Booth escape route north

[Dave Taylor]

I'd like to add one thing regarding the broken leg thing here. Last month, I had dinner with Mike Kauffman and we discussed his theory. Mike discussed how his original reason for bringing up the broken leg was not to create an ongoing debate or any such thing, but to dismiss the ridiculous claim of "The Revenge of Old Glory" which related that Booth caught his spur on the American flag, causing him to fall off balance on the stage and break his leg. As we know, this was the accepted story for many years. Taking a hard look at the period evidence though, Mike found that there was no substance to it at all and that the idea didn't even come about until years later. As he researched the broken leg idea more, he found the many mentions to Booth falling from his horse. He also discovered that the type of break Booth had was a very common equestrian injury from a horse fall. He believes that Booth's broken leg was caused by a fall from his horse, but he stated he has no problem if people disagree with him.

In truth, both theories stem from the words of Booth. In his diary he writes he broke his leg jumping, and to people on the escape route he states his horse fell on him. We'll never know which one it really was. Both have evidence to support them and, in any book on the subject, they both deserve equal press. It's like how we don't know the exact route Booth and Herold took from T.B. to Dr. Mudd's. We explain the two possibilities and then we just pick one to follow. To me, the same should be done when writing about Booth's broken leg.