New Eyewitness Account?

[Steve]

I can't find a copy of the 13 Jan. 1887 letter Lt. Crawford sent to John Hay. Here's a link to the page of Reck's book that discusses the letter:

https://books.google.com/books?id=6vJ1tH...onepage&q=

Google Books cuts off the account. In the reference section Reck says the letter was located in the Illinois State Historical Library, now a part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I couldn't find the letter listed on the Library's online catalog, but I don't if it would just be filed away in a larger collection or even still cataloged at all.

The captain in the New Hampshire regiment referred to by Crawford was Capt. Edwin Bedee of the 12th New Hampshire who was given charge of the papers Lincoln had on him with instructions to give them to John Hay. Failing to find Hay that night, according to Bedee's account he gave the papers to Stanton. Although, Crawford's account of how the papers were returned seems a little different.

I can't find a first-person account in Bedee's exact words, but I did find this 1897 account of Bedee's claims written by Asa W. Bartlett who interviewed Bedee. It's followed by copies of some of the documents related to the matter (pages 295-299):

https://books.google.com/books?id=TXAhAA...&q&f=false

In his account Bedee said he followed a doctor (Taft) climbing up into the box. His account differs from Taft's in claiming they got up into the box before Leale. But his claim of following Taft up to the box seems to be confirmed by Clara Harris' 18 April 1865 affidavit in which she says she helped two uniformed people up into the box, one a surgeon and one a soldier shortly after:

   
(ref: New York Times - 23 April 1865 pg. 3)