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Lewis Thornton "Paine" Powell
Lewis Powell after his arrest, 1865
Born	April 22, 1844(1844-04-22) Randolph County, Alabama, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1865 (aged 21) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Soldier
Parents	Rev. George C. Powell Caroline Powell

Lewis Thornton Powell (April 22, 1844 – July 7, 1865), also known as Lewis Paine or Payne, attempted unsuccessfully to assassinate United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, and was one of four people hanged for the Lincoln assassination conspiracy.

Lewis Powell was born in Randolph County, Alabama on April 22, 1844 to a Baptist minister, George Cader, and his young wife Patience Caroline Powell. The youngest of ten children, He spent the first three years of his life in Randolph County before his father was ordained and the family moved to Stewart County, Georgia. Powell and his siblings were all educated by their father who was the school master at the school. In his early years, Lewis is described as quiet and introverted. He enjoyed reading and studying. An animal lover who took the liberty to nurse and care for sick and stray animals, he earned the nickname 'Doc'. When Lewis was 13, he was violently kicked in the face by the family's donkey, breaking his jaw. The break healed, making his jaw more prominent on the left side of his face. After some years in Stewart County, the family moved to Worth County, then finally moving to Live Oak, Florida in 1859, when Lewis was 15. On May 30, 1861 at age 17, Lewis left home and enlisted in the 2nd Florida Infantry, Company I. He went on to fight at numerous battles unscathed before being wounded in the wrist on the second day of fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Lewis was captured and sent to a POW hospital at Pennsylvania College were he was kept until September, when he was transferred to West Buildings Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. It was at West Buildings were Powell met and developed a relationship with a volunteer nurse named Margaret "Maggie" Branson. It was with the help of Branson that Lewis was able to escape the hospital within a week of his arrival, fleeing to Alexandria, Virginia.

Back in Virginia, Powell tried to locate the 2nd Florida, but to no avail. He did however locate Col. John Singleton Mosby and his cavalry in late fall 1863. Powell rode with the 43rd Battalion, Company B for another 2 years, before leaving the company and returning to Baltimore on January 13, 1865 crossing the lines at Alexandria, returning to Baltimore and to the boarding house of Maggie Branson. During his time with the rangers, in 1864, Powell became involved in the Confederate Secret Service. It was in Baltimore that he was arrested for severely beating a black servant at the Branson house. He was arrested and held in jail 2 days on charges of being a "spy". Required to sign an Oath of Allegiance, he did so, under the name Lewis Paine. It was also in Baltimore that he met fellow CSS operative John H. Surratt Jr. through a man named David Preston Parr, also with the CSS.

Lewis Powell attacking Frederick Seward after attempting to shoot him.

After being escorted to the Seward residence by David Herold, Powell attempted to kill William Seward on (April 14, 1865 (the same night that John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln ) by breaking into his bedroom and stabbing him repeatedly. Earlier in the month, on April 5, 1865, Seward had been injured in a carriage accident, and suffered a concussion, a broken jaw, a broken right arm, and many serious bruises. A jaw splint worn by Seward helped to save his life by deflecting the knife away from his jugular vein. Four other people were injured in the attack. Another member of the conspiracy, George Atzerodt, failed to kill Vice-President Andrew Johnson, because he lost his nerve and got drunk.

Powell was tried under the name of "Payne" by a military tribunal and was executed with three other conspirators on July 7, 1865. He went to the gallows calmly and quietly, though at some point he was believed to have pleaded for the life of Mary Surratt shortly before he was hanged. His spiritual advisor, Rev. Gillette, thanked the guards for their good treatment of him while he was in prison, on his behalf. He insisted to his death that Mrs. Surratt was innocent.

While hangman Christian Rath was placing the noose over young Powell's head he remarked "I hope you die quick." He had been impressed by Powell's courage and determination in the face of death. To this Lewis replied, "You know best captain." Lewis Powell did not die quickly as hoped by Rath. After the drop he struggled for life more than 5 minutes. His body swinging wildly, twice he "Moved his legs up into the sitting position." and was the last to die. George Atzerodt died instantly, a broken neck. David Herold gave a brief shudder and wet himself. Mary Surratt whose neck did not break upon impact, also gave a shudder for several minutes before dying.

Execution of Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt

In January 1992, Powell's skull was discovered and stored at the Smithsonian Anthropology Department. Two years later the skull was re-interred with the rest of his remains at the Geneva Cemetery in Seminole County, Florida, next to the grave of his mother.^{[citation needed]}

• Lewis Powell

• The picture of him after his arrest is in the movie Nightwatch by Ole Bornedal