Booth escape route north

[L Verge]

Okay, here I go again in my vain attempts to dissuade Jerry of his theories:

Trains did not run in timely intervals such as today and would definitely be stopped and searched very quickly since telegraph lines north were intact and functioning. How long did it take for Grant to be alerted on his train ride?

Since Booth would have to get to a train station, which one would it be? I don't think he would stand in the heart of D.C. awaiting the next train heading north. Maybe Annapolis Junction would be his logical destination? That was nowhere near Annapolis, by the way, and was also about 25 miles from downtown D.C. A good piece of riding to get to the station that had the first telegraph line set up in the U.S. long before the war and one that was pretty close to Baltimore - where any good detective would think to search.

Now, destinations for Booth once clearing the D.C. environs heading north: Baltimore and Harford County I discounted in the post above. Philadelphia? Pregnant sister Asia with a volatile husband lives in Philadelphia; wouldn't authorities think to check there? And why place your beloved sister in any more danger? New York City? Edwin owns a home there where you stayed at the height of the draft riots, but Edwin is so well-known that authorities would surely check out any place related to him. Vermont, where the natives are still irritated about the St Albans Raid? Any place close to the Great Lakes, where the natives are irritated about the "piracy" raids they had endured under Confederates like Jacob Thompson and John Yates Beall?

And speaking of Thompson (and also George Sanders), they did not stay in Canada, but got the heck out of Dodge and headed to England and Europe for years to avoid Federal authorities. A lot of good they would be harboring Booth. With a price on his head, I doubt that too many native Canadians would have opened up their hearts and homes to the assassin of Lincoln either. Supporting the Confederacy for economic reasons is a lot different than supporting a presidential assassin.

Now let's turn our attention to a southern escape route: First, very few telegraph lines existed in Southern Maryland. The main one had been at Chapel Point, but I believe that I am correct that that one had been closed down very shortly before the assassination. Communication depended on forming cavalry units to search the old-fashioned way - giving Booth the advantage of time.

Booth didn't have to spend more than a few days in Southern Maryland during his 1864-65 planning period. He just had to make contact with and persuade key citizens who would make his escape plans happen. He did just that by spending time with Drs. Queen and Mudd and the all-important session with Thomas Harbin. Herold's trip to the area on April 13 (and possibly the 12th) only needed to alert a few people to be at the ready. The word would be spread to members of the Secret Line. With such short notice, that is all that the fugitives could hope for. It did not go completely as planned, but Mudd, Cox, Jones, Harbin, and Baden came through for him to some degree. I might throw in here also that Thomas Jones's ignoring the Union's officer Williams's hint about the great reward showed that at least one of the Southern Marylanders could be depended on for help. A code of honor works sometimes...

Just briefly about not intending to go to the Surratt tavern: Booth and Herold were going to ignore two very valuable carbines that were there?? Why put Mrs. Surratt in such jeopardy by sending her to the tavern on the very afternoon of the assassination with your field glasses if you have no intention of going there to retrieve them. That mission would later put the rope around the woman's neck. I just don't see Booth being such a cad for the sake of saving his own neck by his carefully planned U-turn ruse.

As for finding a safe haven, a section that was in turmoil would be an ideal escape route. Blend in with the citizenry and flee Union forces as they were doing. Stick to the coastline to take advantage of any possibility of escaping by sea OR turn westward to the Piedmont region and follow much the same route that Jefferson Davis was using. At some point, swing farther west and head to Texas (where the Yankees still aren't welcome). From there, join many more Confederate compatriots in Mexico than any you would find in Canada. And most of those Confederates in Mexico believe in the same thing that started all this in the first place -- expansion into new territories that encompass the Golden Circle of future agricultural and economic success.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.