Existing comment:
Telegram from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton regarding the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth, April 27, 1865:
On April 26, a detachment of the 16th New York Cavalry and two detectives caught up with Booth and Herold near Port Royal, Virginia, and surrounded the barn on Richard Garrett's farm where the two had hidden. When one of the detectives threatened to set the barn on fire, Herold surrendered. Booth refused and was shot as the building began to burn. He died a few hours later.
In this telegram, Stanton reported these events to Maj. Gen. John A. Dix, whose superior telegraphic connections in New York made him the primary vehicle for official communications throughout the crisis.
In 1866, the reward money was distributed to several people, including the civilian detectives who worked the investigation, the officer who led the detachment of the 16th New York Cavalry, and each of the soldiers under his command. |