Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Untitled]
I, Henri B. de St. Marie, a native of Canada, British America, aged
33, do swear and declare tinder oath, that about six months previous
to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln I was living in
Maryland, at a small village called Ellangowan, or Little Texas,
about twenty-five or thirty miles from Baltimore, where I was
engaged as teacher for a period of about five months. I there and
then got acquainted with Lewis J Weichmann and John H. Surratt, who
came to that locality to pay a visit to the parish priest. At that
first interview a great deal was said about the war and slavery; the
sentiments expressed by these two individuals being more than
strongly secessionists. In the course of conversation, I remember
Surratt to have said that President Lincoln would certainly pay for
all the men that were slain during the war. About a month after I
removed to Washington,
[Page 136]
at
the instigation of Weichmann, and got a situation as tutor in St.
Mathew’s Institute, where he was himself engaged. Surratt visited us
weekly, and once he offered to send me south; but I declined. I did
not remain more than a month at Washington, not being able to agree
with Weichmann, and enlisted in the army of the north, as stated in
my first statement in writing to George King. I have met Surratt
here in Italy, at a small town called Velletri. He is now known
under the name of John Watson. I recognized him before he made
himself known to me, and told him privately, “You are John Surratt,
the person I have known in Maryland.” He acknowledged he was, and
begged of me to keep the thing secret. After some conversation, we
spoke of the unfortunate affair of the assassination of President
Lincoln, and these were his words: “Damn the Yankees; they have
killed my mother; but I have done them as much harm as I could. We
have killed Lincoln, the nigger’s friend.” He then said, speaking of
his mother, “Had it not been for me and that coward Weichmann, my
mother would be living yet. It was fear made him speak. Had he kept
his tongue there was no danger for him; but if I ever return to
America, or meet him elsewhere, I shall kill him.”
He then said he was in the secret service of the South. And
Weichmann, who was in some department there, used to steal copies of
the despatches and forward them to him, and thence to Richmond.
Speaking of the murder, he said they had acted under the orders of
men who are not yet known, some of whom are still in New York, and
others in London. I am aware that money is sent to him yet from
London. “When I left Canada,” he said, “I had but little money, but
I had a letter for a party in London. I was in disguise with dyed
hair and false beard; that party sent me to a hotel where he told me
to remain till I would hear from him.” After a few weeks he came and
proposed to me to go to Spain, but I declined, and asked to go to
Paris; he gave me £70 with a letter of introduction to a party
there, who sent him here to Rome, where he joined the zouaves. He
says he can get money in Rome at any time. I believe he is protected
by the clergy, and that the murder is the result of a deep-laid
plot, not only against the life of President Lincoln, but against
the existence of the republic, as we are aware that priesthood and
royalty are and always have been opposed to liberty. That such men
as Surratt, Booth, Weichmann, and others, should, of their own
accord, plan and execute the infernal plot which resulted in the
death of President Lincoln, is impossible. There are others behind
the curtain who have pulled the strings to make these scoundrels
act. I have also asked him if he knew Jefferson Davis. He said no,
but that he had acted under the instructions of persons under his
immediate orders. Being asked if Jefferson Davis had anything to do
with the assassination, he said “I am not going to
tell you.” My impression is that he brought the order from
Richmond, as he was in the habit of going there weekly. He must have
bribed the others to do it, for when the event took place he told me
he was in New York, prepared to fly as soon as the deed was done. He
says he does not regret what has taken place, and that he will visit
New York in a year or two, as there is a heavy shipping firm there
who had much to do with the South, and he is surprised that they
have not been suspected.
This is the exact truth of what I know about Surratt. More I could
not learn, being afraid to awaken his suspicions. And further I do
not say.
Sworn and subscribed before me, at the
American legation in Rome, this tenth (10th) day
of July, A. D. 1866, as witness my hand and seal of
office.
[L. S.] RUFUS KING, Minister
Resident.
