Those Booth Horses Again -

[wsanto]

Okay, I found it. Right in front of me the whole time. (A little embarrassed I guess)

This is an exceprt of an examination of Thomas Davis by Col. Jno A. Foster on April 29th 1865

Q. What kind of horses were they?

A. One was a roan horse, medium size; a mark about the saddle where he had been hurt; his shoulder was swelled right smart; mark was behind the saddle, an old sore; the swelling of the shoulder was fresh; swelled right smart; I cannot remember whether he had white stockings; or whether he had any mark upon his forehead; he was a light roan. The saddle was light, government blanket with a row of holes down it. The other was a small bay mare. The colored man told me he had a white star on his forehead. I did not notice; she was lame in her left front leg she was very lame before taken out of the stable and taken to water about 10 or 11 o'clock

Of interest; it was the horse (the light roan) that Herold rode out of Washington that had the freshly swollen shoulder. Mr. Kauffman's website is incorrect when it says that Davis "told investigators that Booth's mare had a badly swollen left shoulder". I contacted Mr Kauffman (via his website) to alert him of this mistake so he may correct this on his website (unless he surmises that the horse fall occurred after Herold and Booth switched horses. But that really doesn't fit the narrative of his theory.)

Davis does claim that the horse (the small bay mare) Booth rode out of Washington was "very lame in her left front leg before taken out of the stable to water at 10 or 11 o'clock". This was the horse that was given to Herold shortly thereafter (assuming no longer lame) for his ride to Bryantown in search of a carriage with Dr. Mudd. It is also the horse that Davis describes in his subsequent statement as a "small bay mare in excellent trim, with a piece of skin off on the inside of the left foreleg about as big a silver quarter"