Booth's visit to the Surratt Boarding House after the assassination

[Bill Richter]

This weekend, Roger Norton and I were discussing whether JW Booth stopped at the Surratt Townhouse (now Chinese Restaurant) before leaving town the night he shot Abe Lincoln? It is an assertion that I make in my historical novel, The Last Confederate Heroes, II, 116-20, 439. He though it might make for an interesting threat on the forum and asked me if I would consent. I do so now, although I realize that I am a poor authority compared to others who patronize the site regularly. But, nonetheless, here we go. . . .

The problem is at least two-fold. Where did JWB pick up two pistols (a .44 cal Colt's Army from 1860, and either another Colt's army or a .36 cal Colt's Navy from 1851, depending on what account one believes. I believe that Ford's Theater has a picture showing the Army and Navy models as JWB's weapons). The other problem is how did JWB get a hat having lost the one he came to Fiord's in the jump to the stage.

The supposition is as follows: JWB had a hat at the Navy Bridge--at least Sgt ST Cobb did not report him as hatless, a rare sight in those days. The pistols were not mentioned, one way or the other, as far as I remember. Lots of people traveled at that time armed to the teeth, anyway, especially at night in the Maryland Peninsulas with men like Rebel guerrilla John Boyle afoot.

I mulled over many solutions as to where JWB picked up the two pistols with holsters. He did not have them in the theater. They would have been noticed as they were relative bulky. And he would not have needed the derringer. He was not mentioned having or not having them at the Navy Yard Bridge, but he did have them at Mudd's as Frankie saw them in his bed, still strapped on and uncomfortable, she thought. No wonder his back hurt!

I have thought long and hard on this and wrote several scenarios to try and solve the problem. He could have gotten them at Mudd's. But Frankie said nothing of that nor did the Doctor. He could have had them stored at Indiantown with Hughes, hence JWB's turning the boat off the course Jones have him to get to Mrs Quesenberry. But that seems unlikely because Frankie saw them at Mudd's.

The next step was to go with Kauffman that he had his pistols and an extra hat in his saddlebags. Why would JWB figure he would lose a hat? Two pistols were quite a pkg to have in a saddlebag, although the size of JWB's saddlebags was never mentioned that I am aware. Actually, a rented horse in the city would probably not had saddlebags provided as a part of his tack at all. But I suppose Booth could have provided his own. But this seemed unproductive, too.

Where could he have picked up a hat before arriving at the Navy Yard Bridge. The only solution was the same person everyone turned to when the going got tough--Mrs Surratt.

JWB had seen Mrs S several times and just before he went to the dinner and heater. He could have left the pistols on her sideboard in the English kitchen. John's hats were there too on a cloak rack or nail near where the new black maid (two weeks on the job) Susan M Jackson slept. Richard M Smoot was in town several times that week looking for payment for his boat cached near Port Tobacco. Mrs S had was told to come and see “John and the boys” on Friday. He did so, and found Mrs S dressed in a big sunbonnet covering her face like a hood. Mrs S told him that the boat would be used that night and to get out of town fast.

What if JWB arrived at that moment? As a novelist I can do that. As an historian, irony is a quality to observe always. JWB arrives, Mrs S is talking to Smoot in the doorway of the English basement JWB dismounts and everyone goes inside after JWB is assured that Smoot is a safe participant. He picks up his guns and holsters, but needs a hat. The cloaks and hats are over by Susan M Jackson, the maid, who is faking her sleep. I find that the times given in various testimony not too convincing. But everything took place around 10:30 p.m. or so in hindsight.

But Susan Jackson’s face is covered and she does not actually see who came in. She later says several men showed up that night, particularly 3 men. But when she was shown the policemen who had come that night, she recognized none of them by sight or voice. Cousin Lette Jenkins was there and Mrs S has her get the hat and check on Susan, who snores for all it is worth, her face covered the whole time. JWB quietly leaves, as does Smoot, problems solved.

But wait, JWB's rental horse will not be tied. She has to be held. How do we get that done? Easy. The third man who never really came in. JWB and Herold, who is fleeing from Fletcher and the ruckus at Seward's, literally bump into each other where L-shaped Baptist Alley meets the street (E or F?) as JWB flees the assassination site. So Herold stays mounted outside as JWB completes his business, holding JWB's flighty horse. They then part company so as to arrive at the Navy Yard Bridge separately.

I would swear that some witness, Jackson or Smoot, told the Feds that only one man came into the basement and the other stayed in the street, but I cannot find that. Probably a figment of my imagination. Yet, after working with JWB and his cohorts for a few years, I believe that I understand them better than most and that my imagination is pretty darned good. But that is supposition on my part.

So there you have it. Proof? There seems to be precious little. My real problem is that I suffered a stroke before I "footnoted" what I had written and my chapter notes suffer accordingly. I hurried to get LCH published because there was real doubt I would last the year at the time and I never recovered my mind-set thereafter.

But then, I cannot prove that Mosby's men were at Garrett's with orders to hie JWB off to safety, or, barring that, execute him. That is in LCH and expanded upon in Rick Smith’s and my book on Tom Harbin (In the Shadows of the Lincoln Assassination). And I believe that we are correct in that, too.

[Rsmyth]

Well, I really like this scenario as it would explain the weapons and the hat which have perplexed historians. At this point there is just not enought proof so maybe others can add to the theory.

The idea of Booth and Herold meeting at the boarding house is a stretch. Why would they split up? Now armed and having just created chaos in the city, would it not have been a better idea to stick together if they encountered any problems?

Anyway, did not know about your health issues and hope you are doing better. Thanks for posting this.

[RJNorton]

Like Rich I think this is a plausible theory. People debate how many trips Booth made to the boardinghouse on April 14th - was it 2 or 3? I feel at least 3 and maybe 4, as Bill describes above. I think Booth made a 3rd visit to the boardinghouse at about 9:00 P.M. prior to going to the theater. Mary had told Weichmann in the buggy that she had to be back by 9 as she was expecting a visitor. Weichmann asked if it was Booth, and she wouldn’t say. But the visitor came. Who was he?

To me it seems logical for Booth to stop by and check with Mary to see if she had accomplished what he had earlier asked her to do with Lloyd. At this time she may have also have told Booth that the road to Surrattsville was clear as Mary had already determined the pickets on the road went in at 8. If I am Booth, and I asked Mary to do a very important thing in Surrattsville, it seems natural to me that I would check to see if she was successful before proceeding to the theater. He could also have stashed the pistols and hat there during this visit.

It can be argued that the visitor was Smoot. But I think Booth came, too. (See the top paragraph of p. 88 in Kate Larson's book.) Smoot said he came at 9:30; I think Booth came earlier, but perhaps the visits overlapped.

Certainly Booth could also have left the pistols at the boardinghouse either at the 9 P.M. visit or even the earlier afternoon one when he left the package and message for Mary to give to Lloyd.

Possibly Booth could have planned to skip stopping at the boardinghouse if somebody was on his tail. However, he got away from Ford’s so fast he knew nobody was on his tail so he had time for a quick stop at Mary’s at about 10:30 P.M. If true, that would have been his 4th visit there on assassination day.

I am not a fan of some alternate theories such as the one that Booth got away and did not die at Garrett's. But theories such as this one, or Jerry Madonna's regarding the passes, are fascinating to me.

Bill, l second what Rich said about your health.

[Rick Smith]

Bill,

Everything you propose is most plausible. It makes sense that Booth & Herold split up so as to not attract so much attention at the bridge.

As to the saddlebags, which contained the pistols and the spare hat; very doubtful. Rented animals were most likely NOT tacked up to include saddle bags. And the spare hat in the saddlebags theory, there is no proof, so it is a theory, not fact, means that Booth planned for failure.

Good job. Your theory is as good as solid evidence as far as I am concverned.

Rick

[L Verge]

Bill already knows that his theory of Booth stopping at the boardinghouse AFTER the assassination is a hard sell for me. However, I do agree with other things - such as his horse not having saddlebags.

I have continued to place the pistols being available at Dr. Mudd's....until Art Loux hit me with something a few weeks ago that I have never heard before. Art has found reference to John Lloyd testifying that Herold made a quick dash across the road at Surrattsville for something hidden in the livery stable. I have read his testimony many times, but I swear I never remember seeing that mentioned. I have not yet had the time to track that down. If so, that might explain the pistols being hidden there earlier - but why not with the carbines and the other items hidden in the main house?

As for the slouch hat, would it be possible to fold one into the back waistband of Booth's trousers?

[Jim Garrett]

This is a terrific thread. It provides a plausible explanation for the brace of pistols and the extra hat. I also love Laurie's eye towards the details and the desire for more substantial information/proof. My father spent decades in black ops. Even today with the availability of information, it's hard to dig up information on him. The really successful spies/black ops guys you never hear about because they were good. Didn't Lewis Powell say something like you haven't got the half of them.

It's this free exchange of ideas that widens the research that may someday lead us to find out the details all of us have questioned. Thank you Bill, for the thread. Likewise Roger, Rick, Rich and Laurie for adding to this thread. Got to re-read LCH that I bought at the conference almost two years ago Rick's suggestion.

A hearty "Sic Sempter" to Bill.

[John Stanton]

There seems to be a "need" to believe that Booth picked up the Hat and the pistols all at the same place. Why? (no ans. needed).I can accept that he picked up the Pistols according to a plan. (Maybe?) But he didn't plan to loose his hat. He may have snatched a hat somewhere backstage, as he ran. As for the pistols --- Were they on one belt? The pistols were different caliburs, so, two belts. If on two belts then they were both "right-handed", Or left-handed. If he had the two pistol near-by, then he would not have gone to the theater with that unreliable, single shot, popgun. So, IMO the pistol were Down-line, somewhere. This whole scenerio leads me to believe that the Hat and each pistol came from different sources, AS or AFTER he left the theater. His departure from Ford's and his arrival at the bridge took the normal amout of time, without galloping the whole way. So, somewhere between the bridge and Mudd's, including the tavern, he could have had a "stash". I haven't researced any of this, so I'm attempting Logic. The Hat - who cares? but the pistols could have come from the Tavern. Nobody there was ready to admit to it. It could have been that Ole'geezer that lived at T.B., who armed and hatted him.

[JMadonna]

Bill,
I really like the way you think. Booth's pistols and hat are one of those throwaway details that make history fascinating.

It makes sense to me that Booth would stop at Mary's boarding house before making his escape. It was considered a safe house in Washington. Stringfellow made his escape from there a few weeks before and Powell headed for it when he was stranded. The only other place would have been Booth's room at the National which was on the way to the bridge but not easy to get in and out of without being spotted.

It never made sense to me as to why Booth sent Mary on her mission that afternoon. The carbine theory never made sense nor did the binocular package. Those are nice objects to have on the run but his primary concerns should have been speed and distance, so I postulated that she told him to get the escape horses ready.

We know she was glad to hear the guards would stop patroling by 8:00 so it makes sense that he needed to stop to get her scouting report and pick up supplies.

It's certainly plausable that Herold was the man holding the horse or maybe Anna Surratt??

Since Booth's exact route out of the city is disputable it's hard to find reliable witnesses to say they saw Booth at a certain spot after the shooting.

Maybe putting together a timeline would help. Assuming Booth went into a normal trot after a few blocks of galloping how much time did he have to get to the bridge after the shooting? How much time did he need to gather his guns and hat and collect information. 5-10 minutes? How far was the bridge from the boarding house?

Might be a fun exercise for some of our younger members. I'd prefer to have a yuengling and watch.

[Jim Garrett]

Could the pistols have been at Hunts...........Laurie? are to comment?

[L Verge]

I'm still recovering from the mention of the "Olegeezer in T.B.!" If that is a reference to great-grandpa Huntt, he was a Youngeezer of 28. I can only tell you what three generations of us Huntts have passed down. The Huntts did not own slaves - even though Eli's father did. I also have quite a few letters that Eli wrote to his wife ("Pretty Kitty"), while he was working as a tobacco merchant in Baltimore and she was living with his parents at "Mattawoman," the family plantation. This was before they moved into their own home in T.B.

The Baltimore Riot was going on, and Eli wrote to her that he would love her forever UNLESS he found out she was a secessionist. Most of Southern Maryland voted for Bell or Breckinridge in 1860. I have no idea whom the family would have voted for in 1864, but I'm betting it wasn't Lincoln.

My suspicions have always been that the safe house in T.B. was the hotel run by John Chandler Thompson. That's where Davey spent the night of March 17 after the aborted kidnapping. It was also a stop on the stage line with a livery stable right across the street. Chances are pretty good that Booth had stopped there at some point in his travels.

Since the statute of limitations has run out on conspiracy, I guess I can forget about being dragged before a military court??? Or, will it be the Lincoln Discussion Symposium vs. the heirs of Eli Huntt -- there's only three of us left?

[JMadonna]

Taking a look at my map I just noticed that the Surratt boarding house was only 5 blocks from Fords Theater. Would Booth stop that close to the scene of the crime? Anyone know what that area looked like at the time?

[J. Beckert]

Neat question, Bill and best wishes for a full recovery. I can't see Booth stopping that close to the crime scene, but all the theories are plausible I guess. I've never heard the story about Herold's quick dash at Surratsville, either. I think Booth planned for this as well as he could in 10 hours. I think by 10:00 all was in place and he didn't plan on stopping until he was very far south. He said himself he only planned for success. As far as the pistols go, they're much bigger than a Deringer, but not really that cumbersome. I carry a. 44 magnum revolver under my vest with no trouble and it's much bigger than my Navy revolver. One thing no one has mentioned is Booth's riding boots. He had them custom made in New York and requested pockets be sewn inside them. Supposedly this was for smuggling quinine. The pocket wouldn't have to be too big at all to hide a pistol and if the boots were relatively snug, they'd never fall out. The boots look like they're at least knee length . He could have stuffed both pistols and a hat in them with no trouble. In fact, being he knew he was going to jump from the box and ride hard through the countryside, I think the boots would be the perfect place to store something that needed to be hidden and be sure it stayed put.

[Thomas Thorne]

Fascinating theory but several things bother me. JWB's priority would be to make a quick escape. Would he dare make a stop to pick up crucial supplies so close to the crime scene where he would have to plan on the assumption there would be a hot pursuit? It is interesting to speculate what would have happened if a cavalry patrol had wandered past Ford's at the moment of the assassination. Would Mary Surratt have agreed to give him such overt support after the assassination when she might have calculated the only evidence the government might have against her was her relationship to John Surratt? One thing that must have made an impression upon the conspirators was the sheer size of the Washington crowds in the nights following Lee's surrender.
Tom

[Jim Garrett]

(10-21-2012 07:36 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I'm still recovering from the mention of the "Olegeezer in T.B.!" If that is a reference to great-grandpa Huntt, he was a Youngeezer of 28. I can only tell you what three generations of us Huntts have passed down. The Huntts did not own slaves - even though Eli's father did. I also have quite a few letters that Eli wrote to his wife ("Pretty Kitty"), while he was working as a tobacco merchant in Baltimore and she was living with his parents at "Mattawoman," the family plantation. This was before they moved into their own home in T.B.

The Baltimore Riot was going on, and Eli wrote to her that he would love her forever UNLESS he found out she was a secessionist. Most of Southern Maryland voted for Bell or Breckinridge in 1860. I have no idea whom the family would have voted for in 1864, but I'm betting it wasn't Lincoln.

My suspicions have always been that the safe house in T.B. was the hotel run by John Chandler Thompson. That's where Davey spent the night of March 17 after the aborted kidnapping. It was also a stop on the stage line with a livery stable right across the street. Chances are pretty good that Booth had stopped there at some point in his travels.

Since the statute of limitations has run out on conspiracy, I guess I can forget about being dragged before a military court??? Or, will it be the Lincoln Discussion Symposium vs. the heirs of Eli Huntt -- there's only three of us left?

Oh no Laurie, there's alot more of us on the symposium than 3.

[Rick Smith]

The boots which Booth wore the night of the assassination were made to come above the knee, probably to about mid thigh. This type of boot would give him a very secure seat in the saddle. In an era during which most men's clothing articles were made in a slightly overlarge fashion, this type of boot was typically made to fit snugly to the knee and then to have a more room at the upper part of the leg so that they could be rolled down if the wearer wished. This being so, they were not made in such a way to accommodate Colt's handguns or folded slouch hats. The weight of the handgun would probably have caused the boot top to slump or ride down as the upper was made of soft leather, not stiffened like a cowboy boot.

Booth did not carry an extra hat just in case he dropped the one he was wearing. Carrying an extra hat would be planning for failure from the outset.

It seems clear to me that the handguns were picked up either at Surratt's town house or at the tavern in Surrattsville. Both scenarios are more than plausible. A quick stop at the Surratt town house would have lost very little time for Booth. There was so much confusion after the assassination that the first real pursuit,
organized by A. C. Richards, didn't arrive at Surrattsville until the next morning.

Rick