The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-06-28
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The True Story of the Assassins-
tion.
As Told for the First Time by the
Manager of the Theater.


Manager of the Theater.
| Baltimore Special TO Cincinnati Enquirer
The impression has long prevailed
that Mr.. John II. Ford, who was Man
| ager of FOrd'S Theater at the time tn,
BOoth-LincOln assassination occurred
| was familiar with facts in connection
with the matter that had never ap
peared in print, and he was approach
| ed by a Gazette reporter and asked i
such was the case Mr.. Ford remarked
that he had frequently been requested
| to give expressions to his views on the
subject, however, ensued, the sub
stance of which, with Mr.. Ford's per.
| mission, we print. 1t throws some
light on the great tragedy. Mr.. FOrC
| said:
John Wilkes Booth was trained
from earliest infancy to consider the
| almost deified assassin BrutLs just as
Shakespeare immOrtalized him. Hi.
| father was named "Junius Brutus.' .
His brother is now the bearer of thai
surname. The great Booth frequently
appeared in the play of "Julius Cesar, y
and not later than 1864 three of his
sons acted the three leading characters
of the play to an audience that sp.
plauded the sentiments of "BrutuS"
to the echo.
Now trace the assassination of Lin
coin: On the morning of April a.
1865, Booth, who had conspired fol
six months previous to abduct Presi-
dent Lincoln and convey him a pris-
oner to the South, was the last guest
at breakfast at the National Hotel in
Washington. The surrender at Apo
mattoX had ended all chance for him
to carry out his original conspiracy.
He left the hotel after IL o'clock that
morning, and walked up sixth street
to H, and stopped at the Surratt
House, where he met the widow who
kept it returning from the religious
service of Good Friday, and then in
the act of going to her former country
place-the vehicle to convey her al
ready at the dOOr-tO collect some
money due her, so as to pay what was
due 10y her to the Calvert estate.
Booth, when informed of her in
tended visit, requested her to get some
articles belonging to him that he had
left at the country tavern, and then,
bidding her adieu, he walked up II
street to Tenth and down Tenth to the
theater.
When he reached there it was about,
or probably little later than twelve
o'clock, midday. There he heard for
the first time that both President Lin
coin and General Grant were to visit
the theater that night. The private
box was in process of decoration. The
White House messenger had been
there an hour before to secure its use.
| believe, and all reliable written or
oral testimony confirms that belief,
that then and there the terrible thought
of the assassination first suggested
itself 1t came like this: eff | failed
to serve the South in my conspiracy
to abduct, | can now he her Brutus."
This thought fastened on his brain,
and led him to 90 from the theater to-
ward the KirkwOOd House to have a
conference with some of his old con-
spiratOrs. John Surratt was away,
OIaughlin was in Baltimore, and
Arnold was in a suffers store at Fort
ress Monroe. They knew the abduc-
ton conspiracy had been abandoned,
but Payne, AtZerOdt and HerOld were
in Washington. These latter he got
together, and conspired with them to
kill the President, the victorious Cen
eral and some of the Cabinet. He
must have written between the time
he parted with his cO-cOnspiratOrs and
the hour he again appeared at the the-
ater, a lengthy statement for publica-
ton, excllsing his intended crime by
Roman PRECEDENT. When dying he
referred to it for his justification. He
gave on the evening of the 14th a
package to an actor, directing its de-
livery the next day to the National
HteUigeHcer.
The actor confesses that he, frighten-
ed at the risk he ran, broke the seal,
read the enclosed matter, and at mid
night burnt it, If that package had
been preserved it would lave revealed
the declaration that until noon that
day its writer had not premeditated
murder; but, feeling deeply the hu-
initiation of the South, to the people
of which he bore all the love that Bru-
tus ever bore for Rome, he would
strike down that night the leading
men of the victorious hosts, who were
then shouting their peans of triumph.
When dying, with his face lit up with
the blaze of the burning barn upon the
Garrett farm, just at the break of day
on the morning of April oath he mut>
tered some words. a soldier bent
over him and caught them from his
fast ebbing breath. First message
to his mother: ''Tell her I did it as l
thought for the best" And then he
said; "Tell others that the cQmmqni-
cation / wIOte addressed to the Ma
tiOndL HlteLigencer will explain why
| did what l did,"
During the conspiracy trial at the
Arsenal, Hon. Joseph Holt, the Judge
Advocate, called John f. COyle, then
the publisher of the National Iptelyi-
gencer, and asked if that cOmmunica-
ton had ever been received? His re-
ply was mo-" 1t was, GantinHed Mr..
Ford, burnt in the CRATE of chamber
of bOarding-hOuse, and Catholic
priest, now living in Washington,
had the fact confessed to him soon af-
terward / had the occurrence re-
vealed to me, with the added infor-
nation of the confession by the party
who was the custodian Of the package
This fully sustains my theory that
| John Wilkes Booth had not c0ntem-
plated assassination of President Lin
coin when he met Mrs. Surratt al
midday, and he never met her again
In order 10 demonstrate that his
brain was turned by the poetic and
dramatic glamour which transmitted
the story of the Roman assassination,
said Mr.. Ford, it is but just to describe
| him at this time: In person he was
remarkably handsome, with face o.
singular manly beauty, in perfect
health, less than twenty-siX year,
OF age, and almost idOlihed by hi:
| friends, As an actor he could earn al
| least ten thousand dollars per annum
He was so popular in Boston that dur
ing an engagement at the Museum
hundreds of ladies have waited to see
him leave the stage to go to his hotel
The facts and opinions will, ] think
show the great danger of glOrifyinl
assassination under any circumstances
| "IuIius Caesar" was to Rome the uni
on Of the aoholar, soldier and gentle
| man. Mighty "Caesar." All Rome
| did love him once, not without cause
Yet "Cassius" did say, "HOw man!
ages hence shall this our lofty scene bt
acted over in States unborn and ac
cents unknown" "Was this" addeC
Mr.. Ford, i'll closing the interview
"the incarnation of dramatic prophe
cy, Suggesting the crime that QOcqrrel
1909 Years after, lin States unhOrI
and accents yet unknown when Ce
sar died?''
A Romance Of the School ksom.
| New YORK Times