Bloody Crimes The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse James L Swanson In memory of my mother, Dianne M Swanson (1931–2008), who looked forward to this book but had no chance to read it In remembrance of John Hope Franklin (1915–2009), with gratitude for three decades of teaching, counsel, and friendship, and with fond memories of University of Chicago days Table of Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE “Flitting Shadows” CHAPTER TWO “In the Days of Our Youth” CHAPTER THREE “Unconquerable Hearts” CHAPTER FOUR “Borne by Loving Hands” CHAPTER FIVE “The Body of the President Embalmed!” CHAPTER SIX “We Shall See and Know Our Friends in Heaven” CHAPTER SEVEN “The Cause Is Not Yet Dead” CHAPTER EIGHT “He Is Named for You” CHAPTER NINE “ Coffin That Slowly Passes” CHAPTER TEN “By God, You Are the Men We Are Looking For” CHAPTER ELEVEN “Living in a Tomb” CHAPTER TWELVE “The Shadow of the Confederacy” EPILOGUE BIBLIOGRAPHY NOTES INDEX Acknowledgments Also By James L Swanson Copyright About the Publisher LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 “Bloody Crimes” carte de visite of Columbia and her eagle Senator Jefferson Davis on the eve of the Civil War Fall of Richmond paper flag Currier & Ives print of Richmond in flames Abraham Lincoln oil portrait, as he appeared in 1865 The Petersen House Sketch of Lincoln on his deathbed The empty bed, just after Lincoln died Bloody pillow “The President Is Dead” broadside Diagram of the bullet’s path through Lincoln’s brain The bullet that killed Lincoln Allegorical print of Booth trapped inside the bullet Portrait engraving of George Harrington Invitation to Lincoln’s funeral “Post Office Department” silk ribbon, April 19 funeral Lincoln’s hearse, Washington, D.C Photograph of General E D Townsend War Department pass for Lincoln funeral train Lincoln’s funeral car Silk mourning ribbon of the U.S Military Railroad President Lincoln’s hearse, Philadelphia The New York funeral procession Lincoln in coffin, New York City Memorial arch, Sing Sing, New York Viewing pavilion, Cleveland, Ohio Terre Haute & Richmond Railroad timetable Photograph of memorial arch, Chicago Lincoln’s old law office; Springfield, May, 1865 A map of the Abraham Lincoln funeral train route Harper’s Weekly woodcut of burial in Springfield, Illinois The first reward poster for Jefferson Davis A map of Jefferson Davis’s escape route xiii 35 40 43 104 112 128 129 132 134 135 137 142 187 190 191 203 207 211 213 221 226 230 233 253 260 264 272 275 283 297 300 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Photograph of Davis in the suit he wore at capture $360,000 reward poster for Davis Three caricatures depicting Davis in a dress The raglan, shawl, and spurs Davis wore on the day of capture Print of Davis ridiculed in prison Sketch of Davis in his cell Lincoln’s home draped in bunting, May 24, 1865 Davis as a caged hyena wearing a ladies’ bonnet “The True Story…” print ridiculing Davis Oil portrait of Jefferson Davis, ca 1870s Davis and family on their porch at Beauvoir, Mississippi Oscar Wilde–inscribed photograph Jefferson Davis late in life at Beauvoir Davis lying in state, New Orleans, 1889 A map of the Davis funeral train route Davis’s New Orleans funeral procession, 1889 Raleigh, North Carolina, floral display and procession, 1893 The ghosts of Willie and Abraham haunting Mary Lincoln Photographs of porcelain Lincoln memorial obelisk The site of Jefferson Davis’s capture, near Irwinville, Georgia Jefferson Davis’s library at Beauvoir, Mississippi 310 319 323 328 334 335 339 343 346 360 362 364 377 379 380 384 385 389 395 399 403 INTRODUCTION My book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer told the story of John Wilkes Booth’s incredible escape from the scene of his great crime at Ford’s Theatre and his run to ambush, death, and infamy at a Virginia tobacco barn But the chase for Lincoln’s killer was not the only thrilling journey under way as the Civil War drew to a close in April 1865 While the hunt for Lincoln’s murderer transfixed the nation, two other men embarked on their own, no less dramatic, final journeys One, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, was on the run, desperate to save his family, his country, and his cause The other, Abraham Lincoln, the recently assassinated president of the United States, was bound for a different destination: home, the grave, and everlasting glory The title of this book has three origins—as a prophecy, a promise, and an elegy In October 1859, abolitionist John Brown launched his doomed raid on the U.S arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, as a way of inciting a slave uprising This daring but foolhardy attack, viewed as an affront to the institution of slavery, enraged the South and brought the United States closer to irrepressible conflict and civil war Following his capture, Brown was tried and sentenced to hang While in a Charles Town jail awaiting execution, he was allowed to keep a copy of the King James Bible As the clock ticked down to his hanging, Brown leafed through the sacred text, searching for divinely inspired words of justification, prophecy, and warning He dog-eared the pages most dear to him and then highlighted key passages with pen and pencil marks, including this verse from Ezekiel 7:23: “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” On the morning he was hanged, on December 2, 1859, he handed to one of his jailers the last note he would ever write: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address Although remembered today for its message of peace—“with malice toward none, with charity for all”—the speech had a dark side In a passage often overlooked, Lincoln warned that slavery was a bloody crime that might not be expunged without the shedding of more blood: “Fondly we hope— fervently we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.’ ” Within days of Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865, a Boston photographer published a fantastical carte de visite image to honor the fallen president That was not unusual; printers, photographers, and stationers across the country produced hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ribbons, badges, broadsides, poems, and photographs to mourn Lincoln But the image from Boston was different, for it expressed a sentiment not of mourning but of vengeance In “MAKE A CHAIN, FOR THE LAND IS FULL OF BLOODY CRIMES.” this carte de visite, a stern-faced woman, crowned and draped as Columbia, accompanied by her servant, a screaming eagle about to take flight in pursuit of its prey, keeps a vigil over a portrait of the martyred president and echoes John Brown’s old warning: “Make a chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes.” Soon, in the aftermath of the chase for Jefferson Davis and the Lincoln assassination and death pageant, manacles and chains became symbols of the spring of 1865 Northerners believed that Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy had committed many bloody crimes, including the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the torture, starvation, and murder of Union prisoners of war, and the battlefield slaughter of soldiers In the South, Lincoln and his armies were seen as perpetrators, not victims, of great crimes In the climate of these dueling accusations, the people of the Union and the Confederacy both shared a common belief and could agree upon one thing In the spring of 1865, an era of bloody crimes had reached its climax The spring of 1865 was the most remarkable season in American history It was a time to mourn the Civil War’s 620,000 dead and to bind up the nation’s wounds It was a time to lay down arms, to tally plantations and cities that had been laid to waste, and to plant new crops It was a time to ponder events that had come to pass and to look forward to those yet to be It was the time of the hunt for Jefferson Davis and of the funeral pageant for Abraham Lincoln, each a martyr to his cause And it was the time in America, wrote Walt Whitman, “when lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d.” PROLOGUE WASHINGTON, D.C If you go there today, and walk to the most desolate corner of the cemetery, and then descend the half-hidden, decaying black slate steps, past all the other graves, down toward Rock Creek and the trees, you will find the tomb, now long empty No sign remains that he was ever here His name was never chiseled into the stone arch above the entry But here, during the Civil War, in the winter of 1862, eleven-year-old Willie Lincoln, his father’s best-beloved son, was laid to rest Here his evermourning father returned to visit him, to remember, and to weep And here, the boy waited patiently behind the iron gates, locked inside the marble vault that looked no bigger than a child’s playhouse, for his father to claim him and carry him home That appointment, like his tiny coffin, was set in stone: March 4, 1869, the day Abraham Lincoln would complete his second term as president of the United States, leave Washington, and undertake the long railroad journey west, to Illinois But in the spring of 1865, in the first week of April, that homecoming seemed a long way off President Lincoln still had so much more to RICHMOND, VIRGINIA If you visit his home today, you will find no sign that he ever left The exterior of the house looks almost exactly like it does in the Civil War–era photographs In his private office, documents still lie on his desk, as if awaiting his signature His presidential oil portrait hangs on a wall Maps chart the once mighty territorial expanse of the antebellum South’s proud agricultural empire Books line the shelves Children’s toys lie scattered across the floor The house is furnished as it was April 2, 1865, the day he last walked out the door, never to return In the spring of 1865, in the first week of April, he also had much to The future was uncertain His capital city could no longer be defended and might fall to invading Union armies within days, even hours To save his country, he had to abandon the president’s mansion and flee Richmond He could take little with him Soon he would leave behind almost all he loved, including his fiveyear-old son, Joseph, who had died in his White House in 1864 and now rested in the sacred grounds of the city’s Hollywood Cemetery, where many Confederate heroes, including General J E B Stuart, were also buried Perhaps one day Jefferson Davis would return to claim the boy, but for now, he had to go on ahead CHAPTER ONE “Flitting Shadows” On the morning of Sunday, April 2, 1865, President Jefferson Davis walked, as was his custom, from the White House of the Confederacy to St Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Robert E Lee and his wife worshipped and where Davis was confirmed as a member of the parish in 1861 Everything that day appeared beautiful and serene The air smelled of spring, and the fresh green growth promised a season of new life One of the worshippers, a young woman named Constance Cary, recalled that on this “perfect Sunday of the Southern spring, a large congregation assembled as usual at St Paul’s.” Richmond did not look like a city at war, but it had become a symbol of the conflict As the capital city of the Confederate States of America, it was the seat of slavery’s and secession’s empire, one of the loveliest cities in the South, the spiritual center of Virginia’s aristocracy and of the rebellion, and, for the entire bloody Civil War that had cost the lives of more than 620,000 men, a strategic obsession in the popular imagination of the Union JEFFERSON DAVIS AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER Despite Richmond’s vulnerable proximity to Washington, D.C.—the White House of the Confederacy stood less than one hundred miles from Lincoln’s Executive Mansion—the Confederate Nicolay, John G., 170 North: Confederacy as seen by, xiv Davis as seen by, xiv Davis’s admiration for, 49 mixed feelings about Davis in, 340-41, 355, 356-57 national day of mourning for Lincoln in, 340 North Carolina, 14, 37, 41, 66, 194, 257, 280, 297, 365 Confederate army in, 87 North East, Pa., 246 Notson, H M., 133 Oak Hill Cemetery, 171, 173, 208, 383 Oak Ridge Cemetery, 282 Ocmulgee River, 297 O’Connor, Charles, 356 Ogeechee River, 289 Oglesby, Richard J., 151 Ohio, 123, 155, 292 Ohio River, 123 Old Arsenal, U.S Army Penitentiary at, 287, 342 Old Capitol Prison, 350 O’Melia, Mary, 24-25, 71 Oregon, 167 Our American Cousin, 94, 96 Palmer, General, 313 Papers of Jefferson Davis, 401 Parker, William, 27, 29-30, 266-67, 269, 273 Parks, W P., 376 Pelouze, Louis H., 126 Pennsylvania, 155, 292 Penrose, Charles B., 16, 44 Pensacola, Fla., 247 Peoria Speech, Lincoln’s, 52-53 Petersburg, Va., 205 Confederate withdrawal from, 5-6, 8, 13, 34 Grant’s capture of, 22, 24, 34, 38 Petersen, Anna, 98, 124 Petersen, Anne, 124 Petersen, Julia, 124 Petersen, William, 98-99, 124, 128 boarding house of, 95-97, 98-121, 104, 112, 123-230, 128, 131-32, 143-44, 146, 151, 158, 161, 181, 188, 192, 199, 207, 286, 287 Philadelphia, Pa., 99, 157, 177, 199, 203, 219-23, 222, 225, 239, 281 Philadelphia Inquirer, 220, 223 Pickett’s Charge, 194, 373 Piedmont Railroad, 67 Pierce, Franklin, 49, 118, 355 Piqua, Ohio, 259 Pittsburgh, Pa., 201 Pleasant Valley, Ohio, 259 Polk, James K., 52 Porter, David Dixon, 17, 42, 44-47, 62-63 Port Hudson, La., 156 Port Royal, Va., 238 Post Office, U.S., 371, 400 Post Office Department, Confederate, 289 Potomac River, 163, 164 Powell, Lewis, 121, 147, 341 press, Northern, 289-92, 315 Prison Life of Jefferson Davis (Craven), 354 Pritchard, Benjamin D., 256, 298, 304-6, 308-9, 314-15, 320-21 Proctor, Redfield, 380-81 Providence, R.I., 340 Purington, Lieutenant, 305-6 racism, 398 Radford, William, 330 Raleigh, N.C., 385 Rathbone, Henry, 96, 106-7 Raymond, Henry J., 239-40 Raynor, Mary Virginia, 242 Reagan, John, 196, 247-48, 251, 266-67, 278-79, 288-89, 302, 355 and capture with Davis, 308, 312, 314, 320-23 in Richmond evacuation, 9, 27-28 Reconstruction, 358, 361 Republican National Convention of 1860, 141, 143, 152, 270 Revolutionary War, American, 371 Richmond, Ind., 259 Richmond, Va., 2, 5, 76, 86, 123, 140, 176, 331, 346 burning of, 28-29, 30-32, 39, 40, 42, 77, 331, 332 as Confederate capital, 3, 82, 83, 125, 170, 176, 198, 274, 332, 351, 356 Davis memorial for, 386-87 Davis’s reburial in, 383-86, 390, 397-98 Davis’s return to and court appearance in, 355-56 evacuation of, 9-13, 20-29, 34, 67, 68, 85, 87, 88, 89, 95, 147, 183, 279, 296, 299, 317, 383 fall of, 8, 15, 26, 34-39, 35, 68-70, 73-74, 77, 80, 82, 102 food shortages in, 12, 31-32 Lee’s return to, 80, 205 liberated blacks in, 26, 39, 44-46, 64 Lincoln in, 38-39, 42-47, 62-65, 68, 73, 210, 356 looting and riot in, 26, 29-30, 31-32, 39-40, 332 monuments for Davis in, 398 peace negotiations in, 62, 73 severe rainstorm in, 331-32 theater fire in, 100 as tourist destination, 90, 93 Union threat to, 5-8, 13-15, 18-26, 31, 205 Richmond and Danville Railroad, 26-27 Richmond Times, 331-32, 338-40 Richview, Ill., 376 Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (Davis), 363, 366 River Queen, 16-17, 19, 24, 42-43, 75-76 Robert E Lee mausoleum, 365 Rocketts, 44, 356 Rucker, D H., 126, 207 Rutledge, Ann M., 56-57, 161, 168, 173 Safford, Henry, 100-103, 105 St John’s Church, 192 St Louis, Mo., 58 St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 5, 7-8, 20, 176 Salisbury, N.C., 181 Saluda River, 256 Sandburg, Carl, 284 Sandersville, Ga., 298 Sandford, Moses, 101-2, 181 Sands, Frank, 210, 229-30, 281-82 Sands & Harvey, 286 Sangamon River, 156 Sanitary Commission, U.S., 178 Sanitary Fair, 345 Saunders, George N., 268-69 Savannah, Ga., 3, 76, 323, 329, 371-73 Savannah River, 278, 280-81 “Savior of Our Country, The,” 255-56 Scaife’s Ferry, 250 Schofield, John M., 14 Scott, Winfield, 141, 191 secession, 50-51, 363 legal status of, 355, 356 Selden & Co., 63 Selma, Ala., 67, 77 Semple, James A., 89 Senate, U.S., 115, 149, 151, 167, 170 Davis in, 49-50, 369 Lincoln in, 48, 53 Seven Pines, battle of, 341 Seward, Frances Adeline Miller, 115, 391 Seward, Frederick, 110, 115, 147 Seward, William H., 19, 73, 78, 170 attack on, 110-11, 114-15, 119, 121, 144, 147, 196, 268, 276, 287, 391 Shakespeare, William, 34, 52, 60, 174, 226 Sheridan, Philip H., 28, 75 Sherman, William Tecumseh, 14, 17-18, 182, 212, 289, 329 Davis conspiracy theory of, 365-66 Johnston’s surrender to, 238, 256, 365 Shiloh, battle of, 9, 312 Shubrick, William B., 151 Simpson, Matthew, 184, 189, 282-84 Sing Sing, N.Y., 232, 233 slavery, 100, 258-59, 356, 357, 367, 382, 388, 401 Brown’s raid and opposition to, xi-xii in Confederacy, Davis and, 49, 60-61, 357, 367, 401 expansion of, 52, 54 Lincoln’s opposition to, xii, 52-54, 60-61, 333-34 U.S Constitution and, 53 smallpox, 262-63 Smith, Anna Davis, 56 Smith, Gerrit, 356 Smith, Kirby, 14 Smithsonian Institution, 49, 124 Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 400 Snow, Parker, 229 Soldiers’ Home, 93 South, 276 agricultural empire of the, Brown as seen in, xii Davis as spokesman for, 50 feeling of superiority in, 322 impact of Lincoln’s death on, 196 Johnson and, 121, 196, 199-200 postwar, 361 reconstruction of, 92 Union army as seen by, xiv, 322 South Carolina, 238, 245, 250, 252, 257, 268, 297 secession by, 98-99 Southern Express Company, 195 Southern Historical Society, 361 Southern Historical Society Papers, 363 Speed, James, 157, 207 Speed, Phillip, 157 Spotswood Hotel, 356 Springfield, Ill., 27, 59, 143, 145, 153, 155, 161, 163, 199, 201-2, 213, 247, 293, 295, 331, 391 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in, 392-93 Lincoln’s burial in, 271-78, 275, 283, 287, 389 Springfield (Mass.) Republican, 340 Stanton, Edwin M., 79, 92, 130, 136, 170, 180, 313 arrests ordered by, 240 Booth manhunt and, 111, 147, 204, 244, 268, 296 on Davis capture, 330-32 Davis’s captivity and, 339, 341, 352, 354 Davis suspected of assassination involvement by, 276, 287, 297, 320, 326 and fall of Richmond, 17, 18, 20, 34-36 Grand Review and, 331 Lincoln corpse photograph and, 234-37, 239-41, 248 Lincoln’s corpse and, 138-40, 379-80 Lincoln’s funeral and, 140-42, 184-85, 189 Lincoln’s funeral train and, 154-58, 199, 200-204, 207-9, 217, 219, 225, 246, 274, 277 at Petersen house, 113, 120-21 post-funeral planning by, 143, 151, 153 on Seward attack and Lincoln assassination, 110-11 women’s clothes rumor propagated by, 324, 327-29, 344 State Department, U.S., 110 states’ rights, 363 Stephens, Alexander, 47 Stevens, Thaddeus, 220 Stevenson, Job E., 258-59, 284 Stone, Robert King, 109, 117, 133, 135-36, 169 Stoneman, George, 88 Confederate gold rumor and, 244-45 Strong, George Templeton, 328 Stuart, J E B., Sulivane, Clement, 8, 20, 31 Sumner, Charles, 114-15 Supreme Court, U.S., 52, 62, 171 Surratt, Mary, 341, 344 Sutherlin, William T., 37-38 Swan, Otis D., 157 Swancey’s Ferry, S.C., 256 Swanson, Claude A., 387 Syracuse, N.Y., 242 Taft, Charles Sabin, 106-7, 108-9, 120, 124, 126-27, 133, 135 Taft, William Howard, 398 Taltavul’s Star Saloon, 96, 102 Tanner, James, 126 Taylor, Sarah Knox, 55-56, 58, 175, 357, 366, 376-77 Taylor, Zachary, 9, 50, 55, 142, 188 telegraph, 18-19, 20 Texas, 14, 33, 80, 247 as possible new Confederate center, 197, 219, 279, 299, 317 T Gurney & Son, 239-40 Thomas, D C., 126 Thomas, George, Confederate gold rumor and, 244-45 Thomas, Lorenzo, 141 Thomas, William B., 157 Thompson, Jacob, 268-69 Tifton, Ga., 398-99, 399 Tillson, Davis, 245 torpedo general, 85-87 Townsend, Edward D., 141, 203, 352 Lincoln corpse photograph and, 230, 234-38, 248 Lincoln’s funeral train and, 201-3, 209, 213-19, 225, 232-33, 243, 245-46, 248-50, 253, 255, 261-62, 271, 274-77, 294 Townsend, George Alfred, 145-46, 185-87, 192-93, 198 on cleaning out of Lincoln’s office, 324-26 Treasury Department, U.S., 93, 108, 141-42, 150, 151, 156, 158, 187, 192, 287, 336-37 Tredegar Iron Works, 11, 401 Trenholm, George, 9, 32, 33, 38 Tucker, Beverly, 268-69, 314 Tuscarora, 330 Tyger River, 250 Tyler, E B., 214 Ulke, Henry, 128-30 Ulke, Julius, 128-30 Union Army, 82, 87, 92, 182, 213-14, 275, 289, 356 approach to Richmond by, 5, 13-14, 18-21, 26, 30, 31 cavalry of, 88, 194, 244-45, 278-79, 299-302, 304-18 Davis honored by, 321-22 Grand Review of, 329-30, 331, 333, 336-37 Lincoln’s popularity with, 75-76 prisoners from, 46, 344 in Richmond, 44 as seen by South, xiv as threat to Davis, 200 see also Army, U.S Union League Association, 220 Union League Club, 157 Union Pacific Railroad, 391 United Confederate Veterans, 386 United Daughters of the Confederacy, 386, 399 United States Military Railroad, 27, 208-9, 277, 331, 382 Urbana, Ohio, 259 U.S Army Medical Museum, 136, 137, 395 U.S Arsenal, tragedy at, 177-81, 342 Usher, John P., 117 Valentine, Edward, 386 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 356 Vicksburg, battle of, 112 Vicksburg, Miss., 3, 76, 123, 156, 248 Vignodi, Professor, 344 Vincent, Thomas, 116 Virginia, 40-41, 95, 121, 194, 206, 297, 317, 401 aristocracy of, as Confederacy’s principal state, 37, 70, 82 Walker, J M., 83 Wallace, Lew, 215, 240 War Department, Confederate, 288 War Department, U.S., 18, 35, 101, 150, 152, 154, 181, 190, 235, 239-41, 249, 296, 297, 330, 341, 344, 350, 352, 380 War of 1812, 132, 141 Washington, D.C., 1-2, 16, 18, 19, 27, 48, 73, 75, 77, 78, 90, 100, 119, 121, 123, 126, 130, 141, 15253, 155, 167, 173, Washington, D.C (cont’d) 178, 199, 203, 209, 213, 214, 234, 237, 239, 242, 271, 273, 275, 276, 277, 281, 287, 295, 296, 331, 358, 361, 371, 383, 391, 393 antebellum, 352 boardinghouse culture in, 98 Davis’s capture and, 318-19, 321, 323-24, 326 Davis’s death and, 380 fall of Richmond celebrated in, 34-36, 39, 102 Grand Review in, 329-30, 331, 333, 336-37 Lee’s surrender celebrated in, 79-80, 81, 84, 92-93, 102 Lincoln’s funeral ceremonies planned in, 141, 143, 148-52 reaction to Lincoln’s assassination in, 116 Richmond’s nearness to, Washington, Ga., 73, 92, 273, 278-80, 288-89 Washington, George, 53, 143, 170, 188, 221, 265, 278, 293, 382 Washington and Lee University, 386 Washington Daily Morning Chronicle, 180, 323-24 Washington Evening Star, 34-35, 124, 170, 171-72, 173, 178-79, 180 Washington Navy Yard, 94, 156, 164 Washington Post, 381 wax figures: of Booth, 344, 392-93 of Davis, 344-45 of Lincoln, 344, 392 Webster, Daniel, 52 Weitzel, Godfrey, 47, 62, 63 Welles, Gideon, 75, 79-80, 92, 108, 110-12, 119, 138, 170, 207, 237, 324, 330-31, 336 Welles, Mary Jane, 108, 119-20, 133 Western Railroad Corporation, 187 Westfield, N.Y., 246 West Point, U.S Military Academy at, 48, 54, 55, 232 Wheeler, Joseph, 238 White House, 3, 15, 16, 18, 60, 78, 84, 93, 96, 103, 110, 111, 114, 119, 130, 131, 140, 151, 153, 156, 161, 164, 167, 215, 337, 400 East Room viewing and funeral in, 146, 148-50, 152, 158-59, 160-63, 181, 183-91, 187, 19798, 199, 249, 277, 281, 285 Lincoln’s corpse in Guest Room of, 132-39, 143-46, 160 Lincoln’s corpse transported to, 126-27, 131-32, 207 Mary Lincoln’s delayed departure from, 286, 287, 324, 335, 389 other funerals in, 165, 170-71, 173 in War of 1812, 132 White House of the Confederacy, 2, 3, 5, 15, 60, 170, 174, 397, 401-2 evacuation of, 9-10, 12-13, 22, 24-25 Lincoln at, 47, 62-64, 66, 73 photographs sold of, 63 Union seizure of, 31, 32 Whitman, Walt, xiv, 34, 124, 262, 294-95 Wilcox’s Mills, Ga., 204 Wilde, Oscar, 363-65, 364 William P Clyde, 330 Willis, Lee H., 376 Wilson, Henry, 164 Wilson, James, 256-58, 296-98, 313, 320-22, 330 Winslow, Edward F., 257 Wirt, William, 52 Wirz, Henry, 344, 350, 356 Wisconsin, 57 Wise, John S., 30 Wofford, William T., 67-68 Wood, John Taylor, 9, 25, 33, 88, 92, 122, 302, 310, 312-13, 318 Woodward, Janvier J., 133-36, 138, 354 Wormley, James, 158 wrestling, 55 Yates, Richard, 151 York, Pa., 218 Yorkville, S.C., 243 Acknowledgments A number of people helped in my pursuit of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis: My splendid editor, Henry Ferris, recognized from the start how pairing the final journeys of the two presidents could enhance the power of each story Our countless conversations and late night editing sessions in his New York office improved the book in immeasurable ways Henry’s assistants, Peter Hubbard, now an editor in his own right, and Danny Goldstein, brought diligence and enthusiasm to the project I am also grateful to the rest of my HarperCollins team: Michael Morrison and Liate Stehlik for supporting this book with energy and personal interest, Lynn Grady and Jean Marie Kelly for bringing it to its audience, and miracle-worker Sharyn Rosenblum, the best publicist in the business At the Museum of the Confederacy, President S Waite Rawls III and historian John Coski provided valuable information about Jefferson Davis Thanks also to Waite for a moving, late afternoon private tour of the Confederate White House At the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library at Beauvoir, Mississippi, Chairman Richard V Forte Sr and curator Richard R Flowers answered questions about Davis’s last sanctuary and provided the surprising photo of Oscar Wilde Lynda Lasswell Crist, editor of the Papers of Jefferson Davis at Rice University, was a superb guide to the writings of the lost man of American history Lynda answered questions with good cheer, and supplied numerous documents and transcripts With the impressive papers project, a model for future historians, she has made a major contribution to the study of American history At the Library of Congress, John Sellers is a living treasure who shared his vast expertise on the Lincoln and Civil War manuscript collection His retirement is a loss to all those who pursue the Lincoln story In the rare book division, Clark Evans, with his usual effusive charm, made available a number of treasures documenting the final days of Lincoln and Davis W Ralph Eubanks, director of publishing and a fine author in his own right, helped me obtain a number of superb photographs and illustrations, as did Helena Zinkham and Barbara Orbach Natanson in the prints and photographs division I must also thank John Y Cole, director of the Center for the Book and author impresario of the National Book Festival, for his support and efforts to spread Lincoln scholarship to a wide popular audience at the best book event in America At the Surratt Society, Joan Chaconas, Laurie Verge, and Sandra Walia rendered the same generous assistance that they gave to Manhunt Their expertise and good humor make Mary Surratt’s country tavern and the James O Hall Research Center two of the most interesting and informative sites on the Lincoln assassination trail Many thanks to my “first readers” Michael Burlingame, Ronald K L Collins, and Edward Steers Jr for reading the manuscript with keen eyes, and making valuable suggestions At Ford’s Theatre, my friend Paul Tetreault offered good counsel, a public venue to share my research, and the opportunity to participate in the preservation of an American landmark Paul is a remarkable catalyst and visionary who understands the potential of Ford’s as both a working playhouse and a museum that tells the story of Lincoln’s life and death At the National Park Service, Kym Elder, Rae Emerson, and Gloria Swift were always ready to provide assistance, advice, and encouragement At the Heritage Foundation, Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Todd Gaziano, director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, provided me with a collegial home during the time I wrote this book Jessica Kline gave valuable assistance with all computer mysteries Interns Laura Clauser and Andrew O’Dell helped track down a number of hard-to-find documents and articles My friend and literary agent, Richard Abate, grasped the dramatic possibilities of this story about the end days of the two Civil War presidents and made a number of invaluable suggestions on how to think about and tell this tale He critiqued the manuscript, provided his usual telling insights, and in a number of ways above and beyond the call of an agent, gave this book his “last measure of devotion.” I also thank my television agent at WME Entertainment, Julie Weitz, for her tireless efforts in translating my work into another medium My wife, Andrea E Mays, occupied with her own book on the hunt for Shakespeare’s First Folio, read the manuscript several times, made countless editorial improvements, helped sift through the abundance of art works to select the images, and, whenever I got bogged down in the trees, cut me a path to clarity Andrea lived with this book for more than two years and helped me bring alive the saga of Lincoln and Davis Our boys, Cameron and Harrison, ages thirteen and eleven, were our companions on visits to historic sites, my assistants at book signings, and coaches on storytelling “Readers want blood,” said Cameron “And knives,” added Harrison Finally, my father, Lennart J Swanson, traveled with me for much of this journey In a way, he began this book by taking me on an unforgettable trip to Gettysburg when I was ten years old We have been traveling on that path ever since James L Swanson Washington, D.C July 7, 2010 Also By James L Swanson Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer Copyright The maps on pages 275, 300, and 380 were created by Kieran McAuliffe All interior artworks, unless otherwise indicated, are from the author’s private collection Grateful acknowledgment is made to the Library of Congress for photographs that appear on the front and back endpapers Additionally, the author wishes to thank the following for use of the photographs that appear throughout the text: Library of Congress (pp 4, 112, 137, 191, 211, 226, 264, 334, 335, 343, 346, 362, 377, 399, 403); Ed Steers, Jr (p 104); Ford’s Theatre, National Park Service (p 129); National Museum of Health and Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (p 135); Stack’s (p 142); Indiana Historical Society (pp 203, 260); Terrell Library, Washington State University (p 207); Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (p 230); U.S Army Center of Military History (p 360); The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, Beauvoir (p 364); New Orleans Public Library (pp 379, 384); North Carolina State Archives (p 385); Wes Cowan (p 395) BLOODY CRIMES Copyright © 2010 by James L Swanson All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books EPub Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 978-0-061-98985-8 FIRST EDITION Designed by Richard Oriolo Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Swanson, James L Bloody crimes : the chase for Jefferson Davis and the death pageant for Lincoln’s corpse / James L Swanson.—1st ed p cm Includes bibliographical references and index Davis, Jefferson, 1808–1889—Captivity, 1865–1867 Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—Death and burial Fugitives from justice— United States—Case studies Political prisoners—United States—Case studies United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865— Prisoners and prisons I Title E477.98.S93 2010 973.7’7092—dc22 2010029404 About the Publisher Australia HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd 25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321) Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au Canada HarperCollins Canada Bloor Street East – 20th Floor Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca New Zealand HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited P.O Box Auckland, New Zealand http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz United Kingdom HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8JB, UK http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk United States HarperCollins Publishers Inc 10 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com ... deathbed The empty bed, just after Lincoln died Bloody pillow The President Is Dead” broadside Diagram of the bullet’s path through Lincoln’s brain The bullet that killed Lincoln Allegorical print... But the chase for Lincoln’s killer was not the only thrilling journey under way as the Civil War drew to a close in April 1865 While the hunt for Lincoln’s murderer transfixed the nation, two other.. .Bloody Crimes The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln’s Corpse James L Swanson In memory of my mother, Dianne M Swanson (1931–2008), who looked forward to this