New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-09-23
\ FHEE1Nco1H TRAGEDY.
"Reminiscences. Of Harry Ford.


A Star reporter finding himself costly
seated in the Office at Ford's Opera
house, and Mr.. Harry Ford in a vein of
Renaissance, led Mr.. Ford's mind back
score of years to the events attending
the assassination of President Lincoln
at the Tenth Street Theatre. "The day
of the assassination, said Mr.. Ford,
Booth came down Tenth street to the
theatre, and stopped there to read let
ter. can very we'll remember seeing
him sitting on the steps outside. I told
him then that President Lincoln and
General Grant were coming to the
theatre that night. I said that Presi-
dent Lincoln and General Grant would
occupy one box, and added as joke to
tease him that JEFF Davis and General
Lee would be in another box. He de-
nounced General Lee very vigorously
for having surrendered the sword, of
Virginia. That evening, after the per-
Torrance began, he came to the theatre,
and as he passed the Office box, he looked
into the window, and, putting his arm
through, placed cigar which he had
partly smoked on a shelf inside, and
said, in mock heroic bombastic furioso
style.
"sWho e'er this cigar dare displace
Must meet Wilkes Booth face to face
"Then he passed into the theatre"
"Did he ever return for the cigar?"
asked the Star reporter.
"No. Those were the last words /
ever heard him speak. He must have
said them to mislead us, for his plans,
it seems, were already laid and it was
part of the plan, as I heard afterward,
that Payne was to assassinate Seward,
Atzerott should kill johnson at the
K;rkwood House, and Booth shoot the
president simultaneously. So he knew
just what he was going to do, and how
much time he had.'
ssLater i'll the evening"" continued
Mr.. Ford, "we heard pistol-shot in
the theatre. Joe Sessford and [ were
in the treasurer's Office. We thought
at first that it was the pistol fired by
Asa Trenchard in the play-Laura
Keene was playing Our American Cous-
in; but then it struck us as little too
early in the evening. We opened a
little window that looked into the
theatre, and saw Booth crouching on the
stage with a knife in his hand. Even
then we could not tell what had hap
pened, and no one seemed to know We
thought at first that some one had in
suited Booth and he had pursued the
man across the STAGE A few minutes,
which seemed an hour, passed before
the whole terrible truth was known"
You were among those who were ar
rested, were you not 2" asked the Star re,
porter.
II was arrested, I think, on the Sun
day following the assassination, and
taken down to the old Carol prison,
fronting upon the capital grounds. I
was treasurer of the theatre, and nv
brother, James r. Ford, better known
as Dick Ford, was manager. My
brother, John T. Ford, who owned the
theatre, was arrested at his home in
Baltimore after his return from Rich
mond. He had run down there to see
our uncle, mothers only brother, Mr..
VIM. Greaner. Nearly everybody about
the theatre was put under arrest-the
carpenter, the assistant carpenter, the
property man, and others. Nearly
every one around here professionally
related to Booth was arrested, and the
Virginia and Maryland farmers along
the river. who were supposed to have
assisted Booth in his escape in any way,
by harboring him, giving him food, or
shelter, or boats, We're arrested, and
they were all sent to the prison where I
was. So we had plenty of company.
"Did I enjoy it? Well I would not
have missed the experience for great
deal. It was rare mixture desert
ers, bounty jumpers. and prisoners of
state, governors, legislators, and men of
every station. Still, it was rather
rough the first week. We were kept in
close and solitary confinement. Each
man had room by himself and was not
allowed to leave it or to see any one.
I remember that when my brother
was brought IN I saw him in the yard.
The guards would not let me go to him
or speak to him. After John T. was
arrested his family came over from
Baltimore. His wife applied to Secre-
tary Stanton for pass to go to the pri-
son and see him, but Stanton refused.
There we were left alone in our dun
geons in dreadful uncertainty. I re-
member the day of the funeral cere-
monies at the Capitol. I could see
nothing, but could hear the solemn
booming Of guns, the dismal beating of
muffled drums, playing dead marches,
and the steady tramp of feet. That
was not very cheering music for our
ears. We did not know but the
people in their excitement would mob
the prison and lynch us, for some of
the men arrested had been stoned in the
street. Our fare was coarse prison
food, soup and beans and dry bread.
Even this experience had its comic side,
We used to have tin cups, and every