UNION AND CONFEDERATE
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, ETC., RELATING TO PRISONERS OF WAR AND STATE
FROM JANUARY 1, 1865, TO THE END.--#36
Deposition of John H. Patten, taken
at the office of the Judge. Advocate. General, in the city of
Washington, on the -- day of February, 1866.
The deponent being sworn, deposes as follows, to wit:
Question. Of what State are you a native and where do you now reside?
Answer. I am a native of Georgia, but for the last two
years I have resided at Saint Louis. I came to Richmond, Va., the latter
part of the year 1862 and made it my home, though not always there until
the latter part of the year 1863.
Question. Were you at any time in the military service of the
so-called Confederate States?
Answer. I was not. I furnished a substitute and
afterward, as a means of making a living, entered into speculations in
connection with the supply of the army.
Question. What knowledge, if any, have you of an arrangement or
conspiracy entered into in 1863, or at any other time, for the kidnaping
and, if necessary, the killing of the President of the United States?
State fully all the knowledge and information you have on the subject,
setting forth the connection, if any, of Jefferson Davis with such
arrangement or conspiracy and his action in relation thereto.
Answer. I know Jefferson Davis very well and have had
two conversations with him in regard to a project to capture or
assassinate President Lincoln. These conversations took place in July,
1863, in Mr. Davis' office in Richmond. The first conversation took
place under these circumstances: A friend of mine named Lamar, who had
served some time in the Confederate Army, said to me that he was about
to set on foot an enterprise which if carried out would immortalize and
enrich all who engaged in it, and he wished me to join him. I asked him
the nature of his enterprise and he said it was to capture Lincoln and
bring him a prisoner to Richmond. At first I thought he was jesting, as
it seemed to me a mad project and next to an impossibility, but he
assured me he was in earnest. I then asked him who was the originator of
the scheme, and if the President and Secretary of State, Mr. Benjamin,
were known to it. He said that he had made a written proposition to the
President and was backed up by Secretary Benjamin and Winder. He further
said that Winder had already assured him that Mr. Davis favored the
project, but that he had not as yet received a direct answer from the
President himself. I told him if <ar121_884> I could see a reasonable
prospect of success I would go in with him, but that I could not afford
to spend much money in so uncertain a business. He said of course the
necessary funds would be furnished us by the proper authorities. He then
proposed that we should go at once to General Winder, which we did.
After the usual formalities General Winder said, in answer to a question
by me, that the President fully approved Lamar's project, and
furthermore his plans as far as they had been set forth in his (Lamar's)
communication. I then asked Winder if the Secretary of War, Mr. Seddon,
was in favor of it. Winder answered that the Secretary of War was an old
fogy and was not worth talking to on such a subject. Winder then
proposed that, in order that we might be satisfied that the project was
fully approved by the President, we should call on the President at
once. We did so and Winder introduced the subject to the President,
saying that these men, referring to Lamar and myself, wanted to hear
from his (the President's) own lips what protection we would receive in
the event of our being captured in executing our undertaking. The
President replied that we should receive all the protection the
Government could afford, and that if captured he would hold as hostages
two for one until we should be released. The President then said,
addressing Lamar, that the undertaking he was about to engage in was a
dangerous one and required a great deal of skill, caution, and courage,
and that the salvation of the Confederacy possibly depended on his
success; that he should take care to engage none but men of sobriety and
courage to assist him; that he should know them well, and should not
disclose his plans until all was ready. President Davis further said
that he did not wish that the life of Lincoln should be taken unless
absolutely necessary; that if he could be brought a prisoner alive it
would serve the country equally as well and perhaps better than to kill
him, but that if it was necessary for our own safety, or we could do no
better, then we should mete out to him the deserts that the greatest
tyrant the world ever saw deserves, which is death. Lamar then spoke
about the necessary funds to carry out his plans. Davis said we should
be furnished through General Winder with all the funds necessary. After
a few words of caution from Mr. Davis we left his office. The next day
Lamar received from General Winder some funds, consisting of greenbacks
and Confederate notes. I received from Lamar $250 in greenbacks and $500
in Confederate notes. We then went to work to engage men for the project
and sent them North, some to Baltimore, some to Washington, and some to
Georgetown, to await orders. I engaged and forwarded three myself, and
Lamar and other parties engaged and forwarded about twenty others. The
next conversation I had with Mr. Davis took place about a fortnight
later than the one hereinbefore referred to, and after the assistance
engaged had been sent North. A man named McCulloh, who had been engaged
by Lamar to aid in the enterprise, had been arrested for disclosing the
plot and sent to Castle Thunder. As soon as Lamar heard of the arrest he
called on me, and we went together to the office of General Winder to
learn the particulars. We were there informed by Captain Winder, son of
the general, that his father had gone to see the President in regard to
McCulloh's case, and Lamar and I forthwith started for the President's
office. We there found the President, General Winder, and Mr. Wright, a
Government detective, in conversation. As soon as we were admitted
General Winder said to Lamar, "One of your drunken scoundrels has been
raising hell, and unless you strike at once your scheme will be
thwarted." Mr. Davis then said, "Yes, gentlemen, you must proceed to the
execution of your project immediately or failure will be certain. These
blockade-runners, such as McCulloh has been boasting to, are half of
them Yankee spies and may lose no time in communicating what they heard
to their Government, and thus place their President on his guard, and
thus render your efforts futile." Winder then repeated with an oath,
"Yes; strike at once and bring the monkey here, body and soul, as soon
as possible; and if you can't bring his whole carcass, fetch his damned
scalp." Mr. Davis then said, "Gentlemen, you will not misunderstand your
instructions; it is my wish that you capture and bring Mr. Lincoln
within our lines without harming a hair of his head, if possible; but if
after making the capture you find there is danger of his being retaken,
you will take care that he does not return to Washington alive. If you
find it impossible to effect his capture at all, remember that he is
your enemy and Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Armies, and that you
have the right, and that it is your duty, to cut him down the same as
any other officer or soldier belonging to those armies." Lamar then
said, we had already sent enough men North to do the work, and that we
were prepared to follow at once, but that we required more funds for the
execution of our plans when we should get North. Mr. Davis then said,
"General Winder will see that you receive all that you require." Some
instructions were then given by the President and General Winder to
Wright in regard to detaining the persons who bad heard McCulloh's
disclosures. After a little more conversation with the President, in
which he assured us of the great importance, in view of the operations
of Grant about Vicksburg, and of Meade, who was forcing Lee back upon
the capital, of our proceeding in all haste to the execution of our
project, we left. General Winder supplied us with some money and gave
Lamar a letter of credit to a firm in Baltimore to enable us to draw
what funds we <ar121_885> should require while North. When we reached
here we found that some of the parties had left the points indicated for
them to remain at and could not be found. Several others we learned had
been arrested and imprisoned; and the situation or position of the
armies had so changed that we found it impossible to carry out our plans
and finally we abandoned the project. Lamar returned to Richmond, but I
had had enough of the Confederacy [and] proceeded north to Canada.
JOHN H. PATTEN.
Sworn and acknowledged at Washington, D.C., this 24th of February,
1866, before me.
