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 Saturday, before sunrise, Booth and Harold, who had ridden all night
without stopping elsewhere, reached the house of Dr. Mudd, three miles
from Bryantown. They contracted with him for twenty-five dollars in
greenbacks to set the broken leg. Harold, who knew Dr. Mudd, introduced
Booth under another name, and stated that he had fallen from his horse
during the night. The doctor remarked of Booth that he draped the lower
part of his face while the leg was being set; he was silent, and in
pain. Having no splits in the house, they split up an old-fashioned
wooden band-box and prepared them. The doctor was assisted by an
Englishman, who at the same time began to hew out a pair of crutches.
The inferior bone of the left leg was broken vertically across, and
because vertically it did not yield when the crippled man walked upon
it.
The riding boot of Booth had to be cut from his foot; within were the
words "J. Wilkes." The doctor says he did not notice these, but that
visual defect may cost him his neck. The two men waited around the house
all day, but toward evening they slipped their horses from the stable
and rode away in the direction of Allen's Fresh.
Below Bryantown run certain deep and slimy swamps, along the belt of
these Booth and Harold picked up a negro named Swan, who volunteered to
show them the road for two dollars; they gave him five more to show them
the route to Allen's Fresh, but really wished, as their actions
intimated, to gain the house of one Sam. Coxe, a notorious rebel, and
probably well advised of the plot. They reached the house at midnight.
It is a fine dwelling, one of the best in Maryland. And after hallooing
for some time, Coxe came down to the door himself. As soon as he opened
it and beheld who the strangers were, he instantly blew out a candle he
held in his hand, and without a word pulled them into the house, the
negro remaining in the yard. The confederates remained in Coxe's house
till 4 A. M., during which time, the negro saw them drink and eat
heartily; but when they reappeared they spoke in a loud tone, so that
Swan could hear them, against the hospitality of Coxe. All this was
meant to influence the darkey; but their motives were as apparent as
their words. He conducted them three miles further on, when they told
him that now they knew the way, and giving him five dollars more--making
twelve in all--told him to go back.
But when the negro, in the dusk of the morning, looked after them as he
receded, he saw that both horses' heads were turned once more toward
Coxe's, and it was this man, doubtless, who harbored the fugitives from
Sunday to Thursday, aided, possibly, by such neighbors as the Wilsons
and Adamses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account