St. Peter's or Horsehead? Is the Stage Route the Answer?

[L Verge]

I agree completely with Joe. Booth was riding on a high ego at that point and was certain that his deed would be acclaimed by many. Miss Maude Motley, owner of the sliver of the crutch, who used to meet our tour buses in Virginia, would recount something to the effect that, when the news of the assassination was heard at the Garrett home, Booth made a comment as to wondering why someone would kill Lincoln. I believe it was Lucinda Holloway who replied, "Oh, for notoriety's sake, no doubt." For someone expecting accolades, "notoriety" is a put down, IMO.

Back to the escape route: When I first met James O. Hall in 1975, he was surprised by two things - one, I not only knew where T.B. was, but had grown up there and pretty much knew where things were in the village in 1865; two - I also knew where a place in Charles County was called Patuxent City.

In the case of the latter, he had found reference to David Herold having lived for part of his life in Patuxent City. I don't think he ever found the exact location of the home or the name of the family. The Patuxent City that I know had only 2-3 structures that could have dated back to the Civil War, but I never pursued it.

The point of my bringing this up is a supposition on my part (and after my last experience of "supposing" something, I need to be careful). If the fugitives had taken the old route to Horsehead, but stayed straight (instead of bearing right), they would have gone through the village of Woodville (now Aquasco), where there was a doctor well-known to Confederate sympathizers, and then continued on to Patuxent City. At that point, they could have turned right and headed in the direction of modern-day Hughesville and on to the area where Burtles, Swann, Canter, and Cox were located.

Or, they could have turned left and headed for Benedict and the Patuxent River and then into St. Mary's County. I mention this last route because when Thomas Jones was finally able to get them on the move to the shores of the Potomac, I believe it was because he had gotten word that the Union troops were headed in the direction of Chaptico and the river because two men had been spotted crossing in St. Mary's County. Those two men were very likely Thomas Harbin and Joseph Baden, the two underground operatives who had been trying to locate Booth and Herold and help get them to safety. So many routes, so many choices...

If it had been me, I would have avoided Benedict and St. Mary's County. Benedict was home to Camp Stanton, one of the training camps for the U.S. Colored Troops. Shortly after entering St. Mary's County, especially if following the Patuxent River shores, one would come to what had been the grand plantation (The Plains) of Col. John Sothoron, who had made a serious mistake of killing a Union soldier when a raiding party came earlier in the war to "recruit" the colonel's slaves for military duty. Col. Sothoron and his son were in hiding in 1865, and The Plains had become a government farm -- meaning that the Union had confiscated it and placed contraband there to till the soil to produce food crops for the good of the cause. Union soldiers were their overseers. Best to avoid it.

However, there is an account of a skirmish near there on the day of April 15. Gen. Tidwell had found evidence to suggest that some of Mosby's men were in the area and clashed with a Union troop. I think John Stanton has tried to follow up on this with different results. Just some random thoughts.