Posts Tagged With: Seward

Seward Assassination Attempt

“Crashing into a wall, Powell sought to disengage [Frederick's] iron hold.  Together they maneuvered toward the secretary’s room, and Powell crashed against the heavy door with his shoulder.  His own weight, combined with that of his clinging adversary, burst the door wide open, and together they stumbled across the threshold…The enraged intruder now drew his knife, and, stumbling into Robinson, sent the man reeling across the floor with a quick slash on his forehead…Powell frantically thrust Fanny Seward aside and bounded upon the old gentleman’s bed.  Placing his left hand on Seward’s chest, he struck repeatedly with the knife.  As the secretary was supported by a framework backrest, the weapon glanced off the metal in a shower of sparks…” -Betty Ownsbey in “Alias Paine”

The newest Picture Gallery here on BoothieBarn highlights illustrations and images relating to the other attack on an elected offical that occurred on April 14th, 1865: the attempted assassination of Secretary of State William Henry Seward by Lewis Thornton Powell.  Click here to see the new Seward Assassination Attempt Picture Gallery!

When Booth was committing his deed at Ford’s Theatre on 10^th Street, Lewis Powell was simultaneously entering a residence in Lafayette Square with malevolent intent.  His mark was Secretary of State William H. Seward, an integral member of Lincoln’s cabinet and political team.  Powell’s house-wide knife attack would wound five but none fatally.

The house the Secretary of State occupied was a stone’s throw from the White House.  Commissioned by Commodore John Rodgers, the building would serve as the home of many important politicians like James Blaine, James Paulding, Roger Taney, and William Worth Belknap.  When the White House was being renovated in 1845, President Polk used the house for his temporary residence.

In 1894, the Rodgers House was sadly demolished.  The Lafayette Square Opera House was built on the house’s site.

In 1906, the theater was bought by new owners and became The Belasco Theater.  The theater saw the likes of Al Jolson and Will Rodgers perform within its walls.  As times changed, the Belasco converted into a movie theater, but its career as such was short lived.  In 1940, the federal government bought the Belasco and nearby buildings.  The inside of the theater was remodeled and used as office and storage space, not unlike Ford’s Theatre had been.  During WWII, the building was reopened as a social club for Armed Forces members called The Stage Door Canteen.  Aside from a temporary revival as a military club during the Korean War, the building was used as offices for the USO.

Finally, in the 1964, the end came for the old Belasco building.  The old theater was razed in order to create the Federal Court of Claims building.  The Court of Claims still resides on the property.

While the house that was a silent witness to the assault of Secretary of State Seward is long gone from Lafayette Park, the history of the site is not forgotten.  While slightly hidden within the courtyard of the Federal Court of Claims building, there is a plaque to remember not only Lewis Powell’s presence on the site, but the other individuals and businesses that were once the President’s neighbors.

References:
Library of Congress