Booth's Escape Route

[Laurie Verge]

For both the kidnap plot and the final assassination escape, Booth was depending on the Confederate Secret Line for assistance. That Line was especially strong in Southern Maryland and had been throughout the war. They had routinely smuggled people, materiels, etc. across the Potomac into the Northern Neck of Virginia and straight to Richmond and points south for four years.

If Booth had crossed upriver into Virginia around Alexandria or Arlington, he would be going into an area that had been "conquered" by the Federals early in the war. Points north into Maryland also led him into areas friendly with the Feds.

IMO (and get ready for rebuttals), Booth had every intention of making it as far south as possible before hopping a ship to Europe or heading towards the Mexican border. We know that he had shipped his theatrical wardrobe south months earlier. Acting was his livelihood, and costumes are the backbone of that livelihood, so follow those costumes (even though they never made it).