(Chapter 4) THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATORS EXECUTION PHOTOS, A STUDY IN DETAIL

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATORS EXECUTION PHOTOS: A STUDY IN DETAIL.

June 1, 2009

I wanted to let everyone who has been following my blog for the past year know that it has been a very successful venture. One of the most successful postings I produced was the 15-chapter series called The Lincoln Conspirators Execution Photos: A Study in Detail.

I have been working on formatting this study into a book version for several months and am glad to report that I have reached the point where I must regrettably remove the content from this blog and begin finalizing the document for print. The final version of this will grow from 15 chapters to about 20-25 chapters as I have lots of other tidbits that I want to add.

But to not cut people off entirely from the study, you still have access to Chapters 1 to 5 on line here so you can get a feel for how the overall project was produced. I’m sorry if it is like reading a story and then having to stop right when it’s getting good but regrettably, it is a necessary step I’ve had to take.

When appropriate I will report on how you can obtain a copy of this book if you wish. If you want to write to me and get on my mailing list, I’ll be happy to give you updates as I have them available. outreach@awesometalks.com

Best Barry

CHAPTER 4: THE EXECUTIONERS

Brevet Major General Hartranft, the commander of the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary, and his staff

Once it was determined that the trial of the eight conspirators would be held at the Old Arsenal Building in the Washington Penitentiary, the prisoners were moved there from their current locations at the Washington Navy Yard and the Old Capitol Prison. As stated in Chapter 3, a command issued on April 25 from the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton forced all the prisoners, except Mary Surratt, to wear canvas hoods on their heads during their confinement…all day, everyday. This, along with having to wear the wrist and ankle irons caused the prisoners great pain and suffering during their captivity.

From left to right: Capt. R.A. Watts, Lt. Col. George W. Frederick, Lt. Col. William H.H. McCall, Lt. D.H. Gessinger, Brevet Major General John F. Hartranft, Asst. Surgeon George L. Porter, Col. L.A. Dodd and Capt. Christian Rath who served as the official executioner

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BREVET MAJOR GENERAL JOHN F. HARTRANFT

General Hartranft was the commander of the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary and was responsible for the incarceration of the eight conspirators, their treatment and well being. Eventually, he also became responsible for making the arrangements for, and carrying out, the executions of the four condemned prisoners; Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David E. Herold and George Atzerodt.

 

By all accounts, General Hartranft treated the prisoners fairly and with certain kindness, although he still had to follow orders issued to him by his senior officers. An example of his humanity is evident from a counter command he gave on June 6th. After observing how much suffering the prisoners were experiencing by wearing the hoods day after day, he ordered his men to remove them for good.

One month later, he was faced with dealing with the preparations for the hangings. This was a duty he had hoped to avoid. It was even more traumatic in the fact that he would have to execute Mary Surratt, the first woman to be hanged by the Federal Government in the history of the United States. Right up to the last minute, he had soldiers on horseback strategically placed on the city streets between the prison and the White House ready to deliver any pardon that was issued. Regrettably, none ever came.

On July 5, the verdicts were signed by President Andrew Johnson and the eight hand written warrants were delivered to General Hartranft on the following morning of (July 6). All eight conspirators had been found guilty of various offences relating to the conspiracy. Four received the penalty of death, three received life sentences and one a six year sentence. It was General Hartranft’s responsibility to inform the prisoners of their fates. Around noon that day, General Hartranft, accompanied by General Hancock, went from cell to cell and read the death warrants to the four condemned prisoners and then handed each a copy of their warrant before leaving. The other four prisoners, whose lives were spared, would not be told of their fates until several days later.

From the moment General Hartranft was informed of the verdicts, he had little time to waste and he busied himself by preparing the prison for the executions. He needed to find soldiers capable of building the scaffold by the next morning as his official orders stated that the hangings needed to occur between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm on July 7. He had soldiers dig four shallow graves next to the gallows for the bodies to be buried in once the executions were completed.

Hartranft also moved the condemned prisoners from their cells on the 3rd floor to cells on the 1st floor where they would be closer to the exit door which led out into the yard. Where possible, family members and ministers were contacted on behalf of the prisoners and arrangements were made for their visits. And as always, the intrusive newspaper men needed to be dealt with. Given the circumstances and short notice, General Hartranft and his staff did an admirable job in preparing for this unpleasant duty. It was a job that few, if any, really wanted.

GENERAL HARTRANFT’S STAFF

Several of General Hartranft’s staff had worked with him before. Some served under him during the Appomattox Campaign in the spring of 1865 while he was in command of the Third Division. In a report issued by the General on July 3, 1865, he praised many of these men including Captain R.A. Watts, Colonel L.A. Dodd, Lieutenant Colonel George W. Frederick and Colonel William H.H. McCall.  Below are close ups of these men.

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CAPTAIN R.A. WATTS

 

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 COLONEL L.A.DODD

 

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LIEUTENANT COLONEL GEORGE W. FREDERICK

 

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CAPTAIN CHRISTIAN RATH (EXECUTIONER) - Captain Rath of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, First Division, Ninth Corps was assigned the duty of executioner by General Hartranft. Rath spent the night before the executions making the nooses that he would use the next day. After preparing the first three for the male prisoners, using a standard 7-8 turns, he became tired and only prepared Mary Surratt’s noose using 5 turns. He believed this would be adequate to do the  job.

In the morning, he orchestrated the completion of the scaffold, drilled the soldiers assigned to spring the traps and repeatedly tested the scaffold traps, ropes and men to ensure all would work well together without fail.

 

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HARTRANFT, WATTS, DODD, FREDERICK & RATH ON THE SCAFFOLD

Brevet Major General Hartranft (reading the death warrant), Captain R.A. Watts (holding umbrella), Colonel L.A. Dodd (holding sword), Lt. Col. George W. Frederick (behind left of Dodd) and executioner Captain Christian Rath (white hat) on scaffold with rest of execution party. Note: Conspirator David E. Herold is seen sitting at the lower right hand corner of the photo.

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 ASSISTANT SURGEON, GEORGE L. PORTER

 

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LIEUTENANT COLONEL WILLIAM H.H. McCALL

 

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LIEUTENANT D.H. GESSINGER

 

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End of Chapter 4.

Next Installment: Chapter 5 – The Execution Images 1: The Empty Scaffold

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If you are interested in reading the comments of some Lincoln experts and researchers, here are some interviews I did with several of them recently.

“An Awesometalk With” ROGER NORTON, Webmaster of the ‘Abraham Lincoln Research Site’ (posted on December 30, 2008)

“An Awesometalk With” DR. THOMAS SCHWARTZ, Illinois State Historian (posted on December 08, 2008)

 

“An Awesometalk With” HAROLD HOLZER, Lincoln Scholar (posted on November 10, 2008)

 

 Best

Barry

outreach@awesometalks.com