The Search For The Man Who Attempted To Assassinate
Secretary Of State William H. Seward
Source: Provost Marshal Records
Lewis Powell
On
the night that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, he also assigned
Lewis Powell to murder Secretary of State William H. Seward. At this time, Seward was bedridden by
a carriage accident. On April 5, Seward was thrown from
his carriage,
suffering a concussion, a jaw broken in two places, and a broken right arm.
Doctors improvised a jaw splint to repair his jaw, and on the night of the assassination he
was still restricted to bed at his home in Lafayette Park in
Washington, not
too far from the White House. Herold guided Powell to Seward's residence on
Booth's orders.
Powell was carrying an 1858 Whitney revolver which was a large, heavy and
popular gun during the Civil War. Additionally, he carried
a silver-handled
bowie knife. He
was a young man, but was a former member of Mosby's Rangers and The Confederate
Secret Service.
Powell knocked at the front door of the house a little after 10:00
p.m. William Bell, Seward's butler, answered the
door. Powell told
Bell that he had medicine for Seward from Dr. Verdi, and that he was to
personally deliver and show Seward how to take the medicine. Having gained admittance, Powell
made his way up the stairs to Seward's third floor bedroom. At the top of the staircase, he was
approached by Seward's son and Assistant Secretary of State Frederick W.
Seward. Powell told Frederick the same story that he had told Bell at
the front door. Frederick was suspicious of the intruder, and told Powell that his father was
asleep.
After hearing voices in the hall, Seward's daughter Fanny opened the
door to Seward's room and said, "Fred, father is awake now", and then returned to the room, thus
revealing to Powell where Seward was located. Powell started down the
stairs when
suddenly he jolted around again and drew his revolver, pointing it at
Frederick's forehead. He pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. Panicking, Powell smashed the
gun over Frederick's head continuously until Frederick
collapsed.
Ironically, he could have just fired it again, but when he beat Frederick, it
destroyed the handgun beyond repair. Fanny, wondering what all the noise was, looked out the door
again. She saw her brother bloody and unconscious on
the floor and
Powell running towards her. Powell ran to Seward's bed and stabbed him
repeatedly in the face and neck. He missed the first time he swung his knife down, but the third
blow sliced open Seward's cheek. Seward's neck brace was the
only thing that
prevented the blade from penetrating his jugular. Sergeant Robinson and Seward's
son Augustus tried
to
drive Powell away. Augustus had been asleep in his room, but was awakened by
Fanny's screams of terror. Outside, Herold also heard Fanny's screaming. He became frightened and
ran away, abandoning Powell.
Secretary Seward had rolled off the bed and onto the floor by the
force of the blows where he could not be reached by
Powell. Powell
fought off Robinson, Augustus, and Fanny, stabbing them as well. When Augustus
went for his pistol, Powell ran downstairs and headed to the front door. Just then, a messenger
named Emerick Hansell arrived with a telegram for Seward. Powell stabbed Hansell in the back,
causing him to fall to the floor. Powell ran
outside, untied
his horse from the tree where Herold left it, and rode away
alone.
Sergeant Robinson lifted the Secretary from the floor back onto the
bed. Secretary
Seward spat the blood out of his mouth and said "I am not dead; send for a
doctor, send for the police. Close the house". Seward's wounds were ugly, but Powell's wild stabs
in the dark room did not hit anything vital. The Secretary
survived the
attacks.
Powell was arrested on April 17, 1865. He was tried, convicted and
sentenced to hang. Powell died on the gallows in the
courtyard of the
Old Arsenal Building along with three of his fellow conspirators on July 7,
1865.
The
Report issued by the Military, searching for Lewis Powell
The description of Powell came
from Secretary Seward.
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