https://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/burnett/lincoln.htm#seward
Description of Powell and his attack on Seward.
Great grandfather was called to D.C. to run the investigation for Stanton, was a Special Judge Advocate during the trial, and put together the Library of Congress records, which are in his handwriting. Husband had gotten me a HUGE microfilm reader to scan into the computer when I spent the year reading 18th century NY newspaper poetry sent by NY State Archives, and I bought most of the Lincoln microfilm as a souvenir. Fun research.
The conspirators wanted to kill Lincoln, Seward and VP Andrew Johnson at the same time so that the federal government would be decapitated. Atzerodt, who was to kill Johnson, chickened out of the task at the last minute. Payne/Powell did not succeed in killing Seward due to the intervention at his home. I was always amazed by the fact that Lincoln had but one bodyguard at Ford’s Theater who was in the theater bar drinking at the time Wilkes Booth entered the box where Lincoln was seated.