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John Fazio · 12-23-2016, 03:32 AM

(12-22-2016 12:31 PM)L Verge Wrote:
(12-22-2016 09:26 AM)John Fazio Wrote:
(12-22-2016 09:04 AM)BettyO Wrote: Thanks, John.

We've been over this before, as Laurie said -

The pain and severity of JWB's injury was probably due to the style of riding in the 19th Century.

In the 19th Century, men rode with a straighter leg, with most of the seat and balance being utilized by the pressure of the thighs, lower leg (calf) and feet in the stirrups. See the photo of Allen Pinkerton on horseback; notice how straight his leg is - most of the pressure/weight is in the stirrups.

One jumped fences leaning back in the saddle with straight legs and pressure in the stirrups.

This changed in the early 20th Century when the knee was bent more and emphasis on the seat/balance was placed on the thighs and knees -

I've ridden all my life (lived in a saddle as a kid.)

JWB would have experienced severe pain with pressure on the broken/fractured ankle/leg focused primarily on the foot and calf of the injured leg in the stirrup.

Betty:

Excellent analysis. It explains much. Thank you for the information, which was previously unknown to me.

John

(12-22-2016 08:38 AM)RJNorton Wrote:
(12-22-2016 08:14 AM)John Fazio Wrote: (perhaps, if he initially rode away from Dr. Mudd's farm and then doubled back to it, for which there is some evidence),

John, I am curious. You say "some evidence." To what do you refer? Many thanks.

Roger:

Booth and Herold reached the tavern at about midnight, some 10 miles or so from the bridge. They left within five minutes. They did not arrive at Dr. Mudd's farm until 4:00 a.m., some 15 or so miles away. Four hours to do 15 miles? On July 10, 1865, Thomas Ewing, Dr. Mudd's counsel, appealed to President Johnson for a "remission" of Dr. Mudd's sentence. In support of the appeal, Ewing claimed that Herold's lawyer, Frederick Stone, told him that Herold had tried to dissuade Booth from going to Dr. Mudd's farm, which was very far from his planned route, but that Booth insisted that his leg had to have professional attention. If this is true, it might explain, at least partially, Booth's reference in his diary to having ridden 60 miles that night instead of the approximately 25 from the bridge to Dr. Mudd's farm, i.e. they may have ridden beyond the farm and then doubled back to it. (See also Steers and Holzer, The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators, pp. 42 and 101.) I hasten to add, however, that such a scenario ignores Atzerodt's May 1 confession, in which he stated that Dr. Mudd "knew all about it" and that "liquors and provisions" had been sent to him for pick-up by the fugitives when they made their way south. (See Steers, The Trial, p. cv).

John

I believe the slow down from tavern (which is about 14 miles from the Navy Yard Bridge) to Dr. Mudd's farm (about another 14 miles) can be accounted for in considering how hard the fugitives had pushed their horses in the first 14 miles.

These were not race horses, nor were they stallions from the plains out West. Even race horses are not long distance runners. Booth was counting on out-distancing the cavalry pursuers enough in the first few hours to make it to an obscure refuge in Southern Maryland. Trust me, even today, the back roads between TB and Mudd's home are obscure -- especially if one uses the route that the old-timers (and I) believe he used.

Where do you think Booth rode to before deciding to "double-back" to Dr. Mudd's?

Betty,

Would the different style of riding in 1865, made a difference in whether or not a man's leg could be broken in his horse rolling on him? Straight leg vs. bent leg...?

I ask this because I suffered a bad break of my arm about two inches from my shoulder when I was ten and walking a large trunk of a fallen tree with my father. I slipped and my father tried to catch me, but we both ended up falling with him on top of me, snapping the bone in my upper arm, which was tucked behind me. The doctor said that, if my arm had been straight, it might not have been broken or only the shoulder dislocated.

Laurie:

"Where do you think Booth rode to before deciding to "double back" to Dr. Mudd's."

I'm not sure he did double back; for that scenario we have only Herold's statement, through Doster and Ewing. But let us tie it with other evidence that is relevant. Smoot twice refers to co-conspirators who were to have fresh horses for three conspirators at T.B.(presumably Booth, Herold and Atzerodt, because the evidence is persuasive that Powell was headed for Baltimore). See Smoot, pp. 7, 13; see also Kauffman, American Brutus, p. 454, N. 1. There are also references in the literature to the intention of the fugitives to first cross a minor river and then make their way to an Atlantic port, where a ship would be waiting for them to take them to Spain. I cannot lay my hands on a reference to this right now, but it is relevant that Herold told friends in Port Tobacco, before the assassination, that the next time they heard from him he would be in Spain and have a barrel of money. Atzerodt, too, had indicated to friends in Port Tobacco his intention to leave the country. (Lafayette C. Baker, pp. 483, 491) Another indication that Spain was in the cards, or may have been, is Ste. Marie's affidavit to Seward in 1866. In it he referred to a statement made by Surratt to the effect that his handlers suggested that he go to Spain. Spain was chosen because there was no extradition treaty between the U.S. and that country at the time.

John