Assassination Trivia

[Laurie Verge]

I am posing a "stumper" that should have my Yankee antagonist growing old before his time. I almost posted on the thread that he created, but I decided to be more ladylike. If Yankee Joe gets the correct answer to this one, I will double his score!

On April 10, 1861, the New York Times reported that a package, likely destined for the White House, was received by the Washington City post office. The box had been broken open somewhat, and in the process of inspecting it, the contents fell out. What were the contents?