April 16, 1865: Looking for Lincoln's Assassin

APRIL 16TH, 1865:  Secretary of the Navy Welles directed:  "To prevent the escape of the assassin who killed the President and attempted the life of the Secretary of State, search every vessel that arrived down the bay.

"Permit no vessel to go to sea without such search, and arrest and send to Washington any suspicious persons."

Response was immediate; ships took stations "on the coast of Maryland and Virginia."

--Old B-Runner