EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Washington, April 29, 1865.
Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and well-disposed persons residing in insurrectionary States from unnecessary commercial restrictions and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits—
It is hereby ordered, I. That all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River as shall be embraced within the lines of national military occupation, excepting only such restrictions as are imposed by acts of Congress and regulations in pursuance thereof prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President, and excepting also from the effect of this order the following articles contraband of war, to wit: Arms, ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines.
II. That all existing military and naval orders in any manner restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and trade with or in the localities above named be, and the same are hereby, revoked, and that no military or naval officer in any manner interrupt or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged therein under proper authority, pursuant to the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington City, April 29, 1865.
The Executive order of January 20, 1865, prohibiting the exportation of hay, is rescinded from and after the 1st day of May, 1865.
By order of the President:
EDWIN M STANTON.
Secretary of War.
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Washington City, May 1, 1865.
Whereas the Attorney-General of the United States hath given his opinion that the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of and lawfully triable before a military commission—
It is ordered:
First. That the assistant adjutant-general detail nine competent military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to prefer charges against said parties for their alleged offenses and bring them to trial before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted by the said Judge-Advocate-General, and as recorder thereof, in person, aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may designate, and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the ends of justice; the said commission to sit without regard to hours.
Second. That Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty as special provost-marshal-general for the purpose of said trial, and attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates.
Third. That the said commission establish such order or rules of proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay and conduce to the ends of public justice.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Official copy:
W.A. NICHOLS,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington, D.C., May 3, 1865.
Order Rescinding Regulations Prohibiting the Exportation of Arms, Ammunition, Horses, Mules, and Live Stock.
The Executive order of November 21, 1862, prohibiting the exportation of arms and ammunition from the United States, and the Executive order of May 13, 1863,[2] prohibiting the exportation of horses, mules, and live stock, being no longer required by public necessities, the aforesaid orders are hereby rescinded and annulled.
By order of the President of the United States:
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
Washington, May 4, 1865.
This being the day of the funeral of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, at Springfield, Ill., the Executive Office and the various Departments will be closed at 12 m. to-day.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
President of the United States.
SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 211.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, May 6, 1865.
4. A military commission is hereby appointed to meet at Washington, D.C., on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1865, at 9 o'clock a.m., or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the trial of David E. Herold, George A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, Samuel A. Mudd, and such other prisoners as may be brought before it, implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders and abettors.
Detail for the court.
Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General Robert S. Foster, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock,[3] United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Colonel Horace Porter,[4] aid-de-camp.
Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, United States Army, is appointed the judge-advocate and recorder of the commission, to be aided by such assistant or special judge-advocate as he may designate.
The commission will sit without regard to hours.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, May 7, 1865.
Brigadier-General Holt, Judge-Advocate-General, having designated the Hon. John A. Bingham as a special judge-advocate, whose aid he requires in the prosecution of Herold and others before the military commission of which Major-General Hunter is presiding officer:
It is ordered, That the said John A. Bingham be, and he is hereby, appointed special judge-advocate for the purpose aforesaid, to aid the Judge-Advocate-General, pursuant to the order of the President in respect to said military commission.
By order of the President:
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
SPECIAL ORDERS. No. 216.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, May 9, 1865.
91. Brevet Brigadier-General Cyrus B. Comstock, United States Volunteers, and Brevet Colonel Horace Porter, aid-de-camp, are hereby relieved from duty as members of the military commission appointed in Special Orders, No. 211, paragraph 4, dated "War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, May 6, 1865," and Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers, and Brevet Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army, are detailed in their places, respectively.
The commission will be composed as follows:
Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers.
Major-General Lewis Wallace, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Major-General August V. Kautz, United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General Albion P. Howe, United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General Robert S. Poster, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, United States Volunteers.
Brigadier-General T.M. Harris, United States Volunteers.
Brevet Colonel C.H. Tompkins, United States Army.
Lieutenant-Colonel David R. Clendenin, Eighth Illinois Cavalry.
Brigadier-General Joseph Holt, judge-advocate and recorder.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Washington City, May 9, 1865.
Executive Order to Reestablish the Authority of the United States and Execute the Laws within the Geographical Limits Known as the State of Virginia.
Ordered, first. That all acts and proceedings of the political, military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of insurrection and rebellion within the State of Virginia against the authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis, John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend, or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power, authority, jurisdiction, or right by, through, or under Jefferson Davis, late of the city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them or either of them since the 17th day of April, 1861, shall be deemed and taken as in rebellion against the United States, and shall be dealt with accordingly.
Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of the United States the administration whereof belongs to the Department of State applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid.
Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed without delay to nominate for appointment assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal revenue and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are authorized by law, and shall put in execution the revenue laws of the United States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within the districts where their respective duties are to be performed; but if suitable persons shall not be found residents of the districts, then persons residing in other States or districts shall be appointed.
Fourth. That the Postmaster-General shall proceed to establish post-offices and post routes and put into execution the postal laws of the United States within the said State, giving to loyal residents the preference of appointment; but if suitable persons are not found, then to appoint agents, etc., from other States.
Fifth. That the district judge of said district proceed to hold courts within said State in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress. The Attorney-General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale property subject to confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within said State in all matters, civil and criminal, within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts.
Sixth. That the Secretary of War assign such assistant provost-marshal-general and such provost-marshals in each district of said State as he may deem necessary.
Seventh. The Secretary of the Navy will take possession of all public property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical limits and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval affairs having application to the said State.
Eighth. The Secretary of the Interior will also put in force the laws relating to the Department of the Interior.
Ninth. That to carry into effect the guaranty by the Federal Constitution of a republican form of State government and afford the advantage and security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the reestablishment of the authority and laws of the United States and the full and complete restoration of peace within the limits aforesaid, Francis H. Peirpoint, governor of the State of Virginia, will be aided by the Federal Government so far as may be necessary in the lawful measures which he may take for the extension and administration of the State government throughout the geographical limits of said State.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
ANDREW JOHNSON.
By the President:
W. HUNTER,
Acting Secretary of State.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Washington City, May 27, 1865.
Ordered, That in all cases of sentences by military tribunals of imprisonment during the war the sentence be remitted and that the prisoners be discharged. The Adjutant-General will issue immediately the necessary instructions to carry this order into effect.
By order of the President of the United States:
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
Washington, D.C., May 31, 1865.
To-morrow, the 1st of June, being the day appointed for special humiliation and prayer in consequence of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, the Executive Office and the various Departments will be closed during the day.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
President of the United States.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 107.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, June 2, 1865.
Ordered, That all military restrictions upon trade in any of the States or Territories of the United States, except in articles contraband of war—to wit, arms, ammunition, gray cloth, and all articles from which ammunition is manufactured; locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads; telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines—shall cease from and after the present date.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, June 2, 1865.
Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President and as a means required by the public safety, directions were issued from this Department, under date of the 17th of December, 1864, requiring passports from all travelers entering the United States, except immigrant passengers directly entering an American port from a foreign country; and
Whereas the necessities which required the adoption of that measure are believed no longer to exist:
Now, therefore, the President directs that from and after this date the order above referred to shall be, and the same is hereby, rescinded.
Nothing in this regulation, however, will be construed to relieve from due accountability any enemies of the United States or offenders against their peace and dignity who may hereafter seek to enter the country or at any time be found within its lawful jurisdiction.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
Washington, D.C., June 2, 1865.
Whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, there was established in the War Department a Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, and to which, in accordance with the said act of Congress, is committed the supervision and management of all abandoned lands and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory embraced in the operations of the Army, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the head of the Bureau and approved by the President; and
Whereas it appears that the management of abandoned lands and subjects relating to refugees and freedmen, as aforesaid, have been and still are, by orders based on military exigencies or legislation based on previous statutes, partly in the hands of military officers disconnected with said Bureau and partly in charge of officers of the Treasury Department: It is therefore
Ordered, That all officers of the Treasury Department, all military officers, and all others in the service of the United States turn over to the authorized officers of said Bureau all abandoned lands and property contemplated in said act of Congress approved March 3, 1865, establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, that may now be under or within their control. They will also turn over to such officers all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use, and will transfer to them all official records connected with the administration of affairs which pertain to said Bureau.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 109.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, June 6, 1865.
ORDER FOR THE DISCHARGE OF CERTAIN PRISONERS OF WAR.
The prisoners of war at the several depots in the North will be discharged under the following regulations and restrictions:
I. All enlisted men of the rebel army and petty officers and seamen of the rebel navy will be discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance.
II. Officers of the rebel army not above the grade of captain and of the rebel navy not above the grade of lieutenant, except such as have graduated at the United States Military or Naval academies and such as held a commission in either the United States Army or Navy at the beginning of the rebellion, may be discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance.
III. When the discharges hereby ordered are completed, regulations will be issued in respect to the discharge of officers having higher rank than captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy.
IV. The several commanders of prison stations will discharge each day as many of the prisoners hereby authorized to be discharged as proper rolls can be prepared for, beginning with those who have been longest in prison and from the most remote points of the country; and certified rolls will be forwarded daily to the Commissary-General of Prisoners of those so discharged. The oath of allegiance only will be administered, but notice will be given that all who desire will be permitted to take the oath of amnesty after their release, in accordance with the regulations of the Department of State respecting the amnesty.
V. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish transportation to all released prisoners to the nearest accessible point to their homes, by rail or by steamboat.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
Washington, June 6, 1865.
Whereas circumstances of recent occurrence have made it no longer necessary to continue the prohibition of the departure for her destination of the gunboat Fusyama, built at New York for the Japanese Government, it is consequently ordered that that prohibition be removed. The Secretary of the Treasury will therefore cause a clearance to be issued to the Fusyama, and the Secretary of the Navy will not allow any obstacle thereto.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
[From the Daily National Intelligencer, June 13, 1865.]
CIRCULAR.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, June 7, 1865.
By direction of the President, all persons belonging to the excepted classes enumerated in the President's amnesty proclamation of May 29, 1865, who may make special applications to the President for pardon are hereby notified that before their respective applications will be considered it must be shown that they have respectively taken and subscribed the oath (or affirmation) in said proclamation prescribed. Every such person desiring a special pardon should make personal application in writing therefor, and should transmit with such application the original oath (or affirmation) as taken and subscribed before an officer authorized under the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State to administer the amnesty oath prescribed in the said proclamation of the President.
JAMES SPEED,
Attorney-General.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
Washington, D.C., June 9, 1865.
It is represented to me in a communication from the Secretary of the Interior that Indians in New Mexico have been seized and reduced into slavery, and it is recommended that the authority of the executive branch of the Government should be exercised for the effectual suppression of a practice which is alike in violation of the rights of the Indians and of the provisions of the organic law of the said Territory.
Concurring in this recommendation, I do hereby order that the heads of the several Executive Departments do enjoin upon the subordinates, agents, and employees under their respective orders or supervision in that Territory to discountenance the practice aforesaid and to take all lawful means to suppress the same.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL ORDERS, No. 356.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, July 5, 1865.
I. Before a military commission which convened at Washington, D.C., May 9, 1865, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Special Orders, No. 211, dated May 6, 1865, and paragraph 91 of Special Orders, No. 216, dated May 9, 1865, War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, and of which Major-General David Hunter, United States Volunteers, is president, were arraigned and tried David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd.
CHARGE I.
For maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combining, confederating, and conspiring together with one John H. Surratt, John Wilkes Booth, Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and others unknown to kill and murder, within the Military Department of Washington, and within the fortified and intrenched lines thereof, Abraham Lincoln, late, and at the time of said combining, confederating, and conspiring, President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof; Andrew Johnson, now Vice-President of the United States aforesaid; William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid; and Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant-General of the Army of the United States aforesaid, then in command of the armies of the United States, under the direction of the said Abraham Lincoln; and in pursuance of and in prosecuting said malicious, unlawful, and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and in aid of said rebellion, afterwards, to wit, on the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, within the Military Department of Washington aforesaid, and within the fortified and intrenched lines of said military department, together with said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously murdering the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States as aforesaid; and maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously assaulting, with intent to kill and murder, the said William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States as aforesaid; and lying in wait, with intent maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously to kill and murder the said Andrew Johnson, then being Vice-President of the United States, and the said Ulysses S. Grant, then being Lieutenant-General and in command of the armies of the United States as aforesaid.
SPECIFICATION FIRST.
In this, that they, the said David E. Herold, Edward Spangler, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, George A. Atzerodt, and Samuel A. Mudd, together with the said John H. Surratt and John Wilkes Booth, incited and encouraged thereunto by Jefferson Davis, George N. Sanders, Beverley Tucker, Jacob Thompson, William C. Cleary, Clement C. Clay, George Harper, George Young, and, others unknown, citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then engaged In armed rebellion against the United States of America, within the limits thereof, did, in aid of said armed rebellion, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine, confederate, and conspire together at Washington City, within the Military Department of Washington, and within the intrenched fortifications and military lines of the said United States there being, unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and murder Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States aforesaid and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and murder Andrew Johnson, now Vice-President of the said United States, upon whom, on the death of said Abraham Lincoln, after the 4th day of March, A.D. 1865, the office of President of the said United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof would devolve; and to unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously kill and murder Ulysses S. Grant, then Lieutenant-General, and, under the direction of the said Abraham Lincoln, in command of the armies of the United States aforesaid; and unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously to kill and murder William H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States aforesaid, whose duty it was by law, upon the death of said President and Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, to cause an election to be held for electors of President of the United States—the conspirators aforesaid designing and intending by the killing and murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and William H. Seward, as aforesaid, to deprive the Army and Navy of the said United States of a constitutional Commander in Chief, and to deprive the armies of the United States of their lawful commander, and to prevent a lawful election of President and Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, and by the means aforesaid to aid and comfort the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion against the said United States as aforesaid, and thereby to aid in the subversion and overthrow of the Constitution and laws of the said United States.
And being so combined, confederated, and conspiring together in the prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, on the night of the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at the hour of about 10 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m., at Ford's Theater, on Tenth street, in the city of Washington, and within the military department and military lines aforesaid, John Wilkes Booth, one of the conspirators aforesaid, in pursuance of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy, did then and there unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously, and with intent to kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, discharge a pistol then held in the hands of him, the said Booth, the same being then loaded with powder and a leaden ball, against and upon the left and posterior side of the head of the said Abraham Lincoln, and did thereby then and there inflict upon him, the said Abraham Lincoln, then President of the said United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, a mortal wound, whereof afterwards, to wit, on the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City aforesaid, the said Abraham Lincoln died; and thereby then and there, and in pursuance of said conspiracy, the said defendants and the said John Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt did unlawfully, traitorously, and maliciously, and with the intent to aid the rebellion as aforesaid, kill and murder the said Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States as aforesaid.
And in further prosecution of the unlawful and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid and of the murderous and traitorous intent of said conspiracy, the said Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about the same hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department and the military lines aforesaid, did aid and assist the said John Wilkes Booth to obtain entrance to the box in said theater in which said Abraham Lincoln was sitting at the time he was assaulted and shot, as aforesaid, by John Wilkes Booth; and also did then and there aid said Booth in barring and obstructing the door of the box of said theater, so as to hinder and prevent any assistance to or rescue of the said Abraham Lincoln against the murderous assault of the said John Wilkes Booth, and did aid and abet him in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln had been murdered in manner aforesaid.
And in further prosecution of said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous conspiracy, and in pursuance thereof, and with the intent as aforesaid, the said David B. Herold did, on the night of the 14th of April, A.D. 1865, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, aid, abet, and assist the said John Wilkes Booth in the killing and murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, and did then and there aid and abet and assist him, the said John Wilkes Booth, in attempting to escape through the military lines aforesaid, and did accompany and assist the said John Wilkes Booth in attempting to conceal himself and escape from justice after killing and murdering said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
And in further prosecution of said unlawful and traitorous conspiracy and of the intent thereof as aforesaid, the said Lewis Payne did, on the same night of the 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, about the same hour of 10 o'clock and 15 minutes p.m., at the city of Washington, and within the military department and the military lines aforesaid, unlawfully and maliciously make an assault upon the said William H. Seward, Secretary of State, as aforesaid, in the dwelling house and bedchamber of him, the said William H. Seward, and the said Payne did then and there, with a large knife held in his hand, unlawfully, traitorously, and in pursuance of said conspiracy, strike, stab, cut, and attempt to kill and murder the said William H. Seward, and did thereby then and there, and with the intent aforesaid, with said knife, inflict upon the face and throat of the said William H. Seward divers grievous wounds; and the said Lewis Payne, in further prosecution of said conspiracy, at the same time and place last aforesaid, did attempt, with the knife aforesaid and a pistol held in his hand, to kill and murder Frederick W. Seward, Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson, who were then striving to protect and rescue the said William H. Seward from murder by the said Lewis Payne, and did then and there, with said knife and pistol held in his hands, inflict upon the head of said Frederick W. Seward and upon the persons of said Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson divers grievous and dangerous wounds, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Frederick W. Seward, Augustus H. Seward, Emrick W. Hansell, and George F. Robinson.
And in further prosecution of said conspiracy and its traitorous and murderous designs, the said George A. Atzerodt did, on the night of the 14th of April, A.D. 1865, and about the same hour of the night aforesaid, within the military department and the military lines aforesaid, lie in wait for Andrew Johnson, then Vice-President of the United States aforesaid, with the intent unlawfully and maliciously to kill and murder him, the said Andrew Johnson.
And in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States as aforesaid, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Ulysses S. Grant.
And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel Arnold did, within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day and the 15th day of April, A.D. 1865, combine, conspire with, and aid, counsel, abet, comfort, and support the said John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Payne, George A. Atzerodt, Michael O'Laughlin, and their confederates in said unlawful, murderous, and traitorous conspiracy and in the execution thereof, as aforesaid.
And in further prosecution of the said conspiracy, Mary B. Surratt did, at Washington City, and within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April, A.D. 1865, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal, aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with knowledge of the murderous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof and in escaping from justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, as aforesaid.
And in further prosecution of said conspiracy, the said Samuel A. Mudd did, at Washington City, and within the military department and military lines aforesaid, on or before the 6th day of March, A.D. 1865, and on divers other days and times between that day and the 20th day of April, A.D. 1865, advise, encourage, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal, aid and assist, the said John Wilkes Booth, David B. Herold, Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary B. Surratt, and Samuel Arnold, and their confederates, with knowledge of the murderous and traitorous conspiracy aforesaid, and with intent to aid, abet, and assist them in the execution thereof and in escaping from justice after the murder of the said Abraham Lincoln, in pursuance of said conspiracy, in manner aforesaid.
To which charge and specification the accused, David B. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary B. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, and Samuel A. Mudd, pleaded "not guilty."
FINDINGS AND SENTENCES.
1. In the case of David B. Herold, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; as to which part thereof, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except the words of the charge that he combined, confederated, and conspired with Edward Spangler; as to which part of said charge, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said David B. Herold, "To be hanged by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members of the commission concurring therein."
2. In the case of George A. Atzerodt, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said George A. Atzerodt, "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members of the commission concurring therein."
3. In the case of Lewis Payne, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Lewis Payne, "To be hung by the neck until he be dead, at such time and place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members of the commission concurring therein."
4. In the case of Mary B. Surratt, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except as to receiving, entertaining, harboring, and concealing Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin, and except as to combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except as to combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence her, the said Mary B. Surratt, "To be hung by the neck until she be dead, at such time and place as the President of the United States shall direct; two-thirds of the members of the commission concurring therein."
5. In the case of Michael O'Laughlin, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except the words thereof as follows: 'And in the further prosecution of the conspiracy aforesaid and of its murderous and treasonable purposes aforesaid, on the nights of the 13th and 14th of April, A.D. 1865, at Washington City, and within the military department and military lines aforesaid, the said Michael O'Laughlin did then and there lie in wait for Ulysses S. Grant, then Lieutenant-General and commander of the armies of the United States, with intent then and there to kill and murder the said Ulysses S. Grant;' of said words, not guilty; and except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Michael O'Laughlin, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
6. In the case of Edward Spangler, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Not guilty, except as to the words, 'The said Edward Spangler, on said 14th day of April, A.D. 1865, at about the same hour of that day as aforesaid, within said military department and the military lines aforesaid, did aid and abet him (meaning John Wilkes Booth) in making his escape after the said Abraham Lincoln had been murdered in manner aforesaid;' and of these words, guilty."
Of the charge, "Not guilty, but guilty of having feloniously and traitorously aided and abetted John Wilkes Booth in making his escape after having killed and murdered Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, he the said Edward Spangler, at the time of aiding and abetting as aforesaid, well knowing that the said Abraham Lincoln, President as aforesaid, had been murdered by the said John Wilkes Booth, as aforesaid."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Edward Spangler, "To be confined at hard labor for the period of six years at such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
7. In the case of Samuel Arnold, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel Arnold, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
8. In the case of Samuel A. Mudd, the commission, having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused as follows:
Of the specification, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty; and except receiving, entertaining, harboring, and concealing Lewis Payne, John H. Surratt, Michael O'Laughlin, George A. Atzerodt, Mary E. Surratt, and Samuel Arnold; of this, not guilty."
Of the charge, "Guilty, except combining, confederating, and conspiring with Edward Spangler; of this, not guilty."
And the commission does therefore sentence him, the said Samuel A. Mudd, "To be imprisoned at hard labor for life at such penitentiary as the President of the United States shall designate."
II. The proceedings, findings, and sentences in the foregoing cases having been submitted to the President of the United States, the following are his orders:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 5, 1865.
The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, George A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt, and Samuel A. Mudd are hereby approved, and it is ordered that the sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt be carried into execution by the proper military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on the 7th day of July, 1865, between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m. and 2 o'clock p.m. of that day. It is further ordered that the prisoners Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the penitentiary at Albany, N.Y., during the period designated in their respective sentences.
ANDREW JOHNSON, President.
III. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding Middle Military Division, is commanded to cause the foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G.A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, and Mary E. Surratt to be duly executed in accordance with the President's order.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 15, 1865.
IV. The Executive order dated July 5, 1865, approving the sentences in the cases of Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin, is hereby modified so as to direct that the said Arnold, Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the military prison at Dry Tortugas, Florida, during the period designated in their respective sentences.
The Adjutant-General of the Army is directed to issue orders for the said prisoners to be transported to the Dry Tortugas, and to be confined there accordingly.
ANDREW JOHNSON, President.
V. Major-General W.S. Hancock, United States Volunteers, commanding Middle Military Division, is commanded to send the prisoners Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin, under charge of a commissioned officer, with a sufficient guard, to the Dry Tortugas, Florida, where they will be delivered to the commanding officer of the post, who is hereby ordered to confine the said Arnold, Mudd, Spangler, and O'Laughlin at hard labor during the periods designated in their respective sentences.
VI. The military commission of which Major-General David Hunter is president is hereby dissolved.
By command of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
WASHINGTON, August 7, 1865.
An impression seems to prevail that the interests of persons having business with the executive government require that they should have personal interviews with the President or heads of Departments. As this impression is believed to be entirely unfounded, it is expected that applications relating to such business will hereafter be made in writing to the head of that Department to which the business may have been assigned by law. Those applications will in their order be considered and disposed of by heads of Departments, subject to the approval of the President. This order is made necessary by the unusual numbers of persons visiting the seat of Government. It is impracticable to grant personal interviews to all of them, and desirable that there should be no invidious distinction in this respect. Similar business of persons who can not conveniently leave their homes must be neglected if the time of the executive officers here is engrossed by personal interviews with others.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
[From the Daily National Intelligencer, August 26, 1865.]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, August 25, 1865.
Paroled prisoners asking passports as citizens of the United States, and against whom no special charges may be pending, will be furnished with passports upon application therefor to the Department of State in the usual form. Such passports will, however, be issued upon the condition that the applicants do not return to the United States without leave of the President. Other persons implicated in the rebellion who may wish to go abroad will apply to the Department of State for passports, and the applications will be disposed of according to the merits of the several cases.
By the President of the United States:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, September 7, 1865.
It is hereby ordered, That so much of the Executive order bearing date the 7th [2d] day of June, 1865, as made it the duty of all officers of the Treasury Department, military officers, and all others in the service of the United States to turn over to the authorized officers of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen, or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use, be, and the same is hereby, suspended.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
President.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 138.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, September 16, 1865.
To provide for the transportation required by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands—
It is ordered, That upon the requisition of the Commissioner or the assistant commissioners of the Bureau transportation be furnished such destitute refugees and freedmen as are dependent upon the Government for support to points where they can procure employment and subsistence and support themselves, and thus relieve the Government, provided such transportation be confined by assistant commissioners within the limits of their jurisdiction.
Second. Free transportation on Government transports and United States military railroads will be furnished to such teachers only of refugees and freedmen, and persons laboring voluntarily in behalf of refugees and freedmen, as may be duly accredited by the Commissioner or assistant commissioners of the Bureau.
All stores and schoolbooks necessary to the subsistence, comfort, and instruction of dependent refugees and freedmen may be transported at Government expense, when such stores and books shall be turned over to the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with the approval of the assistant commissioners, Commissioner, or department commander, the same to be transported as public stores, consigned to the quartermaster of the post to which they are destined, who, after inspection, will turn them over to the assistant commissioners or Bureau agent for whom they are intended for distribution.
All army officers traveling on public duty, under the orders of the commissioners, within the limits of their respective jurisdictions, will be entitled to mileage or actual cost of transportation, according to the revised Army Regulations, when transportation has not been furnished them by the Quartermaster's Department.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General
SPECIAL ORDERS, NO. 503.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, September 19, 1865.
It has been represented to the Department that commanders of military posts and districts in Georgia, and particularly Brevet Brigadier-General C.H. Grosvenor, provost-marshal-general, and Brevet Major-General King, commanding in the district of Augusta, have assumed to decide questions of contracts and conflicting claims of property between individuals, and to order the delivery, surrender, or transfer of property and documents of title as between private persons, in which the Government is not concerned.
All such acts and proceedings on the part of military authorities in said State are declared by the President to be without authority and null and void.
All military commanders and authorities within said State are strictly ordered to abstain from any such acts, and not in any way to interfere with or assume to adjudicate any right, title, or claim of property between private individuals, and to suspend all action upon any orders heretofore made in respect to the ownership or delivery of property and the validity of contracts between private persons.
They are also forbidden from being directly or indirectly interested in any sales or contracts for cotton or other products of said State, and from using or suffering to be used any Government transportation for the transporting of cotton or other products of said State for or in behalf of private persons on any pretense whatever.
Military officers have no authority to interfere in any way in questions of sale or contracts of any kind between individuals or to decide any question of property between them without special instructions from this Department authorizing their action, and the usurpation of such power will be treated as a grave military offense.
Major-General Steedman, commanding the Department of Georgia, is specially charged with the enforcement of this order, and directed to make report as to any acts, proceedings, or orders of Brevet Major-General King and Brevet Brigadier-General Grosvenor, provost-marshal-general, in regard to contracts or conflicting claims of individuals in relation to cotton or other products, and to suspend all action upon any such orders until further instructions.
By order of the President of the United States.
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 145.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, October 9, 1865.
Whereas certain tracts of land, situated on the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, at the time for the most part vacant, were set apart by Major-General W.T. Sherman's special field order No. 15 for the benefit of refugees and freedmen that had been congregated by the operations of war or had been left to take care of themselves by their former owners; and
Whereas an expectation was thereby created that they would be able to retain possession of said lands; and
Whereas a large number of the former owners are earnestly soliciting the restoration of the same and promising to absorb the labor and care for the freedmen:
It is ordered, That Major-General Howard, Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, proceed to the several above-named States and endeavor to effect an arrangement mutually satisfactory to the freedmen and the landowners, and make report. And in case a mutually satisfactory arrangement can be effected, he is duly empowered and directed to issue such orders as may become necessary, after a full and careful investigation of the interests of the parties concerned.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, October 11, 1865.
Whereas the following-named persons, to wit, John A. Campbell, of Alabama; John H. Reagan, of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia; George A. Trenholm, of South Carolina, and Charles Clark, of Mississippi, lately engaged in rebellion against the United States Government, who are now in close custody, have made their submission to the authority of the United States and applied to the President for pardon under his proclamation; and
Whereas the authority of the Federal Government is sufficiently restored in the aforesaid States to admit of the enlargement of said persons from close custody:
It is ordered, That they be released on giving their respective paroles to appear at such time and place as the President may designate to answer any charge that he may direct to be preferred against them, and also that they will respectively abide until further orders in the places herein designated, and not depart therefrom, to wit:
John A. Campbell, in the State of Alabama; John H. Reagan, in the State of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, in the State of Georgia; George A. Trenholm, in the State of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, in the State of Mississippi. And if the President should grant his pardon to any of said persons, such person's parole will be thereby discharged.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
President.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
Washington City, November 11, 1865.
Ordered, That the civil and military agents of the Government transfer to the assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands for Alabama the use and custody of all real estate, buildings, or other property, except cotton, seized or held by them in that State as belonging to the late rebel government, together with all such funds as may arise or have arisen from the rent, sale, or disposition of such property which have not been finally paid into the Treasury of the United States.
ANDREW JOHNSON,
President.
GENERAL ORDERS, N0. 164.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, November 24, 1865.
Ordered, That—
I. All persons claiming reward for the apprehension of John Wilkes Booth, Lewis Payne, G.A. Atzerodt, and David E. Herold, and Jefferson Davis, or either of them, are notified to file their claims and their proofs with the Adjutant-General for final adjudication by the special commission appointed to award and determine upon the validity of such claims before the 1st day of January next, after which time no claims will be received.
II. The rewards offered for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, Beverley Tucker, George N. Sanders, William G. Cleary, and John H. Surratt are revoked.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.