Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-04-15
plants from the War Department.. 1t reads

| thus:
send to the department in the morning
copies Of all orders which you have received,
I touching the matter of visiting or communi-
eating with the prisoners confined on board
the ironclads: also copies of all orders you
| have given and copies of any permits granted
| by yourself to visitors to go on board these
| vessels. Report the names of all visitors, male
and female, to see the body of the assassin
| Booth. whether his hair was touched, and
what authority parties had for doing these
/ things. G. W."
In reply the commandant stated that after
the orders referred TO were received they were
| obeyed implicitly.
| LIEUT.. COMMANDER STONES REPORT.
The report of Lieut. Commander E. E. Stone.
| inclosed by the commandant with his own re-
ply to the Navy Department, said:
''Sir: 1t appears from the best information
can gather from the officers Of the ship that on
the 9th instant, at 80 a. m. tug came along
side. on board of which was Col. Baker, the de-
tective, with dead body, said to be that of j.
W. Booth, the assassin. said body was passed
on board with the implied understanding
that 1t had been put on board for safe-keeplng.
No orders whatever we're left with the officer
of the guard or the commanding officer of the
vessel concerning it, nor was any written au-
thority for so disposing of it shown to any
officer of the vessel. 1t was most informal
and unnilitary proceeding. which should have
been nipped in the bud. The only restrictions
to viewing the corpse were to strangers and
workmen not employed on board OF the vessel.
Persons known to the officers of the army and
navy were permitted to come on board.
lady accompanied by two naval officers came
on board to visit the ship, and not to crafty a
morbid curiosity. About IL o'clock m. Sur
geon General Barnes came on board, and,
| without asking for the captain of the guard or
commanding officer of the vessel, or showing
any written authority informing any officer
who he was. or seeming to pay the slightest re-
spect to the military etiquette due one officer
from another. walks up to the corpse and COM
mences to cut adrIft the wrappings. He was
stopped by Capt Munroe, with the inquiry as
TO his authority for so doing. He replied. by
order of the Secretaries of War and of Navy
and afterward Maj. Exert produced the written
order. Hair was cut from the corpse by one of
the assistants who accompanied Surgeon Cen
eral Barnes and am led to believe that it
a portion of that hair which some naval officer
very foolshly boosted of possessing. AS soon
as the order from you to permit no visiting
cept by passes from the secretary was received.
it was promptly obeyed. The proceeding of
taking the body from the ship was of the same
informal nature. l am sorry to say that was
not present at either time, or L should have
put a stop to 1t. No persons except those duly
authorized have been permitted even to see
the prisoners now confined on board"
On April 80 the commandant announced his
relief from the troublesome charge that had
been imposed upon him in the following teie-
gram: In obedience to telegram received at
O'Clock last night the prisoners in my charge
were delivered at 1870 pm. to Gen. Hancock,
and under military guard they left the yard at
ii o'clock"