Internet connection offers glimpse into search for Lincoln assassin
(I recently had an interview with Harp Turnbull that appeared in the Daily Bee in which he mentioned a woman who lived in Sagle he called, "Grandma Hornsby." Two days later, I received the following e-mail from Steve Moore of Lake Villa, IL.
"For quite a number of years, I have been researching the Lincoln assassination and the death of John Wilkes Booth. I've especially concentrated on the lives and careers of the men who caught the assassin. Ever so often, I search the Google News for articles on the murder. I did so today and came across the article by Bob Gunter with the story about Grandma Hornsby. I have some information on Hornsby, who spent his last years in Sagle. His story is interesting, and I'd be glad to share it if you are interested."
I contacted Steve and you will find below part of the story he shared with me. Look for the rest of the story in next week's Saturday paper.)
"Michael Moore Hornsby was born on Jan. 6, 1836, in Glynn County, Ga. He was the only child of Moses and Sarah Hornsby, farmers. Unlike many of his neighbors, Michael grew up to hate slavery - though his parents were poor and likely never owned any slaves.
"When he was a teenager, he ran away from home and went to sea. It is not certain how long Hornsby spent on ships in the Atlantic, but the family story says that he used his middle name, Moore, while he was a sailor.
"The only hard date we have for him is June 4, 1863. On that day, he enlisted in New York City for three years as a private in the Yankee cavalry.
"He was mustered in as a private in Company H, 16th New York Cavalry. The 16th was moved to the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and assigned to the 22nd Army Corps. They were usually stationed in northern Virginia, to act as a screen against the marauders of rebel guerilla, Col. John S. Mosby.
"There were frequent skirmishes between the "Gray Ghost" (Mosby) and the 16th N.Y. Cavalry.
"The Sixteenth's normal duty station was Vienna, Va., but they were also in Fairfax and in Washington for special assignments. Vienna was 15 miles from downtown Washington and the railroad ran to Vienna.
"Hornsby had a fairly good record: appointed corporal on June 16, 1864. He was promoted to sergeant on Nov. 18 of the same year.
"He ran afoul of someone and was reduced to private on Feb. 1, 1865. He had been bumped back up to corporal, however, on that ill-fated Good Friday, April 14, 1865.
"That was the night that Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The 16th learned of the murder on the following morning and squads were sent out immediately to hunt for Booth and his co-conspirators. Most of the regiment searched in the area between Vienna, Fairfax Court House, and the Potomac.
"Hornsby was certainly involved in this initial search, but unfortunately, he left no known accounts of his war experiences.
Lincoln died on Saturday, April 15, and plans were made for a state funeral within a few days.
"Part of the 16th was sent to Washington City on Sunday, and the rest of the regiment followed the next day. They were stationed in the Lincoln Barracks across Lafayette Park from the White House.
"Search parties of the regiment were sent from there and it was the staging area for the regiment's contingent in the funeral parade on the 19th.
"Hornsby likely took part in additional manhunts and he almost certainly rode as part of the largest cavalry escort for Lincoln's funeral.
"The 16th took an active role in the hunt for Booth before and after the funeral. There were as many as 10,000 soldiers, sailors, civilians and detectives looking for Booth in States from the Mason-Dixon Line to the Deep South.
"On April 24, Lieutenant Edward P. Doherty of the 16th received orders to organize a patrol to embark down the Potomac on a government tug. Doherty went to the Lincoln Barracks and had his orderly, a bugler, blow the call for assembly, "Boots and Saddles."
"He took the first 26 men that assembled and looked prepared for a three-day expedition. They came from several different companies of the 16th and were taken "first come, first served." One of these was Cpl. Hornsby.
"Colonel L. C. Baker, chief detective of the War Department, had received a report from the field indicating that Booth and his assistant, David E. Herold, had crossed the Potomac into Virginia a few days before. Col. Baker told one of his operatives that, "we've got the inside track."
"Ironically, the clue was wrong; two other men had been seen crossing the river. Booth and Herold had crossed at another spot on a different day.
"Lt. Doherty's expedition and War Department detectives who joined them, L.B. Baker (a cousin of Col Baker), and Everton J. Conger, met the tug John S. Ide at the Sixth Street Wharf in Washington and set out down the Potomac as the sun was setting.
"They landed in the dark, 10 p.m., at Belle Plain, Va., and headed out into the night in search of any clue of Booth. They had orders to scour the area, known as the Northern Neck, for any trace of Booth's trail.
"The second bit of information that had come from Col. Baker's clue was that Booth had a broken leg and that it had been set by a doctor in Maryland.
"The expedition began knocking on doors at farms and asking sleepy Virginians if they had seen two suspicious men, one who had a broken leg.
"They continued south through the Northern Neck. The trail grew cold and it wasn't until they reached the ferry across that Rappahannock River that it grew warm again.
"They questioned the ferryman, William Rollins, and he admitted that he had taken two men, unknown to him, across the river. They were in company with three former members of Mosby's irregulars.
"Rollins's wife volunteered that one of the ex-rebs, Willie Jett, was dating a girl in Bowling Green, Va. The cavalry pushed on to Bowling Green to the home of Jett's girlfriend.
To be continued