Existing comment:
Imprisoned:
As the conspirators were arrested, they were brought back to Washington and jailed. Six of them (Arnold, Atzerodt, Herold, O'Laughlin, Powell, and Spangler) were detained at the Navy Yard, on the ironclad vessels Montauk and Saugus. Mary Surratt and Samuel Mudd were held at the Old Capitol Prison.
As the trial date approached, all of the conspirators were moved to the Old Arsenal Penitentiary, where the hearing was held.
The Old Capitol Prison no longer exists -- it is now the site of the United States Supreme Court building. The Old Arsenal Penitentiary is now the site of Fort McNair, jutting south between the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. You can still visit parts of the Navy Yard, which remains home to the Chief of Naval Operations.
Shackled and Hooded:
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton oversaw the imprisonmet and trial of the conspirators. He ordered the conspirators to wear canvas hoods that covered all of the face except the mouth. In the Washington heat, the hoods became intensely uncomfortable. In addition, dour of the prisoners (Atzerodt, Powell, Herold, and Spangler) wore heavy iron shackles.
Stanton excused Mary Surratt from wearing the hood for fear of public outcry.
This 1865 political cartoon, created after Lincoln's death, illustrates the country's anger towards the conspirators and Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Uncle Sam points to a caged hyena, representing David. Above him are the "gallow's birds" -- the conspirators awaiting execution. |