Booth's Horse Fell....

[loetar44]

Yes, Booth wrote in his diary: “in jumping broke my leg”, NOT “in jumping from the state box broke my leg”. So what exactly did he mean with “jumping”, his “jump” or a “jump” of his horse? In other words, was his leg NOT broken when he left the theatre and DC? Did he at some point broke his leg when he had his "restive" (Silas T. Cobb words) horse (which Booth had called a “bad little b itch”) no longer fully under control and crashed. I think Booth broke his leg when he jumped from the state box. Why?

   

The autopsy revealed that Booth’s left FIBULA (calf bone) was broken 2 inches (5 cm) above the ankle. A broken fibula makes walking possible (especially in a tight close-fitting boot). It is possible to feel no pain at all (or less pain) when adrenaline is running through your body (my 90y old mother broke her fibula and walked a whole day without pain!). Dr. Mudd considered the fracture as NOT "a peculiarly painful or dangerous wound" (so little pain and the bone did not perforate the skin). According to experts a fibula fracture commonly occurs in association with a rolled ankle with significant weight bearing forces. An awkward landing from a jump certainly can cause a fractured fibula. But, there is something strange. Booth jumped out of the state box and landed on the stage, 12 feet beneath. The force is then facing down and in that case the break must have a sloping profile. However during Booth’s autopsy it was seen that the fibula was broken straight off.

Dr. Mudd had only a brief examination of Booth’s leg and diagnosed a fractured TIBIA (shin bone). Was he wrong? A fracture of the tibia is one of the worst fractures and makes running and even walking using a crutch impossible, because the tibia is the weightbearing bone in the lower leg. Also, it is not possible to mount a horse with a broken tibia and riding would have caused a lot of pain. A fracture of the tibia is a serious and complicated fracture and extremely painful. A fractured tibia occur with (high) velocity injuries and usually involves some sort of direct contact. For example, these fractures are quite common when your galloping horse makes a fall, with your leg planted (fixed) in the stirrup and with your foot hitting the ground awkwardly (putting too much stress on the tibia) and ending up under the horse. In most cases a broken tibia leads to an open lower leg . Eliza B. Rogers said, after she saw Booth’s corpse in Weaver’s Undertaking Parlor, when Booth’s coffin was opened: “His leg was broken square off below the knee and the bones had passed each other, and was protruding out of the flesh” (source: “What Really Happened to the Assassin?” article in “The Civil War Times Illustrated”, 1992). This indicates that the tibia was broken.

However:

Booth had used a crutch when walking and had ridden a horse. Both is impossible with a fractured tibia. There were people who saw Booth limp. Also not possible with a broken tibia. Note the following eyewitness accounts: A.M.S. Crawford (Dress Circle) declared: “I saw him [Booth] as he RAN across the stage”. Harry Hawk said: Booth was “RUSHING toward [me] with a dagger” in his hand. William Withers, Sheldon P. McIntyre, John Downing Jr, Dr. Charles Sabin Taft, Major General B.F. Butler, Samuel Koontz, all saw a RUNNING Booth, not a cripple, and he seemed without pain. Frederick Sawyer said that Booth "RAN with lightning "speed.” “Peanuts” Burroughs said that Booth RAN out of the backdoor and also said: “ … he [Booth] was mounting his horse, with one foot in the stirrup”. Anderson declared: “He [Booth] came out of the theatre so quick that it seemed as if he but touched the horse and it was gone like a flash of lighting.” Silas T. Cobb did not see “any discomfort" when Booth passed him. When Mrs. Garrett asked Booth if she could dress his wound for him, Booth replied, “No, Madam. I thank you, though it does give me pain, yet there are other things I think of more than my wounds.” And to Jack Garrett Booth remarked that his leg did NOT hurt that much, only when touched.

My conclusion: everything point to a broken fibula, not a broken tibia. So I'm with all of you saying that Booth broke his leg after his jump from the state box, while landing on the stage.