It has also been documented that John Wilkes Booth had called on, and met with, Vice-President Andrew Johnson on more than one occasion, his last visit or attempted visit, with Johnson was at the Washington Hotel, just seven hours before Booth would kill President Abraham Lincoln. J.W. Booth had written and signed a message for Vice-President Johnson that day, the message would later be turned over to the United States Secret Service agents investigating Lincolns assassins. The note, written by J.W. Booth was found in Vice President Andrew Johnson’s mail box at the Kirkwood House Hotel in Washington D.C., where Mr. Johnson had taken up residence. The message left by Booth was not found until the day after Lincoln’s murder, and it read as follows;
"Don't wish to disturb you Are you at home?
J. Wilkes Booth."
This is not the kind of note you leave for someone in their mailbox. This was the Kind of note that you would send up to someone’s room or apartment, by way of a messenger. A person that you are familiar with could possibly be at home, but not wanting to receive any visitors. The person would make it appear as if he was not at home, but a special guest, like Mr. John Wilkes Booth the famous actor, may still have been received upon their hand written request presented by a door man or servant. This note would have had no purpose when left in a mail box where it was found on April 15th 1865 the day after the president was shot. What good would “ARE YOU AT HOME?” be to Booth if it was answered the following day? The message was obviously left in the vice president’s mailbox upon returning from Johnson’s empty room by whoever Booth had sent the note up with, to see if the vice president was in his room. Upon that person’s return to the lobby of the hotel they would have verbally told Booth that Johnson was not answering his door and then they would have left the unopened and unread note, now in their possession, in the vice president’s mailbox as soon as Booth had turned away from them and left the building. It is also very possible that Vice President Johnson received John Wilkes Booth as a secret visitor that day, and the note was placed into Johnson's mailbox after its use by the hotel employee that had delivered it to Johnson‘s door.
Possibly one of the few mistakes that John Wilkes Booth made, was not taking his note back from the person he sent it up with. It was because of this note that implications and accusations against the Vice President were made that placed Johnson into the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. After all, Vice President Johnson stood to become “President Johnson”. What more motive could you have.
Booth had went to the hotel to see Andrew Johnson just a few hours before the assassin would carry out Lincoln’s murder.
It would be fair to say, that John Wilkes Booth had familiar knowledge of Vice-President Andrew Johnson’s habits. It is also highly likely that Booth had came to see Andrew Johnson before April 14th, 1865 in a similar fashion. Booth would have known that Johnson may have been home sometimes when he was said to be away from his residence at the Washington Hotel. Prior meetings between Booth and Andrew Johnson would have gave Booth this knowledge, along with a method of announcing himself upon his arrival at the hotel, without announcing his arrival there to the general public. Booth was one of the most famous actors of the day, and highly recognizable. The person at the hotel he would use as a contact would not have been at the front desk, and may not have been an employee of the motel. This person could have been just another K.G.C. contact at the hotel. Perhaps it was another guest in the same hotel that was higher up in the K.G.C. than John Wilkes Booth. It is most likely that this person of interest would be found out after the assassination of Lincoln, and certainly at the very least, taken into custody by the secret service.
As it would turn out, the hallways, bars, and rooms at the famous “Kirkwood House Hotel” were crawling with conspirators in the years, months ,weeks, and even the day before and the morning of the assassination of President Lincoln. Do you think it was just a coincidence that Andrew Johnson was living there too? He was practically an arms reach from the assassins while they were housed, and visiting the hotel, to attend secret meetings planning Lincoln‘s demise. It would seem highly likely that Andrew Johnson was one of them. Just look at what he did , or tried to do, after he took over the presidency. He was sworn in as president in his residence at the Kirkwood House Hotel. This was not a very large establishment by today’s standards. It did not have endless wandering hallways. To imagine all of these men staying under the same roof and not passing in the halls or meeting in the hotel bar is a ridiculous assumption. They drank and dined in the hotel lobby , dining area and bar. Maybe not every meal or every day but over a period of months, that would add up to a lot of days and nights of hotel living. “Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with a night cap or a few evening cocktails in the hotel bar to wind down a nervous conspirator?” Not that hard to imagine them at least making acquaintance daily.
On the morning of April 14th, 1865 George Atzerodt rented room number 126 in the Kirkwood House. Luis Payne had also stayed in a room at the Kirkwood where meetings between John Wilkes Booth, David Harold, and George Atzerodt and himself had been taking place.
Johnson had made an impromptu (unnecessary and unasked for) drunken rambling acceptance speech that actually delayed the swearing in of Abe Lincoln. After this speech he dropped out of sight, went to the Kirkwood Hotel and stayed out of sight there for the next six weeks, until April 1865 when Lincoln was shot. He was sworn in at the Kirkwood and then moved into the white-house after he was made president. I believe Andrew Johnson knew he was going to be the president when he was sworn in as vice-president.
