The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1865-07-13
FINAL ACT OF THE TRAGEDY,
THE EXECUTION.
Last Hours Of the Condemned.
HOW TEEYPiSSED TIE NIGHT.


TslesroPhie cons'pondesce Ctncinns,i Commercial
WAsnISeroS. July Z.
Tho last tragic chapter Of the great con.
spiraty To assassiuatc the President aud
! cabinet is finished. To-day, at half past
/ o'clock, within the Pcnitcntiury walls,
whore they were tried and convicted Low.
I. is Payue, Powell, Mary f.. Surrutt, n.
,id T.. Harold, aud George A zerot;i.
were hanged by the neck until the,
were dead, in execution OF the sentence
of the Military Commission, duly approv.
ed by the Prcsidnni, for the crimes of
conspiracy, treason and murder. The
painful scene was unattended by any cx-
traordinary accident or incident, aud was
conduc,cl in the most solemn. aud quiet
manner.
AT noon yesterday, the condemned
were notified &c the sentence Of death.
aud in o short time thereafter their friends
aud spiritual advisers were ia ther pres.
encc. During tho afternoon, III, con.
dcmned were rcmovcd from the upper
row and pl,ced in the ground fljor cells.
| Their companions in crime -. Mudd
| Spangicr, O'Laughliu aud Arnold-re
named in the Third tier Of cells, unaware
of the sentence Of their fellow. prisoners,
or OF their own. Mrs. Surratt was kept
in her old cell, attended by her daughter,
Anna SurrLtt and two Catholic clergy
men os this city. During tue night. she
was very much oppressed, aud suffered
| t.,- H.. 81.
A good deal of her time was spent ia
religious ex rcise, land she did not, there.
fore sleep any. Aside from her daughter,
one or two friends were allowed to sac
her, Uui each time in presence of an off
Ger. During the night Mrs. Surait con-
vcrsed freely with the Catholic priests
on the crime iOr which she was convict
ed, claiming tin, she was innocent of nny
completely Of the ss'ossni o .f the Presi
dent. Breakfast was served to her ut the
usu1 hour this morning, but she declined
to eat anything. Mss Anna Surratt, who
Visited the Presidents house this morn
ing returned to her mothers cell, and re.
mained with her to u quarter before one
when she took .th, last farewell in the
most aguniz d state of nlini.
| 10y llt FNfnl VIZ ulINN NNu UOTN III VI.
company with II Rsv. DR.. Gillette, Baptist
minister, with whom he held close con-
verse, except for three hours wheH he
slept He very freely cJnversed with
Dr.. Gillette On religious topics during the
morning, sitting Us erect us he did in the
court room. From hi conversation il
appears that he was raised religiously aud
belonged to tic Baptist church until the
breaking out Of the rebellion. He up.
ipcarcd to be sincerely repcniant, and IL
his cell SHE'D tears freely. He gave his
advisers several cUinm;s .iJ:s OF private
character, and stated that he was willing
t. meet bis God, asking all mcu to fer
give, aud iorgiyiug all men wiz had done
aught against him. Colonel D1ster, hi.
} counsel, also took leave of him during
the morning, as well as AZ rota. Payne
ate his b caklast as usual. M lriead oI
relative appeared TO see him. During
the conversation, Payne said. that in at
: tempting to kill Secretary S,ward, h,
claimed TO be confederate suldier. -
Aside from that he added that he balievet
liz would give peace ITO the South. IL,
thinks now II was all wrong, aud blame:
: the rebel leaders for his death, though b,
, did not fear to die. Several tunes he ex
pressed his thanks for the kindness whicl
he had received from the officers Will,
in prison. He stated that he was led in
) to the nspiracy by Booth and John Sur
ratt.
; IIcrrold was visited by an Episcopa
minister this morning. he did not remain
long. Five Of his sisters spent most al
the forenoon with him, his mother ant
two other sisters being too i'll 10 visit
| him.
Azcroth, during all of last night AM
to-day, seemed TO bctrdy great tear HI
was nervous aud excited, aud declared
that he ives afraid to die, aud that II
= wus not prepared. Two ministers at.
: tended him but he did not appear TO b.
rcligicusly comiorttd. A'zcruth state
to these gentlemen, last night, that JUhI
Surrutt induce d him. To join tie cUnspirac
10 abduct the President, aud that Surrat
came TO Port Tobacco, Mary yland, to &c
him, with boat, to take the Prcsiden
{ across tho Potomac, after he was alb
Y ducl ed.
This morning Atzarlth conversed free
/ ly with two ministers, an1 before goin
to the gallows he made the lollowin
statement lie said he took room I
: the Klrkwcod House, on Thursday, Apr
d l3, in order to get a pass from Vice
!, President Johnson, TO 20 to Richmond =
Booth was to leuse the Richmond Thea
ter, and the Presidenl was to be invite
a to attend il when visiting Richmond, un
. captured there.
. ii rrold brought the pistol and knife
" the room about half past Two O'Clock o
u Friday. He (Alzeroth) said he woul
" not have anything 10 do with the murde
y vi Johnson, when Booth said Herrol
.s had more courage than AtzerUth,. and i
|, wanted Atzerolh to be with Herrold
;. urge him TO do il. There was meetin
>, at a restaurant about the middle OF Marc
at which JIhn Surratt, O'Laughlal
. Booth, Arnold, Payne, Harrold and hin
self were present, when plan to cnI
j the President was discussed. They la
u heard the President was to visit CAM
:, and they proposed to capture him, coac
, and all, drive through Langold fields t
4. b., ten miles IN Mlry land, where tn
couch wus to be left, and fresh horse
we're to be got, and the party would pro
ceed to the river to take boat. Harro!
'e took buggy 10 T. g., ia anlicipatio
e that Mr.. Lincoln would be captured, an
u he was to 90 with the party to the river
Y Slavery Lad put him on the side of tn
= South, He had heard it preached i
!. church that the curse Of God was upo
slaves, for they were turned black. ii
always hated the negro, and he lelt thu
- they Qhe negroes) should be kept in ig
norance. fl had not received any moi
II ey from Booth, although he had bee
promised that If they were successil
they would never want that they wouI
be honored throughout the South, an
that they could secure an exchange {
. prisoners, and The recognition OF the cor
D iederacy.