Documents relating to assassination, 1865.

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Documents relating to assassination, 1865.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122466032

After shooting Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth eluded capture for 12 days while attempting to escape, via waterways, down to the Deep South. The Navy Department, headed by Gideon Welles, undertook a massive manhunt, checking out every lead and patrolling possible escape routes. Collection contains a telegram from Welles to Commander J.B. Montgomery, 19 Apr. 1865, ordering him to keep Booth's captured co-conspirators in isolation; four telegrams, in Welles's name, written by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox (on War Department stationery with the word "War" changed to "Navy"): to the commandants of the Navy yards and the Marine Corps, 16 Apr. 1865, ordering them to fly flags half-mast, fire salutes to Lincoln, and instruct officers to wear black crepe on their uniforms; to Rear Admiral D.D. Porter, 23 Apr. 1865, instructing him to patrol the shores of Virginia; to Commander William Radford, 25 Apr. 1865, asking him to send a ship to patrol the mouth of the Delaware River; to Commander F.A. Parker, 27 Apr. 1865, informing him that Booth was dead. Contains two other telegrams: Fox to Montgomery, 23 Apr. 1865, ordering him to tighten the security for the co-conspirators; and Parker to the senior naval officer, Cherrystone, Va., 29 Apr. 1865, informing him that Booth was dead. Additionally, there is a letter from H.H. Wells of the War Department to Consul General John Potter, Montreal, instructing him to gather information on Booth in Canada.

1 v. (8 items) ; 31 cm.

Rosenbach Museum & Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 6724170

Rosenbach Museum & Library

Related Entities

There are 3 Entities related to this resource.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz44c1 (person)

Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809, Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky-died April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.) was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination. He was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Thomas Lincoln, and Nancy Hanks. In 1816, Lincoln moved to Pigeon Creek, Indiana, where he worked on his family's farm. Following his mother's death two years later, he continued working on farms until moving with his father to New Sa...

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vx0gb5 (person)

A native of Glastonbury, Conn., Gideon Welles began his career as a lawyer but took up journalism as a profession, founding the Hartford Times, which he also edited, in 1826. Active in the Democratic Party in Connecticut, he served in the Connecticut state legislature and in several state offices. He later shifted his allegiance to the Republican Party due to his strong anti-slavery views and founded the Hartford Evening Press, a zealously Republican newspaper. President Abraham Lincoln appointe...

Fox, Gustavus Vasa, 1821-1883

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jd56gk (person)

Gustavus Vasa Fox served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War. From the description of G. V. Fox letter to H. R. Anthony, 1865 November 10. (University of California, Santa Barbara). WorldCat record id: 746765569 Assistant secretary, U.S. Navy, 1861-1866. From the description of Letter : Ports[mout]h, N.H., [18]65 Aug. 10. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 30798411 Assistant Secretary of the Navy. ...