Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-05-14

W uolQ III Until the result OF Ino iui'
parchment proceedings against the
President, which were then pending in
the senate, should be determined. For
sixty days Mr. Stanton held the fort"
and during that period his faithful
body guard, ex Sergeant Louis
koerth, then in the United States
general service. assigned to the war
department. kept him company.
On the day in which Mr.. Stanton
received the official notification of his
removal by the President he made
immediate preparations for a siege.
He dispatched Sergeant Koerth to
Mrs. Stanton for blankets and pillows,
but that lady refused to send them,
insisting that the secretary should
come home and give up the office.
Mr.. Stanton smiled on receiving her
message and simply said:
"Koerth. go to your own house and
bring blankets, pillows and such cook
ing utensils as we may need
The Irish stew was the first effort
of the secretary and his body guard.
Koerth. being a German, needed in
structions in the mysteries OF prepar-
| ing the stew, and the secretary named
the various ingredients, which he or
dered the sergeant to purchase.
Both men had spent a busy and Ia
boriously exciting day, and both were
| tired out when the pot was put on the
fire to cook the stew. The conse-
quence was that the great war secre.
| tary and his body guard fell asleep.
| The secretary was the first to be
awakened by the smell of the burning
stew.
"Koerth. Koerth! Wake up, mani"
shouted Mr.. Stanton. "The stew is
burning!"
Koerth sprang to his feet, but alas,
too late to save Mr.. Stanton's Irish
stew. 1t was burned and smoking,
while the pot was a glowing red. Rue
| fully the secretary rolled himself up
| in his blankets on the sofa and went
to sleep for the night, supperless
Louis Koerth, who in point of con-
tinuous service is probably the old
! est employee of the war department.
served until wounded in the civil war,
| in the Seventh Missouri cavalry. He
was transferred, on partially recover
| ing from his wound in 1868, to the
veteran reserve corps, in which he
rose to the rank of sergeant. The
"
| the stables of the executive mansion
are now located. On the evening OF
| the assassination of President Lincoln
Sergeant Koerth was at Ford's
| theater In speaking of the memoir
able event of that evening to Post
reporter, the sergeant said:
"At first l thought the shot and the
excitement on the stage was in the
play, but on realizing the nature of
the trouble arose and rushed out of
| the theater and double-quicked to our
barracks. I Immediately ordered an
escort of thirty-five men-all present
on duty-and marched for Secretary
Stanton's residence.
Here we rem aimed on duty all night
while the city was in wild state of
excitement. Word of the attempt to
murder Secretary Seward reached us,
and l informed Mr.. Stanton. He order
ed me to keep guard on his resi-.
dence under my immediate command
until further orders. We remained
with Mr.. Stanton until he removed to
the Soldiers home for the SUNNI er and
early fall. l took thirty men to the
home and did regular guard duty over
| his person and residence. In Novem.
Der we came back to the CITY, and
then the secretary had me promoted
property clerk and personal body
guard.
II had numerous personal adventur-
es while fulfilling this double duty I'M
til the siege in the Office. Wherever
the secretary went I was behind him
a few PAGES. He visited at night
Speaker Colfax, Senator Hooper, Zach
Chandler and numerous other high
personages. AS he passed along News
paper Row, the correspondents would
exclaim audibly enough for me to hear
| them. There goes the bulldog The
secretary was generally held to be
stern, cold and hardhearted, but
knew him to be the kindest-hearted of
men. He only pretended to be harsh.
Underneath, his heart beat sympathe.
tically with everything that was right
/ Nights during the year 1S64-1S65
when | was on guard as sergeant of
the Veteran reserve corps, when the
wind howled and the rain came down,
he would walk his room wringing his
hands, and his face wearing look of
pain Then when he could stand the
strain no longer, he would open the
door and call me in, exclaiming:
oh, Koerth, are you not happy
that you are not in the field in this
/ dreadful Storm"
I. 81 would usually answer, Yes, Mr..
Secretary, but had my share of it.
Then he would start off wringing
his hands and muttering:
Cob, my brave, poor soldiers, what
terrible sufferings you are enduring!'"
Mr.. Koerth tells many stories of
night adventures while personally es,
corting The secretary to and fro from
the residences of the officials and 9TH
ers whom he visited.
Judge Dunlop, of Georgetown, was
an esteemed friend of the secretary
A son of the judge was afflicted with
a mental disorder, and the secretary
had never seen him. One evening on
returning with Koerth, the secretary
came face to face with the Athlete.
young man, who was sitting on the
doorstep of the Stanton residence
The apparition as the sitting figure
arose in the dark for moment start
led Mr.. Stanton, who was at this pc.
rid threatened with assassination. Be
fore Koerth could close in, Mr.. Stan,
ton had seized and thrown to The