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ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN
A
HISTORY OF THE GREAT CONSPIRACY
TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS BY A
MILITARY COMMISSION
AND A REVIEW OF THE TRIAL OF JOHN H. SURRATT
By T. M. HARRIS
Late Brigadier-General U. S. V. and Major-General by Brevet
A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION
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Boston, Mass.
AMERICAN CITIZEN COMPANY
7 BROMFIELD STREET
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1892,
By T. M. HARRIS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
All Rights Reserved.
Typography by Fish & Sancton, 198 Washington St., Boston.
EXPLANATION.
It is perhaps necessary that the author should explain thesense in which the term, "Great Conspiracy," in the title of hisbook, is used. It is not at all in the same sense in which itis used by General Logan in his book. In that it is used asthe equivalent of the Great Rebellion, only that it broadlycovers all that led to and culminated in the war against thegovernment, designated as "The Rebellion." It is only hereused to designate the conspiracy that resorted to the policy ofassassination as a means to give aid to the rebellion; and thereader who follows the author through will then be able to perceivewhy he designates this a "Great Conspiracy."
PREFACE.
It is now more than twenty-seven years since the assassinationof Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,—anevent of the greatest importance at the time, not only to thepeople of the United States, but to the civilized world. Thetrial of the conspirators by a military commission created thegreatest possible interest; and the proceedings and testimonywere published from day to day by all of the great newspapersof the country, and read with avidity. The judgment of thosewho carefully studied the testimony at the time was formedupon a competent knowledge of the facts.
And yet, even then, the fat