The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1869-02-23

EXAMINATION AND RETNTERMENT |
OF JOHN WILKES BoorH Pursuant |
to AN order issued by the President TO |
Brig. Gen. Ramsey commander at the |
Arsenal at Washington, the remains of
John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of
the late President Lincoln, were given
up to his friends on Monday last. The
exhumation is thus described by an
eyewitness:
1.-TWO soldiers, detailed for thepurpose,
with q, style ofdigging which betokened
them as of the old Army of the Potomac,
In forty-five minutes had dugall around
the Booth box, buried in the Arsenal
grounds, so that it was pulled up by box
hooks inserted under its two ends. 1t
came to the surface in a sound state of
preservation. The rich dry soil having
even hardened the wood, which soil
largely persisted in clinging to the box
as if 10th to dispart from the body
which had SO long been EMBODIED by it,
The box was carefully lifted
to where the stone flooring had not
been disturbed. The soldiers with
shovels, and with n broken sword
which lay near by, carefully scraped
the adhering soil from the wood, and
WHEN the head end of the case was
reached the broken sword removed
several layers of soil, and then shone
| out the name, John Wilkes Booth, in
capital letters about an inch long each,
painted OH the white pinein blach paint.
The name had boon evidently painted
on sheet of tin, as packers mark their
boxes, because tie letters were rs print
| ed, and not as written letters The
remains were not exposed, but u single
general look was given the box after it
had been thus partially cleaned 1t
was then borne by four soldiers on their
shoulders to n little red express wagon,
into which it was placed. 4 blanket
was thrown across, and carefully secur-
ed underneath it, so as to cover up even
semblance of it. Not word was
said 10y single person. Thcsncgro who
drove the vehicle could not read, hence
the name on the box when he saw it
before it was covered over, was as
Greek to him. At a sign he drove OFF.
The little stubby sorrel broke into q
brisk trot and the body of John Wilkes
Booth was lerne on to the city, finally
in the custody of his kindred forest for
ever by the side of the father, the great
actor of tragedies, next to the son whose
deed and whose death constituted in
themselves the greatest tragedy
of the time. The streets of The capital
were crowded with people coming
home from work. The little wagon
attracted no attention, for four men and
a small box covered with stable blan-
ket were not calculated to excite even
curiosity. 1t was driven to Mari &
Harvey's, undertakers, on F street
Washington, where the pine box was
encased in another larger one, and n
night it left in the train for Baltimore
where Edwin Booth had given instruc
tons to have the remains placed in
, rosewood coffin, and with entire pri
vacy to bury them alongside of hi
father, Junius Brutus Booth i'm Green
mount Cemetary on tuesday,
, The body was colIlned and placed il
, q receiving tomb, at Baltimore yester
q day, where it will remain until Edwin
Booth arrives to direct its intcrment il
the family tomb at Greenmount, which
l will be done in the most private man
: ncr.
2 "