Mr. Marsh to Mr.
Seward.
No. 168.]
Legation of the United States,
Florence,
November 18, 1866.
Sir: On my arrival from Venice on Tuesday
morning I found the papers copies and translations of which, marked
respectively A, B, C, D, and E, are hereunto annexed. Mr. Macpherson,
introduced by the letter marked A, had gone to Leghorn, and I had no
other information on the subject of his mission than such as the papers
above referred to furnished.
I lost no time in seeing the secretary general of the ministry of foreign
affairs—the minister not having yet returned from Venice—stated to him
such facts as I was possessed of, and inquired whether he thought his
government would surrender Surratt to the United States for trial if he
should be found in the Italian territory.
He replied that he thought the accused would be surrendered on proper
demand
[Page 122]
and proof, but probably
only under a stipulation on our part that the punishment of death should
not be inflicted on him. Having no instructions on the subject, knowing
nothing of those which Mr. King might have received, and having,
moreover, at that time no reason to suppose that Surratt had escaped
into the territory of the King of Italy, I did not pursue the discussion
further.
On Thursday Mr. Macpherson returned, but the information he was able to
give me related only to the mode of the detection of Surratt.
On Friday morning, the 16th, I received Mr. King’s two letters, copies of
which, marked F and G, are annexed, and at 8 p. m. the same day a
telegram, of which a copy, marked H, is also attached.
Upon the receipt of the telegram, I immediately addressed and sent to the
ministry of foreign affairs a note, of which I annex a copy, marked I,
and I called twice at the Foreign Office the next (Saturday) morning,
but learned that the ministry of grace and justice, to which my note had
been referred, had not come to a decision on the subject. I presented
such additional views as had suggested themselves to me in the mean
time, and expressed an earnest hope that the request of my note for the
detention of Surratt until more formal proceedings could be had would be
acceded to.
The secretary general of the ministry of foreign affairs, whom I saw in
the absence of the minister, appeared to me less favorably disposed to
the application than I had expected from my former conversation with
him, and at a later hour I addressed to the ministry a note, of which a
copy, marked J, is annexed hereto.
I doubt whether, in case of the surrender of Surratt, a formal
stipulation to exempt him from the punishment of death will be insisted
on. In the famous La Gala case, Mr. Visconti Venosta, then as now
minister of foreign affairs, refused to enter into such a stipulation on
the extradition of the offenders, but nevertheless the government
yielded to the intercession of the Emperor of France, and the sentence
of those atrocious criminals, though convicted of numerous murders,
robberies, and even cannibalism, was commuted, and I suppose the
government of Italy would strongly recommend Surratt to mercy, if he is
surrendered to us. The public sentiment of all classes in Italy is
decidedly adverse to the infliction of capital punishment, and I shall
not go too far if I add, to any severe or adequate punishment for the
gravest offences. The universality of this feeling will have its weight
with the government.
In order to secure the transmission of this despatch by the next mail, it
must be posted at so early an hour to-morrow morning that I shall not be
able to see the minister or secretary general of foreign affairs before
it is sent to the post office, and I cannot probably communicate the
decision of the ministry until another mail.
I have written to ask Mr. King for a copy of so much of his instructions
on this subject as may be useful to me, and I beg for special
instructions for my own guidance in the further conduct of this
affair.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Enclosure
A.—Confidential.]
Mr. King to
Mr. Marsh.
Legation of the United
States,
Rome,
November 9, 1866.
My Dear Sir: I send to you, under very
peculiar circumstances, and as bearer of despatches, my friend Mr.
Robert Macpherson. He will tell you the story which the accompanying
despatches will help to illustrate. I need not ask you to aid him in
his researches.
Very truly yours,
Mr. Marsh,
United States Minister, Florence.
[Page 123]
[Enclosure
B.—Translation.]
Mr. Kanzler to
Cardinal
Antonelli.
Ministry of Arms, Cabinet of the
pro-Minister,
November 8, 1866.
Most Reverend Eminence: I have the honor to
transmit to your most Reverend Eminence the accompanying documents
on the arrest and escape of the Zouave Watson, of the 3d company,
and I shall not fail to communicate such further information as I
may receive as to the result of the pursuit of this individual.
Bowing to kiss the sacred purple, I am proud to subscribe myself,
with profound devotion, your most Reverend Eminence’s most humble
and most devoted servant,
His most Reverend Eminence the Cardinal Antonelli,
Secretary of State.
[Enclosure C.—Order.]
Mr. Kanzler to
Lieutenant Colonel
Allet.
Colonel: Cause the Zouave Watson to be
arrested and conveyed under safe escort to the military prisons at
Rome. It is of much importance that this order be scrupulously
fulfilled.
The general pro-minister,
Lieutenant Colonel Allet,
Commanding the Battalion of Zouaves,
Velletri.
[Enclosure D.—Translation.]
Pontifical
Zouaves, Command of the Battalion No.
463,
Velletri,
November 7, 1866.
General: I have the honor to inform you
that the Zouave Watson (John) has been arrested at Veroli, and will
be conducted to-morrow morning, under good escort, to Rome.
While they were in search of him at Trisulti, his garrison, he was
arrested by Captain de Zambilly at Veroli, where he was on
leave.
I have the honor also to inform your excellency that his name is not
Waston, but Watson.
I have the honor to be, general, your excellency’s most humble
subordinate,
Lieutenant Colonel
ALLET.
His Excellency the General,
Minister of Arms, Rome.
[Enclosure E.—Telegram.—Translation.]
[Presented at
Velletri
November 8,
1866, 8.35 a. m.; arrived at Rome November 8, 1666,
8.50 a. m.]
His Excellency the General,
Minister of Arms, Rome :
I received the following telegram, dated 4.30 a. m., from Captain
Zambilly :
At the moment he left the prison, and while surrounded by six men as
a guard, Watson threw himself into the ravine, above a hundred feet
perpendicular in depth, which defends the prison. Fifty zouaves in
pursuit of him.
I will transmit to your excellency the intelligence I may receive by
telegraph.
ALLET, Lieutenant
Colonel.
[Enclosure F.]
Legation of
the United States,
Rome,
November 12, 1866.
My Dear Mr. Marsh: I send you one of the photographs of John Surratt,
which I received this day from the State Department, which may help
to identify the scoundrel if we should be fortunate enough to catch
him.
Very truly yours,
[Page 124]
[Enclosure G.]
Rome, Tuesday, November
13.
My Dear Mr. Marsh: I had another interview
and long conversation with Cardinal Antonelli this morning, in
reference to the arrest and escape of John H. Surratt. The cardinal
gave me the reports of the various officers charged with the
investigation of the facts in the case. They certainly show, on the
surface, perfect good faith on the part of the Papal authorities,
and an earnest desire to arrest the criminal, of whose guilt the
cardinal expressed himself fully satisfied. He added that Surratt
had, beyond doubt, made good his escape into the Italian territory,
and was now, doubtless, at Naples. I write to give you this
information, as it may aid your researches. I still think and hope
we may catch the fugitive.
Very truly yours,
[Enclosure H.—Telegram.]
[Presented the 16th, 1866, 4.30
o’clock; received the 16th, 1866. 8.25 o’clock.]
Rome.
His Excellency Mr. Marsh,
American Minister, Florence :
I have just heard that Surratt has been admitted, wounded, into the
hospital at Sora.
[Enclosure I.]
Legation of
the United States,
Florence,
November 16, 1866.
Mr. Minister: I am credibly informed, and
confidently believe, that John H. Surratt, a leading actor in the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United
States, who escaped from justice after that event, and has been
recently serving as a zouave in the Papal army at Rome, is now in a
hospital at Sora, (supposed Sora Terra di Lavoro,) where he is said
to have been admitted in consequence of a wound, received in some
manner of which I am not informed.
It has been known for a considerable time to the legation of the
United States at Rome that Surratt had enlisted in the Papal
military service, and this fact having been communicated by the
legation to the pontifical government, an order for his arrest and
committal to the military prison at Rome was issued by the minister
of war on the sixth of the present month.
In pursuance of this order, Surratt, who had enrolled himself by the
name of John Watson, was arrested at Veroli on the following day,
and conducted to Velletri. On the eighth of the month he escaped
from his keepers, and has not been since heard of until his
admission to the hospital at Sora.
The circumstances of the assassination in question are so well known
that I need not enter into any details on that subject; and this
legation, as well as the government and people of the United States,
have received such abundant proof of the intense horror with which
this great crime was regarded by the Italian government and nation,
that I cannot doubt the entire readiness of the public authorities
of this kingdom to use all proper measures to bring to justice any
of the participators in the offence who may be found within their
jurisdiction.
I am, as may naturally be supposed, without conclusive evidence to
prove at this moment the complicity of Surratt in the crime, or to
show the identity of that individual and the person now in the
hospital at Sora. The latter point, however, I am informed can be
established at once and beyond dispute; and the printed record of
the proceedings against the assassins, a copy of which accompanies
this note, will, I doubt not, be considered sufficient prima facie evidence of the guilt of the
accused to warrant his detention until further proof, if any be
necessary, can be produced to justify his extradition to the
authorities of the United States for trial.
I need not enlarge upon the heinous criminality and the dangerous
character of the offence with which Surratt is charged. The
punishment of the assassins interests all civilized commonwealths,
and the cause of justice is, in this instance, the cause of
organized government, of public ordér, and of national security
throughout the world.
I pray, therefore, Mr. Minister, that the local authorities at Sora
may be instructed to hold the accused in safe custody until further
proceedings can be had to insure his surrender to such officers of
the United States as shall be authorized to receive him.
I avail myself of this occasion to tender to you, Mr. Minister, the
renewed assurances of my high consideration.
Commander Visconti Venosta,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, &c., &c.,
&c.
[Page 125]
[Enclosure J.]
Mr. Marsh to
Visconti Venosta.
Legation of the United
States,
Florence,
November 17, 1866.
Mr. Minister: I have the honor to enclose
herewith a photographic portrait of John H. Surratt, alias Watson,
supposed to be now in a hospital at Sora. The portrait was received
by the United States legation at Rome from the government of the
United States, and is, therefore, no doubt authentic. It may help to
identify the individual at Sora with the accused; but, as it is not
apparently of the most recent date, it is not improbable that time
and the circumstances of Surratt’s life for the last eighteen months
may have produced some change in his features and expression, which
will render the likeness between the original and the portrait less
striking. The point of identity, however, as I had the honor of
stating to Mr. Cerutti this morning, can, it is believed, be
satisfactorily established by the testimony of persons at Rome who
have known Surratt familiarly on both sides of the Atlantic.
Accept, Mr. Minister, the renewed assurance of my high
consideration.
Commander Visconti Venosta,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
