Where was John Surratt on April 14, 1865 ?

[loetar44]

I reread the testimony of Sergeant Joseph H. Dye. Judge for yourself.

Joseph M. Dye, sworn and examined [Monday, June 17, 1867].
By Mr. Pierrepont :
Q. State your age and occupation.
A. Twenty-three next August; I belong to the United States army, and am a recruiting sergeant in Philadelphia.
Q. In the regular army ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where are you now stationed ?
A. I am stationed in Philadelphia.
Q. How long have you been stationed in Philadelphia, or about how long ?
A. A little over a year.
Q. Where did you go to Philadelphia from ?
A. From New York.
Q. From what place did you go to New York 1
A. From my home.
Q. Where is that ?
A. Washington county, Pennsylvania.
Q. Were you in the army in April, 1865?
A. I was.
Q. Where was your regiment stationed on the 14th of April, 1865?
A. I belonged to battery C, independent Pennsylvania artillery, stationed at Camp Barry.
Q. Tell me where Camp Barry was.
A. It was at the junction of H street and the Baltimore turnpike.
Q. Give us a description of what direction it was from Ford's theatre.
A. It is out H street.
Q. The same way as the Capitol, except north of the Capitol '!
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How far was your camp from Ford's theatre ?
A. I presume nearly two miles.
Q. Were you in Washington on the night of the murder ?
A. I was.
Q. Was there any officer with you ?
A. Yes, sir; Sergeant Robert Cooper.
Q. Is Sergeant Robert Cooper here ia town ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have seen him lately ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you seen him to-day ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where were you on the evening of the 14th, at the time of the murder ?
A. I was in an oyster saloon.
Q. Will you state when you went into the oyster saloon, and from what place you went ?
A. From Ford's theatre.
Q. At what time in that evening did you come to Ford's theatre ?
A. I arrived there about half past nine o'clock.
Q. Who was with you ?
A. Sergeant Cooper.
Q. Had you any pass—were you allowed to come there ?
A. I had a monthly pass, but I think it was then out of date.
Q. Were you at the theatre ?
A. I was in front of the theatre.
Q. Were you sitting or standing most of the time ?
A. Sitting.
Q. What were you sitting upon ?
A. Upon some plank, or something of the kind, placed there, in order to alleviate persons getting in and out of carriages.
Q. Did you see Mr. Lincoln's carriage there ?
A. I did, sir.
Q. What was the condition of the street in front of the theatre that night as to its being light ?
A. It was light directly in front of the door.
Q. In what way ?
A. There was a large lamp there.
Q. A gas lamp ?
A. I cannot swear as to its being gas or oil.
Q. State whether it was light or not.
A. It was light.
Q. Do you remember what the temperature of that evening was, whether it was cold or mild ?
A. It was mild.
Q. As you sat there upon this plank, what was Sergeant Cooper doing ?
A. Sergeant Cooper was moving up and down upon the pavement.
Q. Did yon have any conversation with him while you remained there ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. While you were sitting there, state whether there was any change in the inside of the theatre as to persons coming out at the end of any act ?
A. They did.
Q. State what that was, and when.
A. Parties came down—I presume it was about ten or fifteen minutes after we got there—and went into the saloon below and the saloon adjoining the theatre to drink.
Q. Were there quite a number of them ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As these people came down from the theatre at the time you mention, whom did you see, and vv'hat did you hear said in relation to Mr. Lincoln's carriage ?
A. Before they came down I heard conversation there.
Mr. Bradley. We object to that conversation.
Mr. Pierrepont. Before you answer that question I will ask you another. State whether you know John Wilkes Booth.
A. I do, sir.
Q. State whether John Wilkes Booth was one of the persons who entered into that conversation.
A. He was.
Q. Now state what it was.
Mr. Merrick. We object to the question. I will state our objection, unless it is the proper order for the gentleman on the other side to state the grounds on which they offer the declarations of Booth.
The Court. You may state the ground of your objection.
Mr. Merrick. The ground of our objection is that they propose now to offer the declarations of Booth for the purpose of affecting the prisoner at the bar. They have established no connection between Booth and the prisoner as yet. I state this objection, not for the purpose of arguing it, but in order that counsel may present the grounds upon which they make the offer.
Mr. Pierrepont. I present no grounds. It must be apparent, without any sort of argument, that what John Wilkes Booth did in connection with this murder is evidence.
Mr. Bradley. We supposed that possibly might be the ground of the gentleman's offer. I take it for granted that whatever John Wilkes Booth may have said or done, unless they connect the prisoner at the bar with John Wilkes Booth in that transaction, is of no sort of consequence. I suppose, if the prosecution are to proceed upon the ground of conspiracy, they must first establish some connection between the two parties ; when that is done, how far the evidence may be admissible is another question. But until that is done, although Booth may have killed the President, and fifty other people have been connected with him—until they show that this party was so connected, his declarations cannot possibly be evidence.
Mr. Pierrepont. We state to the court that we shall connect the prisoner with it.
Mr. Bradley. That is an entirely different question. That has never been stated before.
Mr. Pierrepont. We say it now.
The Court. Of course, if the counsel for the prosecution fail to make connection of Booth with the prisoner at the bar, whatever Booth said or whatever he did, although he may have committed the murder charged against the prisoner, his declarations could not be testimony against the prisoner.
Mr. Bradley. As the gentlemen now put it upon the ground that they expect to connect the prisoner with Booth, it is entirely within the discretion of the court to say whether they will permit testimony to be given until some apparent connection is established. This is an enormous case, and I ask the court whether they are to be allowed to continue the trial of all the parties named in the indictment, through this immense mass of testimony, before they offer any connection of the prisoner at the bar with the transaction, or will your honor advertised beforehand require them to bring forward their evidence connecting him with it.
The Court. The usual course of proceeding in such case is to tell the counsel that they must use their discretion as to what part of the case they will present any particular evidence in. I always advertise counsel, however, that unless they connect the defendant with the transaction, the testimony will all be thrown out.
Mr. Pierrepont. Of course ; but I will say, that if the counsel had not interrupted us, we would have connected the prisoner with the transaction, long before this.
Mr. Bradley. All I can say is that I interrupted you at the proper time.
The Court. The court will exercise its jurisdiction in this and every other case, as far as possible, to elicit the truth of the whole matter. If the prisioner at the bar is not connected with the transaction, the testimony will be ruled out.
By Mr. Pierrepont : Proceed now and state what you saw done, and what you heard said, by John
Wilkes Booth, and with whom he was conversing.
A. The first who appeared on the scene was John Wilkes Booth himself. What first attracted my attention was his conversing with a low, villanous looking person at the end of the passage.
Q. You mean by low, short in stature ?
A. Yes, sir; it was but a moment before another person joined them. This person was neat in appearance—neatly dressed—and entered in conversation. This rush came down from the theatre, and as they were coming, Booth said to this other person that he would come out now, as I supposed, referring to the President. They were then standing facing the place where the President would have to pass in order to reach his carriage, and watching eagerly for his appearance. He did not come. They then hurriedly had a conversation together ; then one of them went out and examined the carriage, and Booth stepped into a restaurant. At this time all the party who had come down from the theatre had gone up. Booth remained there long enough to take a drink. I could not say whether he did or not. He came around and stood in the end of the passage from the street to the stage where the actors passed in. He appeared in a moment again. This third party, neatly dressed, immediately stepped up in front of the theatre and called the time.
Q. To have no misunderstanding, state what you mean by calling the time.
A. He stepped up and looked at the clock, and called the time to the other two.
Q. That is he stated what it was ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was the clock ?
A. The clock was in the vestibule of the theatre.
Q. State how the light was at the time relating to the face of the neatly dressed man who called the time.
A. I did not observe it particularly at that time. As soon as he called the time to the other two, he went up the street towards H street. He did not remain there long, but came down again, stopped in front of the theatre, looked at the clock, and called the time again, looking directly at these two, and seemed excited.
Q. That is, Booth and the other man ?
A. Yes, sir. He then immediately turned his heel and went towards H street. It was then I thought something was wrong by the manner in which these three had been conducting themselves, and as a soldier I had a revolver in my pocket with my handkerchief wrapped around it.
Q. What part of it ?
A. Around the revolver. We wore artillery jackets, and the revolver was in my breast pocket. My suspicions were so aroused that I unwound my handkerchief from around my revolver. It was not long before he appeared again, going on a fast walk from the direction of H street.
Q. How did he look then ?
A. He placed himself in front of the theatre, where the light shone clear on his face. There was a picture on that countenance of great excitement, exceedingly nervous and very pale. He told them for the third time that it was ten minutes past ten o'clock. That is the last time he called it. It was ten minutes past ten o'clock.
By Mr. Bradley :
Q. And that was this time ?
A. Yes, sir.
By Mr. Pjerrepont:
Q. Did you say that the person said three times that it was ten minutes past ten o'clock ?
A. I said he called the time three times, and this time it was ten minutes past ten o'clock.
Q. And the other periods of time were before ?
A. Yes sir.
By a Juror :
Q. He did not state each time that it was ten minutes past ten ?
A. No, sir. There were eight or nine, or ten minutes between them. The last time I do not think there were more than five.
By Mr. Pierrepont :
Q. Did you see that man distinctly?
A. I did.
Q. Very distinctly ?
A. I did very distinctly.
Q. Do you see him now ?
A. I do.
Q. Can you tell us where he is ?
A. I can.
Q. Tell us where he is.
A. He sits there, (pointing to the prisoner.)
Q. Is that the man ?
A. It is. I have seen his face often since, while I have been sleeping—it was so exceedingly pale. He hurried up towards H street again, and that is the last I have seen of him until lately.
Q. You say he was the prisoner at the bar ?
A. Yes, sir, and I say that I have seen him since, while I have been sleeping.
Q. Did it make a very strong impression from what occurred at the time ?
A. It did, sir.
Q. What did Booth do then ?
A. He walked directly into the theatre.
Q. Did you call anybody's attention to this at the time ?
A. I did.
Q. Who?
A. Sergeant Robert H. Cooper.
Q,. Did you point out at the time who Booth was ?
(Question objected to by Mr. Bradley and withdrawn.)
Q. Where did Booth then go ?
A. He entered the front of the theatre.
Q. Where did you go, and who went with you ?
A. Sergeant Cooper and myself went to an oyster saloon. Sergeant Cooper was particularly with me.
Q. How soon after you got into the oyster saloon did you hear of the murder ?
A. We had not time to eat our oysters.
Q. What did yon do when you heard of it ?
A. We did not go to the theatre. We hurried right up H street to the camp. I thought a detail would have to be made, and as I was first sergeant I would have to be there.
Q. Did Sergeant Cooper belong to the same camp ?
A. He did.
Q. Did you both go up H street ?
A. Yes, sir, we both went up to H street, and out H street.
Q. When you got out to H street, what did you do ?
A. We passed out to Camp Barry.
Q. What occurred on the way ?
A. A lady hoisted the v/indow of her parlor, and asked
(Question objected to by Mr. Bradley.)
Mr. Pierrepont stated that he would not press the question, and would turn the witness over to the defence for cross-examination.
The court thereupon took a recess until to-morrow at 10 a. m.

The Court met at 10 a. m. [Tuesday, June 18, 1867]
Mr. Pierrepont said: If your honor please, when the court adjourned on yesterday I had just put a question to the witness Dye, touching what occurred as he and Sergeant Cooper hastened from the oyster saloon up H street, to which question the counsel for the prisoner objected. I withdrew the question for the time, thinking then that I would renew it on the cross-examination. I have come to the conclusion, however, that it would be more orderly to ask the question in the direct, and now propose to do so. I will ask it in such a form that the gentlemen on the other side can take whatever exception to it they see proper. The witness will understand that he is not to answer until the court has ruled upon it.
The question is this :
Q. You stated yesterday that you and Sergeant Cooper hastened up H street. What did you and Sergeant Cooper see as you hastened up H street ?
(Mr. Bradley objected to the question as irrelevant.)
Mr. Pierrepont. We suppose, may it please your honor, that all the incidents and facts that transpired at the time of the murder are proper. We suppose that a signal-light is proper; we suppose that a signal-whistle is proper. Such have always been allowed to be given in evidence. We do not suppose it is necessary to prove that the prisoner gave the signal-whistle, or that the signal-light was displayed by him. I repeat it is our opinion that all the incidents connected with a murder of this kind are proper to be given in evidence, as having a tendency to throw light upon the question being inquired into.
The Court. It is very difficult for the court to determine at this stage, without knowing what the evidence is, whether it is relevant and admissible. I propose, therefore, to let the answer be given, and then if it be found to in any way connect the prisoner with the transaction—the taking away of the life of Abraham Lincoln—it will be regarded as proper evidence. If not, it will be ruled out. To this ruling Mr. Bradley reserved an exception.
Examination of Joseph M. Dye resumed.
By Mr. Pierrepont :
Q. Please state what occurred as you and Sergeant Cooper hastened up H street.
A. As we were passing along H street out to Camp Barry, a lady hoisted a window and asked us what was wrong down town.
Q. What did you say, and what did she reply ?
A. I told her that President Lincoln was shot. She asked me who did it. I told her Booth. She asked me how I knew it. I told her a man saw him who knew him.
Q. Will you tell us what was the condition of the moon at that time?
A. I cannot say exactly. I disremember.
Q. Do you know whether it was full or different at the time ?
A. It was light enough for us to see some distance on the street.
Q. Do you know whether the moon was up ?
A. Yes, sir ; I believe it was.
Q. Do you know whether the moon was then at or about the full ?
A. I cannot say.
Mr. Bradley here interposed an objection to the course of examination being pursued. The witness had answered that he did not recollect what the condition of the moon was, and he did not think it altogether proper to pursue this line of examination further with leading questions.
Mr. Pierrepont. Very well, sir; I will not press the examination further. The almanac will show what the condition of the moon was on that night.
Q. Please describe this woman who opened the window, and with whom you had this conversation.
A. She appeared to be an elderly lady.
Q. How was she as to being stout or otherwise ?
A. I could not say particularly. She resembled the lady on the trial of the conspirators—Mrs. Surratt.
Q. Have you seen the house since ?
A. I have.
Q. Do you know the number ?
A. I do—541.
Q. Tell the jury which side of the street it is on as you go up.
A. As you go towards the camp—an easterly direction—it is on the righthand side.
Q. Is there anything peculiar about the house ?
A. Yes, sir. I recollect the steps distinctly as they appeared that night.
Q. Tell the jury how the steps are.
A. In order to answer her question I had to go up in the direction of the steps, which are very tall.
Q. Will you state what was the manner of this woman when she thus addressed you ?
A. She just asked the question.
Q. State whether her manner was excited or not.
A. I do not recollect.
Q. What then did you do ?
A. Passed on out towards the camp.
Q. Did you pass swiftly or slowly ?
A. Passed along as on a fast walk.
Q. At the time she opened the window, state whether anybody was ahead of you in the street.
A. There was not. We met two policemen a short distance beyond that, who had not even heard of the assassination. What I mean by that is, that no pedestrians had passed that way.
Q. When you saw Booth and Surratt at the theatre, just before this occurrence which you have now described, was Booth disguised ?
A. No, sir. He had a slouched hat on.
Q. Was Surratt disguised ?
A. No, sir.
Q. Was the short man who was with him disguised ?
A. No, sir. He was a villanous, rough-looking character.
Q. I mean as to the disguise of their dress. Was the dress of any of them disguised ?
A. No, sir.

A lengthy cross-examination followed