The Washington herald., 1915-04-28
By WINFIELD M. THOMPSON.

The ciew which brought a party o.
pursuers across the trail of Booth a
the ferry over the Rappahannock. he.
tween Port Conway and Port Royal
within ;wenty-four hours after hi:
passage of the river at that place
was obtained by A civilian detective
operating in the section of Marylan nd
through which Booth had fled to cross
the Potomac.
The day after the ASA ssnation OF
Lincoln. Edwin NJ. stanton. Secretary
of War, had ordered the chief of the
War Departments Secret Service. Col
Lafayette &. Baker. to take charge OF
the detectives engaged in the hunt for
Booth
col Baker was well known in
Washington. where his methods IN
detective work had made him unpop-
ular in some of The government de-
partments and with many military Of
fiCers with whom he came in contact.
He received. therefore. no aid from
| the officers who were organizing n
military hunt for Booth. and proceed
ed to organize one of his own. His
first step was to secure photographs
of Booth and his companion in flight.
David f. Herold. and make copies or
them for the use of his men.
Early in his search col. Baker, with
7
sent telegrapher. s. II. Reckwith
Grants chief cipher operator, to Port
! Tobacco. to tap the military wire run
/ ming up the Western Shore from
! Point Lookout TO Washington. with
! him went two detectives.
| On Sunday. April %, one of these.
! Theodore woodall. talked with a ne
| gro, who said he had seen two men
| get into a boat near Swans Point
! hpfore and that
| lame" The detective sent the negro
! to Washington forthwith to tell his
story to Col. Baker. 1t indicated
! clearly the time and place of Booths
crossing of the Potomac.
How Chase Was Begun.
Acting on this clew the first obtained
since that furnished by Dr. Samuel A
Mudd on Arril IS which revealed Booths
earlier ruu:c in Maryland, Col. Baker at
once chose two detectives of his staff
to lead p. fresh pursuit of Booth. They
were EvPrton J. COncer. Of Ohio. and
Luther Il. Baker of New York tn" lat
ter cousin Of col. Baker. and both
formerly officers in the ColonclS rcgi-
ment. the First District Cavalry.
Col. Baker called on the War Depart
ment for a cavalry escort for them.
Stationed al Vienna. Va. few miles
from the city. WAS the Sixteenth New
York Cavalry. from which Lieut.. Ed
ward r. Doherty and TWENTY-FIVE men
were detailed 10 report to Col Baker
This they did on the afternoon OF Mon
day. April u. Lieut. Doherty was put
under the orders Of Detectives Conger
and Baker. and the party left Washing
ton that evening 10y steamer for Belle
Plain. on the Virginia shore Arriving
there at 10 p. M. they took the road
To tn" Rappahannock, with Cnnrer in
command
Riding all night. the party made fire.
duent stops to seek information. telling
the people whom they called from their
beds that they were MARYLAND Confed-
crates. seeking companion named
Boyd. who was wounded. and had be-
come separated from them The name
was that of man who had slain a
Federal officer in Maryland. and. by a
Conincidence. Booth used it that very day
to conceal his identity.
Daylight revealing the character of the
party. more direct methods OF inquiry
were employed. but no Clew was oh
tanned until Port Conway was reached
about noon on April q" While the
troopers were resting. Detective Baker ,
made inquiries Of all persons he met
One of these was William Rollins the
fisherman at whose house Booth and
Herold had rested the day before while
waiting for the ferry boat
They showed him photographs of Booth |
and Herold. who recognized the likness |
in each. and stated that the men had |
crossed the ferry at ? o'clock the pre- |
cedinC afternoon. travelling with three |
Confederate soldiers they had met there |