The Life, Crime, and Capture of John Wilkes BoothTownsend, George Alfred
History
The Life, Crime, and Capture of John Wilkes Booth
Townsend, George Alfred
Assassins -- United States -- Biography; Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Assassination
On Tuesday morning they presented themselves at the Port Royal ferry,
and inquired of the ferry-man, while he was taking them over in squads
of seven at a time, if he had seen any two such men. Continuing their
inquiries at Port Royal, they found one Rollins a fisherman, who
referred them to a negro named Lucas, as having driven two men a short
distance toward Bowling Green in a wagon. It was found that these men
answered to the description, Booth having a crutch as previously
ascertained.
The day before Booth and Harold had applied at Port Conway for the
general ferry-boat, but the ferryman was then fishing and would not
desist for the inconsiderable fare of only two persons, but to their
supposed good fortune a lot of confederate cavalrymen just then came
along, who threatened the ferryman with a shot in the head if he did not
instantly bring across his craft and transport the entire party. These
cavalrymen were of Moseby's disbanded command, returning from Fairfax
Court House to their homes in Caroline county. Their captain was on his
way to visit a sweetheart at Bowling Green, and he had so far taken
Booth under his patronage, that when the latter was haggling with Lucas
for a team, he offered both Booth and Harold the use of his horse, to
ride and walk alternately.
In this way Lucas was providentially done out of the job, and Booth rode
off toward Bowling Green behind the confederate captain on one and the
same horse.
So much learned, the detectives, with Rollins for a guide, dashed off in
the bright daylight of Tuesday, moving southwestward through the level
plains of Caroline, seldom stopping to ask questions, save at a certain
halfway house, where a woman told them that the cavalry party of
yesterday had returned minus one man. As this was far from
circumstantial, the party rode along in the twilight, and reached
Bowling Green at eleven o'clock in the night.
This is the court-house town of Caroline county--a small and scattered
place, having within it an Ancient tavern, no longer used for other than
lodging purposes; but here they hauled from his bed the captain
aforesaid, and bade him dress himself. As soon as he comprehended the
matter he became pallid and eagerly narrated all the facts in his
possession. Booth, to his knowledge, was then lying at the house of one
Garrett, which they had passed, and Harold had departed the existing day
with the intention of rejoining him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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