann had been, during all this time that
he had been a boarder at Mrs. Surratt's, employed as a clerk in the
office of General Hoffman, Commissary General of Prisoners; and from
him the facts above alleged were learned. Wiechmann also stated that
Mrs. Surratt sent him to Booth with a message that she wanted to see
him on private business, and that Booth replied that he would come that
evening or as soon as he could, and that he did come that evening.
On the Tuesday previous to the assassination, Mrs. Surratt requested
Wiechmann to drive her down to Surrattsville, saying that she wanted to
see a Mr. Nothey who owed her some money. Upon his consenting to do so,
she sent him to the National Hotel to see Booth, and request the use of
his horse and buggy for the occasion. Booth said he had sold his horse
and buggy, but handed to Wiechmann ten dollars with which to procure
one. Wiechmann got a conveyance and drove Mrs. Surratt to Surrattsville
and back. As they were on their way down, they met Lloyd, to whom Mrs.
Surratt had rented her farm and tavern at Surrattsville. Mrs. Surratt
requested Wiechmann to stop; and Lloyd, stopping at the same time, got
out of his buggy and came close to Mrs. Surratt, who conversed with
him in so low a tone that Wiechmann did not hear what was said, but
Lloyd testified before the Commission that she told him to "have those
shooting-irons where they would be convenient, as they would be wanted
before long." The "shooting-irons" referred to were two carbines,
which, with ammunition, a monkey-wrench, and a piece of rope, had been
left with Lloyd by John H. Surratt, Herold, and Atzerodt about three
weeks before, with the request that he should keep them hid, Surratt at
the same time showing him a safe place to secrete them. On the Friday
of the assassination, Mrs. Surratt requested Wiechmann to drive her
down to Surrattsville, alleging that she was going to see Mr. Nothey
again on the same business as before. She gave Wiechmann money to
procure a conveyance and he drove her down. Booth was with her in the
parlor when he returned with the conveyance, and when Mrs. Surratt was
about getting into the buggy, she requested Wiechmann to wait until
she went and got Mr. Booth's things. She went back into the parlor and
returned with a field-glass, which she delivered to Lloyd. They reached
Surrattsville about four o'clock. Mrs. Surratt then had Wiechmann sit
down and write a note to Mr. Nothey at her dictation, which she sent
to him by a Mr. Bennett Gwin. Lloyd had gone to Marlboro to court, and
Mrs. Surratt awaited his return which was not until about half-past
six o'clock. When Lloyd returned, he drove around into the back yard
to unload some fish and oysters which he had purchased, and Mrs.
Surratt, who had been waiting and watching for his return, seized this
opportunity to see him privately, when she told him, as Lloyd testified
before the Commission, to have the carbines ready, as they would be
called for that night, and also two bottles of whiskey. Then going with
him into the house, she gave him the field-glass.
She was now ready to return, and expressed anxiety to Wiechmann to
reach home before nine o'clock, saying that she had an engagement for
that hour. She reached her home just before nine, and a few moments
later Wiechmann, from his place at the table in the dining-room below,
heard the door-bell ring, and some one enter the parlor. The interview
was very short--just long enough for Mrs. Surratt to say that all was
right--when Wiechmann heard retreating footsteps, but did not know who
the visitor was. In view, however, of all the foregoing, we cannot
resist the conclusion that Booth was the person, and that this was
their last interview. Mrs. Surratt was able to produce the letter of
Mr. Calvert which she claimed required her to go to Surrattsville that
day to see Mr. Nothey, but she had no appointment to meet him there,
did not see him, and could just as well have written to him from her
home in Washington. This excuse for her visit was a mere fabrication.
Her real business was with Lloyd, and she was not ready to return
until after she had an interview with him, and delivered her message
from Booth, and the field-glass which he had given her. It is evident
that her show of private business was gotten up as a cover to her real
errand.
Again, Payne had visited the Surratt house on several occasions. The
first time he came he called for John H. Surratt, and on being told by
Wiechmann that John was not at home, he requested to see Mrs. Surratt.
He passed this time under the alias of Wood, and was received by Mrs.
Surratt, and kept over night, when he departed for Baltimore. About
three weeks later, say about the 20th of March (as his first visit was
about the 1st of March), he made his second visit, passing under the
name of Payne, and remained three days. It was during this visit that
the episode already referred to as having in all probability been an
attempt to murder the President on his visit to the Soldier's Home,
occurred, and from which Surratt, Booth, and Payne returned under such
excitement and evident disappointment.
[Illustration: LEWIS PAYNE.]
To such members of the family as had not been initiated into the plot,
this man of many aliases--Wood, Payne, and Powell--passed as a Baptist
preacher. He said that he had taken the oath whilst in Baltimore, and
intended henceforth to be a good, loyal man. When this man came to the
house of Mrs. Surratt on the night of the 17th of April, as heretofore
related, and was placed under arrest, Mrs. Surratt, who had also upon
a knowledge of the facts just recited been arrested a few minutes
before, when she was called into the hall and confronted with Payne,
having heard his story as to why he had come and what he had come for,
holding up her hands exclaimed, "Before God, I do not know this man,
and never saw him before." He had been a guest at her table for three
days only a few days previous to this, and was a man of such a marked
personality that having seen him once it would have been impossible to
have failed to recognize him on seeing him again, even though he might
have been partially disguised. With a woman's intuitive perception, she
saw the compromising effect that his visit at that time of night, and
under such circumstances, was calculated to have on her own case, and
so felt the necessity of this solemn disavowal of any knowledge of him.
Before the government felt justified in arresting this woman, only,
indeed, two or three hours after the assassination, it being known that
Booth was the assassin, and that he and John H. Surratt were intimate
friends, the detectives went to the house of Mrs. Surratt to see whom
they could find there. When they rang the bell Wiechmann, who occupied
an upstairs room, opened the window and inquired what they wanted. Upon
their demanding admittance, stating that they had been sent to that
house to see whom they could find in it, Wiechmann went and rapped at
Mrs. Surratt's door, informing her who it was that demanded admittance,
and asking her if he should let them in, when she replied, "Yes, let
them in; I have been expecting them." Now, why should Mrs. Surratt at
that hour, about three o'clock on the morning of the 15th, and only
three or four hours after the assassination, have been expecting a
visit from the detectives? A guilty conscience is its own accuser.
As Wiechmann and Lloyd were the principal witnesses against Mrs.
Surratt, and their evidence so conclusively established her guilt,
her counsel made an effort to discredit their testimony, but utterly
failed to do so. Wiechmann was a young man who established a good
character for veracity and general moral deportment by witnesses who
had been intimately associated with him for months in General Hoffman's
department. His manner was that of a man who was deeply affected by the
fact that he found himself in a situation in which his duty to his God
and his country required him to state facts that had been thrust upon
him, and that were now found to be so damaging to those with whom he
had been associating and whom he had regarded as friends. The attempt
made by counsel for the defense in their arguments to break the force
of his testimony by throwing out the unfounded insinuation that he
probably knew of the existence of the conspiracy, was done for the
purpose of engendering a doubt of the simple truth of his utterances
which were corroborated by other testimony than his own, and of which
he could have had no previous knowledge. Wiechmann's testimony, taking
into consideration the lies told to him and the deceptions practiced
upon him for nearly four months, is in itself absolute proof of his
integrity and of his innocence. In the words of Judge Bingham in
all that dread issue, "There was not a breath of suspicion found
against his character, nor was a single fact to which he testified
contradicted. The defense tried to kill him off with lies and
insinuations, but they could not and did not do it." Wiechmann admitted
that he had been puzzled to account for some of these occurrences. He
could not understand why such persons as Payne and Atzerodt should be
received and enjoy the privileges accorded to them by Mrs. Surratt
and her son; but particularly he had had his suspicions aroused by
the conduct of Surratt, Payne, and Booth upon their return from their
ride as heretofore recited. He had related this occurrence to Captain
Gleason, an officer with whom he was associated in his daily work. He
referred to a report or rumor, which had found its way into the papers,
of a plot to capture the President, and asked the Captain if he thought
it could be possible that this could have been the object of their
expedition. Wiechmann's character and actions in the matter could not
be discredited by insinuations that had no evidence to rest on for
their support.
Lloyd had rented Mrs. Surratt's farm and tavern at Surrattsville,
and so was her tenant. He was a man of intemperate habits, and there
was, I think, taking all things into consideration, strong reason to
conclude that he had been entrusted with the secret of the plot; but
of this there was no direct proof, and much less of his having been
any further a party to the conspiracy. Even admitting that he had this
guilty knowledge, it does not disqualify him for telling the truth
as to what occurred at the private interviews referred to between
himself and Mrs. Surratt, and that these private interviews did take
place under the circumstances already related we have the positive
testimony of Wiechmann. Lloyd's testimony was drawn out of him by
questions suggested by what Wiechmann had previously stated before the
Commission. The defense failed entirely to prove that he was a man not
to be believed upon his oath.
They endeavored to break the force of the testimony of Major Smith in
regard to Mrs. Surratt solemnly disclaiming any knowledge of Payne by
claiming that her eyesight was very defective, but failed to establish
any evidence of infirmity of sight beyond what was common to a person
of her age of forty-five years.
The evidence of Major Smith was that the hall was well lighted when she
was confronted with Payne, and her haste to disavow any knowledge of
him with such unnecessary solemnity was itself evidence of guilt. Her
eminent volunteer counsel, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, at that time a United
States senator from Maryland, did not attempt to assail the testimony
against her or to make any reference whatever to her case; but confined
himself to an argument against the constitutionality of her trial by
a military commission and against the jurisdiction of the court. In
view of all the facts above narrated, all of which were proven by the
witnesses brought before the Commission by the government, the author
thinks it would be impossible for any candid mind to escape from the
conclusion that Mrs. Surratt was fully informed of the purposes of
Booth and her son, and gave to them her hearty approval and earnest
co-operation. We have now presented in narrative form the evidence on
which Mrs. Surratt was found guilty and sentenced by the Commission
to be hung. Her case was evidently one of those deplorable cases, of
which the rebellion furnished so many examples, of a woman so entirely
under the influence of disloyalty to her government and so desirous
of its overthrow, that she was ready to resort to any means whatever
to accomplish that purpose, and so entered heart and soul into the
schemes of Booth and her son, hoping thereby to serve the cause of the
confederacy.
_Arrest of Atzerodt._
George A. Atzerodt had undertaken for his part the assassination of
Vice-President Johnson. He was found to have been a frequent visitor at
the Surratt house, and a boon companion of Payne, Surratt, and Booth.
It was found that he had taken a room at the Kirkwood House where the
Vice-President was stopping at the time. He had been assigned to room
number 126, on the next floor above that on which was the room occupied
by the Vice-President. He had been stopping at the Pennsylvania House
from the 27th of March until the 12th of April, and took this room
at the Kirkwood House on the morning of the 14th of April, paying in
advance for one day. On the 12th of April he visited this house, and
meeting Col. W. R. Nevins in the passage leading to the dining-room, he
asked him if he knew where Vice-President Johnson was. Nevins showed
him the Vice-President's room, but remarked, "He is now at dinner,"
pointing him out to Atzerodt as he sat at the table. Atzerodt did not
enter the dining-room, but simply looked in at the Vice-President. It
was ascertained that Atzerodt had not occupied his room on the night
of the 14th, and when the detectives who were on his track came to
the Kirkwood House on the afternoon of the 15th, it was found locked,
and the door had to be forced. Mr. Lee, the officer in pursuit of
him, found in his room, upon gaining admission, a black coat hanging
against the wall; underneath the pillow or bolster a revolver loaded
and capped, and between the sheets and mattress a large bowie-knife.
In the pockets of the coat were found a handkerchief marked "Mary R.
Booth," another marked "F. M.," or "F. A. Nelson," and another marked
"H," in one corner; also a bank-book of J. Wilkes Booth, showing a
credit of four hundred and fifty-five dollars with the Ontario Bank of
Montreal, and a map of Virginia. On the corner of the bank-book was
written "J. W. Booth, 53." On the inside of the book, "Mr. J. Wilkes
Booth, in account with the Ontario Bank of Montreal, Canada, 1864,
October 27; by deposit Cr. $455." This coat evidently belonged to
Booth, and its being thus found in Atzerodt's room showed that Booth
had visited him there during the day; and that he had spent some time
with him schooling him in his part was shown by the fact that he had
taken off his light overcoat and hung it up against the wall, and had
evidently become so much absorbed in mind with the purpose of his visit
that he forgot to take his coat when he left. The revolver loaded and
capped, and the huge bowie-knife hidden in the bed, serve to explain
the nature of the interview between Booth and Atzerodt, and the purpose
of death to the Vice-President on the part of the former, and in which
purpose at that time Atzerodt no doubt fully concurred. During the
stay of Atzerodt at the Pennsylvania House he was frequently called on
by Booth, and they were at pains always to hold their interviews in
private.
Atzerodt's whereabouts from the 12th to the 14th of April are not
accounted for. On the 14th, after having taken his room at the
Kirkwood, we next find him at a livery-stable on Eighth and E streets,
where he procured a bay mare, paying five dollars for her hire for the
afternoon. He took her to Naylor's stable and had her put up. Here he
was accompanied by Herold. It was about one o'clock P.M. when
he had his mare put up. He left and did not return until about seven
P.M. On his return he ordered his mare to be saddled, and
requested that she should be left standing with the saddle and bridle
on until ten o'clock, when he would call for her. He returned at ten,
got his mare, and left. He returned the mare to the stable on Eighth
and E streets shortly after the assassination of the President, at
about eleven o'clock.
After returning the mare, he boarded a navy-yard car at Sixth Street,
and rode down as far as the navy-yard. Finding a man by the name of
Briscoe on the car, with whom he was acquainted, he asked him to let
him sleep with him in his store. Being refused, he urged his request,
and seemed excited. Briscoe asked him if he had heard the news. He
replied that he had.
Not getting permission to lodge with Briscoe, he said he would return
to the Pennsylvania House, which he did, arriving there on horseback
about twelve M. or one o'clock A.M. He asked the colored boy in waiting
at the house to hold his horse whilst he went into the bar. He then
mounted his horse and left, returning again at about two o'clock on
foot, in company with another man. They paid for their lodging and
retired. Atzerodt, on being requested by the clerk to register before
retiring to his room, hesitated, and did it with manifest reluctance.
These parties arose very early on the morning of the 15th, and left.
At about eight o'clock on the morning of the 15th, we find Atzerodt in
Georgetown trying to sell his watch to a man with whom he was somewhat
acquainted; but not being able to do so, he pawned his pistol for ten
dollars, saying he was going to the country and would come, or send,
and redeem it the next week. He was followed and arrested in Montgomery
County, Maryland, on the 20th of April.
He ate his dinner on the 16th at the house of Mr Hezekiah Metz. There
were two or three other persons at the table with him, and all were
anxious to hear the news from Washington. He was asked whether it was
true, as had been reported in that neighborhood, that General Grant
had been killed. Atzerodt, according to the testimony of Metz, replied
that "if the man who was to follow him had done so it was likely to
be true." There was some conflict of statement, however, between Metz
and the other two parties who were at the table, and who were used as
witnesses for the defense. These thought he said if it were so, it was
likely to have been done by some one who got on the train with him.
There are good reasons, however, for concluding that Metz gave his real
answer.
Atzerodt was known in that neighborhood as Andrew Atwood. From Metz's
he went to the house of his cousin, Hartman Richter, near the little
village of Germantown, and remained there until he was arrested by
Sergeant L. W. Grimmell on the night of the 20th. Richter denied that
there was anybody in his house when inquired of by the Sergeant.
When told by the Sergeant that he would have to search the house, he
admitted that his cousin was upstairs in bed. His wife then spoke up,
saying, "there were three men there for that matter." Atzerodt was
brought to Washington and held as a prisoner for trial, as a party to
the conspiracy. There is no doubt from the evidence presented, that
he was not only a party to the conspiracy, but also that Booth had
arranged with him and relied on him to assassinate the Vice-President.
For this purpose he had removed him from the Pennsylvania to the
Kirkwood House, where the Vice-President had rooms, and was boarding.
This change had been made on the morning of the 14th, and Booth
had been there during the day to see that all things were properly
arranged. Atzerodt's revolver was found hidden away in his bed, loaded,
capped, and ready for use. His bowie-knife also was found secreted in
his bed; and yet there is no evidence that he was in his room, or even
in the house during the evening or night. In his defense his counsel
set up the plea, and proved it, that he was incapable of committing
such a crime, being constitutionally a coward. He was a low-browed,
vulgar vagabond, fond of whiskey, tobacco, and vicious company; a
cowardly braggart, covering up his cowardice by a great pretense of
bravery when the battle was not on; low enough in moral tone to do any
wicked thing, but without physical courage to face the danger connected
with what he had engaged to do. Booth had mistaken his man; but being a
member of the conspiracy, he was equally guilty with Booth.
_Arrest of Spangler._
On the strength of the facts incidentally presented in the foregoing
narrative, Edward Spangler was taken into military custody, and held
as a prisoner for trial. The capture of Herold has already been given.
All of these prisoners were held in military custody, and under such
precautions as would have rendered any attempt at rescue or escape the
height of folly.
In Booth's trunk a letter was found from Samuel Arnold to Booth,
dated at Hookstown, Md., March 27th, 1865. This letter was signed
simply "Sam," but was proved to be in Arnold's handwriting, and led
not only to his own arrest, but also to that of his friend and fellow
conspirator, Michael O'Laughlin. Arnold had evidently fallen into a
hesitating frame of mind. I feel that I cannot do better than to give
this letter entire. It is as follows:--
HOOKSTOWN, BALTIMORE CO., March 27, 1865.
DEAR JOHN:--Was business so important that you could
not remain in Baltimore until I saw you? I came in as soon as I
could, but found you had gone to Washington. I called also on
Mike, but learned from his mother that he had gone out with you
and had not returned. I concluded, therefore, that he had gone
with you. How inconsiderate you have been! When I left you,
you stated you would not meet me in a month or so. Therefore,
I made application for employment, an answer to which I shall
receive during the week. I told my parents I had ceased with
you. Can I, then, under existing circumstances, come as you
request? You know full well that the government suspicions
something is going on there; therefore the undertaking is
becoming more complicated. Why not, for the present, desist,
for various reasons which, if you look into, you can readily
see, without my making any mention thereof. You, nor any
one, can censure me for my present course. You have been its
cause, for how can I come now after telling them I had left
you? Suspicion rests upon me now from my whole family and even
parties in the country. I will be compelled to leave home any
how, and how soon I care not. None, no, not one, were more
in favor of the enterprise than myself, and to-day would be
there had you not done as you have: by this I mean, manner
of proceeding. I am, as you well know, in need. I am, as you
may say, in rags; whereas to-day I ought to be well clothed.
I do not feel right stalking about with means, and more from
appearances a beggar. I feel my dependence: but even all this
would be and was forgotten, for I was one with you. Time more
propitious will arrive yet. Do not act rashly or in haste. I
prefer your first query: go and see how it will be taken at
R----d, and e'er long I shall be better prepared to again be
with you. I dislike writing,--would sooner verbally make known
my views,--yet your non-writing causes me thus to proceed. Do
not in anger peruse this. Weigh all I have said, and, as a
rational man and a friend, you cannot censure or upbraid my
conduct. I sincerely trust this, or aught else that shall or
may occur, will never be an obstacle to obliterate our former
friendship and attachment. Write me to Baltimore, as I expect
to be in about Wednesday or Thursday, or, if you can possibly
come on, I will Tuesday meet you in Baltimore at B----. Ever I
subscribe myself,
Your friend,
SAM.
Arnold got employment at Fortress Monroe, and was there at the time
of the assassination; but the finding of the above letter in Booth's
trunk, as also other evidence constantly turning up in the course of
the investigations being made, identifying him with the conspiracy,
led to his arrest on the 17th of April at Fortress Monroe. Arnold,
when arrested, made a partial confession, relating the circumstances
of a meeting of some of the conspirators held at the Lichau House in
Washington about three weeks previous to his going to Fortress Monroe.
[Illustration: SAMUEL ARNOLD.]
This meeting must have occurred within two or three days after the
writing of the above letter, immediately before Surratt's visit to
Richmond, and was attended by Booth, Surratt, O'Laughlin, Atzerodt,
Arnold, a man with the alias of Moseby, and another whose name he could
not recollect. He denied that he had ever corresponded with Booth, but
on being informed of the letter found in Booth's trunk he admitted that
he wrote it. He also stated that Booth had letters of introduction to
Dr. Mudd and Dr. Queen, but said he did not know from whom Booth got
them. He claimed that an angry discussion took place at the meeting
referred to. He said he told Booth then that if the thing did not take
place that week he would withdraw. Booth got angry at that, and said
he ought to be shot for talking in that way. He said that he replied
to Booth that two could play at that game; and that he withdrew from
the conspiracy at that time, and occupied his position at Fortress
Monroe on the 1st of April. It is evident, I think, that as he began to
contemplate the hazards of the enterprise, its dangers began to be more
and more apparent to him. His heart failed him, and he was anxious for
an excuse to withdraw from it, but had not the courage to peremptorily
do so. This is the interpretation I put upon the above letter--of the
altercation between him and Booth, and of his going to Fortress Monroe.
There is also apparent in the letter a shade of disappointment and
dissatisfaction in regard to pecuniary matters, implying that promised
reward had been withheld by Booth. Early in September, whilst at a
grain threshing, Arnold received a letter containing a fifty-dollar
bill. Reading the letter and showing it with the money to a companion,
he remarked that "he was flush." He handed the letter to his friend to
read, but he, after trying to read a few lines, and finding that he
could not understand it on account of its ambiguity, handed it back
to Arnold, asking him what it meant. Arnold replied that something
big would be seen in the papers one of these days. This was no doubt
a retainer's fee, or in other words, an advance payment from Booth.
The rather complaining tone of Arnold's letter, hinting at pecuniary
embarrassment, would seem to indicate that Booth's promises of
pecuniary reward had been large, whilst his fulfillment had been far
from satisfactory.
This, amongst other considerations to be named, had evidently cooled
Arnold's ardor in the prosecution of the plot, and was the cause of his
disposition to withdraw from it.
The probabilities are that his parents and friends suspecting that his
intimacy with Booth foreboded evil, and probably suspecting something
of his purpose, had so earnestly remonstrated with him as to cause
him to stagger or falter in his purpose, and made him anxious for an
excuse for breaking with Booth. He perhaps began to regard Booth's
plan as quixotic and impracticable, full of hazard, and not likely to
succeed. In fact, he stated that he so told Booth at this meeting. He
was evidently restive, and thought it had been put off too long to
effect the end contemplated. It does not appear to have been from any
awakening of his moral nature that he faltered, neither from cowardice
that he weakened; and so he failed to purge himself of complicity in
Booth's guilt. But there was sufficient evidence of his desire to
withdraw from any part in the execution of Booth's present purposes
to extenuate his guilt in a measure, at least, in the judgment of the
Commission.
_Arrest of O'Laughlin._
Arnold's letter to Booth on the 27th of March, which was found in
Booth's trunk, together with evidence gathered up on every hand as
the investigation proceeded, led to the arrest of Michael O'Laughlin
at the house of his brother-in-law, in Baltimore, on Monday, the 17th
of April, the same day on which Arnold was arrested. When arrested he
seemed to understand what it was for, not asking any questions about
it. He had gone to Washington on the 13th and remained until Saturday,
the 15th. On returning to Baltimore on Saturday night, he was met at
the depot by his brother-in-law, who told him that he had been inquired
for by detectives that evening. Being advised by the friend who had
accompanied him to Washington and back to remain at his home, he said
he would not be arrested at home, as it would kill his mother. Why was
he expecting to be arrested? A man innocent of crime never fears or
expects arrest. He went to the house of his brother-in-law and quietly
awaited the issue. He even requested his brother-in-law to inform the
officer of his whereabouts, thus seeming to court arrest.
He had carefully thought the thing over, and concluded that the
government would not be able to fix guilt upon him, and so he thought
to have the benefit of a seeming willingness to be arrested, as
presumptive proof of his innocence. He had gone to Washington on
the 13th with three companions, ostensibly to see the parade and
illumination in commemoration of the surrender of Lee's army, and to
"have a good time," as his companions expressed it in their evidence in
his behalf on his defense.
He kept with these companions in the rounds of their drunken carousal
and debaucheries enough to blind them as to the real object of his
visit. They were drinking freely during the Thursday and Friday of
their stay, and were evidently unable to give a connected and reliable
account of O'Laughlin's whereabouts during the whole of the time. They
thought he spent most of the time in company with one or the other of
them; but they admitted that he had had a long interview with Booth at
his room at the National Hotel on Friday, the 14th. It was positively
proven, however, that he was at the house of Secretary Stanton on the
occasion of the reception given to General Grant on the night of the
13th; that he seemed to be in a state of partial intoxication, and
pushed himself through the crowd into the hall inquiring for General
Grant, saying he wanted to see him. He was told by the Secretary's son
that that was no occasion for him to see him, and to step out onto the
pavement where the carriage stopped, and he could see him. He stood
for some time in the hall looking in through the door at the General.
He also said he wanted to see Stanton, and being asked if it was the
Secretary he wished to see, he said it was. The Secretary was pointed
out to him, but he did not go to him. His manner was so impertinently
obtrusive and rude that he was finally requested to leave, and was
escorted out of the house by the son of the Secretary. Mr. Stanton
at first thought him to be intoxicated, but upon conversing with him
concluded he was not. It would appear from all this that the part
Booth had assigned to him was the assassination of General Grant, and
that his visit to the house of the Secretary was for the purpose of
so acquainting himself with the form and features of the General as
to be able readily to identify him. Had not the General been called
away on that Friday afternoon,--had he accompanied the President to
the theatre, as he had intended doing,--there is scarcely a doubt
that "Peanuts" would have had two horses to hold, or that some other
arrangements would have been made for General Grant's assassination
that would have made O'Laughlin a companion of Booth in his flight.
We have now seen the development of Booth's plot, and its partial
success, but, as to the real object of it, its entire failure. The
thing proposed by the head conspirators, whose agents we have been
following up in their efforts for its accomplishment, failed of its
realization. They had hoped by the policy of assassination to put the
rapidly waning cause of the confederacy on its feet again under new and
more favorable auspices.
The cause, at the time of this attempt to thus give it aid, was already
lost on the field of military conflict beyond hope of recovery. The
whole people, North and South, saw that the war was at an end; that the
brief day of the so-called Southern Confederacy was over--that its sun
had set; and great as must have been the disappointment of those who
had so fruitlessly plunged the country into the greatest civil war that
history records, they were quite content to accept and make the best of
their failure.
Both parties were glad that the contest had been decided, and of the
opportunity to lay down their arms, and return to the pursuits of
peaceful life. Had not Booth kept himself as full of whiskey as he was
of his fiendish purpose, had he given himself an opportunity to scan
the situation in a duly sober frame of mind, we think it even more than
probable he would have abandoned the whole project as useless. But both
he and his associates were free and constant drinkers, and by their
frequent visits to saloons, as shown by the whole run of the testimony
before the Commission, it would seem probable that they scarcely ever
drew an absolutely sober breath, and so could not realize the true
situation of the cause they sought to serve.
[Illustration: MICHAEL O'LAUGHLIN.]
The Canada conspirators are in like manner, according to all the
testimony, shown to have been free drinkers. All of their diabolical
schemes were most probably the products of minds acting under the
influence of alcoholic stimulants, and this may in some degree account
for the obtundity of their moral perceptions. It has been said by one
who was personally cognizant of the fact, that alcohol precipitated
the rebellion, and that its leaders in both branches of Congress kept
themselves constantly under the excitement of alcoholic stimulants and
so were made reckless of consequences.
_Arrest of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd._
It will be remembered that in giving the history of Booth's flight,
we found him and Herold at the house of Dr. S. A. Mudd, at about four
o'clock on the morning of the 15th of April, they having ridden thirty
miles in about six hours after leaving Washington. They would no doubt
have stopped at Mudd's, even had Booth not needed his services as a
surgeon, for a short respite and refreshment, as the doctor was, as
we shall hereafter see, a co-conspirator with Booth. Booth's broken
leg had by this time become very painful, and this made it necessary
that he should stop to have it dressed. Mudd dressed his leg, as he
himself said, as well as he could with the means at his command, and
giving them refreshments, he placed Booth in a chamber upstairs where
he remained until about three o'clock in the afternoon. Mudd and Herold
went out, as Mudd said, to find a carriage in which to take Booth on
his journey; but it is more likely Mudd was showing Herold a by-way
toward the Potomac, at the point where they expected to cross, whilst
Booth was resting.
About one o'clock on that afternoon, Lieutenant Dana, with a squad of
cavalry, passed down toward Bryantown in pursuit of Booth, and as there
was no doubt a sharp look-out kept from the house of Dr. Mudd, which
stood about a quarter of a mile from, and in full view of, the road,
they were by this admonished of their danger and resumed their flight
as soon as they could after the soldiers passed. Thus Mudd got them off
of his hands, and started them on their way to his friend, Samuel Cox.
On Tuesday, the 18th of April, Mudd was first interviewed, and then
denied that there had been any body at his house on the 15th; but upon
being pressed with questions, he finally said that two strangers had
come to his house about four o'clock on Saturday morning on horseback,
one of them having a broken leg, and that he had taken them in, dressed
the leg, and had a crutch made for the man, and that they had left
after breakfast, telling in what direction they had gone, but giving a
false cue. He denied knowing either of them, and said they were entire
strangers to him, going on to give a minute description of the men and
their horses as though desirous of giving all the information he could,
but with an appearance and manner that created distrust. Being asked
if he knew Booth, he said he had been introduced to him at church in
the fall before, but had no other acquaintance with him. Being asked
if the man whose leg he had dressed was not Booth, he said he was not.
When told by the officer that he would have to search the house, his
wife went upstairs and brought down a boot that Mudd had removed from
Booth's foot by ripping it down in front, and it was seen that on the
inside of the boot leg, near the top, was written, "J. Wilkes," and
also the maker's name. Mudd was interviewed two or three times before
his arrest, and prevaricated every time so much that he frequently
contradicted himself. It was noticed that he was never at home when
called for, but was not far off, as he always made his appearance in
a short time when sent for by his wife. He was finally placed under
arrest; and upon the photograph of Booth being shown to him, and being
asked if that looked like Booth, he said he thought not, but finally
concluded there was some resemblance to Booth across the eyes. He was
taken to Washington and held as a prisoner. Mudd was a physician,
living on a farm. He had had a considerable number of slaves at the
breaking out of the rebellion, most of whom had left him during the
previous winter. His father also, living in the neighborhood, was a
large land and slave holder, and Mudd's disloyalty was no doubt of the
rabid type. His home was a place of resort for returned rebel soldiers
and recruiting parties, and he had a place of concealment in the pines
near his house, where they were sheltered and cared for, the doctor
sending their food to them by his slaves; and if, at any time, any of
these parties ventured to his house to take their meals, a slave was
always placed on watch to give notice of the approach of any one.
The letter of introduction to Dr. Mudd which Booth had, as related
by Arnold, had no doubt been presented in the fall, at the time Mudd
admitted having been introduced to him at church; and from that time
their intimacy commenced. This was in November, 1864.
About the 23d of December, 1864, Mudd visited Booth in Washington, and
introduced him to John H. Surratt, under the following circumstances:
Wiechmann and Surratt were on the street together, when Wiechmann
heard some one call, "Surratt! Surratt!" and turning round, they were
met by Dr. Mudd and Booth. Mudd introduced Booth to Surratt, and then
Surratt introduced both of them to Wiechmann. They went, by invitation
of Booth, to the National Hotel, where Booth had a room, and were
served by him with wine and cigars. Mudd went out into a passage and
called Booth. They remained out of the room for a short time, and
conversed in a low tone of voice. Upon their return to the room Booth
called Surratt, and the three went out again into the passage, and
were engaged for some time in a private conference. Upon their return,
Mudd made an explanation, by way of apology, to Wiechmann, saying that
Booth wanted to buy his farm, but he did not care to sell. Booth also
apologized, giving the same excuse. The three then took seats around
a table, when Booth took an envelope from his pocket, and upon this,
with his pencil, commenced drawing lines, as if marking roads. Whilst
engaged in doing this the three were conversing in so low a tone that
Wiechmann could not hear what was said.
Mudd made one or two other visits to Washington during the winter, and
his business seemed always to be with Booth and Surratt. At least, he
was always found in their company.
According to one of Mudd's various statements, Booth and Herold left
his house between three and four o'clock in the afternoon. It will be
noted that he at first denied their having been there at all. Then
he admitted that two strangers had been there on Saturday morning;
that he had dressed a broken leg for one of them, and had a crutch
made for him, and they left after breakfast. That they remained until
after Dana and his party passed down to Bryantown, there is no doubt;
and that they left as soon as possible, assisted by Mudd, after the
soldiers passed, as we have heretofore seen. Mudd, after his conviction
and sentence, whilst being conveyed to the Dry Tortugas, admitted,
voluntarily, to Captain Dutton that he knew Booth when he came to his
house on the morning of the 15th of April; and also that he went to
Washington in December by appointment with Booth, to introduce him to
Surratt. He might just as well have admitted his complicity in the
conspiracy. Mudd's expression of countenance was that of a hypocrite.
He had the bump of secretiveness largely developed; and it would
have taken months of favorable acquaintanceship to have removed the
unfavorable impression made by the first scanning of the man. He had
the appearance of a natural born liar and deceiver.
We have now Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, Edward Spangler, Lewis Payne, David
E. Herold, Samuel Arnold, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, and
Dr. Samuel Mudd under arrest and held for trial by the government under
the charge of being co-conspirators with John H. Surratt, Booth, and
others yet to be named, and still others unknown and who never will be
known. The evidence yet to be adduced makes it clear that there were
quite a number of these conspirators in Washington at the time of the
assassination who were never discovered, encouraging by their presence,
and aiding and abetting, Booth and his associates.
There are good reasons for believing that the purpose of Booth and his
fellow-conspirators was known to many, both in Canada and the United
States, who were interested in the destruction of our government. It
may yet happen that a sufficient amount of evidence may be found to
justify this, or some other writer, in making explicit charges that are
for the present withheld.
[Illustration: GEORGE E. ATZERODT.]
In regard to the persons above named who were put upon their trial,
the writer will only say that, in giving an account of the grounds of
arrest in each case, he has stated the facts proven by unimpeached
witnesses before the Commission, whose testimony governed the decisions
of the court in their respective cases, and that his statements of the
facts in evidence will be found to be fully vindicated by a critical
examination and study of the testimony as given by Pittman in his
official report of the trial. He feels sure that no one, with that
report before him, can impeach the account he has given of the parts
acted by each one of the prisoners named in this great tragedy; and
upon these facts must rest the judgment of mankind, as did the judgment
of the court.