Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1897-06-12
SAW LINCOLN KILLED
A MAN WHO WAS AT FoRD's THEA
TER ON THE FATAL NIGHT.

TER ON THE FATAL. NIGHT.
II. w. Lewis Was In the Gallery When He
Heard the Shot Fired and Saw the Pres
First Shot In the War.
The Sun printed letter from Brook
lyn correspondent asking If The Sun had
ever heard of or from anybody who at
tended the theater in Washington on the
right that Abraham Lincoln was shot be-
sides those who became more or less well
Known by their connection with the Incl
donts Of that night"
Tho Sun has received several letters from
persons who were In Ford's theater on the
night of Lincoln's assassination or know of
others who were there. One of these let
ters said that Henry w. Lewis Of 81 VOL
colt street, Brooklyn, witnessed the muir
der of the president. A Sun reporter went
to see Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lewis is 90 years
old and somewhat feeble in health, but has
a vigorous memory He recalls with lively
interest the occurrences in Ford's theater
on the night of April IA, 1866. In his
younger days Mr.. Lewis used TO be a sea-
man. BY the time he was 90 years old he
had been around tho world. He saw the
gold rush to California and that to Aus
tralia, which country he visited in 1850
In the latter part of the civil war Mr.
Lewis was employed on the government
transport Constitution, which Piled be-
tween Washington and the Army of the
Potomac in Virginia.
On April IA the Constitution reached
Washington from City Point, where she
had delivered a cargo of bread for the
army. She brought back part of the Ninth
corps to Washington. When she reached
town, the members Of the crew read that
Lincoln and Grant would attend Ford's
theater that night
81 had often seen Lincoln said Mr..
Lewis, "but had never seen Grant, and l
proposed to several of my mates to go TO
the theater to see Grant and the play, Our
american Cousin. We arrived at the
theater just before the performance was to
begin. There were no seats to be had, and
we passed in ON admission prices and stood
up behind the seats in the upper gallery.
Newatched the incidents of the night ca
gcrly, and in the third act of the play heard
the pistol shot that Booth fired
INSTANTLY there was much confusion.
I think the excitement in the gallery was
as great as that in the other parts of the
theater, of which so much has been writ
ten. There was q great commotion and
great craning of necks. remember dis
tinctly seeing Lincolns head drop to his
arm. He was unconscious, of course, and
TO one had yet reached him. l also saw
Booth jump to the stage and sink to the
floor on one knee. We could tell that he
was saying something just before he drag
pcd himself off the stage. The noise in
he place was that of a roar by this time.
Those in the gallery were ON their feet,
and we could see no more. A stampede
began, such as suppose occurs at a time
Ot fire in q theater. To this day do not
know how reached tho street. l have
absolutely no recollection about it and
never had. My mates also did not remom-
Der how they got out. All we knew was
that we were swept out Of the place and
found the street thronged. 1t was sad
might, and We were late in reaching our
quarters.
Cautiously enough, in all my work and
an what few journeys have made since,
have never met man and never heard of
one except the officials who were in Ford's
JheateF on that night Instead of there
correspondent suggested, there must have
hcen $500. There was standing room
unly, and it is strange that so few of those
present have been heard from. For years
The incidents CT that night came to me
with a sense of horror. 1t was long
time before l could shake it of. "
Mr. Lewis has another reminiscence that
Ills friends have always liked to hear him
oil - MI 11O irzt CHI ff-ol of no
freak of the civil war 1t was in Charles
ion harbor on April y, 1861, but he
tAys it was not at Fort Sumter. 1t was at
the coaster Nashville at 4;30 o'clock in the
florning. Mr.. Lewis was the lookout on
the Nashville. The Union fleet consisting
az the transport Baltic and the warships
l'awnee, Pocahontas and Harriet Lane,
J ad left New York before the Nashville,
J ut the Nashville passed them and arrived
Of the bar of Charleston harbor first. The
Nashville, which belonged to line run
hing boats between Charleston and New
York regularly, and had carried arms and
ammunition to the southerners, resembled
the Harriet Lane in her size and rig, and
when she approached the bar the southern
ers thought she was the Harriet Lane.
n'hey had been warned that the Harriet
lane was coming down. The famous bat
terry on Morris island threw shot at the
Nashville on this supposition, and this
opened the hOstilities in Charleston harbor.
9he shot fell half a mile from the Nash
vile. 1t was followed by another, which
came within a quarter of mile of the YES
tel. Capital Murray, who commanded the
Nashville, gave orders at once to retire
from the bar. To have gone in would have
teen certain destruction
AS the Nashville was leaving the bar
the Harriet Lane hove in sight. Captain
Murray didn't want the captain of the
Jane to examine his papers, and he shout
ed to his chief engineer, named Hood, to
"shake her up" The captain of the Lane
saw what was going on and fred a blank
shot as warning to stop, The Nashville
went on. The Harriet Lane swung around
troadside on and fired solid shot
"Stop her, Hoodp' shouted Captain
Murray to his chief engineer, and forth
with tho Nashville came around.
The captain of the Harriet Lane simply
asked some perfunctory questions, and
both ships lay off the bar and watched not
only the first shot fired on Fort Sumter,
but also the entire bombardment of SO
hours. On Sunday, April IA, the day of
the evacuation of Fort Sumter, the Nash
vile went into the harbor, and Mr. Lewis,
Sith Captain Murray and others, roWed
over to the fort. The only souvenir of the
visit that Mr.. Lewis has retained is a
erapeshot with dent in it that was fired
against Fort Sumter from one of the rebel
Batteries in the harbor. New York Sun.
In the Department Store.