Blood on the Moon

by Edward , Jr. Steers

  Within minutes of when Booth stopped, Herold galloped up. He had been five minutes behind Booth most of he way. Herold did not know where Powell was and probably told Booth that they became separated on their way out of the city. Atzerodt was on his own. Booth could not afford to delay any longer. There was no way of knowing whether a cavalry force was in their rear or not. Besides, Booth needed to have his leg looked after. The fracture of the fibula in his left leg likely prevented Booth from using the stirrup. This would have forced him to ride with his left leg dangling free while he clutched onto the horse’s mane with one hand to help steady himself and keep from falling. The two men galloped off in the direction of their next stop, the Surrattsville Tavern.

  The road to Surrattsville was direct and Davy Herold knew it like the back of his hand. With the moon to help them, he led the way. Herold had been along this very road dozens of times, often stopping at the tavern for friendly conversation and whiskey. It was to the Surratt tavern that Booth had sent Herold on March 17 in anticipation of Lincoln’s capture. Herold had carried weapons to the tavern, and when Booth failed to show up with the captured president Herold deposited them with John Surratt, who had come down to the tavern from Washington. Surratt had shown John Lloyd, the tavern keeper, where to hide the two carbines so they would be safe. Above the attached kitchen was an unfinished loft. The joists of the second floor were exposed where the area above the kitchen joined the house. Between the exposed floor joists Lloyd shoved the two carbines as far back as he could. He also shoved a box of shells in the same space.7 In this way the two guns were safely out of sight but ready to be pulled out at a moment’s notice.

  The Surratt tavern was located thirteen miles southeast of Washington at the small village crossroads known as Surrattsville. It was ideally situated along the main road that fed into southern Maryland. From Surrattsville, a traveler could chose his route depending on his destination. The tavern provided a convenient rest stop, and since 1862 it had provided a safe stop for the numerous persons moving through the region on clandestine business. It was the only safe house along the Confederate underground routes through southern Maryland that was identified by its actual name.8 It proved of vital importance to underground activities thanks to one of the Confederacy’s better agents, John Harrison Surratt Jr.

  The tavern was owned by Mary Elizabeth Surratt, a forty-two year old widow whose husband, John Harrison Surratt Sr., had died in August of 1862. Mary’s husband had been troubled his entire adult life by alcoholism and bad debts. Which was cause, and which was effect, wasn’t clear. Still, he managed to acquire nearly four hundred acres of good land in Prince George’s County, a ten-room tavern and hotel, and a ten-room, three-story brick house in Washington, D.C. In 1852 he secured a license to sell liquor at his new tavern and in 1854 was appointed postmaster. Even though he piled up substantial debts, he left the Washington townhouse unencumbered.

  John and Mary, together with their three children, Isaac, born 1841, Elizabeth Susanna, born 1843, and John Jr., born 1844, lived a normal life for their time. Mary had even acquired a few slaves, not a trivial acquisition nor unusual for the times. By August of 1862 she had lost her slaves, presumably runaways, and had lost her husband. Her older son, Isaac, was serving in the Confederate army while her younger son John was away at seminary school. In 1859 John Jr. had entered St. Charles College in Howard County, Maryland.9 Here John became a good friend of another seminary student by the name of Louis J. Wiechmann. Wiechmann would eventually wind up a boarder in Mary Surratt’s Washington boardinghouse from where he would become a close observer of John and Mary’s dealings with Booth.

  When John’s father died, John Jr. abruptly ended his seminary training and returned home to Surrattsville to help his mother weather the storm. John took over his father’s role as postmaster and helped his mother run the tavern. He also attended to other business, namely Confederate espionage. John was young, bright, and energetic. He had a flair for adventure and a devotion to the Southern way of life so prevalent in the region. The Confederates needed men like John and a place to do business like the tavern. It was a perfect match. Within a short period of time John was traveling between Richmond and points north as a courier carrying documents for the cause. His activities brought him into direct contact with high-ranking members of the Confederate government.10 The tavern was soon visited on a regular basis by all sorts of people: rogues and scoundrels, adventuresome men and women, all plying their skills on behalf of Jefferson Davis. John carried out his spy activities skillfully, for he was never arrested during the war by the Federal authorities, nor was his mother’s tavern closed down.

  Saddled with her husband’s debts, Mary Surratt attempted to deal with them as best she could. Unfortunately, they were too large to be settled easily. After two years of keeping the tavern afloat and her finances out of bankruptcy, Mary decided to lease the tavern and move into Washington where she could at least derive a steady income by renting out her extra rooms to boarders. It would prove to be a fatal move. Within the year she would be dead.

  In October of 1864 Mary began moving furniture into the H Street house. In November she moved herself and her daughter Anna and son John. In December she leased her tavern and Prince George’s property for five hundred dollars a year to a man named John Lloyd who, like her husband, had a fondness for alcohol. Even so, Lloyd would pay his rent and keep the tavern in business both for innocent travelers and Confederate agents. John Surratt Jr. still maintained control over the premises as far as clandestine activities were concerned. He used the tavern regularly as a stop in his travels between Richmond and the North and made sure his compatriots found it a welcome stop also.

  In November, Mary welcomed her son’s schoolmate, Louis J. Wiechmann, as one of her boarders. Four weeks later, in December, another friend of John’s would show up. He was John Wilkes Booth, who needed just the sort of friends that could be found at the H Street boardinghouse. Samuel Mudd first introduced Booth to John Surratt on December 23 on Seventh Street only a few blocks from the boardinghouse. Booth soon became a regular visitor of Mary and her houseguests. Included among the guests who visited the house were Booth, George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell, and Davy Herold.11

  In preparing to capture the president following his visit to Campbell Hospital on March 17, Booth had sent Herold to the Surratt tavern with several items that would be needed in the escape. Included were two carbines, side arms, ammunition, a rope, and a monkey wrench.12 Herold had waited at the Surratt tavern for Booth and his hostage most of the afternoon and early evening of the seventeenth. When Booth failed to show up, Herold rode south five miles to the village of T.B. where he stayed the night at Thompson’s tavern.13 The following day Herold began riding back in the direction of Surratt’s tavern. On the road he met John Surratt and George Atzerodt who told him the planned abduction had failed when Lincoln did not show up at the hospital as planned.

  Surratt took the weapons and other materials back to the tavern where he showed Lloyd where to hide the rifles between the joists over the kitchen. The rifles remained there until the night of April 14. The hidden weapons merely added to the evidence that would prove deadly to the widow Surratt.

  On the evening of April 10, Mrs. Surratt asked Wiechmann if he would drive her in Mr. Booth’s buggy down to the Surrattsville Tavern the next day. Wiechmann agreed, but when he went to Booth’s hotel room the next morning to borrow the buggy, Booth told him he had sold the carriage. Booth then gave Wiechmann ten dollars and told him to rent a buggy at one of the local stables. Wiechmann secured the buggy, and sometime around noon he and Mary headed out for the tavern.

  Soon after crossing over the Navy Yard Bridge Wiechmann and Mary encountered John Lloyd and his sister-in-law riding into Washington in another carriage. The carriages passed and came to a stop. Lloyd climbed down and walked back to where Wiechmann and Mary Surratt were waiting. The two began talking in hushed tones. While Wiechmann could hear that they were talking,
he could not discern their words.14 Apparently Lloyd could not understand Mary at first either. She tried to guard her words, and when Lloyd failed to understand her she became more explicit. Three months later John Lloyd would take the witness stand and claim that Mary Surratt told him to have the “shooting irons” (carbines) ready, as persons would be by to pick them up.15 Lloyd told Mary that he didn’t want the guns at the tavern, as he feared that it would be searched by the military and the guns discovered. Mary was not interested in Lloyd’s misgivings. Just have the “shooting irons” ready to go. The two parted, and Wiechmann and Mary continued on to the tavern where Mary hoped to meet with a man named John Nothey who owed her money for seventy-five acres he had purchased from her husband several years earlier. After arriving at the tavern Mary sent word to Nothey to come meet with her at the tavern. Nothey came and presumably discussed his debt with Mary, but neither Nothey nor Mary later gave any indication of what they discussed or had agreed to.16

  Three days later, on Good Friday, April 14, Mary and Louis made another trip to the tavern, a trip that would seal the widow’s fate. In the morning mail Mary Surratt had received a letter from one of her husband’s creditors, George Calvert, who wanted his payment for the land John Surratt had purchased in 1852 and on which he had built his tavern. Calvert noted in his letter that Nothey was willing to settle his debt with Mary. Calvert then insisted that Mary settle her debt with him.17 Calvert pressured Mary to pay up or face legal consequences. Since Nothey owed Mary for the land he had purchased from her husband, Mary sought to collect payment to settle her debt with Calvert. Mary later told authorities that she decided to visit Nothey at Surrattsville and collect her money. Wiechmann had gone to work on the morning of April 14 only to find that Stanton had issued a directive that permitted anyone wishing to attend Good Friday services to be “relieved from duty for the day.”18 Wiechmann took advantage of Stanton’s directive and attended services at St. Patrick’s church, returning afterwards to the Surratt house for dinner.

  Mary again asked Wiechmann if he would hire a buggy and take her to Surrattsville. Wiechmann said he would and left to make arrangements. On his way out he bumped into Booth, who was coming up the front steps to the house. The two men greeted one another and went about their respective business. When Wiechmann returned with the buggy he found Booth and Mrs. Surratt still talking in the front parlor. Booth soon left and Mary came out to join Wiechmann. As she was about to enter the carriage she remembered the package Booth had asked her to carry to the tavern. Returning to the house she picked up the package. According to Wiechmann, Mary said the package contained “glass.”19 Wiechmann assumed the package contained dishes wrapped in paper.20 In fact, the package contained Booth’s field glass that he would pick up later that night on his flight from Ford’s Theatre.

  It was around 4:30 in the afternoon when Wiechmann and Mary arrived at the Surrattsville tavern. John Nothey was nowhere in sight. Mary had failed to make arrangements to meet him there, farther weakening her argument for the trip on Friday afternoon.21 Lloyd was also absent when Mary arrived. He had gone to Upper Marlboro to attend the trial of a man who had attacked him at the tavern some time earlier. Mary took Booth’s package and went into the tavern to wait for Lloyd to return. The trial in Upper Marlboro had been postponed, but the gregarious Lloyd decided to hang around town for a while playing cards and drinking.22 Mary decided to wait for Lloyd.

  It was a little after five o’clock when Lloyd arrived back at the tavern. He pulled around to the rear of the kitchen and began to unload the wagon. Mary came out to where he was parked. “Speak of the devil and his little imps appear,” she said derisively.23 Lloyd was unamused. It was at this point that Mary told Lloyd about the guns. Lloyd quoted her exact words during his testimony on the witness stand, “Mr. Lloyd, I want you to have those shooting-irons ready: there will be parties here to-night who will call for them.”24 Lloyd was pressed for details. His testimony suggested that a precise message was passed along—nothing casual or suggestive. Whiskey and guns. He said she had actually said more, “give them a couple bottles of whiskey.”25 The prosecution then asked about the monkey wrench and rope. Lloyd restated his testimony: “No: the rope and monkey wrench were not what I was told to give him. I gave him such things as I was told to give by Mrs. Surratt.” The prosecutor then underscored Lloyd’s damaging testimony: “She told you to give him the carbines and whiskey and field-glass?” Lloyd answered: “Yes, Sir.”26 Unknown to the prosecutors at the time but subsequently revealed was a statement by George Atzerodt confirming Lloyd’s testimony. On May 1 following his arrest, Atzerodt told Maryland provost marshal James McPhail, “Booth told me that Mrs. Surratt went to Surrattsville to get out the guns which had been taken to that place [Surratt’s tavern] by Herold. This was Friday.”27

  The field glass became an important item. It was the tangible piece of evidence that tied Mary directly to Booth and supported the prosecution claim that Mary had gone to Surrattsville on Friday at Booth’s behest. Lloyd was recalled to the witness stand later in the trial and questioned further about the package Mary had handed him. Lloyd repeated his earlier statement that it was a field glass. He said he had handed it to Herold the night of the assassination when the two men arrived at the tavern.28 Two years later, at the trial of John Surratt, Lloyd went into detail about the field glass: “It was a double glass [binocular].” The glasses were unusual in that they had a special mechanism to change the ocular lenses by rotating a small, knurled knob located near the viewing end. Lloyd was directed by the prosecutor to “turn that little screw there and tell us what you see then.” Lloyd replied, “Marine, Theatre, Field,” and “Marine” again.29 A Paris optical maker named Chevalier in 1860 had patented the unusual mechanism, and it was found only in his field glasses.30

  Although Mary had claimed that her visit to Surrattsville was an effort to see John Nothey, she made no effort to see him. If her trip had been to recover money owed her, it was soon forgotten. Having finished her task, Mary and Wiechmann were ready to return to Washington. Just one small detail needs to be mentioned. The wagon they had traveled in was damaged. A spring coil had come loose from its attachment. Mary asked Lloyd if he could fix it so that they could return to the city. Lloyd said he would try. He took a rope and securely fastened the broken coil to the wagon, temporarily making the wagon serviceable. While Lloyd may have been drinking that afternoon, he was not too drunk to repair the broken wagon, and he accomplished it effectively and with little trouble. When Mary left the tavern on the evening of April 14, Lloyd was primed and ready for a visitor later that night.

  Normally it took a little over two hours to make the trip to Surrattsville from Washington on horseback. Riding hard, however, that time could be cut in half. It was a few minutes past midnight when Booth and Herold reached the crossroads near the tavern. They turned into the dirt lane leading up to the tavern door located on the side of the frame house. Booth sat slumped in his saddle grimacing with pain. The pain in his leg radiated into his lower back. Riding had become increasingly difficult. The adrenaline rush that had carried him across the stage and over the Navy Yard Bridge had long ago worn off.

  Herold slid off of his horse and, climbing the porch steps, began pounding hard on the wooden door. Once, twice, three times. Inside the tavern an inebriated Lloyd had fallen asleep. Herold’s pounding soon aroused him. Opening the door he peered into the surrounding darkness. At the end of the porch he could make out a man sitting astride a horse. Standing in the doorway was a second man. This second man pushed his way past Lloyd and reached for a bottle of whiskey still sitting on the bar where Lloyd had left it earlier. Grabbing a glass, he poured himself a drink and then carried the bottle out to the mounted rider. Passing Lloyd he said in a hurried voice, “Lloyd, for God’s sake, make haste and get those things.”31 Lloyd turned and made his way through the hall and up the stairs to the loft over the rear storeroom. He knew immediately what “those things” were. Later, duri
ng his interrogation by detectives, he would be asked a critical question: “He had not before that said to you what ‘those things’ were?’” Lloyd was clear in his answer, “He had not.” Lloyd continued his answer with a telling statement, “From the way he spoke, he must have been apprised that I already knew what I was to give him.”32 Here is a crucial clue often overlooked in the standard histories. Not only did Lloyd understand what Herold meant by “those things,” but also Herold knew that Lloyd would understand.33 How did Herold know that Lloyd would understand his order? Only if he had been told beforehand that Lloyd had been informed about the guns and persons needing them later that night. This could only have come from someone who knew that Lloyd had been “apprised” earlier in the day.34 That someone could only have been Mary Surratt. The noose tightened a little more.

  Lloyd returned with the two carbines and a field glass. Herold took one of the guns. Booth was offered the other. He refused it. His leg was broken and he couldn’t place his foot in the stirrup. He needed both hands to hold onto his horse. He slung the strap of the field glasses over his shoulder and took a heavy swig from the bottle Herold had passed up to him.35 Finishing his drink, Booth handed the bottle back to Herold, who returned it to Lloyd. Carbine in hand, Herold swung himself back into his saddle and began to wheel his horse around in the direction of the road. Booth edged his horse forward slightly and, looking down at Lloyd, said, “I will tell you some news if you want to hear it. … I am pretty certain that we have assassinated the President and Secretary Seward.”36 The two men then galloped off in the direction of the small community known locally as Beantown.