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Title: Assassination of Lincoln: a History of the Great Conspiracy

Trial of the Conspirators by a Military Commission and a Review of the Trial of John H. Surratt

Author: Thomas Mealey Harris

Release Date: June 1, 2013 [eBook #42855]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

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T. M. Harris

ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN

A

HISTORY OF THE GREAT CONSPIRACY

TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS BY A
MILITARY COMMISSION

AND A REVIEW OF THE TRIAL OF JOHN H. SURRATT

By T. M. HARRIS
Late Brigadier-General U. S. V. and Major-General by Brevet

A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION

————●————

Boston, Mass.
AMERICAN CITIZEN COMPANY
7 BROMFIELD STREET

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1892,
By T. M. HARRIS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

All Rights Reserved.

Typography by Fish & Sancton, 198 Washington St., Boston.

EXPLANATION.

It is perhaps necessary that the author should explain the sense in which the term, "Great Conspiracy," in the title of his book, is used. It is not at all in the same sense in which it is used by General Logan in his book. In that it is used as the equivalent of the Great Rebellion, only that it broadly covers all that led to and culminated in the war against the government, designated as "The Rebellion." It is only here used to designate the conspiracy that resorted to the policy of assassination as a means to give aid to the rebellion; and the reader who follows the author through will then be able to perceive why he designates this a "Great Conspiracy."

PREFACE.

It is now more than twenty-seven years since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,—an event of the greatest importance at the time, not only to the people of the United States, but to the civilized world. The trial of the conspirators by a military commission created the greatest possible interest; and the proceedings and testimony were published from day to day by all of the great newspapers of the country, and read with avidity. The judgment of those who carefully studied the testimony at the time was formed upon a competent knowledge of the facts.

And yet, even then, the fate of the prisoners on trial before the Commission, to be found innocent or guilty according to the evidence, constituted the great point of interest, and thus tended to divert attention from the evidence against the other parties charged not only with being co-conspirators, but as being the instigators of the plot.

Since that time a new generation has come on to the stage of action, and as the official report of the trial by Ben Pittman, published at the time, is in the hands of but comparatively few people, a concise history of this great event, in popular form, but founded on the evidence, seemed to the writer to be due and called for at the present time.

The necessity for this has been emphasized by a recent revival of efforts that have been made from time to time, ever since the execution of the assassins that were condemned to death, to prejudice public sentiment against the government by the assumption of the innocence of one of the parties executed—Mrs. Surratt.

Only a few months since (May 30, 1891), La Salle Institute in New York City was crowded by an audience that came together expecting to hear Cardinal Gibbons and Father Walter review the case of Mrs. Surratt. Neither the cardinal nor the father appeared, but a Mr. Sloane arose and read to the audience a letter from Father Walter on the subject. This letter contained nothing new to those who were familiar with the case at the time of its occurrence. It was substantially the same that was published over his signature shortly after her execution. After stating that he was her confessor, and that his priestly vows did not permit him to reveal the secrets of the confessional, he very calmly and positively states his belief in her entire innocence, basing that belief on what he professes to know. He then relates the efforts he made to get a reprieve and a postponement of her execution for a few days, and expresses the belief that could he have succeeded in this for only ten days he could have saved her life.

He then complains of the manner in which he was treated by the President, Andrew Johnson, and Judge Holt, who referred him back and forth, each to the other, and that between them he could get nothing accomplished.

A story has also been gotten up of a Union soldier who was a member of the conspiracy and knew all of its members and secrets, who affirms the innocence of Mrs. Surratt. The most rational and, at the same time, charitable thing to be said about this story is, that this Union soldier was manufactured for the occasion.

That portion of the press of to-day that inherits the old copper-head animus, greedily publishes all such things as these, and indulges in the wildest latitude of editorial comment and false statements. They have buried all of the members of the Commission but one many times; have followed all of the principal actors in the scene to violent and miserable deaths; and have made it manifest that had the Almighty Ruler of the Universe viewed the matter in their light, and been as swift in his retributions as they would have had him to be, not one who had any connection with the arrest, trial, and execution of the assassins of the great and good President would have been left alive.

They have manifested an especial venom of feeling against the then Secretary of War, Hon. E. M. Stanton,