Surratt Courier

[Dennis Urban]

It was interesting to see all of those "crossing" accounts collated in the same article. Kudos to Bill for taking the time to do that. I counted that seventeen accounts were mentioned. Seeing such caused this researcher to look for the original source of the book quoted statements. This was easy since the page attribution was given and most of the books are in my library. Of the eight accounts that favor April 20 as the crossing date, I found that six of those accounts used the Thomas Jones 1893 book, J. Wilkes Booth, as the source. However, those accounts favoring April 21 (I counted seven) as the crossing date, used a variety of different sources; Tidwell, Owens, Woodland, Wilmer). This, of course, proves nothing but it does serve to demonstrate that when various authors over the years quote the same source, we tend to believe that the bulk of the same information is more accurate than several individual sources. True, there is no definitive answer. I do, however, favor the several sources over the single or few sources.

Additionally, I continue to find the Owens statement remarkable and plausible; primarily because of its accurate detail so soon after the event. Such detail could not have been widely known or reported by April 28. I am intrigued by Owens giving his statement at Bryantown, somewhat removed from his home base at Newport. Although he did not say, Owens could have had many reasons for being in Bryantown on April 28th. Of greater concern is that Newport is east of Allen's Fresh which would take the fugitives away from their intended crossing point. Perhaps they were looking for another way out of the area. We shall never know. Perhaps at some future date another account or two may surface to confirm or deny the Newport incident.