Identification of Booth's body

[RJNorton]

Warren, I believe the first time I read about Boyd was in the book entitled The Lincoln Conspiracy by David Balsiger and Charles Sellier. The book came out in the late 1970s. It's been such a long time since I read it that I do not recall too much. I think, according to these authors, Boyd was recruited by Edwin Stanton to kidnap Abraham Lincoln. But before Boyd could do this, Booth assassinated the President. Boyd, who bore a striking resemblance to Booth (according to the authors), then got scared and feared his name would be connected to Booth's plot. Boyd escaped Washington and somehow ended up in Garrett's barn. The government then told the country that Booth (although the remains were really Boyd's according to Balsiger and Sellier) had been captured, killed, returned to Washington, and identified aboard the Montauk.