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Rick Smith · 12-09-2016, 10:40 AM

I thought that General Tidwell had stated the skirmish near Charlotte Hall was probably between some Yankees and elements of Mosby's command, part of Co. G, led by Lt. Garland Smith, who had been looking for Booth with a view to extracting him.

wpbinzel · 12-09-2016, 08:36 PM

(04-23-2014 04:05 PM)L Verge Wrote: I found the article on the stage run that I did centuries ago. The mail route from 1860-64 was as follows:

"Leave Washington three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 am, via Silver Hill, Surratt's, T.B., Beantown, Bryantown, Charlotte Hall, Chaptico, to Leonardtown by 10 pm the same day.

"Leave Leonardtown three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 4 am to arrive in Washington by 7 pm the same day."
Every one of those towns still exists with the exception of Beantown. A few remnants of it were still around when I was a child, so I know where it was.

I don't think that I asked when you posted this: Where was Beantown?

L Verge · 12-11-2016, 03:17 PM

(12-08-2016 11:12 PM)Dave Taylor Wrote: I'm resurrecting this thread because I'm stuck in a research quandary. My question is this, how could John Wilkes Booth have returned to Washington after visiting Charles County in November of 1864?

We know that Booth rode the stage that goes from Washington, D.C. all the way down to Leonardtown in St. Mary's County, Maryland on Friday, November 11th. During this trip he got off at Bryantown and spent the night of the 11th at the Bryantown Tavern while he sent word to Dr. Queen that he had a letter of introduction for him. On Saturday the 12th, Joseph Queen picks Booth up from Bryantown and brings him to his father's house. Booth spends that night with the Queen family. The next morning, Sunday the 13th, Dr. Queen, Booth, and John Thompson all attend mass at St. Mary's. Thompson states that he introduces Booth to Dr. Mudd for the first time here but that Booth returns back to Dr. Queen's home. On the next day, Monday the 14th, Booth has made his way back to Washington. We know this because he writes a letter (recently on the auction block but failed to sell because the starting price was too high IMO) to the son of the owner of Bryantown Tavern from Washington on November 14th.

So my question is, how did Booth get from Bryantown on Sunday the 13th to Washington on Monday the 14th? According to the information Laurie posted earlier in this thread, the stage went southbound on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, and northbound on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays. According to Laurie there was no service on Sundays. If this is all true then Booth could not have taken the stage back from Bryantown to Washington and be in the city on the 14th. But he was!

Either he borrowed a horse from someone (possibly the Queen family) or we are mistaken about the stage schedule.

Any thoughts?

The stage schedule came from the historian's office at the U.S. Postal Department back in the late-1970s. As I said in the early posts, I did not carry the history of it into the 1864-65 time period because of Mr. Surratt's death early in the war. I also need to check as to when the post office left Surratt Tavern and went to Robey's place down Piscataway Road.

Booth could have borrowed a horse, hitched a ride with someone going to D.C., OR I remember Mr. Hall making reference to him leaving a horse at the T.B. livery stable across the road from John Chandler Thompson's T.B. Hotel. Don't know when that was or any details. I am positive (without proof) that Thompson was another safehouse handler. Mr. Huntt was the T.B. postmaster with his store and home just across the "street."

wpbinzel · 12-12-2016, 12:25 AM

The answer to my question of "Where was Beantown?" may be found on Kieran McAuliffe's John Wilkes Booth Escape Route map. It appears to me that Beantown was east of Waldorf, in the area of where the modern-day Mattawoman Beantown Road, St. Charles Parkway and Leonardtown Road converge.

BettyO · 12-12-2016, 09:19 AM

Here's what I found on "Beantown" - it's Wiki....so therefore, I'd rely more heavily on what Laurie has to say - she knows!

Still - interesting info and the photo is wonderful!

"Waldorf's original name was Beantown. During his post assassination flight, John Wilkes Booth told a road sentry he was headed to his home in Charles County near Beantown and was allowed to proceed.[2] In 1880, the General Assembly of Maryland by an act changed the name to "Waldorf" in honor of William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919), the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), who was born in Walldorf, Palatinate, Germany.[3] On July 29, 1908, the city of Plumb Valley in Waseca County, Minnesota, changed its name to Waldorf after Waldorf, Maryland.[4]

Once a tobacco market village, Waldorf came to prominence in the 1950s as a gambling destination after slot machines were legalized in Charles County in 1949. The boom lasted until 1968 when gambling was once again outlawed.[5] Its subsequent substantial growth as a residential community began with a 1970 loan package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which fueled the giant planned community of St. Charles, south of Waldorf.

St. Catharine, or the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6]" - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf,_Maryland

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 12-12-2016 07:50 PM by L Verge.)

(12-12-2016 12:25 AM)wpbinzel Wrote: The answer to my question of "Where was Beantown?" may be found on Kieran McAuliffe's John Wilkes Booth Escape Route map. It appears to me that Beantown was east of Waldorf, in the area of where the modern-day Mattawoman Beantown Road, St. Charles Parkway and Leonardtown Road converge.

You are correct. There were still some remnants of the village when I was a small child. I pointed this location out on the conference bus trip into Charles County last year.

BTW: Just trivia - Mattawoman is an Indian name that was given to the creek that separates Charles and Prince George's County at that point. The Huntt family plantation where my great-grandfather grew up was right along that creek in Charles County It also bore the name Mattawoman and would today be where the other end of Mattawoman-Beantown Road intersects with Route 301. About 3-4 miles south of T.B. If Booth had taken the "new" route from T.B., he would have crossed through the plantation.

(12-12-2016 09:19 AM)BettyO Wrote: Here's what I found on "Beantown" - it's Wiki....so therefore, I'd rely more heavily on what Laurie has to say - she knows!

Still - interesting info and the photo is wonderful!

"Waldorf's original name was Beantown. During his post assassination flight, John Wilkes Booth told a road sentry he was headed to his home in Charles County near Beantown and was allowed to proceed.[2] In 1880, the General Assembly of Maryland by an act changed the name to "Waldorf" in honor of William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919), the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), who was born in Walldorf, Palatinate, Germany.[3] On July 29, 1908, the city of Plumb Valley in Waseca County, Minnesota, changed its name to Waldorf after Waldorf, Maryland.[4]

Once a tobacco market village, Waldorf came to prominence in the 1950s as a gambling destination after slot machines were legalized in Charles County in 1949. The boom lasted until 1968 when gambling was once again outlawed.[5] Its subsequent substantial growth as a residential community began with a 1970 loan package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which fueled the giant planned community of St. Charles, south of Waldorf.

St. Catharine, or the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6]" - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf,_Maryland

Actually, this is good information. The original center of Beantown, however, is a few miles below the original center of Waldorf. The Bean family was all over Charles and Southern Prince George's Counties when I was a child. Jimmy Bean ran a bustling general store right by the railroad tracks in original Waldorf and somehow was related to the Huntts through marriage. The store was so rickety, one would have thought that the vibration from the trains would have caused it to collapse.

The photo is great, and most of the buildings are still there. The movie theater is where I saw all my childhood movies - except when we could go to the grand movie houses in DC - and they were spectacular. The old theater is now a Spanish market.

L Verge · 12-13-2016, 01:13 PM

(12-12-2016 07:42 PM)L Verge Wrote:
(12-12-2016 12:25 AM)wpbinzel Wrote: The answer to my question of "Where was Beantown?" may be found on Kieran McAuliffe's John Wilkes Booth Escape Route map. It appears to me that Beantown was east of Waldorf, in the area of where the modern-day Mattawoman Beantown Road, St. Charles Parkway and Leonardtown Road converge.

You are correct. There were still some remnants of the village when I was a small child. I pointed this location out on the conference bus trip into Charles County last year.

BTW: Just trivia - Mattawoman is an Indian name that was given to the creek that separates Charles and Prince George's County at that point. The Huntt family plantation where my great-grandfather grew up was right along that creek in Charles County It also bore the name Mattawoman and would today be where the other end of Mattawoman-Beantown Road intersects with Route 301. About 3-4 miles south of T.B. If Booth had taken the "new" route from T.B., he would have crossed through the plantation.

(12-12-2016 09:19 AM)BettyO Wrote: Here's what I found on "Beantown" - it's Wiki....so therefore, I'd rely more heavily on what Laurie has to say - she knows!

Still - interesting info and the photo is wonderful!

"Waldorf's original name was Beantown. During his post assassination flight, John Wilkes Booth told a road sentry he was headed to his home in Charles County near Beantown and was allowed to proceed.[2] In 1880, the General Assembly of Maryland by an act changed the name to "Waldorf" in honor of William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919), the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), who was born in Walldorf, Palatinate, Germany.[3] On July 29, 1908, the city of Plumb Valley in Waseca County, Minnesota, changed its name to Waldorf after Waldorf, Maryland.[4]

Once a tobacco market village, Waldorf came to prominence in the 1950s as a gambling destination after slot machines were legalized in Charles County in 1949. The boom lasted until 1968 when gambling was once again outlawed.[5] Its subsequent substantial growth as a residential community began with a 1970 loan package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which fueled the giant planned community of St. Charles, south of Waldorf.

St. Catharine, or the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6]" - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf,_Maryland

Actually, this is good information. The original center of Beantown, however, is a few miles below the original center of Waldorf. The Bean family was all over Charles and Southern Prince George's Counties when I was a child. Jimmy Bean ran a bustling general store right by the railroad tracks in original Waldorf and somehow was related to the Huntts through marriage. The store was so rickety, one would have thought that the vibration from the trains would have caused it to collapse.

The photo is great, and most of the buildings are still there. The movie theater is where I saw all my childhood movies - except when we could go to the grand movie houses in DC - and they were spectacular. The old theater is now a Spanish market.

Just correcting an error during one of my mental collapses. Mr. Bean ran a store in Brandywine when I was a child - not in Waldorf. Jimmy Ryan ran the one by the railroad tracks in Waldorf. Just trivia to file and forget.

SSlater · 12-13-2016, 10:59 PM

(04-23-2014 07:05 PM)L Verge Wrote: I agree completely with Joe. Booth was riding on a high ego at that point and was certain that his deed would be acclaimed by many. Miss Maude Motley, owner of the sliver of the crutch, who used to meet our tour buses in Virginia, would recount something to the effect that, when the news of the assassination was heard at the Garrett home, Booth made a comment as to wondering why someone would kill Lincoln. I believe it was Lucinda Holloway who replied, "Oh, for notoriety's sake, no doubt." For someone expecting accolades, "notoriety" is a put down, IMO.

Back to the escape route: When I first met James O. Hall in 1975, he was surprised by two things - one, I not only knew where T.B. was, but had grown up there and pretty much knew where things were in the village in 1865; two - I also knew where a place in Charles County was called Patuxent City.

In the case of the latter, he had found reference to David Herold having lived for part of his life in Patuxent City. I don't think he ever found the exact location of the home or the name of the family. The Patuxent City that I know had only 2-3 structures that could have dated back to the Civil War, but I never pursued it.

The point of my bringing this up is a supposition on my part (and after my last experience of "supposing" something, I need to be careful). If the fugitives had taken the old route to Horsehead, but stayed straight (instead of bearing right), they would have gone through the village of Woodville (now Aquasco), where there was a doctor well-known to Confederate sympathizers, and then continued on to Patuxent City. At that point, they could have turned right and headed in the direction of modern-day Hughesville and on to the area where Burtles, Swann, Canter, and Cox were located.

Or, they could have turned left and headed for Benedict and the Patuxent River and then into St. Mary's County. I mention this last route because when Thomas Jones was finally able to get them on the move to the shores of the Potomac, I believe it was because he had gotten word that the Union troops were headed in the direction of Chaptico and the river because two men had been spotted crossing in St. Mary's County. Those two men were very likely Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden, the two underground operatives who had been trying to locate Booth and Herold and help get them to safety. So many routes, so many choices...

If it had been me, I would have avoided Benedict and St. Mary's County. Benedict was home to Camp Stanton, one of the training camps for the U.S. Colored Troops. Shortly after entering St. Mary's County, especially if following the Patuxent River shores, one would come to what had been the grand plantation (The Plains) of Col. John Sothoron, who had made a serious mistake of killing a Union soldier when a raiding party came earlier in the war to "recruit" the colonel's slaves for military duty. Col. Sothoron and his son were in hiding in 1865, and The Plains had become a government farm -- meaning that the Union had confiscated it and placed contraband there to till the soil to produce food crops for the good of the cause. Union soldiers were their overseers. Best to avoid it.

However, there is an account of a skirmish near there on the day of April 15. Gen. Tidwell had found evidence to suggest that some of Mosby's men were in the area and clashed with a Union troop. I think John Stanton has tried to follow up on this with different results. Just some random thoughts.

Laurie. You-Hooooo! Are you awake? If you are not I'll call back.
Did I ever send you something on this Battle? (There's a Post nearby that has Garland Smith (Really Channing Smith) fighting at Charlotte Hall (really Benedict). Is there enough interest to write up a story for you? It wasn't Mosby's People, (I can prove that) and nothing was accomplished.

L Verge · 12-14-2016, 08:02 PM

(12-13-2016 10:59 PM)SSlater Wrote:
(04-23-2014 07:05 PM)L Verge Wrote: I agree completely with Joe. Booth was riding on a high ego at that point and was certain that his deed would be acclaimed by many. Miss Maude Motley, owner of the sliver of the crutch, who used to meet our tour buses in Virginia, would recount something to the effect that, when the news of the assassination was heard at the Garrett home, Booth made a comment as to wondering why someone would kill Lincoln. I believe it was Lucinda Holloway who replied, "Oh, for notoriety's sake, no doubt." For someone expecting accolades, "notoriety" is a put down, IMO.

Back to the escape route: When I first met James O. Hall in 1975, he was surprised by two things - one, I not only knew where T.B. was, but had grown up there and pretty much knew where things were in the village in 1865; two - I also knew where a place in Charles County was called Patuxent City.

In the case of the latter, he had found reference to David Herold having lived for part of his life in Patuxent City. I don't think he ever found the exact location of the home or the name of the family. The Patuxent City that I know had only 2-3 structures that could have dated back to the Civil War, but I never pursued it.

The point of my bringing this up is a supposition on my part (and after my last experience of "supposing" something, I need to be careful). If the fugitives had taken the old route to Horsehead, but stayed straight (instead of bearing right), they would have gone through the village of Woodville (now Aquasco), where there was a doctor well-known to Confederate sympathizers, and then continued on to Patuxent City. At that point, they could have turned right and headed in the direction of modern-day Hughesville and on to the area where Burtles, Swann, Canter, and Cox were located.

Or, they could have turned left and headed for Benedict and the Patuxent River and then into St. Mary's County. I mention this last route because when Thomas Jones was finally able to get them on the move to the shores of the Potomac, I believe it was because he had gotten word that the Union troops were headed in the direction of Chaptico and the river because two men had been spotted crossing in St. Mary's County. Those two men were very likely Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden, the two underground operatives who had been trying to locate Booth and Herold and help get them to safety. So many routes, so many choices...

If it had been me, I would have avoided Benedict and St. Mary's County. Benedict was home to Camp Stanton, one of the training camps for the U.S. Colored Troops. Shortly after entering St. Mary's County, especially if following the Patuxent River shores, one would come to what had been the grand plantation (The Plains) of Col. John Sothoron, who had made a serious mistake of killing a Union soldier when a raiding party came earlier in the war to "recruit" the colonel's slaves for military duty. Col. Sothoron and his son were in hiding in 1865, and The Plains had become a government farm -- meaning that the Union had confiscated it and placed contraband there to till the soil to produce food crops for the good of the cause. Union soldiers were their overseers. Best to avoid it.

However, there is an account of a skirmish near there on the day of April 15. Gen. Tidwell had found evidence to suggest that some of Mosby's men were in the area and clashed with a Union troop. I think John Stanton has tried to follow up on this with different results. Just some random thoughts.
Laurie. You-Hooooo! Are you awake? If you are not I'll call back.
Did I ever send you something on this Battle? (There's a Post nearby that has Garland Smith (Really Channing Smith) fighting at Charlotte Hall (really Benedict). Is there enough interest to write up a story for you? It wasn't Mosby's People, (I can prove that) and nothing was accomplished.

I don't remember ever speaking about an article, but we have discussed it several times over the phone. We always need articles, especially one that will interest Southern Maryland members.

Dave Taylor · 12-14-2016, 08:11 PM

(12-14-2016 08:02 PM)L Verge Wrote: I don't remember ever speaking about an article, but we have discussed it several times over the phone. We always need articles, especially one that will interest Southern Maryland members.

Local folks do enjoy the story of the "Battle of Mechanicsville". I spoke at both the Lexington Park and Charlotte Hall Rotary clubs during the last 6 months and they all enjoyed hearing about this forgotten Civil War "battle" in their own county.

Rick Smith · (This post was last modified: 12-17-2016 11:27 AM by Rick Smith.)

The "nearby post" that John Stanton refers to and which relates to Garland Smith and elements of Co. G from Mosby's command is based off of General Tidwell's research on the subject. General Tidwell specifically cites Garland Smith and says that some of Mosby's people were actually on the Maryland side of the river looking for Booth in hopes of extracting him and that this is also the reason for Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden being in Newport just after the assassination. Not all of Mosby's men had returned to him at this point. Those involved in the fight at Charlotte Hall and the three who met Booth and Herold at Port Conway; Jett and Bainbridge, who are listed on Mosby's rolls, were two of the three who met Booth and Herold and crossed the Rappahannock with them.

(12-17-2016 10:53 AM)Rick Smith Wrote: The "nearby post" that John Stanton refers to and which relates to Garland Smith and elements of Co. G from Mosby's command is based off of General Tidwell's research on the subject. General Tidwell specifically cites Garland Smith and says that some of Mosby's people were actually on the Maryland side of the river looking for Booth in hopes of extracting him and that this is also the reason for Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden being in Newport just after the assassination. Not all of Mosby's men had returned to him at this point. Those involved in the fight at Charlotte Hall and the three who met Booth and Herold at Port Conway; Jett and Bainbridge, who are listed on Mosby's rolls, were two of the three who met Booth and Herold and crossed the Rappahannock with them.

My last sentence was unclear. Meant to say;

Those involved in the fight near Charlotte Hall and the three who met Booth and Herold at Port Conway, are examples of Mosby's men still being in the area. Willie Jett & Absalom Bainbridge, who are listed on Mosby's rolls, were two of the three who met Booth and Herold and crossed the Rappahannock with them.

All of the above is very clearly explained in General Tidwell's book, April '65.

L Verge · 12-17-2016, 12:07 PM

Thank you, Rick, for the backup. I'm still going with the Tidwell version. Also, John mentioned the Mechanicsville skirmish as actually occurring in Benedict. Benedict is in Charles County and at least eight to ten miles away from Mechanicsville in St. Mary's County. Could there have been two such skirmishes -- one to match Tidwell's scenario and one for John Stanton's??

Rick Smith · (This post was last modified: 12-17-2016 01:08 PM by Rick Smith.)

Laurie,

You are most welcome. I have always been a strong proponent of General Tidwell's view of things.

There may have been more than one skirmish, but certainly there was one near Charlotte Hall & Mechanicsville. In his after action report, Captain Buckley states that he had skirmished with a Confederate force near Mechanicsville the evening of April 15 and had lost one man, but that he had taken one of the enemy prisoner. He states plainly in his report that the Confederate force was under the command of Captain Garland Smith. Most likely, Buckley got Smith's name from his prisoner.

There is another report from a Lt. O'Brien who states that Buckley had arrived at the government farms on the night of April 15, and that he had skirmished with a "portion of Mosby's men under Captain Garland Smith, just on the edge of the farms."

I believe that the government farms referred to were located on confiscated property owned by the Sothrons, who had left for Virginia after Colonel Sothron had shot a yankee Lieutenant in command of some U. S. Colored troops when they made a "visit" to his place to recruit slaves for the Union army. The farms were used to grow vegetables for Point Lookout. This is near where the skirmish took place, not at the government farms at Benedict. The Charlotte Hall connection comes from Colonel Sothron having been the head master at Charlotte Hall Military Academy.

I do not know for sure, but my belief is that there were not two skirmishes, but only one, and it took place close to Mechanicsville.

Wild Bill · 12-17-2016, 12:57 PM

There was no fight at Benedict. For most of the war the plain outside of town was the training camp for four or five regiments of Black volunteers (USCT), called Camp Stanton, I believe. Ironic.

Tidwell wrote three articles for the Courier on the Mechanicsville fight the night that Booth and Harold heard shots from (see William A. Tidwell, "April 15, 1865," Surratt Courier, 22 (April-May-June 1997), 6-10, 5-10, 4-9.

L Verge · 01-11-2017, 08:59 PM

In the middle of the night, a thought occurred to me. The Plains plantation of the Sothorons, which Rick mentioned in a previous post,was in St. Mary's County on the Patuxent River and about 3-4 miles from the village of Mechanicsville. It is now a housing development with only a well-kept family cemetery to ever suggest it had a history. Those of us who know about the Battle of Mechanicsville have always thought that the battle occurred near that site.

However, it dawned on me that there is another river to consider when studying St. Mary's County - the Wicomico River. An infamous town to the Yankees, Chaptico, still stands near the Wicomico (and has a great market that sells Maryland stuffed ham and good, Maryland-style fried chicken). Allen's Fresh, familiar to those who study the Civil War in Southern Maryland, is also on the Wicomico. Even today, however, nearby areas of the county fall under the Mechanicsville post office and cover about 14-15 miles from that river to the heart of Mechanicsville.

The point of my rambling is to suggest that this elusive Battle of Mechanicsvile could have occurred along the Wicomico River instead of the Patuxent River. Both areas would have been familiar to both the Yankees and any agents working from the Northern Neck shores of the Potomac. In fact, Jones decided to move Booth to Dent's Meadow after hearing that the Yankees had skedaddled to St. Mary's County because of reports of two men crossing into Virginia in that direction. We know those two men were likely Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden. Mechanicsville extended to the shores of two rivers, the Patuxent and the Wicomico. Are we safe to speculate that the skirmish between Yankees and Mosby's men could have occurred somewhere near either river? I shall await a salvo from John Stanton...

P.S. If you want an interesting side story of the Civil War related to a citizen of Chaptico, google Richard Zarvona (a Civil War cross-dresser to serve The Cause).