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

[Dave Taylor]

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?