Mudd Descendants visit Fort Jefferson NP

[L Verge]

"On Friday, April 14, 1865, two men appeared before the guard on the road leading into Washington from the east. Refusing to give their names or state their business, they were arrested and put in the guard tent, whence they were to be sent to headquarters. This was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. In an hour or two they gave their names as Booth and Herold."

John - this is the previous passage that I remembered reading earlier in which I got the impression that Booth and Herold were stopped from entering the city early in the morning and held for several hours. It struck a chord with me because of my family's story that Herold left our home before the family got up on the morning of the 14th. Mr. Huntt had a store to run, and Mrs. Huntt had a four-year-old daughter and a two-month-old infant son - both good reasons for getting up early. Herold's sister also said that he was home in D.C. in time to have breakfast with them. I also knew that Booth's movements in D.C. were well-documented that day and that spending time in a guardhouse was not on the agenda.

This sign/counter-sign/password debate is interesting. Dave Taylor has posted a great excerpt from a CW diary maintained by Julia Wilbur, an abolitionist sent to D.C. to assist the escaping (then freed) slaves. I'll have to re-read it, but I swear she talks about crossing from Alexandria into the city with ease because the security on the bridges has been relaxed. See BoothieBarn.com