St. Peter's or Horsehead? Is the Stage Route the Answer?

[J. Beckert]

In my opinion, Booth was still full of bravado and intense pride in what he had done by that early point in his trip south. A witness (Ferguson) stated that Booth actually stopped briefly on the stage, shook the knife and said "I have done it!", before resuming his exit from the theater. Then he meets Cobb and is very calm and reassuring with him. He may not have broken his leg by that point or if he did, wasn't in that much pain. He is rather cocky with Cobb, but Cobb is a Union soldier who has no way of knowing what just happened a short time earlier. Then on to Surrattsville, where he tells Lloyd - ""I'll tell you some news, if you want to hear it". Lloyd is hungover/ still drunk at that point and says tell me if you think it's prudent. Booth then boasts - "We have killed the President and the Sect'y of State". It goes downhill from there and by the end of his journey Willie Jett asks him to tell him about the assassination. By then Booth has read all the papers have had to say for 10 days and simply replies - "It was nothing to brag about".