Col. Laf Baker in more depth

Major

James O'Beirne also received $3,000 of the reward money and he, too like Baker was promoted to the rank of general by Stanton. ... His men were guarding the very escape route through Maryland which Booth took, one where the assassin galloped past outpost after outpost without being challenged, stopped, or questioned. A grateful Secretary of War handsomely rewarded even strong man Eckert. Major Eckert was soon promoted. He then became Assistant Secretary of War. His star rose even higher years later when, through Stanton's efforts, Eckert became president of Western Union. Why was Eckert rewarded? He was too busy to sit next to Lincoln at the theater. Had Eckert, not the frail Rathbone, been present in the box, he could have undoubtedly snapped Booth's spine in a single move. He had more important duties at home, such as eating a huge meal, then leisurely shaving before going out on an errand. The telegraph lines, which Eckert controlled, were all suddenly, inexplicably out of action and no signal could be sent from the city to announce the assassination and to alert the countryside of the escaped murderer. No cause for this massive malfunction was ever found or explained. Eckert's wires were working properly, however, when Booth reportedly sent one or more encoded wires to Washington a day later. In 1867 the Attorney General attempted to build a case against John Surratt. He was informed that Stanton was in possession of Booth's diary and he asked that the Secretary of War turn it over. Stanton refused. The Attorney General insisted, officially ordering him to do so. The diary Stanton relinquished was missing eighteen pages. The Attorney General wanted to know where the missing pages had gone. Stanton said he had turned over the diary just as he had received it. Lafayette Baker and Colonel Conger were called in. Both reluctantly stated that the missing pages were present when they turned over Booth's diary to Stanton. What information did those pages contain? Some (The Lincoln Conspiracy by Balsiger and Sellier, mid-1970s based upon the discovered missing 18 pages in the Stanton attic around 1975) speculated that Booth had revealed the names of those who had financed his prolonged conspiracies to kidnap or kill Lincoln. It was later learned that Booth had received large unexplained amounts of money from a New York-based firm to which Stanton had connections.) Baker maintained his power for some time under Stanton's rule, even after President Johnson fired Stanton who refused to leave his headquarters. In this incredible political battle for power, Stanton threatened Johnson that if he wanted to go on being President, he would rescind his order. Johnson, a heavy drinker and a basically timid person, suddenly was incensed at this rank insubordination. He decreed that Stanton was dismissed. Baker tried to intervene, telling Johnson that he had accumulated enough scandal on the President to bring about his ruination and would do so unless Johnson made peace with Stanton. President Johnson replied by openly accusing Baker of maintaining spies in the White House and of attempting to blackmail him. He fired Baker. Then both Stanton and Baker worked hard to have Johnson impeached, although their efforts were not successful (by one vote atimpeachment). Baker thoroughly exposed his treacherous nature by testifying at the impeachment hearings in 1868. He committed perjury by insisting that certain documents would prove that Johnson had no right to hold the office of the Presidency. These documents existed only in Baker's imagination, it was proved. From that point onward Baker's star faded as did his sanity, or so it appeared. He barricaded himself inside his home and told his few friends that a secret cabal was intent on murdering him. In 1868 Baker was found dead. It was concluded that he was either poisoned to death (by arsenic according to chemist Neff who tested his hair, perhaps by Baker's brother-in-law Wally Pollack who worked for Stanton) or had committed suicide. He had left cryptic notes (fortuitously found nearly a century later by Neff) in Colburn's Magazine) that pointed to a high-level conspiracy to murder Lincoln —one going far beyond that involving John Wilkes Booth. http://www.civilwarsignals.org/pages /spy/lafayettebaker.html