condemned sat in chairs. White cloth was used to bind their arms to their sides, and to tie their ankles and thighs together. On Powell's behalf Gillette thanked the prison officials for their kindness, and said a prayer for Powell's soul; Powell's eyes filled with tears. Powell said, "Mrs. Surratt is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die with the rest of us". The prisoners were asked to stand and move forward a few feet to the nooses. A white bag was placed over the head of each prisoner after the noose was put in place. Powell said to Rath through his hood, "I thank you, goodbye." Rath clapped his hands, and soldiers knocked the supports from under the drops. Surratt and Atzerodt seemed to die quickly. By contrast, Herold and Powell struggled for nearly five minutes. Powell's body swung about wildly, and once or twice his legs came up so that he was almost in a sitting position. Burial The bodies were allowed to hang for about 30 minutes before being cut down and placed in wooden gun boxes.The name of each deceased was written on a piece of paper and placed in the box in a glass vial. They were buried, along with Booth, against the east wall of the prison yard. In 1867, the coffins were reburied elsewhere within the Arsenal. In February 1869, after much pleading from the Booths and Surratts, President Johnson agreed to turn the bodies over to their families. There is some dispute about what happened next. Historian Betty Ownsbey says that Powell's family expressed a wish to reclaim the remains, but did not do so. Historian Richard Bak believes Powell's remains were interred at Graceland Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Powell's remains were disinterred and reburied at Holmead's Burying Ground. According to Powell family legend, Bak says, the family went to Washington in 1871 to retrieve Lewis' remains; the skull was missing. On the return trip to Florida, George Powell fell ill, and Lewis Powell's remains were temporarily interred on a nearby farm. In 1879, the remains were retrieved and the headless corpse was buried in Geneva, Florida. Betty Ownsbey says this is nothing more than a fanciful story. She argues that the events could not have occurred as related by family members, for the city of Washington, D.C., would have issued a disinterment order as well as issued a receipt for the body—neither