Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Event, People

Location

498 O Neil Rd, Olmstedville, NY 12857, USA

Lat/Long

43.79976, -73.9412

Grant Recipient

Town of Minerva Historian

William Byrne was born in County Kildare, Ireland, in 1839. In 1848, his family immigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Olmstedville, Essex County, New York.

Byrne enlisted in the Union Army in 1861, serving as a private in Company C of the 16th New York Cavalry. In April 1865, his detachment, led by Lieutenant Doherty, was assigned to the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

The hunt concluded on April 26, 1865, fourteen days after the assassination. The 16th Cavalry cornered Booth at a barn near Bowling Green and Port Royal, Virginia. When Booth refused to surrender, the cavalry set the structure on fire to flush him out. As Booth attempted to flee, he was shot and killed, and one of his accomplices was captured. For his participation in the location and capture of Booth, Byrne was awarded a share of the reward money totaling $1,653.84.

In his sworn deposition of the events, Byrne described the journey towards Bowling Green, and the assistance of informants along the way. He described being assigned to the rear and being ordered to shoot anyone trying to escape. By this time, he said, it was near midnight. He recounted the barn being surrounded, and Booth being flushed out and shot by another soldier.

Following his military discharge later that year, Byrne returned to Essex County and settled in Minerva. He resumed work as a farmer, a profession he maintained for the remainder of his life. In 1890, Byrne applied for an invalid pension, citing physical ailments including rheumatism, asthma, and varicose veins that restricted his ability to work.

Byrne resided in Minerva until his death in 1901. He was interred in St. Mary’s cemetery, in what is known as the hamlet of Irishtown.