Breaking a leg

[Laurie Verge]

Jerry,

Now that I'm out of my gin-indused stupor, my response to your statement phrased as a question is: I believe that the leg was broken at Ford's Theatre; that Booth's horse may have fallen between the Navy Yard Bridge and Surrattsville; and if it did, it may have caused further damage to the leg. To quote Rhett Butler, however, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a 'darn!'"

BTW: I would never hide gin anywhere. Can't stand the stuff - tastes like perfume - makes me sick! I'm a Jack & Ginger type of girl.

---

Ref. the digital copy from The Evidence: There are discrepancies with what the printed version of Pitman has said over the years. This is the direct testimony in John Lloyd's time on the stand:

"Just about midnight on Friday..." NOTE: not "1:00 in the morning" as printed above. Somewhere I have seen reference to Lloyd saying that the clock had been striking midnight when Herold pounded on the door.

"I do not think they remained over five minutes. They only took one of the carbines. Booth said he could not take his, because his leg was broken." NOTE: No mention of how or when the leg was broken.

Lloyd went on to describe the horse as seen in the moonlight: "The man whose leg was broken was on a light-colored horse; I supposed it to be a gray horse in the moonlight. It was a large horse, I suppose some sixteen hands high; the other, ridden by Herold, was a bay and not so large." NOTE: No mention of an injury to either horse.

Next question: Which horse would Booth have been riding when his injury supposedly occurred? We know that he was riding the spirited bay mare when he left Ford's, however, he's on the other horse when he arrives at Surrattsville, and that is the horse that was tended to at Mudd's and supposedly injured. Therefore, one must assume that Booth had already changed horses before "the fall" came in order for the large horse to be injured. That would have made the wound to the horse fairly fresh and more noticeable to Lloyd, I would think. I'm now going back to my Jack & Ginger (carefully hidden in my desk drawer at Surratt House).