The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1879-09-10
THE DEATH OF J. WILKES BOOTH,
story of the Man who Commanded at
Booths Cspture-BostOn Corbetts Shot
Distributing the Reward.

1
Booths Cspture-BostOn Corbett's Shot
Distributing the Reward.
A reporter of the New Orleans Plea
ystne has recently interviewed Captain
Edward p. Doherty, who commanded
the detachment that captured Booth and
Harold after the assassination of Presi-
| dent Lincoln, and that officers story of
the pursuit and its result appears in the
| PScGyune of August Is. The story of the
surrender of Harold and the shooting
of Booth in barn near Bowling Green
is told as follows:
"After Garrett had designated the di-
rection of the barn, Captain Doherty
said to Sergeant Boston Corbett, Dis
mount your men, detail few to watch
the house, and bring the remainder
here. Captain Doherty then surrounded
the barn with his men, and, going to the
front door, placed a lighted candle,
which he had held in his hand for some
time, near the front entrance Of the
barn and in the vicinity of large crack
or opening. Unlocking the door, Cap
tain Doherty called upon those in the
barn to come out and surrender, but no
answer was made to this and subsequent
frequent and loud demands of a like
character. Captain Doherty then passed
around among his sentinels who sur
rounded the barn, when he was in
formed that whispering and the moving
of hay had been heard from the inside.
Captain Doherty then said: If you
don't come out I'll set fire to the build
ing and burn you OUT AS there was no
answer even to this, Captain Doherty
ordered Corporal Newgarten to pile
some shavings and nay in the opening
and set fire. to it.. While he was piling
it up voice said to the corporal: II
you come back there I'll put bullet
through you Captain Doherty, who
was standing near Newgarten, then
quietly ordered him to desist, and de-
termined to wait till daylight before
making any further demonstrations.
At this time quite long conversa-
tion occurred between Captain Doherty
and J. Wilkes Booth. The former, after
hearing the threat of the latter, called
again for surrender, when Booth re-
piled: Who do you take us for p Cap
tain Doherty responded: 1t don't make
any difference who take you for. I'm
going to arrest YOU Then Booth said:
Boys, fetch me stretcher; another
stain in our glorious banner
Walking around the barn and re-
turning near the door, Captain Doherty
heard whispered conversation between
Booth and Harold from the inside.
Booth then said aloud: l am crippled
and alone, give me chance for my life;
draw your men up at twenty-five PAGES
and ! will come out
Captain Doherty replied: 1 didn't
come here to fight, but to capture you.
| have fifty men here and can do it.
lin the meantime Harold had ap-
preached the door, when Captain Do
herty said to him, Let me see your
hands, when Harold put both hands
out through the door, and Captain Do
herty seizing them, handed Harold
over to the corporal at the door.
" While this conversation was going on,
and as Captain Doherty was in the act of
taking Harold out of the front door, the
barn had been fired in the rear. The
flames burst suddenly forth. Booth,
who had left his position in the barn to
the right of the opening referred to
above, near the candle, took position
in the center of the barn facing the
door, and raising his carbine, pointed it
in the direction of Harold and Captain
Doherty, when Sergeant Corbett, who
was stationed at one of the openings in
the barn to the left of Booth, observing
the movement, leveled a large-sized
Colts revolver at Booth and fired, in
tending to hit him in the arm for the
purpose of disabling him, but the ball
entered his neck, about one inch from
the same point that Booth shot Presi-
dent Lincoln.
"On hearing the shot, and being at
the time ignorant of the movement or
intention of Booth. Captain Doherty
supposed that he had shot himself rather
than surrender, when the officers rushed
into the barn, and by the light of the
burning building, saw BJoth with the
carbine between his legs, one of his
crutches having dropped, and Booth in
the act of falling forward, when Captain
Doherty caught him with both arms
around the body and carried him out
side of the barn and laid him down, but
the heat becoming too intense, Captain
Doherty ordered him removed under the
veranda of the Garrett mansion.
"lSoldiers were then dispatched in
different directions for doctors, but only
one, DR.. UTquart, could be found, he
arriving about A. NJ, and after probing
the wound, pronounced it fatal, the ball
having ranged upward, cutting a vital
part.
From the time that Booth was shot,
five o'clock, to the time he expired, two
hours later, he spoke but once, and that
was to Capt. Doherty, shortly before six
O'Clock, when he said to him, Hands.
Capt. Doherty lifted up his hands, when
Booth looked at them for an instant,
and, shaking his head, exclaimed: Use
less, useless A short time after this he
became unconscious, and so remained
until he expired.
Capt. Doherty, after wrapping the
body of Booth in his saddle blanket,
sewed the blanket together with his own
hands, and, having placed the body on
cart which was obtained from an old
negro residing about two miles distant,
proceeded with the body and the
prisoner, Harold, to Belle Plain, where
the Ide was awaiting the return of the
command, which arrived at 6 p. NJ,
when the Ide proceeded to Washington,
where the body of. Booth and the
prisoner, Harold, were turned over to
the officers of the United States iron-clad
monitor Montauk, Captain Doherty hav-