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.
Scanned
Pages
James R. Baker
Jr.
