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Lewis Thornton Powell
| Series : |
Reference collection |
| Image Number : |
Rc11477 |
| Date : |
186-. |
| Subject Heading(s) : |
Powell, Lewis Thornton.
Conspiracy.
Presidents--Assassination attempts.
Florida. |
| Original : |
1 photoprint b&w 10 x 8 in. |
| Notes : |
Lewis Thornton Powell, alias Payne. The (Live Oak?) Florida native
who was part of Booth's conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln, Vice
President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward. Powell entered Seward's
home, stabbed him in the throat, inflicted dangerous wounds on other members
of the household. He escaped and hid in the woods near Washington, returned
to the home of Mrs. Surratt, a fellow conspirator. As he reached the house
it was being searched by officers. Powell said he had been hired to dig
a drain. Surratt, when questioned raised her hand and swore "Before God
I do not know him, never saw him, and never hired him." Thus was the conspiracy
indicated; and evidence soon forthcoming led to the conviction and execution
of Surrat, Powell and 2 others on July 7,1865. |
Additional notes
from
David J. Cole |
Undoubtedly the most notorious of all the Florida Civil War soldiers
was Lewis Thornton Powell, the Alabama-born son of a Baptist minister.
Powell enlisted at 17 in the “Hamilton blues,” Captain Henry Stewart’s
company of the 2nd Florida Infantry.
Wounded and captured at Gettysburg, Powell escaped and joined John Mosby’s
partisans. The Floridian appeared at Alexandria, Virginia in January
1865, and signed an oath of allegiance under the alias Lewis Payne.
Powell involved himself in John Wilkes Booth’s plan to kill President Lincoln.
On the evening of April 14 Booth and Powell carried out their portions
of the plot. Posing as a delivery man, Powell entered the home of
Secretary of State William Seward and attacked the bedridden official with
a knife, inflicting serious but not fatal wounds. Powell was apprehended
and eventually hanged for his part in the assassination conspiracy. |
| NEW AND
NOTEWORTHY
ON FLORIDA MEMORY |
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| Bedell Collection 126 prints of Deaconess Harriet Bedell working among the Seminole Indians in South Florida from 1933 to 1960. |
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Pets with a Florida Flair From dogs and cats, to fawns, monkeys and macaws, Floridians have shared their lives with their animal friends. |
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Postcard Collection Over 6,300 picture postcards of Florida attractions, cities, and people, circa 1900s-1970s. |
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