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Show mmmm0mimMmmmaammmiinMminduimM .iIiimw iiiiiii w ii.i.ih. m mwmm&mmmMmmmmmmm 11 1 is iwmwii i mi aim inianmaoai iin'im iwi mtwtmr' wlnmiwirf ' ?x-k' .-." . i xrSmM irv ? a ""UOt'T th mli1.ll of A August. 18G2. Company Com-pany K of llm On hundred and fifth Pennsylvania volun- tmmmmmkwmmt torra. known the : S'fMVSfJkfy "Hurkinir reitliiirnt, of Vt " - was dcutlrd ai ' V bodyguard of I'reil- , VTt dent Lincoln and continued In that ca r'Al parity until ble aesaulnatlnn In the Wf prlna of 1S8IS. During the threo year jvy of my elay In Washington, the most Hj crlllral period of th nation' history, I .11 saw and heard many thing that litre NrO never found their way Into the public OyI prints. Borne of the bodyguard were kj? conslsntly with the president and his f faintly, whether at fnslilnniilile levees fv rorepilons to foreign legiitl.ins or prl lr vale Interview. At all such fiinrllijin we were silent epcrtntnrs of all that look plate. We were always Heated with the highest high-est respect by the Lincoln fumlly, wlio regarded re-garded us a a pnrt nf the household. Rvery private of the guard received the same sttnn-lions sttnn-lions of courtesy as the most famous slsiee-man slsiee-man or diplomat at the capital We all formed a strong personal attachment for the president presi-dent and when the grand old man laid down his life In behalf of the cause that hsd been hi life work we fait as If we hud hint Hi dearest friend we ever hsd During the first two years nf our term of service tho most rigid discipline wus eiifnrced fiometlmes we would be ordered to use extraordinary ex-traordinary vlgllnnce and to let no one enter the grounds of the While House wlllinut the proper posses and to be very particular at to who approached the president Often Hie order or-der would come for tho gunrils on duly to he doubled It was seldom that lie knew the dlrm-t cnusn of these extra prcriuilliitu., but we supposed that the olllrers nf the secret service weiu In possession of lnf.iruintl.il of some plot Unit brooded harm to the pn-sl dent. I'p to lsi;4, owing to our vIkIIhiicc ami tliu prnl. ctlng h 11 ml uf I'rovlitencr. our beloved chief hsd escaped the hand of .lolctirc Thu I back nf tho confederacy was broken. 11 iioi.tl feeling pervaded all Washington and ..use j iiucntly I lie strict wnlcbfiilness Hint Im.l Prevailed Pre-vailed grew Into Innlly, Tills was II." IHiil period, for It wus si Hits time tlmt i'"!il Hades Ha-des were hatched mid confederates merran thu city, compiiratlvely uniiinlesle.l The tb. blent and fumlly spent tbp summer nt Hie tnt-dler's tnt-dler's Ilium., sllunl.d nbiuit tlircn mils- north of the city, and tlillbur the bo.lvKiinr.l always aceoiupunled them. It wus In Hie summer of 1R04. while we were up at the home, that an In. blent happened hap-pened that came vnry near ciiluiltiailiip la Just such an awful trugedy us followed mly a few m. mills Inlur at Ford's theater H was the custom nf the president to remain hit" at tho wnr depurtnient when anything "f rrent liuportanre was happening In the arrnv. enn-, enn-, suiting with the secretary of war niul trans I milting uud receiving dispatches, an. I nftor his work was finished he would rl.lc nut to ' the soldiers' home. That suiniu. r tin hml per-slulenlly per-slulenlly refused an escort, IiihikIiiImk bluisulf perfectly secure Due night about the middle nf Aiipust I was doing sentry duty at the Inmo gate thiougli which entrniice was had lnt' Hie grounds at the home. Tho place Is sinister) about a quarter of a mllo off the llln.leii-biirg roud and Is reached by a devious drheway. About one o'clock I beard a rllle shot In tba direction of the city and shortly aficrward could hear approaching hoofbuats- In two or throe minutes the horse came ntnir unnnKh so that In the dim moonlight I roroKiil'.d th rider a th battled president. Th horse. 0mm very spirited one. 1V.'V 11 K- , "" belonging to I. union I -Jii. ' "J. -'JiJea ,u;, the marshal of the V AX - . ntstrlet of Cnlum I V ' bla. was Mr l.ln- S tT ' ' v coin's fivorlto sad mk t '.s- die animal and CE IL. ' i - if ' A1 when he was In the MrA.O , ff . 7 A V ' ' ' White House sta- ' 11 - . 4 V K 'A V,'K ble. he always 1 ' , '.'S v '. chose him. J"t ' 1 '1 I Aa horse and rid- "Ti u t ; ' 11 er apiironched the Wt il -Jj gnto I noticed Hint 1 (J 1 the president was " " '"" harehrnded After I had assslled him In eliecklng his steed the president presi-dent sal.l to me: "Ho came ptelty near getting sway with me. didn't he? lie took the hll In his l.cili before I could draw the reins" I then nsk.il 11 1 nt win re bis hat was nnd lie replied Hint someboily Im.l i.rcl a gnu off down at the foot of Hie hill, wbl. li sear. .1 bis hors... and the lurch of Hie anlin.'.l t.ip.l..l his l.at off I led the horse to the colii.i:.. where I be president presi-dent nnd bis family wns Mii.Ii k There bu ills mounted anil went In Thinking the proi ilinc a lit.., strange, a corporal and I start.'. I In the illie.il.in (iota w hich thu report of Hie gun Im.l t. 11 li. ni. I. to llivehtlgate When we enn ... to the place where the drltcway mi-.. is the nriln roa.t w. f.i.iuil the president's hat -a plain sill; lint nn.l on cxuinlu lug It found a bullet hole Hir.iiTti lb.' corner of the crown The shot bail I .n tln-d upwind and It wus evident that the .. 1 who ba.l IH.il It llllll secrelcil llllllself close 1.1 Hie ro. Ill-lib' We listened uud seurcbed the locality llmrmiKliI)', bill tu no n all Tho next day I gave M' l.lmoln his hut and called his attention to Jjie bulb t le-le lie unconcernedly uncon-cernedly remarked Huh It "s put them hv some foolish gunner nnd was not liit. iule.1 for blin He said, however, that lie win, id tl utter kept quiet and admonished us to my nothing about It. Thu next full, after we M...I taken up our winter win-ter cnartets at the While Mouse, a conspiracy to kidnap the president was unknowingly liusiinit-.l by us. Had the truth of the nftalr leaked nut at tho lima It d.nihllcks would haw. created great excitement Our ipiarters were tin Ila'ely In front of the south porch of the i:eeiiiv.i Mansion, Man-sion, a position which placed us at about cijual distance from thu treasury hull.lliig on Hie east uud the wur nnd liuvv building i n tint west Kor reasons at the tluio unknown lu us w were ordered to movu our guard lent and place It at the west end of the gruvel walk, directly In (.he renr of the war department. While w atnyed there untiling occurred to urous.i suspicion. suspi-cion. Hhortly afterward wo learned, however, that on the very night ulter wu had moved th tent the confederates had a plau laid tu capture th president. The conspirators wore to hide In th shrubbery aud when the president cam slung Tr.i.r.11 iiMnijui,,! pmnwm my hhl.isp! HiwrnwesmsiTi11 'I" 1 nnnnrTT- tho walk they were to seine, gng and carry him across Hie river Into Virginia. Thence ho was to be taken to Itlchtuoiid or some other confed y crate stronghold, where he wss to be held as ' a hostage. The members of the bodyguard ulwuys supposed that the conspirators were frlnliiened away when they saw our guurd tent and nliatidou.il the plan of kidnapping Not long atier the attempted kblnnpplug an nth.-r episode look place, which afterward was . found to have been planned by a hand of assassins assas-sins who made their heiubiuarters In the cliy. li.nii'ke. Hie veteran coachman, who had served nt the White House through I'lercu's nnd lluchati nn's ndmliilslruiloiis nnd llius far Into Lincoln's, was taken sick nnd compelled to he off duly. luiiiiedlately u stiatiger, who represented himself him-self as an experl. u. e.l eoncbnian from llaltlmore. npplled at the White House aud w-as employed lis coacbniiiu. From the llrst he was domineer- i Ing find niter n few weeks became so Important E tbiit he was dlNchariicd and llouikii r.-lustuted. , . tine flight shortly afterward. Just about dusk. 'y-' the .llscliargcil com huiau wus seen slieultlllg fj' 1. 1. in ml the stahlcs l.y some of llio guard. Thu J'-; stables had be. ti locked for the night aud It sun K. not supposed that be could do any diiiunge and r ; coiiseriuently the men who shw hltn did not gu 'r to the siubl.s. Presently the wholu Interior of fV Hie barns wus fouiiil to he on fire. The guard l-was l-was called out and by dint of great exertion we saved the prssbl. 'fit's coach and team, but Tud V I.lucolii'e ponies ami t'ul. Hay's cnrrlagu team h''f. perished In thu tlnnies. ?A.' The plsn wns tu have this man file th k stables and tlius to distract our attention. Dur S'' (tig the excitement some of the conspiration Ueiu ti ready to rush Into the White llnusa and murder 'J' the president, but liistcnd of reuialnliig In the 1 - huiise Mr. l.luculn tan out utuuiig us aud thus In all probability fiusttntt-d another attempt at r , assassination. br lint mukes this uppeur mule likely now Is , ' the fact that, after thu Incendiary was nrreuted k he produced severul witnesses, who lutur found V. employmeiit at Ford's theater, to testify that he j was down lu the city during the whole of tho I evening. Tbesa were the persuus who duuhtless planned the tlual conspiracy that brought the I giuat beuefuctur to the grave. I f ; 1 , ,, , , tm ,, ,-,f.rtn.i-ir I ,'. r |
