Excerpt from The Pursuit & Arrest of John H. Surratt
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From the Congressional Record

War Department, Washington, April 20, 1865 The murderer of our late beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, is still at large. $50,000 reward will be paid by this department for his apprehension, in addition to any reward offered by municipal authorities or state executives. $25,000 reward will be paid for the apprehension of John H. Surratt, one of Booth's accomplices. $25,000 reward will be paid for the apprehension of David C. Herold, another of Booth's accomplices. Liberal rewards will be paid for any information that shall conduce to the arrest of either of the above-named criminals, or their accomplices. All persons harboring or secreting the said persons, or either of them, or aiding or assisting in their concealment or escape, will be treated as accomplices in the murder of the President and the attempted assassination of the Secretary of State, and shall be subject to trial before a military commission and the punishment of death. Let the stain of innocent blood be removed from the land by the arrest and punishment of the murderers. All good citizens are exhorted to aid public justice on this occasion. Every man should consider his own conscience charged with this solemn duty, and rest neither night nor day until it be accomplished. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War Descriptions. Booth is five feet seven or eight inches high; slender build; high forehead; black hair; black eyes; and wears a heavy black moustache. John H. Surratt is about five feet nine inches; hair rather thin and dark; eyes rather light; no beard; would weigh 145 or 150 pounds; complexion rather pale and clear, with color in his cheeks; wore light clothes of fine quality; shoulders square; cheek bones rather prominent; chin narrow;	ears projecting; the top forehead rather low and his hair square, but broad; parted on the right side; neck rather long; his lips are firmly set; a slim man. David C. Herold is five feet six inches high; hair dark, heavy; full face; nose, short; hands short and fleshy; feet small; instep high; round bodied; naturally quick and active; slightly closes his eyes when looking at a person. Notice: In addition to the above, state and other authorities have offered rewards amounting to almost one hundred thousand dollars, making in aggregate about two hundred thousand dollars.   Hon. William H Seward Yesterday, information was given me that John H. Surratt, one of the persons implicated in the conspiracy to murder Mr. Lincoln, was in Liverpool, or expected there within a day or two. I took the affidavit of the person who gave me the information, and transmitted it to Mr. Adams and I herewith transmit a copy. * * * described himself as a passenger, but have ascertained that he is * * * He expects a letter or a visit from Surratt in a day or two, and has promised to acquaint me with his, Surratt's, location. Should there be really anything in it, and a warrant be obtained for Surratt's apprehension, we should scarcely get him delivered up without other evidence than we can obtain here, we should have to ask his remand until you could send us the necessary evidence. Very respectfully, I am, sir, your obedient servant, A. Wilding, Vice-Consul United States Consulate, Liverpool, September 27, 1865.
Washington, D.C., February 5, 1867 L.J. McMillan is sworn and deposed by Mr. Boutwell: Q. Where do you reside, and what is your occupation? A. I reside at Sweetsburg, Canada, and I am a medical doctor. Q. Did you know John H. Surratt? And, if so, state when, and under what circumstances. A. I became acquainted with John H. Surratt in the month of September, 1865. I did not know him then under the name of Surratt; he was introduced to me under the name of McCarthy by a gentleman in Montreal, who kept him in secrecy after the assassination of Mr. Lincoln. I was then surgeon of the steamship Peruvian, plying between Quebec and Liverpool. He came on board of the ship, I believe, on September 11, 1865. I never suspected who he was until after we had left. One day he inquired of me "who that gentleman was", pointing to a passenger. He said he believed he was an American detective, and that he was after himself. "But," said he, "if he is," {he put his hand in his pocket and drew out a revolver} "that will settle him". Then I began to suspect, not that he was Surratt, but that he had been connected with the rebellion here in some way. After that he would be continually with me every day, because I was the only person on board he knew, having been introduced to him by my friend, and he seemed not to care for being in the company of anyone else. He used to come to me when I would be alone and ask me to walk with him on the deck, and he would always talk about what happened here during the war. He told me that he had been from the beginning in the Confederate States' service, carrying despatches between here and Richmond, and also as far as Montreal; that he and Booth had planned at first the abduction of President Lincoln; that, however, they thought they could not succeed in that way, and they thought it was necessary to change their plan. After this, before the assassination, Surratt was in Montreal, when he received a letter from Booth ordering him	immediately to Washington; that it was neces sary to act, and act promptly, and he was to leave Montreal immediately for Washington. He did not tell me he came here, but he told me he came as far as Elmira, in the State of New York, and from that place telegraphed to New York to find out whether Booth had already left for Washington, and he was answered that he had. He did not tell me whether he had gone any further than Elmira. The next place he spoke to me of was St. Albans, Vermont, where he said he arrived early one morning, about breakfast time, and went to a hotel there for breakfast. While he was sitting there he heard several talking about an assassination, and he inquired 'what was up?'. They asked him if he did not know that President Lincoln had been assassinated. He said "I did not believe it, because the story was too good to be true." On that a gentleman pulled out a newspaper and handed it to him. He opened it and saw his own name as one of the assassins. He said this unnerved him so much that the paper fell out of his hands, and he immediately left the room and walked out; and as he was going out through the house he heard another party say that Surratt must have been, or was at the time, in St. Albans, because such a person {mentioning the person's name} had found a pocket handkerchief on the street with Surratt's name on it. He told me he actually looked in his pocket and found that he had lost his pocket handkerchief. From that place he then went to Canada, and was concealed there from April to September. There were a great many things which he told me that I have forgotten, or at least are not now fresh in my memory. At the time I paid particular attention to what he said, and when I first made a deposition in Liverpool everything was fresh in my memory. But since then I thought everything was over, and I never paid any more attention to it. Consequently, there are a great many things which he told me that now I cannot recall to memory. Q. When did he first disclose to you that is name was Surratt? A. The first time that I was sure that he was Surratt was on a day that he was talking about his mother having been hung. He did not call her Mrs.

 

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