Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-10-11
Mr.. spangler Takes his Pen I'm Hand.
Mr.. SPASGLER, late of Pord's Theatre,
writes as follows to friend in Baltimore:

ToRTuGAs ISLAND, Sep Is 1865
MY DEAR FRIEND: take my pen in hand
to rite to you these feu lines to let you know
that am we'll and hope you are the same
this is n purity hard place TO live the sun is
very hot and we have hard grub. salt horse
and one piece Of bread whe sometimes get
! soup there Is some small fish in the brake
water that we can catch from our cell win.
dow but we have no FISH hooks small enough
here and have no money to send for thin,
there is suffers store here you can get any
thing you want If you have money there Is
about 500 hundred prisoners here, whe have
the privilege Of going over the whole island
it is about l3 acirs Of sand and some fieu
trees am at work at my trade. You have
no doubt been acquainted with the fact and
circumstances connected with my trial and
sentence and Imprisonment.
Nothing that can say or do can alter the
opinion Of the world or the Publick. Before
God and oil that is sacred am perfectly in
nocent of all the charges and specifications
brought against me by the prosecution,
had no knowledge or idea Of anything, nor
did aid or assist the william or the assassin
of the President either before or aftor the as
sassination you know that was not more in
innate than others that around him not as
much as some Of them. He asked me to see
to his horses wich l did he said that he
would make me hanSOmd preSen wich he did,
St1 years on the Hand Of Dry Tbrtugas
never enjoyed his confidence or his favour
except occasionally when we met at a
restaurant he would ask me to have something
to drink had nothing to do with him on the
evening of the assassination more than any
other man similarly situated could have He
came to the Theatre called me and asked IL
could hold his horse wich declined for the
reason / had my work to attend to on the
stage. .'" d" %
called Pea nut John to hold his horse,
who held him until he came out after mur-
dering the President did not know what
had taken place until the deed had bin COM
, Dited and Booth made his escape from the
Theater. Inever shut the door after his escape
nor did l know nor had eany thing to do
with the mortice in the wall or boring the
loosing the screws all this I was charged with
as being Guilty or suspicioned Of having done
but before God who know will hold me ac-
oountable II / lie knieu nothing or herd
nothing about the existance of eany such
thing until after the assassination when I
was asked concerning 1t all the evidence in
my case is known l leave II to all honest and
unprudicial people to judge Of my Innocence
or guilt. hI'.' 'f =
Crate injustice has been done me by some
false witnesses from whom expresses prier to
my trial know acted by gain or reward. I
wish you would see and sec wether he
ever received my statement that. sent him
with young man by the name of welsh and
If he has to let me know what he Is going
to do with it please and send me some small
fish hooks some or three fly hooks in litter
and little mony to buy postage stamps and
some paper, there is a niggar regiment here
to guard the place Give my love to all my
enquiring Friends and let me know what
they think of me am here suffering here
wich 1 am innocently yours Most Repct-
fully EDMAN SPANGLER,