Lewis Powell

Lewis Thornton Powell (April 22, 1844 – July 7, 1865) was an American Confederate soldier who attempted to assassinate William Henry Seward as part of the Lincoln assassination plot. Wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, he later served in Mosby's Rangers before working with the Confederate Secret Service in Maryland. John Wilkes Booth recruited him into a plot to kidnap Lincoln and turn the president over to the Confederacy, but then decided to assassinate Lincoln, Seward, and Vice President Andrew Johnson instead, and assigned Powell the task to kill Seward. Co-conspirator David Herold was to guide Powell to Seward's home, then help him escape, but fled before Powell was able to exit the Seward home. He arrived at the boarding house run by Mary Surratt, mother of co-conspirator John Surratt, three days later while the police were there conducting a search, and was arrested. Powell, Mary Surratt, Herold, and George Atzerodt were sentenced to death by a military tribunal, and executed at the Washington Arsenal. Early life Lewis Powell was born in Randolph County, Alabama, on April 22, 1844, to George Cader and Patience Caroline Powell. He was the youngest son in a family of eight children. Powell's father was ordained a Baptist minister in 1847, and in 1848, the family moved to Stewart County, Georgia, where his father had received an appointment as pastor of Beulah Church in the village of Green Hill. About this time, Powell's father freed the three slaves he owned. Powell and his siblings were all educated by their father, who was the local schoolmaster. In his early years, Powell was described as quiet and introverted, and well liked by others. He enjoyed carving, fishing, singing, reading, and studying. He also loved attending church, Sunday school, and prayer meetings. He often nursed and cared for sick and stray animals, earning the nickname "Doc" from his sisters. Powell could also be immensely stubborn, and the entire family was well known for their hot tempers.