, 1869-02-19
JOHN WILKES BOOTH,
IT, nlovnl OF his kemRfns-BurIa1
Washington {Fch ~ Correspondence OF tho NeN
fn,k World

On last Friday John II. Weaver prcscnteda
letter from Edwin Booth TO Andrew johnson,
simply requesting the custody oil his hrother's
body, aud il was grant ID. | wsa present this
| afternoon at the arsenal, with Me=srs. Weaver,
Matr, and Harvey, ana tho events which oc-
| Cured were so brief and purely official that
| II required tLI associations Of the time and
place. and the memory Of all the tragedies
| tAe-cfn eliminating, t. enforce the suggest
iven es ii net the historical Importance Of
the scene, cren on the most impressive mind.
As said, the gentlemen entrusted With the re-
ception Of the remains arrived at the Arsenal
yard at 4 2. m. Mr.. Weaver, bearing the Or
der to General Ramsey, delivered it to Cap
I tain +. u. Phipps, oi the Ordnance Corps,
Officer Of the Day in charge. Nj. Weayer's
interview With Captain Phipps lasted some Is
that lime the Captain and Mr.. Weaver reap
peaFcd. The rrst Of the party, including your
correspondent, followed them to two ponder
Gus iron doors, which doyetaiied on Que
another, and which were opened by Mr. Tap
50. tic civilian Superintendent OF the ware
| housc. Tie doors were exactly as those Of
| vault. Entering tito the warehouse, TIC
found that before the varied contents Of the
long room strctchlu" aeead could bc scanned,
suor: turn to thu left brought us to the
| buried booth nEd subsequently the rest OF
tie copspitators, US they arc called, and yet
more Subsequently Captain Wirz, the Anaer-
sonyil1e jailer. Tie room is a rcctanglc
about forty BY twenty !eet, and about twcu-
ty feet hiIh also. It is lined With shcavcs
running mp and across SO Us to for1n very many
square pigeon holes, which afe filled with
| boxes, bottles, tools and other od.!s aud ends.
| many other articles. kisht in the centre OF
| the room the ordinary GsgstoEe 1ooring had
] been taken up. and tho gaps left by the dis
J iutcrtnert Of Mrs, Sur'att, on Monday last.
been filled up. The cartn was heaped high
y on both sides. The peculiarly Of the graves
0 | is tha tthey arc no graves. A single trench,
| Hive feet high. fifteen feet long, and si1 feet
- wide, Inns held the ugly boxes which cont ained
II Nirz, Lewis Payne alias Powell, George 4.
a. Atzetodt, David E. Harold, aud john Wilkes
a. Booth. Mrs. Surratt's dfsintertncnl lett the
~ boxes holding Wirz, md PayLc, and Atzcrodt
to quite visible. Harolu's cxhumatlon last
ol night would iiayc revealed Ill. box holding
'c Buoth had not The latter bccn covered np I'M
: med att1y af1erward. In this sort Of e1tIs
~ importance was given to the lcader. Iii:
i. III 'srenains werc lef. tor the time exposed
| succeeding dislntesmcnts rcvea.td tlGn
&c until the word calne to have himself hornt
u to cotsscrated erourd The party oEcc lt
D. the room, Captain Plipps courtcously ant
nd quietly informed us Of tic relative position
Of the ft1nalus O.. each vi IT,: dead. lii
4e- spectators were only three undtrtakers,
military officer, ard q Journalist, but dcEptt
M the hardness Which The !apiiiarity Will
|
RAJ work upon such minds, there was ssme
" thing OF folcmtfty o1d sadness and awiu1ncs
AH at these graves Which ioned the voice to 10y
'ek utfeFancc, induced cacl 1nau to remove hi
-. hat, nnd made conversation hssin with MI
" crd on the mcrcst necessities Of III: case
t1s | As much of respect as could be wns paid t
OF | The presence Of he dead. In tivc lniuulcs
md file Of soldiers came IN. aud fu rep 5n$c to a
mr. order Of Captain Phipps, frll to wor
- ut tic unburia!. Booth lay last Of the seri.
leu ot victims. To get at him 1t was n
ressary, il the trench be pursued at JIG KS
he nS opening, to take Ut. Atzcrodt and FaSn
~ That was tried, hu: ihe wnrk Il was so, .,
lud soldiers were ordered to come out OF tt
'on grave, throw back the r1sht ham, pile OF u
rrsi earth upon thu collins, 50 called, Of Atzerot
On aud 1Yirz. }n.t visible. and to open tue trcn9
real from its farther cnd so ns to reach t}onth d
J O. rrctly. The work thus iar had becn usclc
70 and had consumed an hour Of very rrccio,
:, ' J, lime. The soldiers, however, wlth style
II ~ y. digging wlirh bctokcncd them a. Of the o
ron Army or tho Potomac,tn tlttccu minutes thrt
tuc in about three tons ot earth, and In for.y.h
Ftih minutes moro had dug all around the Bou
aant box 80 that 1t was pulled up by box ion
'dSe inserted under It's sKo ends. 1t ca'ac
IL. ~. the surfacc-t4c bo1-tn sound s'4tc OF p
nns. tcryntion-thc rich dry soil layluS even h
re-. dcncd tho wood. which soil largely pcr is1ed
by rllne3rg to The box as If 10th To 'll'part tr
the tody which had 20 long been cntolt
by 1t. The box was carefully lifted to VT.
:; ~ the stoic flooring had Not been disiur5
\ The eofdicrs With slnyels. mud with Irol
titan sword Which lay near ny, carefully RcraI
the ndhrring En1l from the wo3l, n,1 w1
the llead epl Of tue ease was reached
ycs. broken sword removed several layers Of
md then s1lUuc out the name, John Vii
Eaotl, In cap!tal letters about nh iuc!l /
raFk each, painted on the white pine IN black ~
tatcs | III, norn hnh 1,cro cvidently u.intct]
@ saa across ehcct Of lin, ss packers uark I
ssrre luxts, because thu letters wsre as printed
.,sas not as written letters. The remains were
their c1noscd. but single general look was e
tu.d, | tlc tsoX after 1t Dad htcn thus p1rtl
y .os c1cansed 1t WIS rhcn tornc by four soldier
renre their shoulders to the little red cxl
n2t. "Akou, iAIo " u!c1 ~ WE llaItu koliti5
across and carefully secured under 1t, $
to coycr up escn q semb}auce oi It. n
word VAS said by single person. Tho nj
who drove the vehicle could not read h
=, Cha the namc Gu the boz wheu he saw 1t bt
before II was covered over was as Grcrk to
.er1ay At ki1nal he droye of. Good day
with a thinks to Captain Phipps and his sui
c that were exchanged. The little stubhy =
. as, broke into brisk trot, the negro viii
ss,ua. Champagne Charlie, the ecntl,
aefs aaa tha Up body 5 q John wEcs S Booth
I'd re- borne on to 1hc city, tibally in The clsto
DIE On his kndr, d, 10 rest forcver by ti.a side o
o. hie father, tic great actor Ct tragedies, re
81 70 | the son II hose deed aua whose death cs
!e oe. tNted IN themselves ne rFca'esl :a tfage
= head crowded with people coming home
E case | work The little wagol attracted no a
DR. 70 / 1iUn, for four men and small h'x COZ
nv. with Il stIliie blanket wcrr not calculate
4''"o excite even curiosity. To~1uorro1, 0
- O'Clock, probatly before Baltimore kuo
tnt6o,, vr'uud. and the long war oi thc govern
~ nj tftr limited States ncaipst corpse y