The life, crime, and capture of John Wilkes Booth,: with a full sketch of the conspiracy of which he was the leader, and the pursuit, trial and execution of his accomplices./ By George Alfred Townsend.

When, therefore, twenty-five men, under one Lieutenant Dougert, ar.
rived at his office door, Baker placed the whole under control of hi for mer lieutenant-colonel, E. J. Conger, and of his cousin, Lieutenant L B.
Baker-the first of Ohio, the last of New-York-and bade them go with
all dispatch to Belle Plain on the Lower Potomac, there to disembark, and
scour the country faithfully around Port Royal, but not to return unless
they captured their men.
Conger is a short, decided, indomitable, courageous fllow, provincial in
his manners, but fully understanding his business, and collected as a house.
wife on Sunday.
Young Baker is large and fine-looking-a soldier, but no policeman
and he deferred to Conger, very properly, during most of the events
succeeding.
Quitting Washington at 2 o'clock P. m. on Monday, the detectives and
cavalrymen disembarked at Belle Plain, on the border of Stafford county,
at 10 o'clock, in the darkness. Belle Plain is simply the nearest landing
to Fredericksburg, seventy miles from Washington city, and located upon
Potomac creek. It is a wharf and warehouse merely, and here the steamer
John S. Ide stopped and made fast, while the party galloped off in the darkness. Conger and Baker kept ahead, ridingup to farm-houses and questioning the inmates, pretending to be in search of the Maryland gentlemen belonging to the party. But nobody had seen the parties described, and, after
a futile ride on the Fredericksburg road, they turned shortly to the east,
ind kept up their baffled inquiries all the way to Port Conway, on the Rappahann~ck.
On Tuesday morning they presented themselves at the Port Royal ferry,
and inquired of the terry-man, while he was taking them over in squads of
seven at a time, if he had seen any two such men. Continuing their in
quiries at Port Royal, they found one Rollins a fisherman, who referred
them to a negro named Lucas, as having driven two men a short distance
toward Bowling Green in a wagon. It was found that these men answered
to the description, Booth having a crutch as previously ascertained..
The day before Booth and Harold had applied at Port Conway for the
general ferry-boat, but the ferryman was then fishing and would not desist
for the inconsiderable fare of only two persons, but to their supposed
good fortune a lot of confederate cavalrymen just then came along. who
threatened the ferryman with a shot in the head if he did not instantly
bring across his craft and transport the entire party. These cavalrymen
were of Moseby's disbanded command, returning from Fairfax Court
House to their homes in Caroline county. Their captain was on his way
to visit a sweetheart at Bowling Green, and he had so far taken Booth inder
his patronage, that when the latter was haggling with Lucas for a team, he
offered both Booth and Harold the use of his horse, to ride and walk alasnately.
In this way Lucas was providentially done out of the job, and Booth
rode off toward Bowling Green behind the confederate captain on one and
the same horse. -
So much learned, the detectives, with Rollins for a guide, dashed off in
the bright daylight of Tuesday, moving southwestward through the level
plains of Carol4ne, seldom stopping to ask questions, save at a certain half way house, where a woman told them that-the cavalry party of yesterday
had returned minus one man. As this was far from circumstantial, the
party rode along in the twilight, and reached Bowliag Green at elever
o'clock in the night.
no A x'#.Doaa.
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