Dr. Mudd Lends a Hand

[SSlater]

I hope I can provide some thinking that will help you toward a solution of your questions.
The "crossing" was after April 9th, so I checked the log books of the Gunboats, an I see no mention of this activity.

If they had trouble crossing, they most likely did not ask for help from the Confederate Camps on the Potomac. Plus, they did not know where it was safe to land, else they would not have been shot at.

The 14 mile width of the river is an error. The Potomac is not that wide any where. It might be 14 miles from "Launch to Landing" but not across.

I found a Theodore L. Burnett family in North Carolina - which might be this group. That family would cross the Potomac here - if it was them.

I did not find an Ashbridge family. (Might have been a slave)

If Mudd was called, or even allowed to help the travelers, they were not "Prisoners". They were "protected" by Southern Sympathisers.

Gene C. made an error - They would not have traded "Greenbacks for Gold". It would be the other way around.

The Photo of Mudd was probably a positive identification of Mudd to the mother. He was identified to her through the picture that he gave to the boy.

The wagons in the Maryland farm yard were "Impressed" not "Impressive". (Meaning, they didn't have to pay for them). The wagons were most likely Hay Wagons, Manure Spreaders or Grain Wagons (Tools of the Trade) They were loaned one.

My answers are merely "logical", just that alone. I do not claim that the are the only answer.

The travelers tried to take the shortest route to the North, beyond that they had to rely on help from locals. If they were from N.C. then they would cross near Mathias Point, VA. Their helpers may not have known about Cawood and Brogden, but someone put them in a boat and shoved them off, and they made it to Port Tobacco. They must have looked like Southerns (A Mother, kids, a Nurse - no Males) and they pitched in. These locals knew about Mudd, so, he was notified. Mudd has told was elsewhere that he was Allowed to travel about, because he was a Doctor. The Feds thought he was tending patients.

If others will add ideas, we may learn more - but we will never know for sure.